The Life and Times of a Henry III Penny

[John Conduitt]

This Henry III penny is evidence that looks aren’t everything. It’s a short cross, rather less common than Henry's long crosses. It’s also Class 7c3, one of the scarcer types, notable for its large lettering, thick initial cross and tiny pellets in each hair ringlet.

Moreover, it has an esteemed provenance. It was owned by Dr William J Conte, whose collection was described as “one of the finest ever formed of Norman and Angevin coins dating from 1066 to 1279”. His aim was to “create a representative reference collection of coins in the best possible condition, in order to illustrate the great variety of portraits and other designs and the mints at which they were struck”. His collection was displayed by the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge and even had a dedicated section on their website. What such a collector was doing with this coin, I don’t know.

On top of that, it was once owned by Jeffrey J North, who wrote the standard reference on these and all medieval English coins, English Hammered Coinage. It was also owned by Professor Jeffrey P Mass, who revised North’s work. Mass was a noted authority on coins of the late twelfth and thirteenth centuries and published The JP Mass Collection of English Short Cross Coins, 1180-1247 in Syllogy of Coins of the British Isles, volume 56. This coin is in it.

Henry III 7c3 Short Cross Penny, 1242

Canterbury. Silver, 18mm, 1.34g. Crowned facing bust with tiny pellets in curls; HENRICV[S REX]. Voided short cross with quatrefoil in each angle, large initial cross; WILLEM ON CAN (North 980C; S 1356C; Mass - 2084, this coin). Ex J Sazama; JP Mass; WJ Conte; JJ North (bought from Baldwin in 1987); from the Naxos (Greece) Hoard 1969.

It must be said, it’s not rare for a coin to have been owned by these superstars of medieval numismatics. North bought large numbers of coins to study and others like Mass and Conte bought from his collection. Still, it’s nice to have a 7c3 that helped write the book, not least because attributing these is very tricky. It can’t be wrong if it’s the exemplar.

The reason North was interested in it, however, was likely because it was from the Naxos Hoard, found in 1969. 1,420 coins were found in an earthenware vase in a cave on the eastern promontory of the Greek island of Naxos. Lord Stewartby and Dr JD Brand analysed the hoard, and this coin quite possibly went through their hands as well, which would make a full house of English medieval numismatic icons.

Lord Stewartby wrote a description of the hoard. He describes seeing a parcel of coins that had “been offered to AH Baldwin and Sons Ltd from a Greek source,” which sounds much dodgier in light of the goings on at Roma Numismatics. Similar parcels from the hoard found their way to other dealers, but this coin was in the Baldwin consignments, which totalled 214 coins (presumably Stewartby’s "Parcel A", which contained 10 Class VII with moneyer Willem of Canterbury).

The Island of Naxos in Greece


While English coins were used in the area, they’re not found in such large numbers. Stewartby claims the hoard’s composition wouldn’t be found in England either - 14 times as many short cross pennies as long cross, even though the short cross ended in 1247 and the latest long cross was Class 5f (1257-8). Stewartby suggests this was because short crosses were used on the Continent long after they were demonetised in Britain and disappeared from British hoards. Yet there were only 31 Continental coins in the hoard, even though French and Venetian coins were commonly used in the area. 24 of these were German sterling types and imitations, leaving just 7 (0.5%) Venetian and French coins.

What Stewartby doesn’t explain is why the hoard was on Naxos. The island (and 17 others) were captured by the Venetians in 1207 and the Duchy of the Aegean was formed with Naxos as the capital. Surely, Venetians would use Venetian coins, and not amass a hoard of entirely English pennies. Venetians were known for trade, and perhaps the hoard came via trade links from England. But why would there be so many short cross coins if they came directly from England? Maybe it was an English trader who found himself with hundreds of demonetised pennies he could still spend abroad. It’s also possible Stewartby isn’t right that he’d seen most of the hoard. Continental coins could have been separated by whoever was trying to disperse it, as happened with the Brussels Hoard of 64,000 Continental and 81,000 British pennies. The Continentals were sold separately, and the buyer melted them down like a Frankish barbarian. Maybe Venetian coins were worth more melted down.

This coin is therefore both well-travelled and famous. It‘s had an exciting life, perhaps more than mine. But at least I don’t have any flat patches. At least not yet.

[Dafydd]

What a fascinating story, thank you. 

I have a Henry III penny from the Brussels hoard and also the book you mentioned published by Baldwin titled 

"The Brussels Hoard of 1908. the Long Cross Coinage of Henry IIII |"by Ron Churchill and Bob Thomas that I can commend.

I agree, I'm not sure if I would be interested in a parcel of coins from Greece or anywhere else these days unless accompanied with a letter of provenance written in the blood of a state employed archaeologist !

 

[JeandAcre]

Terrific coin and commentary, @John Conduitt.  Yes, the Naxos Hoard is a stumper.

...I keenly miss the Conte collection pages from the Fitzwilliam.  Think there's any chance they'll bring them back?

[John Conduitt]

On 5/2/2023 at 9:42 PM, Dafydd said:

What a fascinating story, thank you. 

I have a Henry III penny from the Brussels hoard and also the book you mentioned published by Baldwin titled 

"The Brussels Hoard of 1908. the Long Cross Coinage of Henry IIII |"by Ron Churchill and Bob Thomas that I can commend.

I agree, I'm not sure if I would be interested in a parcel of coins from Greece or anywhere else these days unless accompanied with a letter of provenance written in the blood of a state employed archaeologist !

 

Thank you. Yes the Brussels Hoard was incredible. 145,000 coins that might've been intended to pay for the construction of the cathedral.

Henry III Class 3d1 Long Cross Penny, 1250

London. Silver, 18-19mm, 1.50g. Crowned head facing, annulet eyes with pellet, pellet between hair curls, pointed beard, neck lines, no sceptre, wedge-shaped R; hENRICVS REX: III'. Voided long cross, three pellets in each angle; NIC OLE ONL VND (moneyer Nicholas of London) (S 1364). From the Brussels (Belgium) Hoard 1908.
 

21 hours ago, JeandAcre said:

I keenly miss the Conte collection pages from the Fitzwilliam.  Think there's any chance they'll bring them back?

Unfortunately, I don't think so. I asked them about it and it didn't sound hopeful.

[JeandAcre]

Shoot.  That's too bad.  Some of the research was state of the art.  Your Brussels Hoard cheered me up, though!  Thanks.

[Broucheion]

On 5/3/2023 at 5:06 PM, John Conduitt said:

Unfortunately, I don't think so. I asked them about it and it didn't sound hopeful.

Hi All 

Did you try looking for the pages at archive.org?

- Broucheion

 

[John Conduitt]

27 minutes ago, Broucheion said:

Hi All 

Did you try looking for the pages at archive.org?

- Broucheion

 

Good idea. It's here. Although I don't think it works properly.

Edited May 5, 2023 by John Conduitt

[JeandAcre]

Rats.  Looks like @John Conduitt is right.