1180 English coinage

[Deza]

I know that in 1180 Henry ordered a revamp of English currency, but please does any one know (or know where I could find out) what the SMALLEST denomination coin was in 1180. Many thanks.

[Lil O'lady]

Have a root about on this site:
http://www.tclayton.demon.co.uk/coins.html#ind ex

[kempie]

http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/gallery/norman s/chapters/Normans_3_3.htm#c33

[fredpuli47]

A bit of research reveals that there may have been a halfpenny , but none have ever been found from Henry II's reign.Halfpennys from Henry I and Henry III have been found in London. Farthings from Henry III have been found too, but those are the earliest found.
So the answer is that 1180's smallest denomination of coin would have been the penny. How did people get by without a smaller coin? The answer is that they simply cut a penny into halves or quarters.

[Deza]

Thank you all so much for your time. Much appreciated.

[Peter Pedant]

well I met a fella....

I think you might find it was a penny,

but it was called a denarius hence 1d.
and it was coined for use within the Angevin Empire which was I think was up and running at that time

(the fella I met had bought a denarius of Edw 1)

[fredpuli47]

Following Peter Pedant: When was it that we first used � s d for pounds, shillings and pence, having adopted the first letters of Latin words (libra, solidi and denarii ) to do so ?

[kempie]

Did no-one else spot that 1180 is a typo of the date Henry I reformed the coinage i.e. 1108?

Allowing for the error in the question Angevin Henry II is irrelevent to the answer.

[fredpuli47]

Correct Kempie! The numismatic page of the Fitzwilliam Museum's site says that 'in about 1108' Henry ordered that all new coins be cut, ' snicked ', to show that they were of solid silver.For the first time since the tenth century, the round halfpenny was issued, around the same date, to end the practice of people cutting pennies in half.

So the correct answer is that the halfpenny was the lowest denomination coin around 1108, when Henry I 'revamped' the coinage.

[fredpuli47]

Meant to put, "[your link]" after " Museum's site".

[Deza]

1180 is not a typo. We were trying to find out about Henry II's 1180 coinage.

" Thus in 1180 it was decided to introduce a new coin design of better workmanship, of a more uniform size and even shape (Tealby pennies sometimes came out square!) and more importantly of a design that could stay in circulation indefinitely. Enter the Short Cross penny, [pic] Henry II Class 1 minted by Golcelm of Winchester in about 1180".

Ref - http://www.coincommunity.com/articles/AEthelin g_short_cross_penny.asp

We were trying to find out if there was a smaller denomination coin than the short cross penny of 1180.

[kempie]

Hmm... 'tis a pity then that Henry II was not mentioned in the question. Details are important in questions as well as answers.

[Deza]

In retrospect I should just have put the second part -

"please does any one know (or know where I could find out) what the SMALLEST denomination coin was in 1180. Many thanks."

I'm an Answerbank newbie so I'll be more succinct next time. Thanks for everyone's help. Cheers