ANGLO-SAXON, Substantive Gold Phase. Eadbald. King of Kent, 616-640. AV Thrymsa – Shilling (10mm, 1.32 g, 2h). Canterbury mint. Good VF.

Triton XXIX
Lot: 1104. Estimated: $ 10 000

British, Gold

Sold For $ 30 000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

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ANGLO-SAXON, Substantive Gold Phase. Eadbald. King of Kent, 616-640. AV Thrymsa – Shilling (10mm, 1.32 g, 2h). Canterbury mint. [ENVA]LD REG , diademed bust right / + DORO[VERNI]S, cross on globe within beaded circle. EMC 2023.0159 (this coin); Abramson, Gold 410 = A&W type V.xvi, 307 = MEC 8 table 4, no. 9a and 3 = Blackburn, “Two New Types of Anglo-Saxon Gold Shillings,” in Coinage and History in the North Sea World c. 500-1250, (Leiden: Brill, 2006), fig. 3 var. (legends); Sutherland –; Metcalf –; North –; SCBC 758A. A few minor marks. Good VF. Extremely rare and important. The second known thrymsa of Eanbald from Canterbury.

Found near Canterbury, late 2022.

The first and only king to be named on a coin in this period, Eadbald’s succession to the Kentish throne proved a considerable setback to the nascent English Church established by St. Augustine during the reign of Aethelberht, Eadbald’s father, the first Anglo-Saxon king to be baptized. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for 616 relates that Eabald ‘abandoned his baptism and lived by heathen custom, inasmuch as he had his father’s widow as wife. Then Laurentius, who was Archbishop in Kent, decided to go south across the sea to Rome and abandon it all: but the apostle Peter came to him in the night and fiercely scourged him because he wished to abandon God’s flock thus, and ordered him to go to the king and preach the true faith to him. And he did so and the king was baptized.’ Eadbald would go on to rule for 25 years during which time he successfully maintained Kentish independence against the growing power of Northumbria, helped foster the growth of the English Church and retain relations with Merovingian Gaul. The present coin is only the second known thrymsa of Eadbald from the Canterbury mint, with the other example in the Fitzwilliam Museum.

The final winners of all Triton XXIX lots will be determined at the live public sale that will be held on 13-14 January 2026.

Triton XXIX – Session Four – Lot 920-1141 will be held Wednesday afternoon, 14 January 2026 beginning at 2:00 PM ET.

Winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 25% for all others.

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