Thethrymsa (Old English:þrymsa) was a gold coin minted in seventh-centuryAnglo-SaxonEngland. It originated as a copy ofMerovingiantremisses and earlier Roman coins with a high gold content. Continued debasement between the 630s and the 650s reduced the gold content in newly minted coins such that after c. 655 the percentage of gold in a new coin was less than 35%. The thrymsa ceased to be minted after about 675 and was superseded by the silversceat.

The first thrymsas were minted in England in the 630s. These earliest coins were created at mints in Canterbury, London, and perhaps also Winchester.Charles Arnold-Baker in hisCompanion to British History suggests that the impetus for the creation of this coin was increased commerce following the marriage ofÆthelberht of Kent andBertha of Kent, a daughter of theFrankish kingCharibert I.^[1] Thrymsas originally contained between 40% and 70% gold, but following continued debasement those coins minted after c. 655 contained less than 35% gold. Gold coins ceased to be minted completely by about 675, after which the silversceat was minted instead.^[2] The term thrymsa is used in laterAnglo-Saxon texts to refer to a value of foursilver pennies.^[3] Thrymsas are known to modern numismatists through their discovery in various hoards, notably theCrondall Hoard.^[4] Theship-burial atSutton Hoo, which dates from the early seventh-century contained 37Merovingiantremisses but no Anglo-Saxon coins.^{[nb 1]} The Crondall hoard by contrast, dated to after c. 630, contained 101 gold coins, of which 69 were Anglo-Saxon and 24 were Merovingian orFrankish.^[6]

Early thrymsas were imitations of Merovingian tremisses or earlier Roman coins.^[2] They weighed between 1 and 3 grams (0.032 and 0.096 ozt), and had a diameter of approximately 13 millimetres (0.51 in).^[7] Later thrymsas feature various different designs, including busts, crosses, lyre-like objects and Roman legionary ensigns. Inscriptions are also common features, and sometimes appear in Latin script and sometimes inAnglo-Saxon runes.^[2]

• History of the English penny (c. 600 – 1066)
• Coinage in Anglo-Saxon England

Comparison of continental and English coins:

• 
  Tremissis of aFrankish kingDagobert I (c. 603–639 AD)
• 
  Gold Thrymsa c. 620–645 AD from theCrondall hoard inHampshire
• 
  Thrymsa found inSuffolk, c. 500–675
• 
  York thrymsa, metal-detected find

Wikimedia Commons has media related toThrymsa.

• Arnold-Baker, Charles (30 July 2015).The Companion to British History. Taylor & Francis.ISBN 978-1-317-40039-4.
• Campbell, J. (2004)."Rædwald (d. 616x27)".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/23265. Retrieved14 March 2016. (Subscription orUK public library membership required.)
• Davies, Glyn (1 September 2010).History of Money. University of Wales Press.ISBN 978-0-7083-2379-3.
• Grierson, Philip;Blackburn, Mark (2 July 2007).Medieval European Coinage: Volume 1, The Early Middle Ages (5th–10th Centuries). Cambridge University Press.ISBN 978-0-521-03177-6.
• Page, Raymond Ian (1973).An introduction to English runes. Methuen; distributed by Harper & Row, Barnes & Noble Export Division, New York.ISBN 9780416662306.
• Skingley, Philip, ed. (2014).Coins of England & the United Kingdom: Standard Catalogue of British Coins 2015. Spink & Sons Ltd.ISBN 978-1-907427-43-5.
• Cook, Barrie J.; Williams, Gareth;Archibald, Marion (2006).Coinage And History in the North Sea World, C. AD 500–1250: Essays in Honour of Marion Archibald. BRILL.ISBN 90-04-14777-2.

• Anglo-Saxon money
• Gold coins

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Articles containing Old English (ca. 450-1100)-language text
• Commons category link from Wikidata
• Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the ODNB