Penny - Eadberht Praen

Eadberht Praen seized the Kentish throne in 796 following the death of Offa of Mercia, whose dominance had suppressed any independent Kentish coinage for years. His reign lasted barely two years. In 798, Cenwulf of Mercia invaded, captured Eadberht, had him blinded and his hands cut off, and delivered him to Archbishop Æthelheard — partly on grounds that Eadberht, an ordained cleric, had abandoned holy orders to claim kingship. The Church considered his rule illegitimate from the start.

Coins struck in his name are consequently rare. Fewer than a handful of dies are known across all surviving specimens.