1/2 Penny - John Short Cross type, class 5a2

Class 5a2 falls within the Short Cross coinage introduced under Henry II in 1180, a deliberate reform intended to suppress the widespread practice of coin-clipping by fixing the cross on the reverse to the coin's edge — a design that ironically failed at that specific goal. John inherited both the coinage and the problem. These halfpennies circulated alongside cut farthings, since no round farthings were struck, and the coin-cutting was done by hand in the marketplace with whatever precision the vendor managed.