A short piece highlighting the attempt to seize and hold the English throne by Prince Louis of France during the time that the short cross pennies were being issued.
Prince Louis Penny of London – Josh Catermole
A short piece highlighting the attempt to seize and hold the English throne by Prince Louis of France during the time that the short cross pennies were being issued.
BNS Research Blog 
Tantalizing comment, leading to a number of questions. While the coin designs of this period were notoriously stable and static in England, there seems to be increasing interest in finding subtle stylistic clues to reveal contemporary political influences. While Josh comments that the ornate lettering can’t be attributed to any influence from Louis, it would be highly interesting to know if there was any direct link or influence between the Louis “regime” and the mint production, or even better, coin designs. Derek Keene* acknowledges that the political turmoil in this period had a direct effect on the moneyers and mint output, and notes that there were four moneyers during this period (1218), although he states that by 1216 London’s mint output had fallen to “practically nothing”. I wonder if any of the other moneyers had unusual aspects to their coins also. It’s an interesting area of potential study, if perhaps also vulnerable to lots of wishful thinking.
*Derek Keene, “London Moneyers in the 13th Century”. Podcast of Univ of London School of Advanced Study seminar “Medieval Merchants and Money: a conference in celebration of the work of Professor James L. Bolton, Jan. 6, 2014”