. Chambers's encyclopedia; a dictionary of universal knowledge for the people. shews hardly a trace of the influence of Eome; itconsists of two small coins, called the skeatta andstyca, the former of silver, the latter of cop^ seem to belong solely to the Saxon kingdom ofNorthumbria; they are without inscriptions; abird, a rude prolilo, and several unintelligible sym-bols appear on them, and their art is of the mostdebased kind. In the other kingdoms of tlie hep-tarchy silver pennies were coined, first intended tobe oi-yth of a pound weight; on the disappearanceof skeattre and stycie,
. Chambers's encyclopedia; a dictionary of universal knowledge for the people. shews hardly a trace of the influence of Eome; itconsists of two small coins, called the skeatta andstyca, the former of silver, the latter of cop^ seem to belong solely to the Saxon kingdom ofNorthumbria; they are without inscriptions; abird, a rude prolilo, and several unintelligible sym-bols appear on them, and their art is of the mostdebased kind. In the other kingdoms of tlie hep-tarchy silver pennies were coined, first intended tobe oi-yth of a pound weight; on the disappearanceof skeattre and stycie, they form, with the occa-sional addition of halfpennies, the sole currency ofEngland down to the reign of Edward III. Thepennies of the hejitarchy bear the name of the kingor of the moueyer ; a cross sometimes appears afterthe introduction of Christianity, and in later times arude head of the king or queen. The pennies of theSaxon and Danish sole monarchs of England, havea somewhat similar character. Alfreds earlier coinshave a grotesque-looking portrait, and on the reverse. a monogram of London ; in his later coins the headdisappears, and a cross and circle take its cross, variously ornamented with three pellets ineach angle, continues to be the usual reverse of theSaxon, Norman, and Plantagenet coins. The coinsof Edward III. are a great artistic advance on thosethat preceded them. The silver coinage of that kingconsisted not only of pennies, halfpennies, andfarthings, but also of groats and half-groats. Theobverse of the groat bears a conventional crownedhead within a flowered circle of nine arches, thewords Dei Gratia and the title Eex Franciajappearing for the first time in the legend. Thereverse has the motto Posui Deum adjutoremmeum, which continued on the coinage till thetime of Edward V. But the great numismaticfeature of Edward reign is the issue of goldnobles, worth six shillings and eightpence. Theobverse of those beautiful coins represent the kingin a
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