Class 5h falls within the Long Cross coinage Henry III initiated in 1247 specifically to combat the widespread medieval practice of clipping — the earlier Short Cross design left the cross terminus hidden within the coin's edge, making undetected clipping trivially easy. Extending the cross arms to the rim made any removal of silver immediately visible. The reform worked, but the sheer volume of pennies required to recoin the entire English currency meant production ran continuously across dozens of moneyers for decades.
By 1270–72, Henry's reign was in steep physical and political decline; he died in November 1272. Coins struck in these final years were produced under his name but administrative control had quietly shifted toward the future Edward I.
Class 5h falls within the Long Cross coinage Henry III initiated in 1247 specifically to combat the widespread medieval practice of clipping — the earlier Short Cross design left the cross terminus hidden within the coin's edge, making undetected clipping trivially easy. Extending the cross arms to the rim made any removal of silver immediately visible. The reform worked, but the sheer volume of pennies required to recoin the entire English currency meant production ran continuously across dozens of moneyers for decades.
By 1270–72, Henry's reign was in steep physical and political decline; he died in November 1272. Coins struck in these final years were produced under his name but administrative control had quietly shifted toward the future Edward I.