Edward the Martyr Penny, Lewes Mint, moneyer Seaxberht

Edward the Martyr (975-978), silver Penny, Lewes Mint, Moneyer Seaxberht, draped and diademed portrait left, linear circle and legend with outer beaded circle surrounding both sides, +EADPEARD REX ANGLORX, last three letters ligatured, rev. small cross pattée, +SEHXBERYHT M-O LÆV., weight 1.36g (SCBI. Hunterian 2:742; N.763; S.1142). Toned, weakly struck on portrait and one part of legend, otherwise fully readable and an extremely rare moneyer at this mint, only one other in the sylloge series lodged at the Hunterian with similar weak elements to the strike.

The legends translate on obverse as "Edward King of the English" and reverse "Seaxberht of Lewes."

Seaxberht was one of two moneyers listed by North working at Lewes, one of 35 mint towns named for Edward the Martyr, most of the mints being one moneyer only. The most populous mint at this time was York which had 15, as well as other northerly locations like Lincoln with 10 and Stamford with 14, For comparison southerly London had 7 moneyers at this time with Winchester also on 7 and Canterbury just 3.

Edward born circa 961, the eldest son of Eadgar was only 14 when he ascended the throne, his mother having died when he was a youngster. He was crowned on the 18^thJuly 975, however famine and pestilence shortly broke out in the Kingdom, as well as pillaging of monasteries blighting the new reign. Edward's Stepmother Aethelfryth the third wife of Eadgar also favored her youngest surviving son Aethelred for the throne as being "born in the purple" of Eadgar's reign. An unfortunate accident at a Royal council meeting at Calne in Wiltshire in early 978 where an upper storey of a building collapsed killing many important people did not help matters, Dunstan narrowly surviving as he was standing on a beam that withstood the collapse. On the 18^thMarch 978 Edward was murdered near Corfe Castle in Dorset, the legend being that upon visiting his Stepmother, one of her attendants (or even herself) stabbed him as he leant down from his horse to grasp a drink. The horse bolted and he either died from his wound or from falling from the horse aged around 18. Buried in haste at nearby Wareham it was not long before miracles began to occur in connection to his body and he was later reinterred at Shaftesbury and sanctified as Edward the Martyr.