Watford type penny of Stephen

This Norman period silver penny was sent in by Rob Warwick. It’s a coin of Stephen and Rob wanted a valuation in order to pass on a figure to the owner of the land on which this find was unearthed.

This penny is an example of the Watford type of Stephen. On the reverse the legend reads +BALDEPINE ON LV so Baldwine is the moneyer and London the mint. There is no sign of an inner circle on the obverse so it must be number 874 in the J. J. North’s English Hammered Coinage.

Stephen needed money to finance the civil war that commenced soon after he became king. Therefore, in regard to the need for cash, to Stephen quantity was far more important than quality. The majority of his coins are rough and on many of the important details, such as the name of the mint and moneyer, are missing.

Valuation

The penny found by Rob is way above average for the reign and type. The obverse is off centre, the reverse is less so, but the coin is otherwise in VF condition with good eye appeal. Interestingly, pennies struck at London usually aren’t rare but in this case I failed to trace another example. If I was cataloguing it for sale at auction then I would set the pre-sale estimate at £600-800.

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