A Rare “Cut Half” Rescued from a Leicestershire Field: Henry III, Class 1a – Continental Imitation – Robert Page

A coin recently spotted on a popular online auction site has been identified as a very rare continental imitation of a Henry III class 1a long cross penny.   It was a Leicestershire metal detecting find and is a “cut half” which originated from the German town of Blomberg in Westphalia.  It is not surprising that this continental imitation has been found in Leicestershire as the county had flourishing cloth and wool industries in the first half of the 13^th century, and would have been involved in trade with the continent.