A Brief Guide to English Hammered Silver Coins of the Norman Period.
The Norman hammered silver coins of England begin in 1066 with those of William I after his victory at the Battle of Hastings. Considering the turmoil existing after the Norman invasion the hammered silver coinage of William I is of surprisingly good quality.
William I (1066-1087)
The coins of William I have the obverse inscription ᚹILLELM REX or ᚹILLELMUS REX the first letter being the Anglo-Saxon Wen for letter W. There are 8 types:
The type 8 PAXS penny may have been issued during the reign of William II but is generally accepted to be the final issue of William I.
William I died in 1087 and the crown passed to his third son William II, also known as William Rufus.
The coins of William I have the obverse inscription ᚹILLELM REX or ᚹILLELMUS REX the first letter being the Anglo-Saxon Wen for letter W. There are 8 types:
The type 8 PAXS penny may have been issued during the reign of William II but is generally accepted to be the final issue of William I.
William I died in 1087 and the crown passed to his third son William II, also known as William Rufus.
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1.Profile/Cross fleury (1066-1067)
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2. Bonnet (1067-1070)
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3. Canopy (1070-1073)
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4. Two sceptres (1073-1076)
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5. Two stars (1076-1079)
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6. Sword (1079-1082)
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7. Profile/Cross & trefoils (1082-1084)
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8. PAXS (1084-1088)
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William II (1087-1100)
Coins of William II also have the obverse inscription ᚹILLELM REX, same as his father, and can be identified by the following types - 1. Profile (1086-1089) 2. Cross in quatrefoil (1089-1092) 3. Cross voided (1092-1095) 4. Cross pattee & fleury (1095-1098) 5. Cross fleury & piles (1098-1100)
William II died in 1100 and was succeeded by his brother Henry, the fourth son of William the Conqueror.
Coins of William II also have the obverse inscription ᚹILLELM REX, same as his father, and can be identified by the following types - 1. Profile (1086-1089) 2. Cross in quatrefoil (1089-1092) 3. Cross voided (1092-1095) 4. Cross pattee & fleury (1095-1098) 5. Cross fleury & piles (1098-1100)
William II died in 1100 and was succeeded by his brother Henry, the fourth son of William the Conqueror.
Henry I (1100-1135)
The issue dates below are the currently accepted positon but could be subject to change based on new discoveries/hoard evidence etc.
1. Annulets (1100-1102) 2. Profile/Cross fleury (1102-1103) 3. PAX (1103-1105) 4. Annulets & piles (1105-1106) 5. Voided cross & fleurs (1106-1107) 6. Pointing bust & stars (1107-1109) 9. Cross in Quatrefoil (1109-1111) 7. Quatrefoil with piles (1111-1113) 8. Large profile/cross & annulets (from 1113) 11. Double Inscription (1115-1117) 10. Full Face/ Cross Fleury (1117-1119) 12. Smaller Profile/Cross & Annulets (1119-1121) 13. Star in Lozenge Fleury (1121-1123) 14. Pellets in Quatrefoil (1123-1125) 15. Quad. on Cross Fleury (1125-1135)
Henry I had declared his daughter, Matilda, as his heir but was actually succeeded by his nephew, Stephen of Blois. This resulted in a turbulent period in English history known as The Anarchy.
Stephen (1135-1154)
The coins of this turbulent period in English history are normally of very poor quality, quite often barely legible, bent and broken. Poor examples can still be of value if they help to identify mints and moneyers.
1. ‘Watford’ (1136-1145) 2. Cross voided & mullets (1145-1150) 6. Profile/cross & piles (1150-1154) 7. ‘Awbridge’ (1154-1158)