ABSTRACT
The Currency.—England’s currency throughout the Middle Ages was based mainly on silver. Gold coins circulated, but never in sufficient quantity to perform more than a fraction of the work of exchange. For long the only coin in current use was the silver penny, dating from the eighth century. It was the 240th part of a pound of silver and weighed at the Norman Conquest, 22½ grains troy. 1 In appearance, the silver penny was something like a modern sixpence, only thinner and lighter. It was roughly minted, which made clipping and counterfeiting easy. This explains the chronically wretched condition of England’s currency in the Middle Ages. So long as the bad money was not called in, it was useless for the government to try the remedy of partial recoinages. By the action of a well-known economic law 2 the bad money simply drove the good out of circulation. The full-weight coins issued from the mints were selected for melting down or export. The bad money continued to circulate, since unless it was so bad as to be detected, it was as effective for internal purchases as the good money. Another source of defective coins was the dishonesty of the moneyers, whom it was very difficult to control, as they worked in little mints scattered over the country. Not until the close of the seventeenth century were all minting operations concentrated in London.
