The small gouges on the coin are known as’peck’ marks and were made with a knife to test the purity of the silver. The Anglo-Saxons would have had no need to do this, as the bust of Æthelred on the coin was a royal guarantee of its value: this coin could be exchanged for a penny worth of goods. These pennies circulated widely throughout Medieval Europe and the consistent quality led to several regional imitations of the type both in the UK and in mainland Europe. It was monied by Godwine.