Rhuddlan penny

This voided short cross penny was sent in by Philip Dadd, who asked for a full ID and a valuation. Philip said it seemed different to other pennies he had found of the same type.

The coin was struck at the mint situated in the castle at Rhuddlan in Wales. The castle was held by the Earls of Chester but from 1167 it was under the control of the Princes of Gwynedd. It was taken by King John in 1211 but recaptured in 1213 and remained in Welsh hands until it was ceded to Henry III in 1241.

The pennies struck at Rhuddlan were produced from locally made dies of the voided sort cross type. The most up-to-date die classification was put together by the late John D. Brand.

On the obverse of this penny there is a stop after hENRICVS. On the reverse the legend reads +SIMOND ON RVLA, with a stop either side of ON and a cross pommee before SIMOND. There are eight pellets on the king’s crown, the letter N is correctly orientated and the letter C is closed. All these characteristics added together point towards the moneyer being Simond, the type being Brand class IIIc and the date of striking circa 1205 to circa 1210.

Valuation

Pennies from the Rhuddlan mint ae quite rare but no collection of voided short cross coins is complete without at least one example. Philip’s find would grade about VF for the issue but a minus point is the small edge chip. In its present state of preservation the price to a collector would be £200 to £220.

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