An addition to my "At least one coin for each British king and queen" ... Æthelstan
BillJones
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It's been a while since I have been able to add a monarch to my British collection. I'm down to two kings on my list, both before 1066. This penny was issued on behalf of Æthelstan. I just bought it an auction and probably overpaid, as usual.
NGC gave it the grade "clipped" with no sharpness grade, like EF, which it is. I still had to pay way over the estimate.
Crowned, Draped Bust Portrait, Unusual Style
S - 1094, North — 673, Moneyer—Manna
Here is some historical information about this king who ruled from 924 to 939. This is from my British kings' history notebook.
Æthelstan was said to have had the combined qualities of Alfred the Great and Edward the Elder. He was scholarly, cultured, charismatic and a skilled warrior who was able to build a strong, secure kingdom. He was probably the most powerful of all the Saxon kings.
Æthelstan may have been born illegitimate. There were claims that his father, Edward, was not married to his mother, Egwina, when he was born. He was raised by his aunt, Edward’s sister, Æthelstan, in her court in Gloucester in Mercia. The fact that he was raised in Mercia gained him the trust of the people there, which his predecessors never received. Æthelstan was a favorite of his grandfather, Alfred the Great.
When Æthelstan became king, the Norse king of York, Sitric Carch, endorsed him immediately. Carch recognized that Æthelstan ’s popularity in Mercia give him a much greater ability to attack Northumbria if that became necessary. Carch was married to Æthelstan ’s sister, Eadgyth, but he would not accept Christianity.
Carch died not too long after he made his peace with Æthelstan . His brother, Gothfrith, who was king of Dublin, claimed the York crown, but Æthelstan defeated him, treated him with respect and sent him back to Ireland.
Æthelstan summoned the kings of Scotland and Strathclyde in June 927 and made them swear not to support Gothfrith if he had any more designs toward York. Æthelstan entered York as the first Saxon king of that province. All previous kings had been Scandinavians or the native Angles.
Æthelstan settled to borders with the Welsh. Previously Edward had forced them to pay homage to him, but they had supported a Norse uprising. Æthelstan ’s aimed to stop Welsh incursions into Mercia. The Welsh may not have fully complied with Æthelstan ’s demands, but they respected him.
Æthelstan went to Devon where the Cornish were in revolt under their king, Hoel. He expelled the Cornish from Exeter, driving them back beyond the Tamar River which formed the boundary between Cornwall and England. He fortified Exeter to help maintain that boundary.
One Welsh king, Hywel, was so impressed with Saxon court that he put into practice many of the procedures that he had seen.
Æthelstan was able to maintain his alliance with the Scots for seven years, which was a remarkable achievement for the time. He made alliances with other kings in Europe by arranging the marriages of his sisters and aunts to various leaders. These marriages would help form bonds that would make Æthelstan a key player on the international scene.
Æthelstan became such a friend of the King of Norway, Harald Fairhair, that he sent gifts to the Saxon king and sent his son, Haakon, to be fostered in the Saxon court. This was a common practice at the time. When Haakon returned to Norway he was so welcomed that the elders deposed his brother, Erik Bloodaxe. Erik would cause trouble for Æthelstan ’s successors.
Æthelstan ’s alliance with Scotland broke down when the Scottish king, Constantine, arranged a marriage of his daughter to Olaf Gothfrithson of Dublin. Æthelstan viewed that as a violation of the agreement he had with the Scots.
Æthelstan raised a large army, marched into Scotland and laid waste the country as far north as Fordun.
Constantine combined his army with Olaf’s forces and marched to Mercia. Æthelstan ’s forces met them at Brunanburh near Nottingham and defeated them decisively. It was one of the greatest victories in Saxon lore.
Æthelstan ruled peacefully over his last two years. His reign would be remembered as a golden age. He never married and died at age 44 from the digestive issues that seemed to affect his family.
Comments
Incredible addition Bill. Thank you for showing the coin and giving us the bit of history. Post-Roman and Pre-Norman England has always fascinated me. I'm sure you've got it and/or already have read it but for what it's worth, "The Anglo-Saxons: A History of the Beginnings of England: 400 – 1066" by Marc Morris is a fantastic read.
I remember seeing it, forget the auction, but thought - that’s a nice one. Overpaying or not - if you like it and need it, I say go for it.
Congrats.
Great post!
Nice looking coin ... and so much better than buying an 1881-S Morgan Dollar!
It's a lot harder to find, however.
One of the coolest type sets someone can put together.
DPOTD-3
'Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery'
CU #3245 B.N.A. #428
Don
Very nice, What are the two coins you still need?
Nice example. Here are two of Aethelstan, one with portrait and one without:
Edmund "The Magnificent" and Edward the Martyr. I bid on both in the Heritage auction but didn't get them. I was the underbidder on the Edward the Martyr. I just couldn't pull the trigger again after biding well over double the estimate.
I don't mind a clipped piece if the clipping leaves that name intact, and I don't need to have one with the portrait.
I passed on the first Edward the Martyr piece I saw a few years ago. It had been clipped and was bid at over $1,000. I didn't know "the score" about that those pieces at the time. I was the underbidder on another one that cropped up in a Great Collections auction.
I hate auctions. I would much rather buy from the dealer out right even if it seems like I am paying more. It's always been my luck that there is one person will keep bidding no matter how high something goes.
Very cool!
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