Henry II Halfpenny

This coin came in from Damon Ward, who asked if I could identify it for him. As can be seen from the illustrations, it is a voided short cross cut halfpenny.

The information that can be gained from a cut halfpenny often depends on how it has been cut. For example, the lettering on the reverse could include the full name of either the moneyer or the mint. If the full penny had been cut along the other line of the cross then it would leave the start and end of the legend on one half; on the other half would be the end of the moneyer’s name and the start of the mint. Therefore, it is sometimes only possible to identify just the moneyer or just the mint.

The obverse of Damon’s find has characteristics that point towards it being a class Ib coin of Henry II. This is a good start, for voided short cross coins of Henry II are scarcer than those of John and Henry III.

On the reverse what remains of the legend reads +FILIP.ON, so we have the name of the moneyer but the whole of the mint signature is missing. If Filip was a common moneyer for Henry II then that would be as far as we could go. Fortunately, the only mint at which there was a moneyer named Filip was Northampton, so that is where this coin was struck.

Damon’s cut half halfpenny is in very good condition and it has been possible to provide the reign, class, mint and moneyer, which certainly isn’t always the case.

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