The local dies sunk in Durham around 1300 during the reign of Edward I produced a small series of scarce coins often not recognised by collectors. These coins were discussed by J.J.North in a ground- breaking article in the British Numismatic Journal, 1984. In it he discussed some reverse local dies which carry very distinctive lettering. Only recently discovered is an obverse die with the same unusual lettering. The coin is now in the author’s collection.
Plantagenets
A New Sub Variety of Edward I Penny Class 3a London Mint – D. I. Greenhalgh
A New sub-type of Edward I penny of London for Class 3a. The Early sub classes of class 3 are surprisingly scarce and so it is of note when a new die comes up especially when it is possible to place the coin right at the start of the Class 3a issue.
A Guide to the Long Cross Pennies of Henry III (and Edward I) – Rob Page
I have recently updated my online guide to the voided long cross coinage of Henry III and Edward I. The link below provides access to the booklet that can be read online, and also a downloadable version. The target audience comprises not only collectors and students of Plantagenet coinage, but also metal detectorists. Minor updates were made in August 2020.
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 13th century, and would have been involved in trade with the continent.
A Second Find of a Rare Henry III Long Cross Class 2a/1b Mule – Robert Page
The first Henry III long cross class 2a/1b mule was discovered by a metal detectorist in 2006 and until recently was the only known specimen. This short article documents a second example of this rare class that was found by a detectorist in south Bedfordshire last year. If any reader knows of any additional examples the author would appreciate being informed. Please click here to read the article.
Edward III Florin coinage of Durham – The “VILA” reverse die – Denis Martin
The third coinage of Edward III, usually referred to as the Florin coinage, is a complex issue particularly so in the case of those coins produced at the Durham mint. This article focuses on a particularly puzzling reverse die, the VILA or Villa die, which has been shown to have been used in the period 1348 to 1351 towards the end of the series. The author has identified two VILA dies, described how they can be distinguished and produced a corpus of the coins known to him. Click here to access the article
A New Mint for Edward I class 3b/c Transitional Pennies – D. I Greenhalgh
All the recent works for Edward I pennies give the mints that struck for the rare sub-class issue of class 3b/c transitional pennies as London and Canterbury; this note documents the recent discovery of a class 3b/c penny from the York mint. Click here to access the article.
The Recent Finds of Two Late Coins of London from the Long Cross Series in the Name of Henry III – Bob Thomas
Two previously undescribed Henry III long cross pennies are described and discussed. Both are late coins of Renavd of London, issued posthumously in the early years of the reign of Edward I. Click here to access the article. Scroll down this page in order to comment on the article.
An Intriguing Edward I Penny mule of Berwick – Denis Martin
The BNJ of 1977 included an article by C.J.Wood examining early penny dies of Edward I from the Berwick mint. In it he mentioned a mule coin of type Ia/IIa which displayed a double initial cross although there was no indication as to where he had seen an example. The author of this note has been looking out for this die combination for many years but only recently, like London buses, two have come along. Annoyingly, the first to turn up had the region of the initial cross poorly struck up although in other respects it had the other features mentioned by Wood. Fortunately, the second coin to come along was much more conclusive…..! CLICK HERE TO READ THE RESEARCH NOTE To provide comments on the article please scroll down to the bottom of this page.
Henry III Long Cross Pennies: The Sub-division of Class 1a – Robert Page
This short note proposes a refinement to the classification of the class 1a long cross pennies of Henry III. The recognition of some 1a coins without a caul over the king’s head allows subdivision of class 1a into two sub-classes. If any readers have class 1a coins in their collections, Rob would love to hear from you. Please leave any comments regarding that article by clicking on the comment icon below. CLICK HERE TO READ THE RESEARCH NOTE To provide comments on the article please scroll down to the bottom of this page.
BNS Research Blog 