Description
Obv. Letter 'A' in centre, SC EADIMVND REX', (St. Edmund king)
Rev. Cross pattee in centre, '+DAIEMOND NO l', (Degmund at l) 19mm, 1.4g. GVF - Good Very Fine, well struck and nicely patinated.
Very good example of this Viking' coin struck in East Anglia in memorial of the Saxon martyr, King Edmund. In 869, the Great Heathen (Viking/Danish) Army advanced on East Anglia and killed Edmund.
He may have been slain by the Danes in battle, but by tradition he met his death at an unidentified place known as Haegelisdun, after he refused the Danes' demand that he renounce Christ: the Danes beat him, shot him with arrows and then beheaded him.
This series of coinage, commemorating Edmund, was minted from around the time East Anglia was about to be absorbed by the kingdom of Wessex and a popular cult emerged which is reflected by this coinage of the 890s . In about 986, Abbo of Fleury wrote of his life and martyrdom.
The saint's remains were temporarily moved from Bury St Edmunds to London for safekeeping in 1010.
His shrine at Bury was visited by many kings, including Canute, who was responsible for rebuilding the abbey: the stone church was rebuilt again in 1095.
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