Some British medieval groats

Nap

The groat, or fourpence, was a workhorse of the British economy in the middle ages. Initially produced during the time of Edward I, to follow the continental coinage of France and the Holy Roman Empire, the coin did not achieve popularity until the time of Edward III. Groats were produced in great number and represented the largest silver denomination of coins from the late 1200s until about 1500 when Henry VII introduced the testoon, or shilling. The shilling didn't really catch on until the time of Edward VI, when the larger denominations of crown, halfcrown, shilling, and sixpence were introduced and came into general use. Following the English Civil Wars, the groat under Charles II became officially a fourpence, and its significance in English commerce declined significantly, as just another minor denomination. Colloquially, the name "groat" lived on into the 20th century, until the decimal coinage was introduced in the 1970s, and got rid of crowns, shillings, etc.

For collectors, the medieval groats are an appealing denomination, as they represent the largest silver denomination for several hundred years, and are usually of much higher quality workmanship than the pennies and halfpennies.

Groats were produced by every monarch from Edward I to Charles I, with the exception of Edward II whose largest denomination was the penny.

Groats were also produced in Scotland and Ireland and follow a similar pattern as the largest denomination of silver coinage until the Tudor period

Here is my collection of British groats so far. A few that I am still missing.

Edward I

Edward III

Richard II

Henry IV

Henry V

Henry VI

Edward IV

Richard III in the name of Edward V

Henry VII "medieval style"

Henry VII "Renaissance style"

Mary I

David II of Scotland

Robert III of Scotland

James II of Scotland

James IV of Scotland

James V of Scotland

Henry VIII of Ireland with Anne Boleyn (h A)

Henry VIII of Ireland with Jane Seymour (h I)

Henry VIII of Ireland with Katherine Howard (h K)

SaorAlba

<- Look at that, imagine this poster likes British groats ta me thinks.

bigmarty58

Wonderful collection!

Bob13

Wow. Really wonderful coins. Nice collecting theme.

ksammut

Thanks for the history lesson! It's a fascinating series

worldcoinguy

Excellent post! The historical context is much appreciated.

BSmith

Nice collection. I really like the Edward III and Mary.