Henry IV's "heavy" coinage designation reflects a political reality rather than a technical one: these pennies were struck to the pre-1412 weight standard before Henry was forced to reduce the penny from 18 grains to 15 grains due to a chronic shortage of bullion. The reduction, enacted in that year, was among the first official debasements of the English silver penny in over a century.
London's output under Henry IV was substantial relative to the provincial mints, though the king's reign opened in financial strain — the usurpation of Richard II in 1399 left the new Lancastrian government managing considerable debt.
Henry IV's "heavy" coinage designation reflects a political reality rather than a technical one: these pennies were struck to the pre-1412 weight standard before Henry was forced to reduce the penny from 18 grains to 15 grains due to a chronic shortage of bullion. The reduction, enacted in that year, was among the first official debasements of the English silver penny in over a century.
London's output under Henry IV was substantial relative to the provincial mints, though the king's reign opened in financial strain — the usurpation of Richard II in 1399 left the new Lancastrian government managing considerable debt.