Mintmarks first started to appear under the reign of Edward III and have continued to be used even on the very latest modern decimal issues. Like the older coin inscriptions system of moneyers and town/city names these marks were intended to be used as a way of holding moneyer's accountable for the quality of their coins. Initially this new idea was used in tandem with the older inscriptions system but eventually only the new mintmarks system would prevail. As mintmarks were used to distinguish a coin, who struck it, where and when, it has left us with considerable information in historical archives which we can use to help identify a coin even if it is not dated, or its origin is not immediately known.

Before continuing any further it might be a good idea to brows through the Coin Inscriptions Pages if you have not already done so. This knowledge is required to make good use of the information listed within these pages. CLICK HERE

Please note that this area of my site is not intended to replace reference books, there is nothing like a GOOD BOOK! trust me. I have tried to gather information which can be used as a quick reference guide, there may be mistakes, some repeats or omitted information! Having said this I hope you find the information fun to search though and above all useful.

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 a 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.

MINTMARK = A small raised or embossed mark which can take the form of a letter, number or picture issued by a mint to identify where and when a particular coin was struck.

HOW ARE MINTMARKS USEFUL?

Some mintmarks are immediately diagnostic particularly those where only limited numbers were produced due to a very short reign. Richard II's, Edward V's and Richard III's reigns are three very good examples and by applying a certain amount of logic it is possible to deduce who's reign a particular coin belongs to.

Edward V’s coins used mintmarks Half Sun and Rose or Boar’s Head and even though Edward IV is listed using the Half Sun and Rose mark this generally narrows down the wider range of possibilities. Richard III used his personal emblem the Boar’s Head on many of his coins and although Edward V’s coins also have this mark, it is believed that they were struck whilst Richard was protector of the throne until Edward came of age. Thus a coin with the Legend beginning “EDWARD” with mintmark Boar’s Head can only be attributed to Edward V, and coins with Legend beginning “RICARD” with mintmark Boar’s Head can only be attributed to Richard III. Marks are also very diagnostic when distinguishing between Richard II and Richard III even though both reigns produced coins with practically identical obverse legends. (Beginning “RICARD.”) Richard II only used one mark Cross Pattee and thus if a coin has this mark and not a mark used by Richard III it can be attributed to Richard II. As a general rule with hammered coinage it is not uncommon for two mintmarks to be placed on the same side of a coin, (one mark underneath another) for the obverse of a coin to have a different mark to the reverse, or no marks at all. Most marks are usually found at the beginning or end of the obverse or reverse legends, but there are some exceptions where marks might appear somewhere else depending on a coin’s design.

MINTMARKS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM

On the images below highlighted in red are some example mintmarks showing the typical places where they are found on hammered coinage.

This example shows the mintmark "Eye" on the reverse of a Charles I Half Crown.

This coin shows the mintmark "Lis"

The obverse of this Charles I Shilling shows the mintmark "Triangle"

The mintmarks issued on milled or machine pressed coinage are really mostly what we call provenance marks. Although some provincial mints were active most of the marks found on milled coinage denote bullion (silver/gold) sources rather than tagging where a particular coin was struck. Provenance marks can be found in a variety of different places sometimes making it very difficult to locate them.

SOME TYPICAL PROVENANCE MARK LOCATIONS

Obverse - Below head

Reverse - Between shields (In each quarter)

Reverse - below date

Reverse - Below Shield

Reverse - Above date

For some images of provenance marks please visit the Coin Valuations Page and scroll to the Mintmarks (Milled) section. This will give you a better idea of what to look for. CLICK HERE