Connected records
This is one of the very earliest Anglo-Saxon coins, and the only type to bear the name of a king before that of King Aldfrith (685-704). Two specimens were previously known: one in the Ashmolean (ex Crondall hoard, 1828) and one in the American Numismatic Society, New York (found Pas-de-Calais, before 1887). There is no example in the British Museum. All three known pieces are struck from the same obverse die, but different reverse dies. The Ashmolean's piece allows the complete reading of the inscription, but this has the best portrait. The form of the king's name can be compared with those used by Bede, Adulualdi and Audubaldi. The reverse inscription, when compared with the other two, is probably to be interpreted as a corruption of a moneyer's name ( . . . bal) and Londenus. The fineness of this and the Ashmolean coin (72% and 69%) show that they belong near the head of the Anglo-Saxon series, and were probably struck c.630. Eadbald was the son of King Æthelberht who received Augustine's mission, and a contemporary of King Rædwald, the probable occupant of the Sutton Hoo ship grave. According the Bede, Eadbald was initially a heathen, but was converted some years after his accession. The Christian iconography of this coin is notable. The fact that the coins were struck at London, in the East Saxon kingdom, has puzzled scholars, but it must reflect the status of the city and the extent of Eadbald's authority.
Maker(s)
Ruler: Eadbald (616-40)
