$ 950.00 USD Size Guide
Please Note: This is an authentic Braveheart Era Silver Long Cross Penny Treasure Coin, and you will receive the exact pendant in the photographs and description.
SEE COIN DETAILS BELOW FOR PENDANT SIZE
Edward I, who reigned from 1272-1307, is regarded as one of England’s most successful soldier kings. Perhaps we know him best from watching the movie Braveheart. While most certainly romantic, very little of the movie is historically accurate. Edward was tall for his time (and very intimidating), thus landing him the nickname “Edward Longshanks,” and his brutal treatment of the Scots garnered him another nickname, “Hammer of the Scots.” While Edward made many positive changes in England, he is perhaps most remembered for the Wars of Scottish Independence (the first war 1296–1328) and the capture and execution of William Wallace in 1305.
Historical Note: William Wallace did not mint any coins during his time. However, this silver penny was the "coin of the realm" and he and his men would have carried them in their pouches.
Robert's Notes: Stunning cross and clear portrait. This coin was lost not long after it was minted.
Each of these coins comes from a collection 25 years in the making by a metal detector friend of ours in England. For a quarter century, he has hunted the land around York for hand-hammered silver currency. Countless thousands of hours have gone into bring this coin to you.
Edward was returning home from the 9th Crusade when he received word that his father, Henry III, had died. Moneyers on the European continent had been minting low-silver content pennies. Called “black money” due to their color created by high quantities of copper, they usually contained much less than 50% silver. As Edward passed through on his way back to England, he witnessed the distrust that these coins faced and he determined that his coins would not suffer the same fate.
Black money was also circulating illegally in England, and in 1275, Edward commanded his engravers to design a new coin. In 1279 he decreed that everyone bring their money to the nearest mint and exchange it for his new coins, which then became England’s legal tender. The result was a larger coin called a groat (26-29mm), the traditional penny (19-22mm), the halfpenny (14-16mm) and the farthing (10-12mm).
It is this penny – bearing the revered long-cross, which became a standard throughout England for generations.
