Sceat

A sceat (pl. sceattas) was a small, thick silver coin minted in England, Frisia and Jutland during the Anglo-Saxon period.

Its name derives from Old English sceatt, meaning "wealth", "money", and "coin", which has been applied to these coins since the 17th century based on interpretations of the legal codes of Mercia and of Kent under its king Æthelberht. It is likely, however, that the coins were more often known to contemporaries as "pennies" (Old English: peningas), much like their successor silver coins. They are very diverse, organized into over a hundred numbered types derived from the British Museum Catalogue of the 1890s and by broader alphabetical classifications laid out by British numismatist Stuart Rigold in the 1970s.

The huge volume of finds made in the last thirty years using metal detectors has radically altered understanding of this coinage and, while it is now clear that these coins were in everyday use across eastern and southern England in the early 8th century, it is also apparent that the current organization is in considerable need of adjustment.

Sceattas rarely carry legends of any kind, though a small number do name the mint of London and others carry short runic legends such as 'Aethiliraed' and 'Efe', which probably refer to moneyers rather than kings.

Although sceattas present many problems of organization, attribution, and dating, they also carry a breathtaking variety of designs bespeaking extensive Celtic, classical, and Germanic influences. These designs include human figures, animals, birds, crosses, plants, and monsters, all of which have been recently elucidated by Anna Gannon. Tony Abramson has published an illustrated guide for nonexperts. One series (U), has been linked to King Aethelbald of Mercia (716-57) on the basis of its iconography, though this attribution is tenuous and recent research suggests it is very unlikely. It has also been suggested on the basis of the iconography of certain sceattas that they were issued by ecclesiastical authorities, such as bishops or abbots. Minting may not have been a strictly urban or secular prerogative, and coins were used for many payments and purposes beyond pure commercial buying and selling.

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