Stamford Mint Silver Coin
This silver coin, made at a Stamford mint, bears the face of the English king Æthelred II of Wessex, colloquially known as the Unready due to his ineptitude as a ruler. Ironically, enough, his given name, Æthelred, means ‘wise counsel’ – more than likely, that’s the reason for his unfortunate epithet. His reign was marked with death, destruction, and military defeat.1 Cnut, king of the Danes, took most of England in the ensuing war, slaying the king in 1016 at London, and shortly after Æthelred’s son Edmund followed him to the grave, leaving Cnut of Denmark with no obstacles to crowning himself King of England, which he did, starting a period of Danish dominance in England that lasted until Edward the Confessor, of the House of Wessex, took the throne in 1042, after which a Danish king would never again rule on English soil.2
Silver coins like this were far more common amongst the English than amongst Scandinavian traders of the same time. Commonly, silver would be melted down and made into braids, which would then simply have pieces cut off and weighed when trade was to happen – such a practice is, rather unimaginatively, referred to as “hack-silver”. This is slightly unfortunate, as a lack of proper coinage makes dating more difficult.
Coins like this are one of the greatest tools historians have, particularly coins like this one, which bears the face of a king, thus easily telling us when this coin must have been minted – in this case, during Æthelred’s reign, between 978 and 1016 AD. They often allow archaeologists to give much more precise dating to a larger archaeological find than they otherwise could even with advanced dating methods. While this one, in particular, was found simply in London, documents such as R. H. M. Dolley’s ‘An Introduction to the Coinage of Æthelred II’3 regarding the date of the coinage can let us reduce the date even further – for this particular design of coin’s mintage did not begin until 1009 AD, in the twilight years of Æthelred’s reign. As such, whatever archaeological find this was part of can be dated rather precisely – as it cannot have been deposited any earlier than 1009 AD.
Silver coins like this were far more common amongst the English than amongst Scandinavian traders of the same time. Commonly, silver would be melted down and made into braids, which would then simply have pieces cut off and weighed when trade was to happen – such a practice is, rather unimaginatively, referred to as “hack-silver”. This is slightly unfortunate, as a lack of proper coinage makes dating more difficult.
Coins like this are one of the greatest tools historians have, particularly coins like this one, which bears the face of a king, thus easily telling us when this coin must have been minted – in this case, during Æthelred’s reign, between 978 and 1016 AD. They often allow archaeologists to give much more precise dating to a larger archaeological find than they otherwise could even with advanced dating methods. While this one, in particular, was found simply in London, documents such as R. H. M. Dolley’s ‘An Introduction to the Coinage of Æthelred II’3 regarding the date of the coinage can let us reduce the date even further – for this particular design of coin’s mintage did not begin until 1009 AD, in the twilight years of Æthelred’s reign. As such, whatever archaeological find this was part of can be dated rather precisely – as it cannot have been deposited any earlier than 1009 AD.
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