Overview:
Bristol had a mint from the early 11th century until c.1250. When Edward I started recoinage in June 1279, Bristol was not one of the cities granted an exchange. But, it was opened early in 1280 to relieve the overworked London mint and to facilitate the exchange of new money. The Royal Warders sent £2000 from London to set up a mint there¹. The mint closed a year later and while it was reopened for the recoinage of 1300 it never resumed its production of farthings.
The coinage of January 2, 1280 - July 1280 (Group II)
Farthings during this period were struck with a nominal weight up to 6.65 grains. A new indenture specified that 816 farthings were to be made from a
Tower pound of silver (up from 812 the previous year).
Previously farthings were only struck in
London, but to increase capacity, three regional "royal" mints were set up: Bristol and
York which produced farthings (as well as other denominations) and Canterbury which produced only pennies at this time.
Date: 1280
Mint: Bristol
Keeper of the Exchange: Peter de la Mare (Constable of Bristol Castle)¹
Type: Type 7
Diameter: 13mm
Weight: 0.43g (6¾ grains²)
Obverse: +
EDWARDVS R
EX
Trifoliate crown with tall side fleurs and straight band.
Reverse: VILA BRI STO LIE
"Long Cross" with three pellets in each quarter.
Reference(s):
W.7
N.1052
S.-
Fox. Group II
Scarcity: Rare
Guide Price:
£30 (Fine)
£80 (Very Fine)
Sold by:
-
(Dec. '02) A fine example of this coin (second photo) was sold by CNG, lot 215, for $44.
Date: 1280
Mint: Bristol
Keeper of the Exchange: Peter de la Mare (Constable of Bristol Castle)¹
Type: Type 7 Variant
Diameter: 13mm
Weight: 0.43g (6¾ grains²)
Obverse: +
EDWARDVS R
EX
Trifoliate crown with tall side fleurs and straight band.
Extra band to crown - not evident in Withers.
Reverse: VILA BRI STO LIE
"Long Cross" with three pellets in each quarter.
Reference(s):
W.-
N.1052
S.-
Fox.-
Scarcity: Rare
Guide Price:
£30 (Fine)
£80 (Very Fine)
Sold by:
The coinage of c.July 1280 - c.December 1280 (Group IIIc)
If Edwards' recoinage was to be a success, an enormous quantity of new coinage was required to replace the long cross coinage which was demonitised in August 1280. This vast output required the production of new dies on an almost daily basis, resulting in a gradual modification of the coinage over time. A new regional "royal" mint was established at
Lincoln, and while the production of farthings was not expressly prohibited at Lincoln, no farthings from this mint have been found. The regional mints remained active until December 1281.
Date: 1280
Mint: Bristol
Keeper of the Exchange: Peter de la Mare (Constable of Bristol Castle)¹
Type: Type 8
Diameter: 13mm
Weight: 0.43g (6¾ grains²)
Obverse: +
EDWARDVS R
EX
Trifoliate crown with short side fleurs and curved band.
X is small and plain or wide with long serifs. A can be
unbarred, barred or double-barred.
Reverse: VILA BRI STO LIE
"Long Cross" with three pellets in each quarter.
Reference(s):
W.8
N.1052
S.-
Fox. Type 3c
Scarcity: Rare
Guide Price:
£30 (Fine)
£80 (Very Fine)
Date: 1280
Mint: Bristol
Keeper of the Exchange: Peter de la Mare (Constable of Bristol Castle)¹
Type: Type 8(i)
Diameter: 13mm
Weight: 0.43g (6¾ grains²)
Obverse: +
EDWARDVS R
EX
Trifoliate crown with short side fleurs and curved band.
X is small and plain or wide with long serifs. A can be
unbarred, barred or double-barred.
Reverse: VILL ABR ISTO LLIE
Two L's in Bristol. "Long Cross" with three pellets in
each quarter.
Reference(s):
W.8(i)
N.1052
S.-
Fox. Type 3c
Scarcity: Rare
Guide Price:
£30 (Fine)
£80 (Very Fine)
The coinage of c. Christmas 1280 - Autumn 1281 (Group IIIde)
In late December 1280 it was declared that any new farthings were to be made from sterling silver. Previously, all farthings had a certain amount of alloy added to the silver to make the coins larger for convienient use, but from a monetary point of view, the alloyed silver issue proved unpopular. Without the added weight of the alloy, these new farthings were lighter than the previous issues, with a nominal weight of only 5.51 grains
This issue of farthings was also produced at the regional "royal" mints of
Lincoln,
Newcastle and
York, .
Date: 1280-81
Mint: Bristol
Keeper of the Exchange: Peter de la Mare (Constable of Bristol Castle)¹
Type: Type 10
Diameter: 11mm
Weight: 0.33g (5½ grains²)
Obverse: +
ER AN GL I
E
R with wedge tail. Barred A. Normal or long-limbed E.
Reverse: VILL ABR ISTO LLIE
Two L's in Bristol. "Long Cross" with three pellets in
each quarter.
Reference(s):
W.10
N.-
S.-
Fox. Type 3de
Scarcity: Rare
Guide Price:
£30 (Fine)
£80 (Very Fine)
Date: 1280-81
Mint: Bristol
Keeper of the Exchange: Peter de la Mare (Constable of Bristol Castle)¹
Type: Type 10 die error I
Diameter: 11mm
Weight: 0.33g (5½ grains²)
Obverse: +
ER AN GL I
E
R with wedge tail. Barred A. Normal or long-limbed E. The "E" in
ANGLIE appears to have been overstruck with a reversed E.
Reverse: VILL ABR ISTO LLIE
Two L's in Bristol. "Long Cross" with three pellets in
each quarter.
Reference(s):
W.10
N.-
S.-
Fox. Type 3de
Scarcity: Rare
Guide Price:
£30 (Fine)
£80 (Very Fine)
Date: 1280-81
Mint: Bristol
Keeper of the Exchange: Peter de la Mare (Constable of Bristol Castle)¹
Type: Type 10 die variety
Diameter: 11mm
Weight: 0.33g (5½ grains²)
Obverse: +
ER AN GL I
E
R with wedge tail. Barred A. Normal or long-limbed E.
Reversed N.
Reverse: VILL ABR ISTO LLIE
Two L's in Bristol. "Long Cross" with three pellets in
each quarter.
Reference(s):
W. Unlisted variety
N.-
S.-
Fox. Type 3de
Scarcity: Rare
Guide Price:
£30 (Fine)
£80 (Very Fine)
Note: The "N" in ANGLIE is reversed (unlisted in Withers).
The coinage of late Autumn 1281 (Group IIIg)
In late Autumn 1281 farthing production at the regional mints had come to an end - with the exception of a single obverse die of Type IIIg that was sent to the Bristol mint.
Date: Late Autumn 1281
Mint: Bristol
Keeper of the Exchange: Peter de la Mare (Constable of Bristol Castle)¹
Type: Type 13
Diameter: 11mm
Weight: 0.33g (5½ grains²)
Obverse: +ER AN GL IE
A new wide crown. Very short, curving side fleurs.
Large pointed
spearheads. Face as Types 8-10 & 12.
Reverse: VILL ABR ISTO LLIE
Two L's in Bristol. "Long Cross" with three pellets in
each quarter.
Reference(s):
W. Unlisted
N.-
S.-
Fox.-
Scarcity: Rare
Guide Price:
£30 (Fine)
£80 (Very Fine)
Can't find your coin?
¹ MATE, M. 1972: Monetary Policies in England, 1272-1307 (BNJ 41) pp
79
² SEABY, BA. (ed) 1948: Notes on English Silver Coins 1066-1648 to
help collectors in their classification (London, Seaby). pp 87
RSS Updates
![[Valid RSS]](../valid-rss.png "Validate my RSS feed")