[MR] History Blog: Henry III Gold Penny Sold

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends,

Wow! After a long dry spell, I finally found a medieval story to share with
you all.

The History Blog reports that a Henry III gold penny has sold at auction
for the equivalent of $873,000. That's pretty expensive for a coin that was
only worth 20 pence, but the History Blog explains why.

There were only 52,000 of the coins minted in 1257. They weren't popular,
as they were actually worth more for the gold itself (which suggests some
might have been remelted on the sly). After about ten years of circulation,
Henry had them bought back for 24 pence each to be remelted. Counting this
pricey example, there are only eight known survivors.

The anonymous buyer plans to display the coin in a museum on permanent loan.

The story is at http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/63197 .

Yours Aye,


Lord Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆