Edward the Confessor of Edward's lands exceeded that of the greatest earls, but they were scattered among the southern earldoms. He had no personal powerbase, and he does not seem to have attempted to build one. In 1050–51 he even paid off the fourteen foreign ships which constituted his standing navy and abolished the tax raised to pay for it. However, in ecclesiastical and foreign affairs he was able to follow his own policy. King Magnus I of Norway aspired to the English throne, and in 1045 and 1046, fearing an invasion, Edward took command of the fleet at Sandwich. Beorn's elder brother,
History of the English penny (1154–1485) rare – only one penny is known which was produced in the London mint. History of the English penny (1154–1485) This is the history of the English penny from the years 1154 to 1485. King Henry II ascended the throne in 1154 as the first of the Plantagenet dynasty. For the first few years of his reign the coins of King Stephen continued to be produced, but in order to restore public confidence in the currency a new standard was introduced, known as the Tealby penny after a hoard of such coins which was found at Tealby, Lincolnshire in 1807.