to sign the coins in Edward I.’s reign. Henry III. made an abortive attempt to introduce a gold coinage, which was successfully established by Edward III. in 1343, with the gold florin, and in 1344 with the gold noble (see Pl. III. fig. 20). (The obverse type of the noble, the king in a ship, is generally thought to refer to the victory of Sluys in 1340.) He also introduced the silver groat (4d.) and half-groat. The English coinage, both gold and silver, was now of such high quality and reputation that it (especially the silver sterling) was largely exported and imitated, chiefly in the Low Countries. The gold coinage of Edward III. is perhaps the most successful, from an artistic point of view, in the English series. Subsequent developments of the coinage now become very complicated. Edward IV. distinguished his noble by a rose on the obverse and a sun on the reverse, and introduced a new gold coin, the angel. The Tudor period is distinguished by the splendour, variety and size of the coins; Henry VII. introduced the sovereign of 20s. (240 grains) and the shilling, and on his coins the first serious attempt at portraiture is found (see Pl. III. fig. 21). Under Henry VIII. the quality of the silver money declines, being not effectually restored until the reign of Elizabeth, when an unsuccessful attempt was made to introduce a copper coinage. Private tokens came into use, but the official copper coinage does not begin until the next reign. The use of the mill, as distinct from the hammer, was begun in 1562, but it took just a century to oust the old-fashioned method. In 1613 John, Lord Harrington, obtained a patent for the issue of copper farthings, and private tradesmen’s tokens were prohibited. The gold sovereign of James I., from its inscription (FACIAM EOS IN GENTEM VNAM) and the fact that it was meant to circulate on both sides of the Border, was known as the unite. The coinage of Charles I. presents great varieties owing to the civil war. The best workmanship is seen on the milled coins issued by Nicolas Briot. But the majority of the money was still hammered. The scarcity of gold in the royal treasury during the troubles induced the king to coin twenty- and ten-shilling pieces of silver, in addition to the crowns and smaller denominations. Gold three-pound pieces, or triple-unites, however, were issued from the Oxford mint. One of the most remarkable of his pieces is a crown struck at Oxford by Rawlins. It bears on the obverse the king on horseback, with a representation of the town beneath the horse, and on the reverse the heads of the “Oxford Declaration.” The so-called “Juxon medal,” given by Charles to Bishop Juxon on the scaffold, is really a pattern-piece by Rawlins (see Pl. V. fig. 1). Of equal interest are the siege-pieces of many castles famous in the annals of those days. They are mostly of silver, often mere pieces of plate with a stamp; but Colchester and Pontefract issued gold. The coinage of the Commonwealth is of a plainness proper to the principles of those who sanctioned it. The great Protector, however, caused money to be designed of his own bearing his head. It is not certain that this was ever sent forth, and it is therefore put in the class of patterns. Simon, the chief of English medallists, designed the coins, which are unequalled in the whole series for the vigour of the portrait (a worthy presentment of the head of Cromwell) and the beauty and fitness of every portion of the work. The finest coin produced under Charles II., and technically the best executed piece in the whole English series, is the “Petition Crown” (see Pl. V. fig. 2), a pattern by Simon, to which, however—probably for political reasons—the work of Jan Roettier was preferred. Maundy money was first struck in this reign, and the name guinea was now applied to the 20s. piece. In 1672 a true copper coinage of halfpence and farthings was introduced. Henceforward there is a decline in the coinage, although skill is perceived in the portrait of William III., whose grand features could scarcely have failed to stimulate an artist to more than a common effort. Queen Anne’s money is also worthy of note, on account of the attempt, on Dean Swift’s suggestion, to commemorate current history on the copper coinage, which led to the issue of the famous farthings (see Pl. V. fig. 4). These have been the cause of an extraordinary delusion, to the effect that a very small number (some say three) of these pieces were struck, and that their value is a thousand pounds each, instead of usually some shillings. Worthless casts of genuine farthings, and counters made in imitation of the sixpence of the time, are constantly mistaken for, such farthings. After this there is little to remark, except the baseness of the art of the coins under the first three Georges, until the talent of Pistrucci gave a worthier form to the currency. Between 1760 and 1816 hardly any silver or copper money was issued. The gap was filled by the use of Spanish dollars counter stamped, and silver tokens issued by the Banks of England and Ireland, as well as by vast quantities of tokens issued by private persons. In 1816 the new coinage of gold and silver was issued, since when there have been few changes in the British currency.
The English medals are far more interesting for their bearing on events than as works of art. The best are almost all by foreigners, but the line pieces of the Simons form notable exceptions. The medals of the Tudors are good in style, and show some excellent portraits, in particular those by Trezzo and Stephen H. (generally known as Stephen English Medals. of Holland). There is one of Mary queen of Scots by Primavera, representing her in middle life, which is perhaps her most characteristic portrait. Elizabeth’s are of historical importance, and some of them, as the Armada medals (see Pl. V. fig. 7), have a certain barbaric grandeur, being probably the work of English artists. The richer series of the Stuart period contains some medals of fine style. These include works by Warin, the Simons and the Roettiers, besides the excellent coin engravers Briot and Rawlins. The numerous badges worn by adherents of various parties during the civil war and Commonwealth have a personal and historical interest. The most curious pieces are those popular issues relating to current events, such as the so-called “Popish plot,” and a certain interest attaches to medals of the exiled Stuarts. From this time there are no works deserving notice except military and naval medals, the historical interest of which makes some amends for their poverty of design and execution. The English tokens form a curious class. They are of two periods: the earlier, which are almost always of copper, were issued chiefly at the middle of the 17th century and somewhat later; the later, which are mainly of copper, but also sometimes of silver, were struck during the scarcity of the royal coinage in this metal at the end of the 18th century, and during the earlier years of the 10th century. Both were chiefly coined by tradesmen and bear their names. The colonial money of England was until lately unimportant, but now (except in style) it is not unworthy of the wealth and activity of the dependencies. The “Anglo-Gallic” money struck by the English kings for their French dominions forms a peculiar class. It was begun by Henry II., who struck deniers and half-deniers for Aquitaine. Richard I. (whose name is not found on his English coinage) struck for most of the French domains, but no coins are attributed to John or Henry III. Edward I.’s coins are of billon; of Edward II. there are none. Gold was introduced before 1337, and there are fine series of gold, silver, and billon of Edward III. (see Pl. III. fig. 19) and the Black Prince. Henry, earl of Lancaster, struck silver at Bergerac (1345–1361). The succeeding kings down to Henry VI. (first reign) all issued Anglo-Gallic coins. There was a temporary revival under Henry VIII. at Tournay (1513–1519). The whole series, with the exception of the Calais coinage, is French in character.
The coinage of Scotland is allied to that of England, although generally ruder; but it seems to have been more influenced in the early period from England, and towards its close from France. The oldest pieces are silver pennies or sterlings, resembling the contemporary English money of the reign of David I. (1124–1153). David Il. after 1357 introduced a gold Scotland. coinage. In the 15th and 16th centuries there is an important coinage, both in gold and silver, not the least interesting pieces being the fine bonnet-piece of James V., and the various issues of Queen Mary, many of which bear her portrait. The indifferent execution of the coins of Mary’s reign is traceable to the disturbed state of the kingdom. The Scottish coinage came to an end in 1709.
Wales has never had a coinage of its own, properly speaking. A unique penny attributed with good reason to Howel the Good, a contemporary of Edmund (died c. 950), was perhaps struck at Chester. Various English kings struck coins at Welsh mints such as Rhuddlan, Pembroke.Wales.
