Anlaf Guthfrithsson, The Battle of Brunanburh, and a celebrated Viking Penny

Anlaf (Olaf) Guthfrithsson is mainly known for his rule of the Dublin Vikings (934-939), his role in the Battle of Brunanburh (937), and also for an iconic silver penny issued in York in about 939-941 (shown below). Anlaf Guthfrithsson was the son of Gofraid ua Ímair (Guthfrith) and great-grandson of Ímar (Ivar), making him one of the Uí Ímair. Olaf succeeded his father as King of Hiberno-Scandinavian (Irish-Viking) Dubliners in 934 and established dominance over the Vikings of Limerick, capturing their king, Amlaíb Cenncairech, in 937. That same year he allied with Constantine II of Scotland in an attempt to reclaim the Kingdom of Northumbria which his father had ruled briefly in 927. The forces of Olaf and Constantine were defeated by the English led by Æthelstan at the Battle of Brunanburh in 937, after which Anlaf retired to Ireland. Following Æthelstan's death in 939, Olaf established himself as king in York, with his brother Blácaire mac Gofraid being left to rule in D...