Editing Æthelwulf, King of Wessex (section)

== Coinage ==
[[File:Æthelwulf penny.jpg|thumb|Coin of King Æthelwulf: "EĐELVVLF REX", moneyer Manna, Canterbury{{sfnm|1a1=Grueber|1a2=Keary|1y=1893|1pp=9, 17 no. 19, Plate III.4|2a1=Early Medieval Coins|2y=Fitzwilliam Museum}}]]

The [[silver penny]] was almost the only coin used in middle and later Anglo-Saxon England. Æthelwulf's coinage came from a main mint in Canterbury and a secondary one at Rochester; both had been used by Ecgberht for his own coinage after he gained control of Kent. During Æthelwulf's reign, there were four main phases of the coinage distinguishable at both mints, though they are not exactly parallel and it is uncertain when the transitions took place. The first issue at Canterbury carried a design known as ''Saxoniorum'', which had been used by Ecgberht for one of his own issues. This was replaced by a portrait design in about 843, which can be subdivided further; the earliest coins have cruder designs than the later ones. At the Rochester mint, the sequence was reversed, with an initial portrait design replaced, also in about 843, by a non-portrait design carrying a cross-and-wedges pattern on the [[Obverse and reverse|obverse]].{{sfn|Nelson|2004a}}{{sfn|Grierson|Blackburn|2006|pp=270, 287–91}}

In about 848, both mints switched to a common design known as Dor¯b¯/Cant&nbsp;– the characters "Dor¯b¯" on the obverse of these coins indicate either ''Dorobernia'' (Canterbury) or ''Dorobrevia'' (Rochester), and "Cant", referring to Kent, appeared on the reverse. It is possible that the Canterbury mint continued to produce portrait coins at the same time. The Canterbury issue seems to have been ended in 850–851 by Viking raids, though it is possible that Rochester was spared, and the issue may have continued there. The final issue, again at both mints, was introduced in about 852; it has an inscribed cross on the reverse and a portrait on the obverse. Æthelwulf's coinage became [[debasement|debased]] by the end of his reign, and though the problem became worse after his death it is possible that the debasement prompted the changes in coin type from as early as 850.{{sfn|Grierson|Blackburn|2006|pp=287–91, 307–08}}

Æthelwulf's first Rochester coinage may have begun when he was still sub-king of Kent, under Ecgberht. A hoard of coins deposited at the beginning of Æthelwulf's reign in about 840, found in the [[Middle Temple]] in London, contained 22 coins from Rochester and two from Canterbury of the first issue of each mint. Some [[Numismatics|numismatists]] argue that the high proportion of Rochester coins means that the issue must have commenced before Ecgberht's death, but an alternative explanation is that whoever hoarded the coins simply happened to have access to more Rochester coins. No coins were issued by Æthelwulf's sons during his reign.{{sfn|Grierson|Blackburn|2006|pp=271, 287–91}}

Ceolnoth, Archbishop of Canterbury throughout Æthelwulf's reign, also minted coins of his own at Canterbury: there were three different portrait designs, thought to be contemporary with each of the first three of Æthelwulf's Canterbury issues. These were followed by an inscribed cross design that was uniform with Æthelwulf's final coinage. At Rochester, Bishop Beornmod produced only one issue, a cross-and-wedges design which was contemporary with Æthelwulf's ''Saxoniorum'' issue.{{sfn|Grierson|Blackburn|2006|pp=287–91}}

In the view of the numismatists [[Philip Grierson]] and [[Mark Blackburn (numismatist)|Mark Blackburn]], the mints of Wessex, Mercia and East Anglia were not greatly affected by changes in political control: "the remarkable continuity of moneyers which can be seen at each of these mints suggests that the actual mint organisation was largely independent of the royal administration and was founded in the stable trading communities of each city".{{sfn|Grierson|Blackburn|2006|p=275}}