Beonna, King of East Anglia, Sceat, reformed sceatta coinage, moneyer Efe

Beonna (749-787), King of East Anglia, silver Sceat, reformed Sceatta coinage, moneyer Efe, pellet at centre of ring of eight pellets, runic style legend and beaded border surrounding, initial mark trefoil like cross, +BEONNA REX, rev. cross with pellet ends and centre in saltire at centre of pelleted box over a saltire cross with pelleted arms, legend and beaded border surrounding, initial mark pelleted long cross, :+: :.E:. :.F:. :.E:., weight 0.95g (BMC 1; Archibald dies O4/R-; C.M.E. 80; SCBI 63:818 British Museum; N.430; S.945). Dark tone, one weak portion otherwise a bold to good very fine and very rare.

For further reading see "The Coinage of Beonna in the Light of the Middle Harling Hoard" by Marion Archibald in the British Numismatic Journal volume 55, 1985, pages 10-54. The hoard contained 37 Pennies by moneyer Efe of which the coin offered die links with 14 examples from the hoard with obverse 4. The reverse die of this piece is slightly different from the five reverses depicted in the plates of this article. The article shows 51 coins of Efe recorded in total with a large proportion of these housed in museum collections. The article theorises that the coinage of Beonna must only date to a time when East Anglia was independent between c.757 and 760 a very short period of independent issue.

Beonna possibly of East Mercian origin was the successor of Alfwald around 749 and appointed with two co-rulers Hun and Alberht probably as a resolution against rival claims. Beonna soon emerged as the only ruler and with the increased silver content seen in his coinage taking them toward the size of the silver penny suggests stability in agriculture and mercantile prosperity. The coins are thought to have been issued at the trading centre of Ipswich which was independent of Mercia at the start of Offa's reign. Beonna survives into the 760s and possibly longer but a lack of later coinage makes dating hard as the historic records remain silent.

The obverse legend translates as "Beonna King" and the reverse with moneyer name "Efe".

Provenance:

Ex St James Auction 20, 18^th November 2011, lot 4.

Ex A. H. Baldwin, Fixed Price List, Winter 2012, item AS005.

Ex Richard Jourdan Collection, Triton XXIII, Classical Numismatic Group, 15^th January 2020, lot 1226.

Ex Collection of an English Doctor, part one, Sovereign Rarities, London, March 2022.