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Pierced silver penny of King Offa of Mercia by Lul, 792–96

Discover some of the coins in the Winchester Cabinet, a collection of over 3000 ancient coins, medals and tokens collected by William Eyre, an eighteenth-century barrister, held by Leeds Special Collections, University of Leeds Library.
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Pierced silver penny of King Offa of Mercia by Lul found in the Coin Collection at Special Collections, Leeds University Library
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Gold Angel of Charles I found in the Coin Collection at Special Collections, University of Leeds Library.
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Silver denarius by Lucius Hostilius Saserna found in the Coin Collection at Special Collections, University of Leeds Library.
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Gold aureus of Hadrian found in the Coin Collection at Special Collections, University of Leeds Library.
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Gold Gallo-Belgic Stater, Ambiani tribe, Picardy found in the Coin Collection at Special Collections, University of Leeds Library.
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Copper halfpenny token, Robert Wright, Alfreton found in the Coin Collection at Special Collections, University of Leeds Library.
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Silver tetradrachm, Athens, found in the Coin Collection at Special Collections, University of Leeds Library.
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Silver Shilling of Charles I, Pontefract Castle,found in the Coin Collection at Special Collections, University of Leeds Library.
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Gold solidus of Constans II, Constantinople, found in the Coin Collection at Special Collections, University of Leeds Library.
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Silver penny of Harold II, Canterbury, found in the Coin Collection at Special Collections, University of Leeds Library.
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Gold Fine sovereign of Mary I, London, found in the Coin Collection at Special Collections, University of Leeds Library.
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White metal medal by Bennett of Sarum, found in the Coin Collection at Special Collections, University of Leeds Library.
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Silver tetradrachm in the name of Alexander III, Macedonia, found in the Coin Collection at Special Collections, University of Leeds Library.
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Silver denarius of Julius Caesar, found in the Coin Collection at Special Collections, University of Leeds Library.
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Offa of Mercia managed to subject much of southern England during his reign, but he is perhaps most famous for the Dyke he built between his Midlands kingdom and Wales.

This penny, struck in East Anglia, follows a Mercian coinage reform of 792 and testifies to Offa's control. It was probably pierced to be used as an ornament, perhaps to show the attractive four-lobed design.