These fascinating early coins from England constitute the earliest coinage found on the British Isles. The departure of the Romans sometime around 414 AD forced the inhabitants to create their own coinage. Sceatts are generally thought to be modeled after coinages found in the surrounding areas and of course based on the earlier coinage from the western Roman Empire. Most scholars believe that the Sceatt was merely a misinterpretation of the word for “weight”. Whatever the case, these coins provide a delightful look into a time between the departure of the Romans and the introduction of the Saxons. While archaeological finds and further research has provided more information on where types may have been created, there is little known under whom they were created (most believe that these coins were not royal but struck by independent princes). Most collectors take delight in their fantastical imagery and delightful designs. The influences of the late Romans (e.g. Byzantine), Celts can easily be noticed. 

This coin is struck under the king Alcred and the presiding archbishop during his reign, Ecgberht. While not much is known about Alcred, we do glean from available written sources that he was deposed and exiled subsequently escaping to Scotland. Archbishop Ecgberht was a reformer of the English church and followed the teachings of Bede (673-735 AD) who was a monk from Northumbria and is considered the father of English history. He published his formidable text Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum "Ecclesiastical History of the English People" in 731 AD.