Reverse (tails) of Norman silver penny minted in Northampton
This silver penny was made between 1083 and 1087 by a moneyer called Sewine, who worked for the Northampton mint.
The head (obverse) bears the inscription: PILLELMREX. The P is shorthand for pax, meaning peace in Latin, ILLELM is understood to be William and REX means king. This tells us that the coin was minted under the authority of William the Conqueror, the first Norman king of England who reigned from 1066 until his death in 1087.
The main coin made and used in medieval England was the silver penny, with 240 pennies being equal in value to a pound of silver. All coins in the medieval period were issued by royal patronage, meaning that the king awarded contracts for individuals to strike coins throughout his domain.
It is unclear when minting began in Northampton as not all coins bear the signature of the minting town, and some abridged mint names were used in more than one place. HAM on some coins could refer to either Northampton or Southampton, and at a later date, NOR was used to denote both Northampton and Norwich. The earliest coins which can attributed to Northampton were minted under the reign of Eadwig, from 955 to 959, and continued to be made here until the closure of the mint in 1250.
Number 36 of the objects selected for the A History of Northamptonshire in 100 Objects exhibition 2025.
© NMAG
© NMAG
©
NMAG
©
NMAG
©
The Trustees of the British Museum
