 In the early 870s the first round halfpennies were produced under Alfred the Great and Ceolwulf II of Mercia; these were produced sporadically and in small quantity until Edgar's reform of the 970s, after which it became common to cut whole pennies into halves and quarters, often at the time of production.The only known examples of larger silver denominations are two 'offering pieces' produced in the reign of Alfred the Great weighing the equivalent of six regular pennies, which were made as alms-pieces, probably to be sent abroad.Although gold ceased to be the predominant form of currency in the 7th century, from the late 8th century onwards there was some use of fine gold coinage for special, high-value transactions.