Penny of William the Lion of Scotland

The images of this coin came in from Alex Hilton, who said it was found whilst detecting in 2017. I was asked to provide a full ID and a valuation on this find.

The coin is a penny of William the Lion of Scotland, whose dates are 1165 to 1214. On the obverse the king’s head faces left and on the reverse is a voided short cross with stars in the angles. It was struck during phase B of the short cross coinage and dates from circa 1205 to circa 1230, which was well after the death of King William.

The coin has a weak patch on both sides but I’ll give the full legend as it would read if the legends were clear. On the obverse it would read +LE [REI] WIL’T (translates as The King William) and on the reverse it would read + [hEN]RI LE RWS.

Valuation

Pennies of William the Lion turn up quite regularly as detecting finds in England. Most are the hVE WALTER type but those of the hENRI LE RVS type are much rarer. This example ha a weak area but is otherwise in about VF condition with good eye appeal. I really like it! In terms of value, my price range to a collector would be £220 to £250.

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