Click on thumbnail image to go to the inscriptions.
There are many varieties of hammered coin inscriptions. Many are abbreviated, have errors or are spelt slightly differently, consequently there are lots of inscriptions that mean the same thing. What I have done is to classify inscriptions by reign and tried to add as many different versions of the same inscription as I can together with a translation for each one. It is possible you will see repeats as I have also tried to match up the obverse and reverse legends as they would appear. Please also look at the information below if you are not used to deciphering medieval text, it will help you to read your inscriptions a little more easily and show you what to look out for.
COINS TERMINOLOGY
HAMMERED = A method of production implemented by placing a blank metal flan between two dies and then hand striking with a hammer to produce a coin. OBVERSE = This is the Head! side of the coin. REVERSE = This is the Tail! side of the coin. LEGEND = This is the name given to the coin inscription. This can be put together with the other terms such as the above. For example "OBVERSE LEGEND" means, "the coin inscription on the head side." MONEYER = Someone who is responsible for the striking or making of coins. MINT = The place where coins are made.
PRE EDWARD I RECOINAGE OBVERSE AND REVERSE LEGENDS For many years the only denomination was the penny which had the name of the moneyer and the mint on the reverse legend. Although not perfect this was the only way medieval kings had to hold moneyer's accountable for the quality of their coins. This means that there are many different possibilities and combinations of places and people's names that appear. So how do you read them and how can you tell where and by who a particular coin was minted? On early pennies etc the reverse legend always begins with the moneyer's name followed by the place where the coin was struck. For example IOHN ON LUND would translate to JOHN OF LONDON where ON means OF. Remember it is not as easy as just reading a modern coin where all the inscriptions are in neat blocks. Usually the script on these medieval coins is broken up into groupings of 3 or 4 letters at a time and it can take quite a considerable amount of time and effort to fully translate some of these inscriptions. So take your time and be patient it takes quite a while to learn and even longer to master.
Here is a quick example of a Henry III obverse and how to read it.
From the highlighted areas it is possible to read: HEN EX III Which gives us the broken inscription of: HENRICUS REX III Which translates to: HENRY KING III or in modern terms KING HENRY III
POST EDWARD I RECOINAGE OBVERSE AND REVERSE LEGENDS After the recoinage of 1279 the old moneyer and mint scheme was abandoned in favour of place names. Hence reverse legends read CIVITAS or VILLA followed by the name of the town or city where the coin was minted. For example CIVITAS CANTOR translates to City of Canterbury and VILLA BEREVICI to Town of Berwick on Tweed.
Here is an example of an Edward I Penny and how to read it.
We can see the coin unmarked on the left and a second image on the right where I have highlighted the visible parts of the inscription. As you can see some of the letters are a little different to modern day text, particularly the letters A and L. Also you will notice that H at the end of the inscription for HYB is in lower case. So it is important to remember that not all letters are upper case when dealing with early Hammered inscriptions. From what I have managed to read off this coin we get: +EDW ANGL HYB Which gives us the broken inscription of: +EDW REX ANGL DNS HYB Which translates to: EDWARD KING OF ENGLAND LORD OF IRELAND
Here is the reverse of the same coin.
Notice the letter A is the same style as found on the obverse and that letters I and T have concave sides. From the reverse we get: ITA CANTOR Which gives us the broken inscription of: CIVITAS CANTOR Which translates to: CITY OF CANTERBURY So putting it all together we have and Edward I Penny minted in Canterbury.
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WILLIAM I (1066 - 1087) |
WILLIAM II (1087 - 1100) |
HENRY I (1100 - 1135) |
STEPHEN (1135 - 1154) |
HENRY II (1154 - 1189) |
RICHARD I (1189 - 1199) |
JOHN (1199 - 1216) |
HENRY III (1216 - 1272) |
EDWARD I (1272 - 1307) |
EDWARD II (1307 - 1327) |
EDWARD III (1327 - 1377) |
RICHARD II (1377 - 1399) |
HENRY IV (1399 - 1413) |
HENRY V (1413 - 1422) |
HENRY VI (1422 - 1461) |
EDWARD IV (1461 - 1483) |
EDWARD V (1483) |
RICHARD III (1483 - 1485) |
HENRY VII (1485 - 1509) |
HENRY VIII (1509 -1547) |
EDWARD VI (1547 - 1553) |
MARY I (1553 - 1554) |
PHILIP & MARY (1554 - 1558) |
ELIZABETH I (1558 - 1603) |
JAMES I (1603 - 1625) |
CHARLES I (1625 - 1649) |
OLIVER CROMWELL (1649 - 1660) |
CHARLES II (1660 - 1685) |
As early as Queen Elizabeth I people had been experimenting with machine pressing or milling coins. However the idea was very unpopular with the moneyers of the time and it wasn't until the very beginning of Charles II's reign that this idea was fully introduced.
Milled coin inscriptions are much easier to read than those on hammered coinage. The new method of coining produced far better quality and inscriptions became much more rigidly controlled as production of coinage became increasingly more centralised.
As with the hammered coinage section I have tried to include as many different variations of inscriptions as possible and also attempted to match up the obverse and reverse legends as they would appear. In some cases V and U seem to be used interchangeably on the obverse legend when giving the King or Queen's name which can make things a little confusing or seem as though there are repeats with in the listings. |
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OLIVER CROMWELL (1649 - 1660) |
CHARLES II (1660 - 1685) |
JAMES II (1685 - 1689) |
WILLIAM & MARY (1689 - 1694) |
WILLIAM III (1689 - 1702) |
ANNE (1702 - 1714) |
GEORGE I (1714 - 1727) |
GEORGE II (1727 - 1760) |
GEORGE III (1760 - 1820) |
GEORGE IV (1820 - 1830) |
WILLIAM IV (1830 - 1837) |
VICTORIA (1837 - 1901) |
EDWARD VII (1901 - 1910) |
GEORGE V (1910 - 1936) |
EDWARD VIII (1936) |
GEORGE VI (1936 - 1952) |
ELIZABETH II (1952 - TO DATE) |