Obverse:

EADMVND REX AN. Cross pattée with crescents in angles.

Reverse:

+MON EDEΓAΛLE. Cross pattée with pellets in angles.

A small edge chip otherwise very fine and toned. Same die pair as Naismith 55.2 g and h (Plate 95).

Very little contemporary evidence survives for Edmund's reign beyond the brief notice of his death in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. With so few documentary sources, his coinage constitutes one of the principal contemporary records of the last independent King of East Anglia before the Viking conquest. His subsequent recognition as a royal martyr ensured that his name endured long after his death, with the Viking rulers of East Anglia later issuing the anonymous St Edmund Memorial coinage bearing his name.

Dies prepared for the moneyer Æthelwulf are often characterised by frequently blundered reverse legends, as seen on this coin. As Naismith suggests, these may indicate that die production took place under somewhat unusual circumstances. It was also during this phase that the East Anglian coinage underwent a marked reduction in silver fineness. Unfortunately, none of the coins of this period carries a mint-name and the precise place of striking therefore remains uncertain, although Ipswich is currently regarded as the most likely location.

Naismith, R. (2011) 'The Coinage of Southern England 796-865’ Volume I, BNS Special Publication 8, Spink - pg. 35-42, Plate 95.