Coinage in 9th-century Northumbria: Copper-alloy, Kings and Vikings

The aim of this thesis is to undertake a radical reappraisal of Northumbrian copper
alloy pennies, commonly known as ‘stycas’. Ninth-century Northumbria barely features
in the documentary record, so its coinage is the most comprehensive resource we have
to study the period. However, its study is neglected in comparison to the contemporary
silver pennies used in other early medieval kingdoms, and suffers from an overly
complex typology, which is not accepted by the numismatic community. This has led to
a position where Northumbrian coinage, which is one of the richest sources for the
period, is under-used and often misunderstood. Until recently it was assumed that their
production stopped c.867 due to Viking attacks and civil war, however, finds of these
pennies have been made in the last two decades at Viking winter camps. To reassess Northumbrian pennies, I have created a new periodisation, which is used
to assess the relative chronology of sites. It is coupled with a revised absolute
chronology, based on numismatic data, which advances the regal years of the kings of
Northumbria several years forward. Coupled with the historical dates of the Viking
winter camps at Torksey (872-3) and Aldwark (c.875), this enables hoards and
archaeological sites to be redated. It also determines that production and circulation of
Northumbrian pennies continued into the late 870s, a decade at least after it was
assumed to have ceased.