Small is beautiful: Two sceattas from Sizewell
Two silver coins of the Middle Anglo-Saxon period (c. A.D. 650–850) were found recently during excavation near Leiston, Suffolk, in advance of the planned Sizewell C development. Known as sceattas (pronounced ‘shatters’) or ‘early pennies’, they resulted from a monetary revolution that swept through north-western Europe in the later 7th century.
Shortly after c. 680, small silver coins began to be minted widely, including in England, Frankia (France), Frisia (modern-day Netherlands) and as far north as the trading post of Ribe (modern-day Denmark). Some types were struck in very large numbers, perhaps even the tens of millions. Their emergence represents a key development of North Sea trade networks, as well as evidencing the wider, social use of coins in settings which were not necessarily commercial.
Hundreds of designs are known, with new types frequently emerging. For this reason, it has historically been hard to classify these coins into any kind of coherent typology. The current approach divides them into 22 different series, based on letters of the alphabet, with each including sub-types. In some cases, the letter assigned has specific significance. For example, coins of Series K are thought to originate in Kent.
Early sceattas struck c. 680–700/710 are generally of high quality silver and follow similar design templates, many being issued at large, coastal trading centres. This, along with their mass production, suggests they represented a unified, regionally accepted trading currency. By contrast, later coins (issued c. 700/710–50) are of more diverse character. Despite showing more artistic flair, these coins are often of lower quality metal.
In southern England, sceattas rarely possess lengthy inscriptions. Some types bear a few runes that might represent abbreviated personal names, perhaps indicating moneyers or local leaders. However, there are notable exceptions. In the kingdom of Northumbria, many sceattas bear legible Latinised inscriptions, which attribute them to the reigns of specific kings. Notably, Northumbria continued to mint these silver coins (and afterwards, copper coins) well into the 9th century, long after the rest of England had abandoned them.
The two sceattas from Leiston both belong to the later phase of production (c. 700/710–50) and are of debased silver. One coin belongs to Series R, a type issued prolifically in East Anglia. Its obverse face depicts a crude right-facing bust, while on the reverse is a rectangular motif interpreted as based on a Roman military standard. Both these designs, though heavily stylized, derive from prototypes visible on Late Roman coins of the 4th century AD.
The second coin is much rarer. Its obverse face depicts a curled serpent or wolf-wyrm motif typically found on sceattas of Series K, while the reverse has (like the Series R coin) a crude rectangular standard. Stray finds of this type seem to also indicate manufacture in East Anglia, though at least two have been found in Hampshire.
Image: well preserved example of a Series K/R sceat. Image courtesy CNG
Further reading:
Dr Tony Abramson, General Introduction to English Sceats: https://www.anglo-saxon-coinage.co.uk/resources/introduction-to-sceats/