There was often a tension between the value of a medieval coin as a unit of currency, and its value as a precious metal. This system was slowly dismantled over the medieval period, however, as the number of mints was reduced.Ī King John silver penny, cut into halves to create smaller change The Crown made its own profits out of the process, by charging the moneyers or their local communities a fixed fee for the right to carry out the work. This process also allowed moneyers to create at least two and a half percent more coins than would otherwise have been the case, which they were then allowed to keep as, effectively, their profits for carrying out the minting. When making the coins, moneyers would add a small quantity of non-precious metals to the silver to produce a harder alloy, which was essential if the coins were to be sufficiently durable to be used in trade. The scale of this work was impressive there were huge numbers of coins in circulation, all of which had to manufactured and regularly remade by hand by the mints. Silver coins were relatively soft and wore away with regular use, so their owners would routinely take them into a local mint to be restruck. There were around 70 local mints in the 11th century, but the work was increasingly centralised and by the 14th century there were only a handful left.įrom time to time the Crown would recall, melt down and reissue all the English coinage, but there in between there remained a need to regularly recycle existing coins. Detailed instructions and orders were sent out to the regional mints, where local moneyers would carry out the work.
These were then struck with a hammer to imprint the design, after which the coin was trimmed by hand to make it circular.Īfter the Norman conquest, this process was controlled centrally by the Crown, which determined the designs, weight and metal content of the coins. Medieval coins were minted by hand, by placing a square piece of blank metal between the two halves of a die, called a pile and trussel. TitleĪn Edward IV gold angel coin, displaying the Archangel Gabriel slaying a dragon Shillings, pounds, marks and ora had no physical coinage associated with them: they were simply “units of account”. Financial sums could also be recorded in marks (160 pence) and ora (originally 16 pence, later 20 pence). Financial records, such as deposit, debts or contracts, were usually written down in terms of silver pennies, but larger sums were recorded in shillings (one shilling equating to 12 pence) and pounds (240 pence). Gold coins were always much more valuable than the silver coins used in normal life.īut not all money existed in the form of coins. In 1465, the rose noble was created, worth 120 pence, and the angel, worth 80 pence. The noble followed, worth 80 pence, again with half and quarter versions. The leopard was officially valued the same as 72 silver pence, and also had half and quarter equivalents. Gold coins only became used more generally after 1344, when the leopard coin was issued. Gold coins were first introduced in 1257, when a gold penny, designed for alms-giving, was issued by the English mints. The groat, a larger silver coin worth 4 pence, was introduced in 1279, followed by the half-groat, worth 2 pence. Since they were too valuable for many day-to-day purchases, pennies were sometimes cut into halves or quarters to create smaller change, until halfpennies and farthings began to be introduced in 1279 as alternatives. Silver pennies were thin coins, about 1.5 cm (0.59 in) across – 240 pennies weighed the same as 349 grams (12.3 oz) of silver, also known as a “tower pound”. The penny formed the main currency throughout the period.
Firstly, there were coins, the most widespread of which was the silver penny, first introduced by Offa, the King of Mercia, in the 8th century. Medieval money came in different denominations and valueĮnglish money in the medieval period took several forms.