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History of the English penny (1154–1485)
The history of the English penny from 1154 to 1485 covers the period of the House of Plantagenet, up to the Battle of Bosworth Field which brought about the beginning of the Tudor period. The Plantagenet era saw an overall rise in quality of the coinage but saw a decline in the number of mints used to produce coins.
The first years of the reign of Henry II saw no change in the production of coins from the reign of Stephen, until the Tealby penny was introduced, minted from 1158 to 1180. These coins' weight and quality of silver were good, but the overall production was poor; as a result, in 1180 the short-cross penny was introduced.
The coinage during the reigns of Richard I and John remained largely unchanged. In 1247, under Henry III, the long-cross penny replaced the short-cross penny to deter clipping. In 1279 Edward I began a new coinage which was admired and imitated on the continent, and included the introduction of the farthing, halfpenny and groat, as well as making clipping easier to detect. This design remained similar throughout the reigns of Edward II and Edward III, with the addition of the quarter noble, half noble and noble in the latter's reign.
During the Wars of the Roses, Henry VI's administration kept a sufficient supply of coins in circulation, with many designs and variations of the penny minted. Henry would later be overthrown by Edward IV, who was in turn succeeded by Edward V, with Richard, Duke of Gloucester acting as Lord Protector. Richard became king in 1483 with only a small number of coins minted in his name, and was defeated at the Battle of Bosworth Field by Henry VII in 1485.
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 Stephen continued to be produced, but in order to restore public confidence in the currency a new standard was introduced: the Tealby penny, so named after a hoard of such coins was found at Tealby, Lincolnshire in 1807. A total of 30 mints were employed in the initial recoinage (the mint at Ipswich was not active during the early stages – but was extremely productive from class B until the end of the series). The mints in operation at the beginning of the recoinage were: Bedford, Bristol, Bury St Edmunds, Canterbury, Carlisle, Chester, Colchester, Durham, Exeter, Gloucester, Hereford, Ilchester, Launceston, Leicester, Lincoln, London, Newcastle, Northampton, Norwich, Oxford, Pembroke, Salisbury, Shrewsbury, Stafford, Thetford, Wallingford, Wilton, Winchester, and York. However, once the recoinage was completed only 12 mints were allowed to remain active. This marked the beginning of the gradual decline in the number of mints used to strike English coins.
While the Tealby coinage was acceptable in terms of weight and silver quality, the overall quality of production was quite poor. To remedy this, in 1180 a new style of coin, the short-cross penny, was introduced. This style remained largely unchanged until 1247, which gave both the coinage and the state a sense of stability. The practice of placing the moneyer's name and mint on the reverse continued, though the reduction in the number of mints enabled better quality control to be applied. The Tealby coins bear the obverse inscriptions HENRI REX ANG, HENRI REX AN, HENRI R ANG, HENRI REX, HENRI REX A, or HENRI REX – Henry King of England, or King Henry, while the short-cross pennies are inscribed HENRICUS REX. Short-cross coins were minted at Carlisle, Exeter, Lincoln, London, Northampton, Norwich, Oxford, Wilton, Winchester, Worcester, and York.
During the reign of King Richard I (1189–1199) the short-cross coinage continued unchanged, even to the extent of still being inscribed HENRICUS REX. Ricardian coins were minted at Canterbury, Carlisle, Durham, Exeter, Lichfield, Lincoln, London, Northampton, Norwich, Shrewsbury, Winchester, Worcester, and York.
King John's coins (1199–1216) continued the short-cross series, still inscribed HENRICUS REX. John's coins were minted at Bury St Edmunds, Canterbury, Carlisle, Chichester, Durham, Exeter, Ipswich, King's Lynn, Lincoln, London, Northampton, Norwich, Oxford, Rhuddlan (although many of the short-cross coins minted there were doubtless imitative issues by Llywelyn ap Iorwerth, prince of Wales, John's son-in-law), Rochester, Winchester, and York.
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History of the English penny (1154–1485) AI simulator
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History of the English penny (1154–1485)
The history of the English penny from 1154 to 1485 covers the period of the House of Plantagenet, up to the Battle of Bosworth Field which brought about the beginning of the Tudor period. The Plantagenet era saw an overall rise in quality of the coinage but saw a decline in the number of mints used to produce coins.
The first years of the reign of Henry II saw no change in the production of coins from the reign of Stephen, until the Tealby penny was introduced, minted from 1158 to 1180. These coins' weight and quality of silver were good, but the overall production was poor; as a result, in 1180 the short-cross penny was introduced.
The coinage during the reigns of Richard I and John remained largely unchanged. In 1247, under Henry III, the long-cross penny replaced the short-cross penny to deter clipping. In 1279 Edward I began a new coinage which was admired and imitated on the continent, and included the introduction of the farthing, halfpenny and groat, as well as making clipping easier to detect. This design remained similar throughout the reigns of Edward II and Edward III, with the addition of the quarter noble, half noble and noble in the latter's reign.
During the Wars of the Roses, Henry VI's administration kept a sufficient supply of coins in circulation, with many designs and variations of the penny minted. Henry would later be overthrown by Edward IV, who was in turn succeeded by Edward V, with Richard, Duke of Gloucester acting as Lord Protector. Richard became king in 1483 with only a small number of coins minted in his name, and was defeated at the Battle of Bosworth Field by Henry VII in 1485.
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 Stephen continued to be produced, but in order to restore public confidence in the currency a new standard was introduced: the Tealby penny, so named after a hoard of such coins was found at Tealby, Lincolnshire in 1807. A total of 30 mints were employed in the initial recoinage (the mint at Ipswich was not active during the early stages – but was extremely productive from class B until the end of the series). The mints in operation at the beginning of the recoinage were: Bedford, Bristol, Bury St Edmunds, Canterbury, Carlisle, Chester, Colchester, Durham, Exeter, Gloucester, Hereford, Ilchester, Launceston, Leicester, Lincoln, London, Newcastle, Northampton, Norwich, Oxford, Pembroke, Salisbury, Shrewsbury, Stafford, Thetford, Wallingford, Wilton, Winchester, and York. However, once the recoinage was completed only 12 mints were allowed to remain active. This marked the beginning of the gradual decline in the number of mints used to strike English coins.
While the Tealby coinage was acceptable in terms of weight and silver quality, the overall quality of production was quite poor. To remedy this, in 1180 a new style of coin, the short-cross penny, was introduced. This style remained largely unchanged until 1247, which gave both the coinage and the state a sense of stability. The practice of placing the moneyer's name and mint on the reverse continued, though the reduction in the number of mints enabled better quality control to be applied. The Tealby coins bear the obverse inscriptions HENRI REX ANG, HENRI REX AN, HENRI R ANG, HENRI REX, HENRI REX A, or HENRI REX – Henry King of England, or King Henry, while the short-cross pennies are inscribed HENRICUS REX. Short-cross coins were minted at Carlisle, Exeter, Lincoln, London, Northampton, Norwich, Oxford, Wilton, Winchester, Worcester, and York.
During the reign of King Richard I (1189–1199) the short-cross coinage continued unchanged, even to the extent of still being inscribed HENRICUS REX. Ricardian coins were minted at Canterbury, Carlisle, Durham, Exeter, Lichfield, Lincoln, London, Northampton, Norwich, Shrewsbury, Winchester, Worcester, and York.
King John's coins (1199–1216) continued the short-cross series, still inscribed HENRICUS REX. John's coins were minted at Bury St Edmunds, Canterbury, Carlisle, Chichester, Durham, Exeter, Ipswich, King's Lynn, Lincoln, London, Northampton, Norwich, Oxford, Rhuddlan (although many of the short-cross coins minted there were doubtless imitative issues by Llywelyn ap Iorwerth, prince of Wales, John's son-in-law), Rochester, Winchester, and York.