These pennies were struck during the final, turbulent years of the Viking kingdom at York, when Scandinavian control of Northumbria was increasingly contested by the expanding West Saxon monarchy under Edward the Elder and then Æthelstan. The Saint Peter coinage — invoking the patron of York Minster — had served the kingdom's rulers since the late ninth century, functioning as much as a declaration of political independence as a medium of exchange.
By the early 920s the kingdom had passed through several rulers in quick succession, and attributing individual pieces to specific reigns remains largely impossible. Æthelstan finally took York in 927, ending the Viking kingdom entirely.
These pennies were struck during the final, turbulent years of the Viking kingdom at York, when Scandinavian control of Northumbria was increasingly contested by the expanding West Saxon monarchy under Edward the Elder and then Æthelstan. The Saint Peter coinage — invoking the patron of York Minster — had served the kingdom's rulers since the late ninth century, functioning as much as a declaration of political independence as a medium of exchange.
By the early 920s the kingdom had passed through several rulers in quick succession, and attributing individual pieces to specific reigns remains largely impossible. Æthelstan finally took York in 927, ending the Viking kingdom entirely.