Middle AgesEarly medieval (9th century) · Northumbria, England
Ninth-century Northumbria had plenty of silver, so its copper coins were a choice, study finds
A survey of every known gold and silver assemblage from the kingdom challenges the idea that Viking raids left it too poor to mint silver.
In brief 3 key points
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- Northumbria's coins lost their silver in the first half of the ninth century
- An analysis of all known gold and silver finds shows precious metal was plentiful
- The author argues the debasement was deliberate, giving more people low-value coins
The Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria switched to copper-alloy coins in the ninth century even though it still had plenty of silver, according to a study by John Luke Carson of Durham University published in the journal Antiquity.
Across early medieval Western Europe, coins were usually made of silver. Northumbria, which covered much of modern northern England and southern Scotland, followed that pattern in the eighth century, then let the silver drain out of its coinage.
From 40 percent silver to none
Under King Eanred, coins that had held up to 40 percent silver were cut to at most 10 percent by the later part of his reign, around 830 to 841. In the second reign of his successor Aethelred II, from 844 to 849, silver disappeared from the regular coinage altogether.
The resulting coins are known today as stycas, though that name was first used only in the late 17th century. A few precious-metal coins were still struck, such as a silver penny of Eanred and a gold solidus of Archbishop Wigmund of York, but these seem to have been exceptional issues.
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Testing the shortage theory
One explanation has been that Viking raids, which began in the late eighth century, drained the kingdom of silver. To test it, Carson analysed every assemblage of gold and silver artefacts found in ninth-century Northumbria, giving the first complete picture of precious metal in the kingdom.
He found silver was plentiful, and gold was present to a smaller but still significant extent. That suggests the kingdom debased its coinage by choice rather than necessity.
“The base-metal coins were of a lower value, allowing them to be used by more people, more frequently.”
John Luke Carson, Durham University
The copper-alloy coins were minted in greater quantities than the earlier silver coinage. According to the study, that brought economic and social benefits to ordinary people and let the king tax the growing activity of the mints.
Sources (3)
Peer-reviewed paperfrom Durham University
- Anglo-Saxon kingdom chose copper coins despite abundant silver (Phys.org)
- Medieval Kingdom Had Plenty of Silver but Chose Copper Coins, Study Finds (Medievalists.net)
- Anglo-Saxon kingdom chose copper coins despite having plenty of silver (Antiquity)
Paper: Carson, Debasement and the production of copper-alloy coins in ninth-century Northumbria, Antiquity (2026), doi:10.15184/aqy.2026.10454
Edited by Guiseppe Weijermars
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