DENOMINATIONS.--_Gold_, Penny. _Silver_, Pennies only.
OBVERSE.--_Type._ _Silver Penny._ Full face, crowned in some, without
neck or shoulders; on some, on the right of the head (in the legend),
a hand holding a sceptre over the head; in some, a mullet or star, in
others a crescent and mullet.
_Legend._ HERICVS. or HENRICVS.--REX. or REX ANG.--III. TER. or TERCI.
The legends of these coins are remarkable for the letters in many
instances being conjoined.
REVERSE.--_Type._ There are two mintages. The early one (called “short
cross pennies”) has a voided cross within the inner circle, and four
pellets conjoined in each compartment; but the practice of clipping
and filing the moneys had been carried to such an extent, that about
1248 Henry issued a new coinage, called “long cross pennies,” with the
same cross, but extending through to the outer edge, thereby rendering
any mutilation visible. The cross is a voided or double one, each end
terminating in a pellet, and one in the centre; three pellets were now
inserted in each compartment instead of four, and not conjoined.
_Legend._ Mint master’s and town names; some have TER. or TERCI. added;
as, TER. RI ON LVND. in continuation of obverse. One variety reads LIE
TERCI LON, being a continuation of HENRICVS REX ANG. of the obverse;
this, in full, would be “HENRICVS REX ANGLIE TERCI. LON.”
_Rarity._ Not uncommon; those with TERCI. and REX ANG. rare.
[Illustration]
_Gold._ The _Gold Penny_ of Henry III. was the first gold coin struck
by any English monarch; it is therefore important as marking a new era
in numismatics. The weight is forty-five grains, and it is of pure,
unalloyed gold. On the _obverse_ is a full length robed and crowned
figure of the king seated on a throne or chair of state, with sceptre
in right hand, and orb and cross in the left. Legend HENRIC REX III.
_Reverse_, a long double or voided cross and pellets, a rose between
the pellets in each compartment. This coin has fetched at sales as much
as £140.
From this time till Edward III., no other gold coins were struck by
English monarchs.