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1 Penny - Richard I Short Cross type, class 2
| Issuer | Royal Mint (England) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1189-1199 |
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| Currency | Pound sterling (1158-1970) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Facing crowned bust of the king rendered in the flat, stylised manner characteristic of late 12th-century English hammered coinage. The effigy displays a schematic frontal face with large, almond-shaped eyes, a prominent nose, and a small mouth, enclosed within a beaded inner circle. The crown is depicted with three fleurs or ornamental projections rising from a simple band. A partial circumscription in Latin surrounds the design within the beaded border, reading HENRICVS REX, attributing the legend to the reigning name Henry — a convention maintained throughout the Short Cross series regardless of the actual monarch. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Richard I spent fewer than six months of his ten-year reign in England, yet the English mint machinery ground on without him, producing short cross pennies under the authority of local moneyers whose names appear on the coins themselves. The class 2 issue falls at the opening of his reign, transitioning directly out of the late Henrician coinage — distinguishable primarily by subtle lettering differences that occupied Victorian numismatists for decades before a coherent classification emerged.
The short cross design, introduced in 1180 under Henry II as a deliberate anti-clipping measure, would remain frozen on English pennies until 1247, outlasting five monarchs.