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Penny - Alfred the Great Lunettes type
| Issuer | Kingdom of Wessex |
|---|---|
| Year | 871-875 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 1.32 g |
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| Obverse description | Crude facing bust of Alfred the Great rendered in the Insular Anglo-Saxon style, depicted with a schematic diademed head and stylized facial features within a beaded inner circle. The bust is presented frontally with a geometric, almost architectural treatment of the neck and shoulders, characteristic of late 9th-century Wessex coinage. A beaded border frames the design, and the surrounding legend reads ÆLFRED REX in degraded Latin lettering, with pellet stops and cross punctuation elements interspersed throughout. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Alfred inherited Wessex in 871 during what he later called "the year of battles" — nine major engagements against the Danish Great Heathen Army within twelve months of his accession. The Lunettes type belongs to his earliest coinage, struck before the Danish occupation of 874–875 forced his moneyers to scatter and production to collapse entirely. Within a few years, Alfred himself was hiding in the Somerset marshes at Athelney.
North 625 is among the more elusive of Alfred's pre-reform issues, predating the Two-Line and later Cross-and-Lozenge types that followed his recovery.