A rare round halfpenny of Henry I

Cut halfpennies and farthings of the Norman kings (William I to Stephen) turn up reasonably frequently, but round specimens are extremely rare. Henry I was the first to issue round halfpennies, and at first this was only understood through written records of the time. A coin eventually surfaced in 1950, having been identified after being found before 1877 — and it stood as the only known example for more than 40 years.

With the advent of metal detecting as a hobby it was only a matter of time before further examples would be found, albeit it took until 1989, when four examples were found. Since then a total of 24 examples have been recorded, with each example being of great importance to numismatists.

This year, on a MWS dig near Petersfield, a new member of the group — who only started detecting six months earlier — had a day to remember. Late in the day he found a small hammered coin that looked unusual. The coin was slightly bent and the details hard to see, the obverse having been double-struck. He duly recorded the coin and was stunned by the expert report.

This is the 25th example of an extremely rare silver round halfpenny of King Henry I (1100–1135 AD), minted at Winchester by the moneyer Ailwine (also spelled Ælfwine or Æthelwine), featuring an uncrowned facing bust on the obverse and a cross potent reverse. It is only the second known example of this particular coin — mint and moneyer.