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Hammered Pennies of England: Difficulty Level?
nicholasz219
Posts: 1,386 ✭✭✭
I have recently started purchasing hammered pennies from England and thought it might be nice to do a set by ruler as far back as financially possible. Has anyone attempted or completed a set like this? Realistically, what price range am I looking at? I'd like to spend no more than $50 per coin, which may be very realistic for some rulers and completely hopeful for others.
Also, if there is anyone who has a good dealer in mind that would be of assistance to me, that would be a great help as well. I like to troll the Bay for coins but as I am discovering, there seems to be a very hit or miss quality to coins when it comes to certain rulers and denominations.
All help and advice is welcome.
Thanks,
Nick
Also, if there is anyone who has a good dealer in mind that would be of assistance to me, that would be a great help as well. I like to troll the Bay for coins but as I am discovering, there seems to be a very hit or miss quality to coins when it comes to certain rulers and denominations.
All help and advice is welcome.
Thanks,
Nick
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The cheapest hammered pennies are from the late Anglo-Saxon period, where massive hoards from Scandanavia or Russia exist. An average circulated specimen will cost at least 3-figures.
Good luck.
EVP
How does one get a hater to stop hating?
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CIVITAS Galleries, Ltd.
Part of the fun for me is trying to find good coins at a good price so I guess the thrill of collecting will be even more pronounced in this case if I find bargains where there shouldn't be any.
I have a penny from Elizabeth I and James I so far.im pretty excited about this project.
Ha, no one is taking my stupid poll.
Please keep us updated on this, I'd love to see how it progresses.
William I : very difficult
William II : almost impossible
Henry I : difficult
Stephen : almost impossible
(Anarchy, including Empress Matilda): almost impossible
Henry II : moderate *
Richard I : difficult *
John : easy *
Henry III : easy *
Edward I : very easy
Edward II : easy
Edward III : easy
Richard II : moderate
Henry IV : almost impossible
Henry V : moderate
Henry VI : moderate
Edward IV : easy
Henry VI second reign : difficult
Edward IV second reign : easy
Edward V : impossible
Richard III : very difficult
Henry VII : easy
Henry VIII : moderate
Edward VI : moderate
Mary I sole reign : very difficult
Mary I and Philip : difficult
Elizabeth I : easy
James I : easy
Charles I : easy (if you include copper farthings)
(Commonwealth) : easy
(Protectorate) : impossible
Charles II : easy
The coins marked with an asterisk are "short cross pennies" and all bear the name of HENRICVS, even when the king in question wasn't named "Henry". They look identical at first glance; you'll need an expert eye and a good guide book for hammered coins (Spink isn't really good enough) to tell them apart yourself. I have a couple of short cross pennies, labelled as "Henry II" by the dealers that sold them; it turned out they were both attributable to John. The problem is, of course, that for coins in the price range in question, the fine details on these coins needed to tell the differences between the monarchs may be obscured or missing; you might need to pay above your threshold, just to gain the certainty of actually having a coin from the particular monarchs in question.
Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations"
Apparently I have been awarded one DPOTD.
The knowledge on this board never ceases to amaze me.
My Type Set
Most of my coins were less than 50 bucks, including several medieval hammered pennies. I did have some that were worth more than that. Probably my toughest was a penny of King Stephen, which was the only Norman-period coin I had. I never completed the set but I had a lot of fun with it, and I think I had everybody from the Tudors (or at least Henry VIII) on up. I had to settle for a non-portrait colonial-issue coin for Edward VIII, of course.
Some of the stuff I was buying for $50-75 back in 1992 or so would be well into the three figure range, now. I think I paid less than $100 for that Stephen Watford type penny but that was a lucky stroke even then (bought it from a dealer who strictly sold US coins).
You would have a challenge on your hands if you tried the monarch type set, but you could make good progress towards it, even on a modest budget. And most of what I learned about British history stems from the time I pursued that collection. It was fun and educational.