Class 5b sits within the broader restructuring of English silver coinage that Edward I initiated with the Recoinage of 1279, one of the most ambitious monetary reforms in medieval English history. The classification into lettered sub-classes reflects subtle die differences — primarily in the form of the lettering and the bishop's eye stops — that allow specialists to sequence production across individual mints and years with unusual precision for the period.
By the 5b phase, output was concentrated at London and Canterbury. The short window of 1289–1291 corresponds with renewed enforcement of clipping statutes, partly driven by the widespread debasement arriving via continental trade channels.
Class 5b sits within the broader restructuring of English silver coinage that Edward I initiated with the Recoinage of 1279, one of the most ambitious monetary reforms in medieval English history. The classification into lettered sub-classes reflects subtle die differences — primarily in the form of the lettering and the bishop's eye stops — that allow specialists to sequence production across individual mints and years with unusual precision for the period.
By the 5b phase, output was concentrated at London and Canterbury. The short window of 1289–1291 corresponds with renewed enforcement of clipping statutes, partly driven by the widespread debasement arriving via continental trade channels.