COIN HOARD

Medieval coin; hoard of struck silver pennies of Edward I. The hoard is made up of 25 complete coins, 11 incomplete coins and 3 fragments of coins.

The curator's report from the British Museum runs as follows: I have examined 39 coins reported found at Haughton, Notts, in January 2008. All of the coins are English silver pennies or broken fragments thereof, along with some foreign versions of the English penny. Most of the coins, 36, are issues of Kings Edward I (1272-1307) and Edward II (1307-1327); there is one sterling of Alexander III, King of Scots in his second coinage of 1280-c.1286. Coins of these rulers can be regarded as following the sterling standard of c. 92.5% fine metal. There are two further sterlings, one issued by the Count of Hainaut and the other from an issue regarded as being issued by Edward III as duke of Aquitaine.

The coinage of Edward I and Edward II forms one continuous series from the reform of 1279 and just into the reign of Edward III. A detailed catalogue of the coins follows below, but the coins present range from class 3 (1280-1) to class 15 (1320 to c. 1333). The contemporary Scottish coinage was struck to the same standards as the main English series and all with it within the British Isles in this period. Although many of the coins are fragmentary, this is presumably the consequence of damage in the ground. The coins from Haughton include no lesser denominations, halfpennies and farthings, which had been added to the currency in 1279-80, indicating a degree of selection. The bulk of the coins present were issued after a partial recoinage which occurred in c.1300, so the classes present do not evenly represent output across the Edwardian series. It is my opinion, therefore, that this group of material would have been deposited together on one occasion, probably in the early 1330s, and that it thus constitutes Treasure according to the terms of the Act.

Dr Barrie J. Cook Curator of Medieval and Early Modern Coinage Department of Coins and Medals British Museum 20 March 2008

Catalogue

Coins indicated with an asterisk (*) are incomplete or just fragments.

Edward I-Edward II Class 3 (1280-1) 1. 3e Durham 0.54* 2. 3g Bristol 0.85* Class 4 (1282-9) 3. 4a3 Canterbury 1.24 4, 4a1 London 1.26 5. 4b Canterbury 1.16 6-7. 4b London 1.0*, 0.69* 8. 4c Canterbury 1.29 9. 4c London 1.23 Class 9 (c. 1299 to end 1300/early 1301) 10. 9b1 London star, unbarred Ns 1.33 11. 9b1 London no star, pothook Ns 0.99* 12. 9b1 York star, pothook Ns 1.23 13. 9b2 Canterbury no star, pothook Ns 1.08* 14. 9b2 London star, pothook Ns 1.2 15. 9(b?) ? 0.74* Class 10ab (early 1301 to mid 1305) 16. 10ab3 (1301-2) Durham 1.2* 17. 10ab5 (1303-5) London 1.13* Class 10cf (mid 1305 to late 1310) 18. 10cf2a(1306-7) London 1.03 19. 10cf2a London 1.02* 20. 10cf2b Durham 1.31 21. 10cf3a1(1307-9) Durham 1.3 22. 10cf3a3 Bury St Edmunds 1.33 23. 10cf3b1 Canterbury 1.32 24-5.10cf3b1 London 1.34, 1.25 26-7.10cf3b2 London 1.27, 1.25 28. 10cf5a2(1309-10)Bury St Edmunds 1.32 29. 10cf5a2 Canterbury 1.22 30. 10cf5b London 1.28 Class 11 (c. late 1310 to c. 1314) 31. 11b1 London 1.04 32. 11b2 London 1.07* Class 12 (c. 1314 to 1317) 33. 12b Bury St Edmunds 1.15 Class 15 (1320 to c. 1333) 34. 15b London 1.2* 35. 15c London 1.09 Uncertain 36. Fragment 0.4

Aquitaine coinage of Edward III 37. Fragment of sterling 0.39*

Scotland, Alexander III 38. Second Coinage 0.99*

Continental sterling John of Avesnes, Count of Hainaut (1280-1304) 39. M.24 Valenciennes 1.2