Aethelred II Penny, Last small cross type, four extra crosses, Thetford, Eadric, ex Cambridge Hoard and English Doctor

Aethelred II (978-1016), silver Penny, last small cross type (c.1009-17), variety with four extra smaller crosses on reverse, Thetford Mint, Moneyer Eadric, diademed and draped bust left within linear circle, Latin legend surrounding, +ÆÐELRÆD REX ANGLO, rev. small cross pattee at centre, smaller cross beyond each limb surrounding, all within linear circle with legend surrounding, +EDRIC MON ÐEPRR: weight 1.42g (BMC Ic, p.199; cf.BEH 1902; SCBI 25:554 Helsinki; N.779; cf.S.1154). Toned, almost extremely fine and very rare.

The reverse variety with the extra four crosses only occurs at the East Anglian / Lincolnshire Mints of Colchester, Ipswich, Stamford, Sudbury and Thetford, quite a localised variety and also unexplained. Thetford mints coins from the reign of King Edgar to Henry II, a period of some 200 years. J. J. North gives the variety its own number in English Hammered Coinage volume 1 and is given as very rare.

North lists 73 named mints in operation during the reign of Aethelred II with a further 14 unallocated. According to North Thetford operates with 31 moneyers across all types.

Though Aethelred enjoyed such a long reign he was known as "The Unready" literally meaning ill-counselled from a history of bad advice and decision making. Born circa 967 Aethelred was supported by his mother and partisans that were led by Earl Aelfhere of Mercia; ascending the throne at no more than 12 years of age after the murder of his Half-Brother Edward at Corfe. The influential Aelfhere having died in 983 meant Aethelred became more vulnerable, and the Vikings began to start their raids once again. Aethelred chose to pay off the raiders rather than resist, becoming known for giving such ransoms payments willingly. This meant many hundreds of thousands of coins ended up being taken to Scandanavia where they were hoarded and why much of the coinage that survives today often exhibits "peck marks" where the Viking bankers have inserted a knife point to make sure the metal quality was good. The harrying continued until Swein Forkebeard held a great swathe of England by 1013, and Aethelred was under threat in London retreating to the Isle of Wight. England submitted to Swein but he died suddenly on the 2^nd February 1014 at Gainsborough giving Aethelred the advantage and driving the Vikings out. Canute the second son of Swein, returned to attack in 1015 and by early 1016 was marching on Mercia, Aethelred however passed away on 23^rd April 1016 in London at around the age of 52 just as his second son Edmund was moving south to link up with the army. Edmund was elected King, but the army was his priority, and after winning a few battles suffered a defeat at Ashingdon on 18^th October 1016. He retreated possibly wounded to West Mercia and negotiated a treaty giving him rule of Wessex. However, Edmund died in Oxford on the 30^th November 1016 giving control to Canute.

Thetford town on the Little Ouse is 14 miles north of Bury St Edmunds and was the capital of East Anglia and was thought to be the minting place of earlier Mercian issues and independent Kings though it could have been Ipswich. The Danes wintered here in 868/9 moving on to Reading in 870. Swein burnt Thetford in 1003 and again in 1010, the town later became the See of East Anglia circa 1072 but this was transferred to Norwich 1094/5.

The legends translate as "Aethelred, King of the English" and "Edric, Moneyer of Thetford".

Provenance:
Ex Cambridge Hoard, discovered circa 1992.
Ex Collection of an English Doctor, part one, Sovereign Rarities, London, March 2022.