Rhuddlan cut halfpenny

Sturt Humphrey said this cut halfpenny turned up on a site on the Vale of Glamorgan. I was asked to provide a full identification.

A huge number of cut coins have been unearthed by detectorists but this one is a bit out-of-the-ordinary. On the obverse all that remains of the legend reads REX h. On the reverse what remains of the legend reads LA+hA; this is the end of the mint signature and the start of the moneyer’s name. If the full legend was visible then it would read +hALLI ON RVLA, so Halli is the moneyer and Rhuddlan the mint.

From the later 1160s Rhuddlan Castle in Wales was under the control of the Princes of Gwynedd. Coins started to be struck there around 1180. The castle was taken by King John in 1211 but recaptured by the Welsh in 1213. All the coins struck at Rhuddlan bear the name hENRICVS and even though the dies were produced locally they copy the English short cross design.

Stuart’s find is an example of Rhuddlan group I, class i and as such it will have been one of the earliest coins struck at this mint. It’s a rare coin in very nice condition and with good eye appeal. As this coin counts as being Welsh it is appropriate that it was found in Wales.

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