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A styca of Æthelred II of Northumbria. The styca (pronounced; pl. stycas) was a small coin minted in pre-Viking Northumbria, originally in base silver and subsequently in a copper alloy. Production began in the 790s and continued until the 850s, though the coin remained in circulation until the Viking conquest of Northumbria in 867.
The coins within the assemblage were issued by the kings of Northumbria, Eanred, Aethelred II, Redwulf and Osberht, as well as by the archbishops of York, Eanbald II, Wigmund and Wulfhere. [1] They were first described by the antiquarian John Adamson. [5] Based on the contents of the hoard, its date of deposition has been attributed to c.865. [2]
It is estimated that the hoard contained c. 10,000 stycas, a type of early medieval Northumbrian coin. [1] It contained both silver-alloy and copper-alloy stycas, and a listing from the Journal of the British Archaeological Association in 1846 includes coins of the kings Eanred, Aethelred II, Redwulf and Osberht, as well as those of the archbishops Eanbald, Wigmund and Wulfhere. [3]
King Aldfrith (685–705) minted Northumbria's earliest silver coins, likely in York. Later royal coinage bears the name of King Eadberht (738–758), as well as his brother, Archbishop Ecgbert of York. [121] These coins were primarily small silver sceattas, more suitable to small, everyday transactions than larger gold Frankish or Roman coins ...
Coins of the Hexham hoard in Manchester Museum. The hoard was divided and parcels of the coins from it were sold to a number of institutions, including: British Museum; [6] [5] the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle; [9] the Ashmolean Museum (who also had a portion of the bucket for a period of time); [10] Whitby Museum; [9] Manchester Art Gallery – where an unopened parcel from the hoard ...
Eadberht of Northumbria instituted control over the production of his silver coinage around AD 740, control that was followed by the other early English kings in the years after. [12] [13] Coin of Offa, king of Mercia, 757-796, with the Latin legend OFFA REX MERCIOR; British coins still carry Latin inscriptions in the 21st century.
David Rollason accepts the coin evidence, and dates Æthelred's reign from c.854 to c. 862, with Rædwulf's usurpation in 858. [4] Relatively little is known of his reign from the surviving documentary record. He appears to have been expelled in favour of Rædwulf, whose reign is confirmed by the evidence of coinage.
An exception to the general obscurity of the sceattas comes in Northumbria, where from a very early date the king and (arch)bishop of York played a strong role in coinage production: King Aldfrith was the first English king named on silver coinage anywhere, and his successors retained a relatively tight hold on coinage after production resumed ...