My mum found and old coin...

[georgeandlinda 0]

Hello everyone!

My mum asked me this morning if I could do a little research for her regarding an old coin she found in the drawer. We don't know how old it is or even if it's British or not but any advice or information anyone may be able to provide will really help us to continue our research! My mum is a member of the local WI group and has to take an old coin in this evening - she'd really like to be able to tell her friends there what it is!

I've taken some pictures of the coin.

My mum says she was given it by a man called Arthur Dix and he said it was an irregular shape because it is made from silver and poor people had tried to cut slices from around the edges to sell. This makes us wonder if the coin, at the time, was worth a fair amount of money... if it was a low value coin, surely they wouldn't have made it from a metal worth more than the coin? My mum also thinks she saw a similar coin at the local Roman villa.

We have had a look with a magnifying glass and think the letters round the edges of the side with the cross read as follows -

ABR ISTO LLIG (the other quarter is too worn to read!).

Any information would be gratefully recieved!

Thanks! George and my mum, Linda.

[georgeandlinda 0]

Just realised I posted two pictures of the same side! Oops!

[Rob 3,152]

It's an Edward I hammered penny minted in Bristol. The reverse reading in full would be VILLA BRISTOLLIE which tells you where it was struck. It looks like a type 3 which would have been struck in 1280-1 - perhaps someone else would like to give an opinion on the sub-type.

It looks as if it may have been slightly clipped, but nearly all hammered coins are irregular to a greater or lesser degree due to the method of manufacture i.e. a piece of silver was put between the two dies and then hit with a hammer - not a very consistent means of quality control. The important thing at this time was the weight because a penny contained a penny's worth of silver. In fact all coins prior to the introduction of token coinage had a value equal to that of the metal used. In the case of a penny at the time of Edward I, their weight as proscribed by the relevant law was 22.2 grains (1.4386 grams). However, this is an average figure and so coins could be above or below this weight. The heavier ones were usually either set aside or clipped due to their higher intrinsic value, whilst the lower weight pieces were spent.

Edited January 4, 2010 by Rob

[Peter 615]

It would appear your coin is an Edward 1 1272-1307 silver long cross penny which was minted in Bristol.

These coins are quite common but the Bristol mint ones are rarer. The most common mints being London & Canterbury.

You are correct in that the coin has been clipped.The long cross on the reverse was an attempt to prevent clipping.

These coins were often halved or quarted for use as small change.

This coins were high quality silver and English coins were sought all over Europe and beyond.

On the Continent they were imitated and these were called esterlings.

If you google some of the above you will find more information.

Regards

Peter

[Peter 615]

Rob

You beat me to it.....at least we agreed.

[Peckris 579]

Yes - the milled coin with a proper edge (and an inscription on higher denominations) was introduced specifically to solve the problem of clipping, which hammered coins (which yours is) were prone to. Milled coins were more expensive and more time-consuming to produce and the Mint employees - worried for their jobs - were bitterly against them for at least 100 years, though the authorities were generally in favour. The irony of the poor clipping coins, on pain of death, is increased when you realise that certain monarchs debased the quality of silver in order to save money.

[georgeandlinda 0]

Thanks for the replies everyone!

Sorry it took me so long to get back and check your answers - our BT wirelss box thingy doesn't seem to connect to anything when the weather gets bad! LOL!

It's really interesting reading about the coin, I've done a bit of research on google and my mum now knows a lot more about it. Sadly, the internet connection didn't come back until after her WI meeting was over so she couldn't tell her friends much about it, except for a rough guess of the year, which we were surprisingly close to! She's going to take it back in next time with some information though.

The most interesting coin got a prize... would you believe they overlooked this coin and gave it to some woman that took in an american dollar?? Pfffffttttt!

Thanks again.

[Colin G. 147]

Thanks for the replies everyone!

Sorry it took me so long to get back and check your answers - our BT wirelss box thingy doesn't seem to connect to anything when the weather gets bad! LOL!

It's really interesting reading about the coin, I've done a bit of research on google and my mum now knows a lot more about it. Sadly, the internet connection didn't come back until after her WI meeting was over so she couldn't tell her friends much about it, except for a rough guess of the year, which we were surprisingly close to! She's going to take it back in next time with some information though.

The most interesting coin got a prize... would you believe they overlooked this coin and gave it to some woman that took in an american dollar?? Pfffffttttt!

Thanks again.

Showing my lack of hammered experience here, but that coin in comparison to the 5p looks a bit small for a penny, would it not be a halfpenny?

Edited January 11, 2010 by Colin G.

[HistoricCoinage 147]

Showing my lack of hammered experience here, but that coin in comparison to the 5p looks a bit small for a penny, would it not be a halfpenny?

Nope, definitely a penny.

A penny is normally around 19mm in diameter, a five pence piece is around 17.5mm in diameter. Bearing in mind that the penny above is a little clipped, it seems to be about the right diameter.

[Colin G. 147]

Showing my lack of hammered experience here, but that coin in comparison to the 5p looks a bit small for a penny, would it not be a halfpenny?

Nope, definitely a penny.

A penny is normally around 19mm in diameter, a five pence piece is around 17.5mm in diameter. Bearing in mind that the penny above is a little clipped, it seems to be about the right diameter.

Just checking!!!

[georgeandlinda 0]

hello im linda

thank you one and all nice to know i have something 0lder than my husband !!!!!¬¬!¬!!!!!!

(it just took my mum a good 15 minutes to type that! hahahahah! - george)

[cheapo 0]

Hahahaha!! ROTFL!

And I thought this site would be full of stuffed shirts and dealers!

You two have a great sense of hummus.