Canute was crowned King of England in 1017. Under his name the country divided into the four great earldoms of Wessex, Mercia, East Anglia and Northumbria. The discovery of a coin of Cnut at Whithorn shows that this part of south-west Scotland was still in contact - probably through trade - with Anglo-Saxon England.
The obverse has the legend + CNV / TREXA (King Knut) around a helmeted bust facing left, with a sceptre in front. The reverse has + LEOFPINEONLEI, the name of Leofwine, the moneyer at the Chester Mint where the coin was struck.