Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Penny - Alfred the Great Two emperors type
| Issuer | Alfred the Great (King of Wessex) |
|---|---|
| Year | 875-876 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Penny (1⁄240) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse displays two facing imperial busts set side by side within a beaded inner circle, a design directly inspired by late Roman coinage and lending this issue its 'Two Emperors' type designation. The busts are stylised, with dotted ornamental detail and robes indicated by incised lines, reflecting the ambition of Alfred's court to associate the Wessex monarchy with Roman imperial authority. The moneyer's name legend surrounds the central device. The reverse legend reads BEAGZ TANMON ETA, recording the name of the moneyer Beagstan responsible for striking this issue. The flan exhibits the characteristic irregular edge of ninth-century hammered silver pennies. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
The "Two Emperors" type takes its name from the monogram on the reverse, which scholars long debated as a reference to a joint authority — possibly reflecting Alfred's careful diplomatic positioning against both Viking pressure and the residual Carolingian influence reshaping ninth-century England. Struck during the years immediately following the Great Heathen Army's occupation of much of Mercia, these pennies represent Alfred's mint output at its most precarious: Wareham fell to Guthrum in 875, and Exeter the following year.
Surviving examples are genuinely rare. The chaotic military situation disrupted normal coin production and circulation alike.