Editing Æthelred I of Wessex (section)

=== Coinage ===
{{main|History of the English penny (c. 600 – 1066)}}
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In the late eighth and ninth centuries, the only denomination of coin produced in southern England was the silver penny.{{sfn|Naismith|2012|p=203}} As of 2007, 152 coins of Æthelred struck by 32 different moneyers have been recorded.{{efn|There are also ten coins of [[Ceolnoth]], who was [[Archbishop of Canterbury]] until his death in 870.{{sfn|Lyons and Mackay|2007|p=77}} }} His reign is described by the numismatists Adrian Lyons and William Mackay as "a critical point in the development of the English coinage". His first Four Line issue was stylistically similar to the Floriate Cross penny of his predecessor, Æthelberht, but he soon abandoned this and adopted the design of his Mercian brother-in-law, Burgred, resulting in a common coinage design across southern England for the first time.{{sfn|Lyons and Mackay|2007|pp=71–72, 77, 98–99}} The historian and numismatist [[Rory Naismith]] comments that Æthelred:

<blockquote>took the important step of adopting a new coin-type based not on local tradition, but on the Lunettes-type current in contemporary Mercia. The year 865 thus saw not only the arrival of the Viking great army that would dismantle most of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, but also the beginning of the end for separate coinages in separate kingdoms.{{sfn|Naismith|2012|p=11}}</blockquote>

[[File:Coin of King Æthelberht of Wessex (cropped).JPG|thumb|Silver penny of King Æthelberht of [[Wessex]] (Æthelred's predecessor)|upright=1.15]]

Lyons and Mackay see the change as even more crucial:

<blockquote>The developments of the late 860s can thus be viewed as an essential precursor that eventually led to the unified [[History of the English penny (c. 600 – 1066)#Edgar's reform, c. 973 and the late Anglo-Saxon coinage|reform coinage]] of [[Edgar the Peaceful|Edgar]].{{efn|name=reform|Edgar's radical coinage reform of the 970s heralded a monetary system which was the most sophisticated in Europe. It lasted 150 years.{{sfn|Blackburn|2014|p=116}} }} This convergence of the coinage is also tangible evidence for a growing collaboration between Mercia and Wessex which foreshadowed the eventual creation of a unified England.{{sfn|Lyons and Mackay|2007|pp=71–72}}</blockquote>

[[File:Burgred, King of Mercia, silver penny (phase IIb); struck 866–868∕870 AD.jpg|thumb|Silver penny of [[Burgred of Mercia|King Burgred]] of [[Mercia]] (Æthelred's brother-in-law), struck 866–870|upright=1.15]]

The single coinage design created a form of monetary union in southern England, reinforcing the mingling of economic interests between the two kingdoms and the military alliance against the Vikings. Coin hoards in Wessex dating to the earlier period of separate coinage designs have few non-Wessex coins, but after the adoption of the common Lunettes design, coins of Wessex and Mercia were used in both kingdoms, and even in Wessex hoards coins of Æthelred I form a minor proportion of the total. Between one and one and a half million Æthelred I Regular Lunette coins were produced, but this seems to have been significantly less than in Mercia. It is not known why the Mercian design was adopted, but it probably reflects the fact that the Lunette type had already been used for more than twelve years, the simplicity of the design, which could easily be copied, and the greater strength of the Mercian economy.{{sfn|Lyons and Mackay|2007|pp=73–79}} The bulk of surviving Æthelred I coins are of the Regular Lunettes design, with 118 coins struck by 21 moneyers, six of whom are known to have also worked for Burgred; the coins are notable for consistency in design and good quality of execution, and they were mainly produced by [[Canterbury]] moneyers, with a few in the Mercian town of London.{{sfn|Lyons and Mackay|2007|pp=85–87}} Only one coin is known which was produced in Wessex itself.{{sfn|Naismith |2012|p=110}} There were also Irregular Lunettes issues, one of which was a degraded and crude variant, perhaps a result of a breakdown in controls at the end of Æthelred's reign, when Wessex was under the pressure of Viking attacks.{{sfn|Lyons and Mackay|2007|pp=93, 100}} Alfred kept the Lunettes design for a short period following his accession in 871, but the design disappears from hoards deposited after around 875.{{sfn|Lyons and Mackay|2007|pp=74, 94}}