Early Northumbrian Coinage and Eadberht's Beast
Ronald Bude

• Saturday 10 June 2017, 4.30PM to 5.20pm
• Free admission
  Booking required
• K/133, King's Manor, Exhibition Square (map)
• No wheelchair access

Event details

Come see the beast! A mysterious beast, with subtle variations, appears on the coins of the following seventh and eighth century Northumbrian kings: Aldfrith, Eadberht, Alchred, Aethelred 1, and Aelfwald.

Join Ronald Bude of the University of Michigan, USA to discuss different examples of the beast and the possible significance of its features. He will show examples of ‘beast’ coins to stimulate discussion, while several stycas, bronze coins of 9th century Northumbrian kings, will be given to members of the audience to keep as reminders of this fascinating coinage.

Additionally, Ronald will present from a large ongoing study of the Northumbrian regal coinage other interesting aspects of this rare, fascinating, and incompletely understood series, including the bizarre results from a die-cutter who Ronald has named ‘retrograde man’. Finally, he will discuss the results of high technology techniques analysing these coins, such as micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, to show some of the interesting things that can be discovered about this coinage with methods the Northumbrians never could have dreamt about.

About the speaker

Ronald Bude is a Professor of Radiology at the University of Michigan, USA. A medical researcher by day, he is a dedicated Northumbrian coinage researcher at night and on weekends.

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