Hoard of gold, silver, and jewelry
This particular hoard was found in Oxfordshire County, England on October 8th, 2015 with the help of a metal detector. The hoard contains 186 silver coins, 7 jewelry items, and 15 silver ingots. Most of the 186 silver coins have the likeliness of King Alfred the Great of Wessex which tells us that those coins are from his reign. The rest of the 186 silver coins show the likeliness of King Ceolwulf II of Mericia. Some of the coins were fragmented and this tells us that the Viking who possessed this hoard either found them this way, or he purchased things which required him to add small pieces of silver to meet the asking price of the item, like modern day change. The 7 items of jewelry included 3 silver arm rings and 1 gold scrap, and a neck ring. Arm rings were bestowed by lords on their subjects for the promise of their loyalty. The silver ingots were just basic blocks of silver, oblong in shape. The hoard was dated to have been buried in 880. The hoard was likely buried as a safeguard at the same time the Great Heathen Army was mobilizing.
Some of the silver coins depict two kings standing side to side. This style of design is called “The Two Emperors” which was modeled after Roman coins of the 4th century.[2] These coins were minted by both King Alfred and King Ceolwulf and they are extremely helpful in understanding the relationship between the two kingdoms.[3] At the time of the hoard burial, Wessex and Mercia had forged an alliance and fought for survival against the Great Heathen Army. The coin of the two kings is symbolic for the kingdoms of Wessex and Mercia who allied themselves to repel foreigners. Evidence of alliance is historically important because it shows us that two fierce long-time rivals banded together for the greater good rather than betraying each other.[4] The hoard was likely buried as a safeguard since the Great Heathen Army was mobilizing frequently.
