Hammered Coins



Stephen 1135-1154, Penny,

We would like to thank Marshall Faintich, Ph.D. for his help with this coin

Hi Gary,
Your coin is indeed a Stephen penny - a BMC type I (Spink #1278). The first regular issue of Stephen has a bust right with sceptre on the obverse, and a cross moline on the reverse, and is called the Watford type because of the large hoard of over 600 coins of this type found in Watford, Herts in 1818. Your coin was struck between 1136 and c.1145.
The obverse legend can be one of several forms similar to +STIEFNE R(E)(X) - usually
the RE type is older than the R type, and the REX type is the oldest.
I can't tell the name of the moneyer or the mint from the scans you sent.
The reverse legend is usually in the form of + MONEYER: ON: MINT: , sometimes with colon stops between the words.
Your coin appears to be in nice condition, except for being bent. I would leave straightening it to an expert, because the silver can become brittle over time, and the coin can break.

You made a great find - congratulations!

Cheers, Marshall


King John Short cross penny

king John, Lackland (1199-1216 AD)
Born: 24 December 1167
John was remembered by Sir Richard Bakerbr in A Chronicle of the Kings of England: " .his works of piety were very many . . As for his actions, he neither came to the crown by justice, nor held it with any honour, nor left it peace."

Alexander III Long cross penny, 23 points so it comes from ..look below

1249 1290 Alexander III Of Scotland
Generally it is believed that coins with differing
numbers of points are from the following mints:
20 points - Edinburgh
23 points - Aberdeen
24 points - Berwick
25 points - Roxburgh
26 points - Perth
Coins with 21, 22, 27, and 28 points have
not been associated with any known town,
and certainly must have come from much smaller locales.

King Henry III Long Cross penny
a Class IIIb of Winchester, the moneyer is IVRDAN.

Henry III (1216-72 AD)
Born 1 October 1207 at Winchester Castle. Died 16 November 1272 at the Palace of Westminster
Son of King John and Isabella (of Angouleme)
Henry III, the first monarch to be crowned in his minority, inherited the throne at the age of nine.

Henry III (1216-72 AD)
Half cut Long cross penny

Edward I, Long cross penny
Edward I, Longshanks (1272-1307) Born: 17 June 1239
nicknamed "Longshanks" due to his great height and stature, was perhaps the most successful of the medieval monarchs.

Edward I, Long cross penny
London mint (1272-1307 AD)

Henry VI - Annulet issue 1422-7.
Annulets by neck/Annulets in 2
quarters of reverse. VILLA CALIS = Calais Mint.
Henry VI (1422-61, 1470-71 AD)
Henry VI was born on December 6, 1421. He married Margaret of Anjou in 1445; the union produced one son, Edward, who was killed in battle one day before Henry's execution. He was king of both England and France, but a protector ruled each realm. The whole of Henry's reign was involved with retaining both of his crowns - in the end, he held neither.

King Edward Long Cross Penny

Mary groat

Queen Mary 1553- 1558
Mary reigned alone from 1553 to 1554, then jointly with her husband Philip Hapsburg of Spain, the son of the Emperor Charles V, until 1558.
The groat was the largest silver coin issued during Mary's sole reign.

Edward, My first hammered coin

My first hammered silver coin.
It had been a beautiful baking hot day. I had spent about seven hours on a club dig walking up and down with not much to show for it.
There must have been about sixty of us out that day and most had already packed up and gone home.
I must admit I was ready to call it a day. Then I started to chat with an old chap Merlin, he agreed that it had not been easy that day but added if you don't go over it you wont find it. I wished him luck and decided to have another hour. The old XLT is not the lightest of machines to swing around all day. I crossed the field once more halfway across I got a faint two-way signal, I looked at the meter it read 8 ½" I decided to dig, two minutes later I was sitting on the ground and in my open palm this little silver face was looking up at me. I think its times like these that stay with you for the rest of your life. I still remember that tremendous feeling.

Elizabeth I Threepence 1578
Elizabeth I (1558-1603 AD)
Elizabeth I was born in 1533 to
Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.
Good Queen Bess, She never married Elizabeth, the last of the Tudors, died at seventy years of age after a very successful forty-four year reign.

Elizabeth I Half cut Groat 1596

Elizabeth I halfgroat -1558-1603-

Elizabeth I, no date

Elizabeth I, Sixpence, no date

Elizabeth I, Sixpence, no date


Elizabeth I, Shilling 1560

I think this is a Charles I, half groat Charles I (1625-1649) Charles I was born in 1600, the second son of
James I and Anne of Denmark. In 1648, Charles was put on trial for treason; the tribunal, by a vote of 68 to 67, found the king guilty and ordered his execution in 1649

I think this is a Charles I, penny

I think this is a Charles I, Six pence

Fig 001 ???

Fig 002 ???

Fig 003 ???

Fig 004 ???

Fig 005 ???

Fig 006 ???

Fig 007 ???

Think its a Scottish mark, probably James 6th

Double Groat, five-cent piece or White penny.
If anyone can add to this please do.

Bistum Utrecht Dubbele groot
This coin is a bit of a puzzle, there is a mint mark of the town where it was made But it was made somewhere else.???
It's a coin of the Bishop of Utrecht. Made by David from Bourgondië (1455-1496). The name of the coin: is Double Groat, five-cent piece or White penny. It was made in Deventer between 1468 - 1474
The front: Shows a Shield of Deventer, slanting under the shield of Oversticht
Moneta.Nova / De Daventria: meaning "New money of Deventer"
The other side of the coin: ANNO / DOMIN /
Long cross, centre of the shield of Bourgondië (from Bishop David)
15. Jahrhundert Bistum Utrecht Dubbele groot 14?? (1468-1474)
Münzherr: David van Bourgondië (1455-1496)
Münzherr: Deventer Literatur: Van der Chijs XVII-14 usw.

Coins that were struck by hand with a hammer hence the name.
Hammered Coin Category

Early Anglo Saxon Circa 600 - 775
- Thrymsas
- Sceattes
- Kings Of Northumbria
- Archbishops of York

Middle Anglo Saxon Circa 780 - 973
- Kings of Kent
- Archbishops of Canterbury
- Kings of Mercia
- Kings of Anglia

Vikings Circa 885 - 954

Kings of Wessex 789 - 959

Late Anglo Saxon Kings
- Eagar
- Edward the Martyr
- Aethelred II
- Cnut
- Harold I
- Harthacnut
- Edward the Confessor
- Harold II

Norman Kings 1066 - 1154
William I, William II, Henry I, Stephen, Civil War and the Anarchy

Plantagenet Kings 1154 - 1399
Henry II, Richard I, John, Henry III, Edward I, Edward II, Edward III, Richard II

House of Lancaster 1399 - 1461
Henry IV , Henry V, Henry VI, First Reign

House of York 1461 - 1485
Edward IV, Henry VI, restored, Edward IV, Second reign, Edward IV or V, Richard III

House of Tudor 1485 - 1603
Henry VII, Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary, Phillip and Mary, Elizabeth I

House of Stuart 1603 - 1714 (Continued in Milled Section)
James I, Charles I, The Commonwealth, Oliver Cromwell