WATTON MEDIEVAL SILVER COIN HOARD

A hoard of medieval, pure silver pennies unearthed by a metal detectorist was probably the contents of a lost purse.

A mixture of 69 pennies, halfpennies and farthings were found in late 2021 and early 2022 near Watton, Norfolk.

Coin expert Adrian Marsden said "with a penny worth about a day's wages, the loss represents upwards of two month's work and wages" for a medieval worker. The hoard, which dates to Henry II's reign, has been declared treasure.

Dr Marsden, from the Norfolk Historic Environment Service, believes it was probably lost by a merchant, "someone who's dealing in coins all the time so he's got fractions as well as pennies".

"I suspect if they've lost that amount of money, they could probably afford it," he said.

"It might be life savings but I think if you've got that sort of money you can probably afford to lose it."

The purse itself would have been made from an organic material which has long since rotted away.

Silver pennies were the only coins in circulation after the Norman Conquest, so traders would cut them in half to make halfpennies and in quarters to make farthings.

 

The hoard includes coins from the reigns of Henry II (1154-1189), his sons Richard the Lionheart (1189-1199) and John (1199-1216), and his grandson Henry III (1216-1272).

There are also three William the Lion of Scotland pennies, which "happily circulated in England, as English pennies did in Scotland", according to the coin expert.

To read the complete article, see:
Watton medieval silver coin hoard was probably a lost purse (https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-norfolk-68685683)

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