Hammered Coins
Nearly all coins produced until 1662 on the territorry that is now the UK and Ireland were hammered.
Hammered British Coins
By law, the face value of Hammered English coins had had to correspond to its precious metal content and so, for example, a coin valued at twenty shillings would have to contain twenty shillings’ worth of precious metal content. If a coin was underweight or of low fineness it was, in effect, not worth its face value and, by issuing such inferior coins, a dishonest moneyer could make extra profit. This problem was addressed by having the name of the moneyer and mint included in the reverse legend so that any substandard coins could be attributed to their maker – a practice which continued up to the reign of Henry III and a few issues of Edward I. The collector might note that, as a general rule, the moneyer's name is found first on all issues and is usually followed by ‘on’ (meaning ‘of’) and the name of the mint. So, for example, the reverse legend might read ‘Ricard on Lund’.
In virtually all hammered issues the bust of the reigning monarch is to be found on the obverse with his or her name and, normally, title in the legend. The reverse usually bears some design and often the name of the town in which the coin was minted.
James I, Sixpence (Ewerby Hoard) in Fair
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