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Auction: 318 - The Collector's Series
Lot: 1003

England. Kings of East Anglia. Eadmund (855-869). Penny. Moneyer: Eadwald. 1.26 gms. Large barred 'A' within circle; +EA'DMVND REX around, rev. Cross pattée, pellet in each angle, within circle; +EADIIALD MON (retrograde) around. N.456, S.954. Although we know near nothing about Eadmund's life and reign, the death of this last king of East Anglia is famous. When the Viking Great Army led by the sons of Ragnar Lodbrok invaded in 869, Eadmund was killed. Mayhaps he died in battle. But tradition holds that when Eadmund refused to renounce Christ, he was beaten, peppered with arrows, and then beheaded at the orders of Ivar the Boneless and his brother Ubba Ragnarsson. Eadmund became a martyr and a saint in an England blighted by the Viking hordes. His sainthood is celebrated in the later Memorial coinage which is based on this type. Bold strike toned an attractive, rich medium gray with hints of gold. A handsome example. Rare in such high-grade. NGC AU 58.
Ex 'The Millennia Collection', Ira & Larry Goldberg, Beverly Hills, CA, May 26, 2008, lot 197; ex Dr. Jacob Y. Terner Collection.

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$1,900