Hammered coins: how to identify medieval English silver

Your first hammered coin is one of the best moments in detecting. A thin silver disc, often bent, with a cross on one side and a face on the other.

Most hammered silver from English fields is pennies, halfpennies and farthings. Here’s how to place them.

What “hammered” means

Hammered coins were struck by hand: a blank between two dies, hit with a hammer. They’re thin, often not quite round, and the design is often off-centre.

Machinery arrived at the Tower Mint under Charles II. The Royal Mint Museum says machine-struck gold began in February 1662, with the silver coinage rolled out over the following year or so. For a short while both methods ran side by side, because demand was so high.

Machine-made coins were thicker and more even. They also had milled or lettered edges, which stopped clipping.

Start with the reverse

The cross on the back is the fastest way to a date.

Short cross (from 1180). Introduced by Henry II, and used by four kings. The cross is short and doesn’t reach the edge of the coin.

Long cross (1247–1279). Introduced by Henry III. The cross is voided (drawn as double lines) and runs right out to the edge. There are three pellets in each angle.

Edwardian (from 1279). Edward I’s great recoinage. Long cross with three pellets again, but now the reverse names the mint, not the moneyer.

Long cross pennies, 1247–1279

UKDFD’s guide gives the spec: 0.925 silver, about 22 grains (1.43 g) and about 18 mm across. The obverse shows a crowned, facing bust with the king’s name.

The cross ran to the edge to beat clippers. If any of the four cross-ends were missing, the coin was illegal. In practice, it didn’t work well. Plenty of coins fall short, and some left the mint that way through off-centre striking.

There were seven main classes. Class 1 (1247–1248) names no moneyer on the reverse. From class 2, the moneyer is named. Nineteen mints were working during the recoinage of 1248–1250. The last two classes were struck under Edward I.

These were the last coins, with one exception, to name the moneyer. And the last type officially cut into halves and quarters for change.

Edwardian pennies, from 1279

Rod Blunt describes the design that lasted more than two hundred years:

• Obverse: crowned bust of the king, facing.
• Obverse legend: the king’s name and titles.
• Reverse: long cross with three pellets in each angle.
• Reverse legend: the name of the mint.

The catch: for nearly a hundred years every penny just says EDWARD. Edward I, II and III didn’t add a number. Collectors sort them using the Fox classification, published in the British Numismatic Journal between 1909 and 1913. It splits the coins into fifteen groups by the style of the bust and lettering. Blunt’s guide has identification aids for the details.

Edward I also made the halfpenny and farthing work. The Royal Mint says earlier halfpennies under Henry I and Henry III were so few that they’re thought of as trials.

Bigger coins

The groat (4d). Edward I tried one in 1279–1281, but it failed. The Royal Mint says only around 100 survive. The groat became a common coin from 1351, under Edward III.

Gold. The noble of Edward III was the first gold coin made in large numbers. The angel arrived in 1465 under Edward IV and was struck until 1642. Henry VII’s sovereign followed in 1489.

Gold finds are rare. If you find one, photograph it in place, note the spot and call your Finds Liaison Officer.

Reading the legend

Medieval letters can look strange, and neighbouring letters are often joined. Parts of the legend may be weak or off the flan. UKDFD suggests studying its mints and moneyers section to learn the letter forms.

Read the legend from the top, clockwise. Write down every letter you can see, with a dot for each one you can’t.

Cleaning

Don’t. Rinse off loose soil in water and let it dry. Abrasive cleaning can remove detail and make a coin harder to identify.

Reporting

A single hammered coin usually isn’t Treasure in England, Wales or Northern Ireland (the exception is the 2023 class for finds of exceptional significance). Two or more coins from the same find, at least 300 years old and at least 10% precious metal, are. See what counts as treasure. In Scotland, every archaeological find must be reported; see our Scotland guide.

For older coins, see Roman coin identification.

FAQ

What is a hammered coin?

A coin struck by hand, with a hammer, between two dies. In England, machinery replaced it at the Tower Mint from 1662. Production of machine-struck gold began in February 1662, and silver followed over the next year or so.

How do I tell a short cross from a long cross penny?

Look at the reverse. On a short cross penny the cross is short and doesn't reach the edge. On a long cross penny (1247–1279) the voided cross runs right out to the edge, through the legend, to make clipping obvious.

Why are so many hammered coins cut in half?

For change. Before Edward I's reforms, pennies were officially cut into halves and quarters, using the cross as a guide. The long cross pennies were the last type officially cut this way. Edward I successfully introduced round halfpennies and farthings from 1279.

How can I tell which Edward is on a penny?

It's hard. From 1279 the pennies just say EDWARD with no number, for almost a hundred years. Numismatists use the Fox classification, based on details of the bust and lettering, to put them into groups. Rod Blunt's online guide has identification aids.

Do I have to report a hammered coin?

A single coin usually isn't Treasure. Two or more coins from the same find, at least 300 years old and with at least 10% precious metal, are. In England and Wales, the PAS Code of Practice asks you to record finds like this voluntarily. In Scotland, report all archaeological finds.

Sources

Every figure in this guide comes from one of these. We checked each one on 1 November 2026.

1. The Royal Mint, “The Oldest Coins Struck by The Royal Mint”. www.royalmint.com/stories/collect/the-oldest-coins-struck-by-the-royal-mint/
2. Royal Mint Museum, “Charles II”. www.royalmintmuseum.org.uk/journal/british-monarchs/charles-ii/
3. UK Detector Finds Database, “Long Cross Pennies (1247–1279)”. www.ukdfd.co.uk/pages/Long-Cross-Pennies/Long%20Cross%20Pennies%20P1.htm
4. Rod Blunt, “Early Edwardian Pennies”. www.rodblunt.com/edwardian-pennies
5. Portable Antiquities Scheme, Code of Practice for Responsible Metal Detecting. finds.org.uk/guides/detecting-guidance/code-of-practice-for-responsible-metal-detecting
6. Treasure Act 1996 Code of Practice (3rd revision), GOV.UK. www.gov.uk/government/publications/treasure-act-1996-code-of-practice-3rd-revision