I. The RUDE, to 1504.

II. The GOTHIC or TUDOR, from 1504 to 1656.
III. The SIMONIAN, 1656 to the present time.

I. The RUDE, to 1504.

This section I term "rude" from the fact that the portrait is so rough and rude that there was certainly no attempt by the engravers to produce a likeness, for throughout this series any one is as like its original as any other, The cross and pellets, name of mintage-town and, on some, a Latin motto, generally fill the reverse of the silver coins; the obverse bearing the effigy of "my liege," and round the field his name and dignities.

When William I found himself master of the field of Hastings and his opponent numbered among the dead, he did his best to induce his new subjects to believe he succeeded to the throne of England, not by conquest but by right of descent and as lawful heir of Edward the Confessor; and it is worthy of note that in Domesday Book, his arrival is referred to by the phrase, "after King William had come," as though he had merely "come to his own without opposition;" and only once does "after King William had conquered “England" appear. One of his first acts was to satisfy his new subjects that the coinage would not be changed, and it was with no little pleasure they found his money passing of the same weight, fineness and denomination as that of Harold. "In his laws the fines are regulated by pounds, oras, marcs, "shillings and pence. The shillings are sometimes expressly stated to be English shillings of fourpence each. But in "Domesday Book various other denominations of money are "to be found; such as the mite, farthing, halfpenny, marc of "gold and of silver, ounce of gold and marsum."* The

• Ruding's Annals of the Coinage of Great Britain, vol. i, p. 147.

penny was the only coined money that is known; the remainder being believed to be merely money by name or names of certain different weights of the respective metals, as on some of the Prussian thalers of our own day we read "XIV eine feine Mark," the mark in this instance being a particular weight of pure silver, and 1-14th mixed with its proportion of alloy is issued as one Thaler.

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The following table of value is given in the Encyclopædia Britannica :—

THE POUND.-Was a denomination of money only, and not a coin, and signified as many coins as were made out of a pound of metal 5400 grains Troy.

THE MARK.-The same: an Anglo-Danish denomination, two-thirds of a Pound 8 oz.-3600 grains.

THE MANCUS.-The same: a weight equal to 30 pennies 6 shillings. Ye ORA. The same: Danish subdivision of the mark, one-eighth or one ounce 450 grains.

=

THE THRISMA.-Three Saxon pennies: not a coin.

THE SHILLING.-Five pennies-112 grains: not a coin.

THE SCEATTE, PENNY, HALFLING, FEARTHLING, STYCA.-Real coins.

But William was not on the throne long, after he felt himself secure, before he violated his promises and declared that the French computation of twelve pence to one shilling should henceforth be used in England. It is very difficult to determine which coins belong to William I, and which to his son William II; the only ones which all authorities agree to belong to William I, are those with "Pax" on the reverse, or "P.A.X.S." (see Plate I), which are believed to have been struck to commemorate the peace between himself and his son Robert.

HISTORIC SOCIETY OF LANCASHIRE AND CHESHIRE, VOL. 5, N. S.

Penny of William I.

SECTION II. GOTHIC OR TUDOR.

Though William used the Roman W on his great sealWillelmum-he adopted the Saxon on his coins, and the inscription reads thus "Yillem Rex," the reverse bearing the name of the moneyer and mint. William II seems to have made two alterations in his father's dies; in one case he has "LVILLEM DVO," and in another he introduces the Roman letter W in Willelmus.

Even at this early period we find the King and country waging a "law war" against forgers and counterfeiters; and Henry I, directly he ascended the throne, proclaimed heavy punishments against that generally unseen scourge of society, by the loss of the hand, the loss of sight, and even more severe penalties than these; but all proved so ineffectual that the Church was called to the protection of the legal coinage.

As they offer nothing of particular interest, I will pass over the subsequent reigns to that of King John. This King had, during his father's lifetime, been sent over to Ireland, and he adopted the title of "Lord of Ireland," his Irish money bearing his effigy in a triangle and the legend Iohannes Dom., and on the reverse his moneyer and mint. Upon ascending the throne of England he changed his title on the Irish coins to Rex, but retained" Dominus" on his great seal. Clipped money had been a source of great annoyance, and though laws had been passed for its better protection, still John found it necessary in 1205 to issue a proclamation; this was unusually severe, for it affected any one having clipped money in his possession. Should such be found the coins so defaced were bored through and the possessor's chattels were seized and retained during the King's pleasure; but if the possessor were a Jew or Jewess, his or her body was to be kept during the King's pleasure-thus we find the Hebrew people subject to special legislation.