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Gold penny of Henry III, 1257

William of Gloucester (moneyer) · 1257

A worn gold penny of 20 pence minted in the reign of Henry III in 1257, with the moneyer William of Gloucester named. It connects to the Magna Carta figure through the king who confirmed the 1215 charter.

A coin from the reign of Henry III, the king who confirmed Magna Carta, showing the royal money of the period that followed the charter.

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Two sides of a worn gold medieval coin. The obverse shows a crowned king seated on a throne holding a sceptre, with a lettered legend around the rim. The reverse shows a long cross dividing the coin into four quarters, each with a trefoil flower design and a beaded border with lettering around the edge.
Gold penny of Henry III, minted 1257, moneyer William of Gloucester. Portable Antiquities Scheme, found near Hemyock, Devon.

About this source

What it is

This is a gold penny of 20 pence from the reign of Henry III, dated 1257. It names the moneyer William of Gloucester, the official responsible for making it, and was minted in London. A metal detectorist found it on cultivated land near Hemyock, Devon, in September 2021. The Portable Antiquities Scheme recorded it, and the Guardian reported in 2022 that it was sold for £648,000.

Why it matters

Henry III was the king who confirmed the Magna Carta of 1215 after his father King John agreed to it. Coins like this show how royal money was issued in the king's name and produced by named officials. Its wear shows that it passed through many hands, which gives students a sense of how ordinary people used royal money.

Look closer

  • What do the king's image and the cross on the reverse suggest about how royal power was shown?
  • Why might a coin name the moneyer who made it?
  • What does this coin leave out about the people who handled it every day?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Magna Carta on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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