Richard I penny

This is another find that came in from Tony Hollis. This one is a voided short cross penny, which was struck during the reign of Richard I, otherwise known as Richard the Lionheart.

Richard I was a popular king but this might be due to the fact that during his ten-year reign he was hardly ever in England. With the king out of the way his brother, John, furthered his own interests and often oppressed the people.

On the obverse of this penny is the usual legend: hENRICVS REX. This started to be used during the reign of Henry II but it continued through the reigns of Richard I and John. English currency was trusted all over Europe and the government might have been worried that a change of name could lead to a decline in trust

Most of the pennies of Richard I that are fond by detectorists are of class IV. On this one the king has a beard and side whiskers made up of small curls so it is class III, which is a good deal scarcer than class IV. In the Standard Catalogue the class is listed as number 1347.

Valuation

The reverse of Tony’s find has a voided short cross in the centre and the surrounding legend reads +GOLDWINE ON CA, so Goldwine is the moneyer and Canterbury the mint. The coin looks as if it would grade no higher than about Fine and the flan appears to be uneven. It doesn’t bear the name of a scarce mint or moneyer so my price range would be no higher than £40 – £50