Large denomination and a lot of silver - a medieval treasure from the UK

In 2017, near the town of Beeston, Malcolm Shepard found a medieval treasure. It consisted of silver coins, allegedly hidden between 1498 and 1504 years.

Among them, there are 9 silver four-penny Edward IV, 14 silver four-penny Henry VII, 1 penny Edward IV, 1 farding Edward II and 1 double patar of the Burgundian duke Karl the Bold. One of the coins of Edward IV, minted in the years 1480-1483, has a hole for wearing.

The one who hid the treasure, specially selected for storage of a coin of a rather large denomination of 4 pence, it contained a lot of silver. One penny and one farthing could get into their number by chance.

Fourpence made from metal containing 92.5% pure silver. Since 1158, King Henry II made this alloy the standard for English silver coins. Such currency was used in England until 1544, when the so-called Great Coin Damage took place.

Under Henry VIII, the old silver coins were withdrawn from circulation, and in the new the silver content was significantly lower than their nominal value. It did not exceed 70% first, then 50%, and by March 1546 it had decreased to 33.3%, the rest was copper.

Due to the great damage, English coins were no longer accepted in other countries. They were often found in the English treasure of the end of the 15th and early 16th centuries, but after the 1530s they were gone.