Medieval Silver Penny - Edward III (1312-1377)
Edward III was King of England from 1327 - 1377. Crowned at the age of just fifteen years old, Edward transformed the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe. Son of Edward II, he was noted for his successful military successes and in restoring royal authority which was severely lacking after the disastrous rule by his father. In 1328, Edward, aged sixteen, married the 12-year old Philippa of Hainault. In 1333 he led a successful campaign against the Scots. Through this, he received a substantial part of Scotland, but it proved difficult to keep control and eventually the land was returned and Edward was forced to conclude a truce, in 1338, with the Scots. In 1337, he declared himself King of France, claiming the throne as grandson of King Philip IV. However, the French rejected the claim and accepted Philip's nephew, Philip VI, as the rightful king. This led to the 100 Years war. This was also the era of the infamous 'Black Death" which swept through England, killing roughly one third of the entire population. This altered the economic situation for the workers who were now in great demand. 
To put the value of a 'penny' into perspective, it now cost one penny to hoe an acre of land and sixpence to plough an acre of land three times over, and, reaping an acre cost 5 pence.
The coin shown was found by metal detecting in Britain. It is silver and measures roughly 17mm in diameter and weighs 1.12 grams.
This is a 'Hammered" coin - Hammered coins were produced by placing a thin sheet of metal, either gold, silver, bronze or copper, between two dies, and striking the top die as to create an image on each side. The 'Long Cross' design was introduced by Edward I. Silver coins, in the Medieval age, were often 'clipped', having thin slivers of silver removed from the coin, as in the case of this coin, the edges have been clipped. These slivers were eventually melted down and sold. The 'Long Cross' was an attempt to stop this practice, in that, if the coin did not show the complete 'cross' it would not be accepted. Unfortunately, this did not work, and coins were still subjected to 'clipping'.
Being roughly 700 years old, the coin is in fair condition with the inscription still legible to some extent.
Cost R220.00
Postage R25.00
Please note - I am NOT a numismatist, but, from my research, I believe this coin is dated and identified correctly. My apologies, if I am wrong.
This is a genuine antique. Please remember the classification of an 'antique' is that it should be 100 years old, OR MORE. There are many articles being offered as 'antiques' when, clearly, they are not.
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