Penny of Edward III
This is the first find from a group of three sent in by Alan Reynolds. It’s a hammered silver penny of Edward III, which started its life at the mint that struck coins for the Archbishop of York.
On the obverse the initial cross at the start of the legend points towards this coin being an example of series D of the fourth coinage, pre treaty period. The mark inside the quatrefoil on the reverse covers the centre-punch point that would have been used to scribe two circles; this was the first operation and provided a guide for the inner and outer continuous rings of pellets. On all the pennies struck at the archbishop’s mint at York on which the centre of the quatrefoil is visible there will be a similar mark.
In the Standard Catalogue Edward III pennies of this type are listed as number 1604. They are priced at £30 in Fine condition, which suggests they are fairly common. York pennies of series D struck at the archbishop’s mint are actually very rare. Whoever does the pricing for the Standard Catalogue is way out on this one.   Â
Valuation
Alan’s find would grade only Fair to Fine. However, as it is a rarity my price range wouldn’t be any lower than £35 – £45