First Coin Featuring the Name of an English King to Go on Sale
June 18, 2010 - An extremely rare coin, one of only seven known to be extant, goes on sale June 24 at the British auction house Spink. The gold coin, called a “Thrymsa,” was struck sometime between 620 and 635, as evidenced by a Christian cross on the reverse of the coin. The reverse also features a mint mark for London. The obverse features a portrait of King Eadbald, King of Kent (a region of Anglo-Saxon England) from 616 to 640, as well as an inscription reading “avdvarld reges,” the Latin name of King Eadbald. It is the first English coin to feature the name of the king. It was not until 685, during the reign of Aldfrith, that a coin again carried the name of the monarch.
Eadbald converted to Christianity in 620, so the coin could not have been struck before that. According to the historian Bede, when the king came to the throne, he rejected the church in favor of his native pagan religion. The church, on the other hand, rejected him for marrying his stepmother. However, in 620, the king renounced his wife and accepted Christianity back into the kingdom. No one knows for sure whether Bede’s account is accurate, but it adds to the lore of the coin and the significance of the cross on the reverse. The Eadbald Thrymsa is expected to sell for about $11,000.
Of the six other known Thrymsas, five are held by museums and universities. This auction will be only the second opportunity for private collectors to own one of these rare coins. The rare coin world will have its eyes on Spink on June 24.
Shawn Penny
Senior Staff Writer - Rare-Coin.org
