1 Penny - Alfred the Great

Reverse

London monogram.

Script: Latin

Edge

Plain

Comment

Alfred the Great (849 – 26 October 899) (Old English: Ælfrēd, Ælfrǣd, "elf counsel" or "wise elf") was King of Wessex from 871 to 899.

Alfred successfully defended his kingdom against the Viking attempt at conquest, and by the time of his death had become the dominant ruler in England. He is one of only two English monarchs to be given the epithet "the Great", the other one being Cnut the Great (although Cnut was not Saxon, but Danish). He was also the first King of the West Saxons to style himself "King of the Anglo-Saxons". Details of Alfred's life are described in a work by the 10th-century Welsh scholar and bishop Asser. A devout Christian, Alfred had a reputation as a learned and merciful man of a gracious and level-headed nature who encouraged education and improved his kingdom's legal system, military structure and his people's quality of life.
Wikipedia


This replica of the penny was struck during the British Empire Exhibition in 1924, by men in Saxon clothes using traditional methods of stricking.
More than then thousands pennies would have been struck and sold for 6 pence each.

Apparently, several dies were made. There are two varieties for the date. On the first one, 1924 can be found on obverse on left side of the armour (picture). On the other one, the date is located on reverse, left to London monogram.