THIS PAPER ASSESSES the provenance and general distribution of coins of the period c ad 600-780 found in the west of Anglo-Saxon Wessex. It shows that the distribution of coin finds is not a function of the habits of metal detectorists, but a reflection of the real pattern of losses. In the second part of the paper, an analysis of the observed distributions is presented which reveals that the bulk of trade, of which the coins are a sign, was carried on through local ports and that foreign trade was not mediated through Hamwic, but came directly from the Continent. The distribution of coin finds also suggests an important export trade, probably in wool and woollen goods, controlled from major local centres. There are also hints of a potentially older trade system in which hillforts and other open sites were important.As recently as 1997, Christopher Scull characterised the economy of the 7th and 8th century as 'largely redistributive '. 6 There is no doubt about the importance of many of these early places with planned streets and permanent occupation, but the discovery of so many coins at other sites, such as Tilbury on the Thames and Bawsey in Norfolk, has shown that the economy was much more monetised than has been recognised hitherto and that signs of coin and exchange were likely at many elite places which were not necessarily 'urban'. 7 The later discovery of 'productive sites', which are open sites normally found by metal detectorists, has added a further layer of complexity, and shows that there was a very active network of trade and exchange covering at least the eastern side of Britain. Work on trading sites in Lincolnshire has shown the depth of insight possible with attention to the careful mapping of finds. 8 Michael Metcalf 's discussion of coin finds in the East Midlands has added to the pattern of 'productive sites', including Linton and Biddenham in Cambridgeshire, this last on the boundary with Bedfordshire, and Six Hills in Nottinghamshire, close to the Leicestershire border. 9 The discoveries also show that the wics must be seen as part of a complex system which linked communities, and demonstrate the extent of travel and communications in 7th-and 8th-century Britain. The realisation that this coinage was used for commercial transactions, rather than simply as part of gift exchange, has also transformed our understanding of the nature of middle Anglo-Saxon society. This was certainly not a world in which economic relationships were expressed through 'markets', but neither was it a command economy. As this paper seeks to demonstrate, there was considerable flexibility in trading and exchange patterns. The flows of money do cast a light into some otherwise dark corners.While these recent studies have revolutionised our view of middle Anglo-Saxon societies in the south-east, East Anglia and the East Midlands, less attention has been paid to the growth of trade and exchange within early Wessex, apart from the case of Hamwic. 10 However, there is now an expanding corpus of coins which are now kno...
