Edwardian and Henrician Halfpennies
King Edward I (1272–1307) successfully introduced the halfpenny as part of his new coinage, which allowed trade to increase. As with all coins of this period, the denomination was not written on the coin, which was worth its weight in silver, thus a halfpenny was half the size and weight of a penny. All hammered coinage halfpennies tend to be difficult to identify because they are small, often clipped, and in poor condition, and the legends on the coins are often incorrect because of the difficulty in making dies which were small enough for the denomination. The fact that Kings Edward II, III, and IV also issued halfpennies makes it difficult to distinguish between them – in general, Edward I's coins are slightly larger than his successors'. As with other denominations, by far the majority of coins were produced at the London mint, in the Tower of London, but five other mints were active in Edward I's reign. The legend on the reverse of the coin identifies the mint's name, and reads or for London, for Bristol, for Lincoln, for Newcastle upon Tyne, for York, and for Berwick-upon-Tweed.
The king's name appears in the obverse inscription, usually, or, or or respectively for the issues of Richard II (1377–1399) and Henry IV (1399–1413).
During the reign of Edward II (1307–1327), halfpennies were only produced at the mints in London and Berwick, probably because sufficient had been produced when his father introduced the new coinage. The principal difference between the coins of Edward II and his father is that the obverse inscription of the London-produced coins reads, and on the Berwick-produced coins.
Three mints were actively producing halfpennies in the reign of Edward III, 1327–1377, at London, Berwick, and Reading, although Berwick and Reading coins are very rare. The usual obverse inscription of this reign was – Edward King of the English – or occasionally on earlier coins – King Edward – or – Edward by the grace of God King. At this time English coins were much envied in Europe for their weight and good metal content, with the result that English halfpennies were copied on the continent; they are similar in style to those of Edward III, but the obverse legend often reads .
King Richard II (1377–1399) produced all his halfpennies at the London mint. The obverse legend reads (or ) – Richard King of England – around a front-facing bust of the king.
The halfpennies of Henry IV (1399–1413) are difficult to identify, mainly because they have been heavily clipped or worn. The obverse legend reads around a front-facing bust of the king, while the reverse legend reads . In 1412 the weight of the halfpenny was reduced from 4.5 grains (0.29 grams) to 3.75 grains (0.24 grams), although coins were produced from the same dies as before.
The halfpennies of Henry V (1413–1422) are a little easier to identify, but the basic design remained the same as before.
In the first reign of Henry VI (1422–1461), halfpennies were commonly produced at London and Calais, and less commonly at York. The designs are continuations of those of the earlier Henries, with the obverse legend .
The halfpennies of the first reign of King Edward IV (1461–1470) are divided into the heavy coinage up to 1464, which was only minted in London, and the light coinage from 1464, produced at London, Bristol (now ), Canterbury, York, and Norwich . The obverse inscription reads .
During the short second reign of Henry VI (1470–1471), halfpennies were produced at London and Bristol. The obverse inscription was changed to read .
Halfpennies of the second reign of Edward IV (1471–1483) are much like those of the first reign (only a few months earlier) but they were also produced at Durham .
King Richard III's (1483–1485) short reign only produced halfpennies from the London mint. The obverse inscription reads, which distinguishes the coins from those of Richard II.
Read more about this topic: Halfpenny (British Pre-decimal Coin)