Alexander III, cut halfpenny

Colin Pearson had already identified this coin but said I could put it on my website. It’s a cut halfpenny but more interesting than the usual English short and long cross types, which turn up very frequently.

This is a Scottish cut halfpenny, which was struck during the first long cross and stars coinage of Alexander III. As I’ve said before, the amount of information that can be gleaned from cut fractions depends on how they have been cut. On the reverse of this coin what remains of the legend reads ROB ERT, so we can be sure of the moneyer. However, the mint signature was on the missing half so it might be impossible to determine where this coin was struck.

Fortunately, a moneyer named Robert was an official at only one Scottish mint and that was Berwick. After looking at the obverse, it is most likely to be class VII.

    

Valuation

This cut halfpenny is nicely toned and in VF condition. As the two most important aspects – the mint and the moneyer – are known, I’d price the coin at £30 – £40, which is a much higher range than most English cut halfpennies would be.