The styca (; . ''stycas'') was a small coin minted in pre-

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

Northumbria la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria , common_name = Northumbria , status = State , status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...

, originally in base silver and subsequently in a copper alloy. Production began in the 790s and continued until the 850s, though the coin remained in circulation until the Viking conquest of Northumbria in 867.

Etymology

The coin's name derives from

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

'' styċċe'' , meaning "piece."

History

Kings of Northumbria AE Styca Aethelred II

Stycas were first minted in the reign of

Æthelred I of Northumbria Æthelred (; c. 762 – 18 April 796), was the king of Northumbria from 774 to 779 and again from 790 until he was murdered in 796. He was the son of Æthelwald Moll and Æthelthryth and possibly became king while still a child after ...

(790–796), replacing the earlier

sceat A ( ; ang, sceatt , ) was a small, thick silver coin minted in England, Frisia, and Jutland during the Anglo-Saxon period that normally weighed 0.8–1.3 grams. History Its name derives from Old English ', meaning "wealth", "money", and "c ...

which ceased production in c. 790. They were initially made from a debased alloy of silver, and from c. 830 until c. 835 they were also minted in a copper alloy. Production switched over entirely to copper in c. 837 and lasted until c. 855. Production ceased at this time, though the coin remained in circulation until the

conquest of Northumbria in 867. Cook, Williams, and Archibald, p. 214 Stycas were unique to Northumbria; from the late eighth century onwards the other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms minted only silver pennies based on the Frankish denier. The vast number of copper stycas which are known to exist indicates that production from the 830s onwards was both intensive and constant. The large quantity of stycas produced, combined with the fact that large numbers of stycas are clearly of unofficial creation, might suggest a reason as to why production was halted in the reign of

Osberht of Northumbria Osberht (died 21 March 867) was king of Northumbria in the middle of the 9th century. Sources on Northumbrian history in this period are limited. Osberht's descent is not known and the dating of his reign is problematic. Chronicles Osberht becam ...

Design

With a few exceptions, the various issues of stycas share a common design standard. Typically the name of the issuing king (or archbishop) appears on one side surrounding a central motif, and the name of the moneyer who made the coin appears on the other side. Common central motifs include simple cruciform designs and rings of annulets. Exceptions include those stycas made by the moneyer Leofdegn during the reign of

Æthelred II of Northumbria Æthelred was king of Northumbria in the middle of the ninth century, but his dates are uncertain. N. J. Higham gives 840 to 848, when he was killed, with an interruption in 844 when Rædwulf usurped the throne, but was killed the same year fi ...

. These stycas feature much more elaborate designs including complex central cruciform devices and one issue in particular features both a hound and a

triquetra The triquetra ( ; from the Latin adjective ''triquetrus'' "three-cornered") is a triangular figure composed of three interlaced arcs, or (equivalently) three overlapping '' vesicae piscis'' lens shapes. It is used as an ornamental design in ar ...

on the same side.

Spink Spink may refer to: * Spink, County Laois, a village in Ireland * Spink County, South Dakota, US * Spink Township, Union County, South Dakota, US * Spink & Son, a UK auction and collectibles company * Spink GAA, a Gaelic football club in Ireland ...

, pp. 103–105

Hoards

Hoards that consist of stycas, or where stycas are part of the assemblage, include: *

Hexham Hoard The Hexham hoard is a 9th-century hoard of eight thousand copper-alloy coins of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria, which were discovered whilst a grave was being dug close to Hexham Abbey in 1832. Discovery The hoard was uncovered on ...

Kirkoswald Hoard The Kirkoswald Hoard is a ninth-century hoard of 542 copper alloy coins of the Kingdom of Northumbria and a silver trefoil ornament, which were discovered amongst tree roots in 1808 within the parish of Kirkoswald in Cumbria, UK. Discovery ...

* St Leonard's Place hoard *

Talnotrie Hoard The Talnotrie Hoard is a 9th-century mixed hoard of jewellery, coinage, metal-working objects and raw materials found in Talnotrie, Scotland, in 1912. Initially assumed to have belonged to a Northumbrian metal-worker, more recent interpretations ...

References

Bibliography