British and World Coins, Historical Medals

Kings of Kent, Eadberht Praen (796-798), Penny, Canterbury, Tidheah, ead berht rex in three lines divided by lines with pelleted terminals, pellets in field, rev. tid heah in two lines divided by lines with pelleted terminals, cross below with floral scrolls emitting from foot, 1.19g/12h (Naismith –; SCBI BM –; N –; S 875). Tiny edge chip and with a minute crack along the inner circle at 12 o’clock, otherwise very fine, extremely rare and interesting £2,400-£3,000

Found near Maidstone (Kent) April 2024 (EMC 2024.0149)

Naismith 2011 records two coins of Eadberht Praen struck by the moneyer Tidheah, both of which employ a different reverse type. The floral scroll which appears on this specimen recalls the coinage of Ecgberht, who gained use of the Canterbury moneyers following his victory over the Mercian King Offa at the battle of Otford in 776. The episode of Eadberht’s reign represented another rejection of Merican overlordship, and it is tempting to view the presence of this iconographic element as a deliberate attempt to recall his predecessor.