Ask a number of people in the UK to name one of the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, and Mercia would perhaps be the most frequently mentioned. Although not a currently existing county or administrative area like Northumbria or Sussex – irrespective, both a police force and British Army regiment are named after it. Overall, the legacy of Mercia seems to have done a better job of surviving in the modern collective memory. This can be at the very least partially ascribed to its famed 8th-century king, Offa – who is widely regarded as the most powerful Anglo-Saxon king before Alfred of Wessex. The obverse legend on the coin shown here reads ‘+OFFA REX MERCI’ translating to ‘OFFA KING of the MERCIANS’ (Figure 1).
Occupying rather broadly around what is now the Midlands, Mercia’s ‘first town’ was that of Tamworth, followed closely by Repton. In addition to these, it also maintained control (both direct and indirect) over several other major settlements – including London, Canterbury, Rochester and Ipswich – which in addition to being major population centres and trade hubs were also important mint
