43? A. D. 1278. 



fides vaft numbers in other parts of the kingdom, vvhofe property was 

 all confifcated. Some Chriftians were alfo hanged for being concerned 

 with the Jew's, and others were heavily fined. [7?o/. pat. 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 

 Edw. I. — M. Wsftm. p. 409 — T. Wikes, p. 107 — Walfingham, p. 48. J 



1279 The awkward contrivance of making halfpennies and far- 

 things by breaking pennies into two or four pieces, which prefented a 

 very tempting opportunity of cutting fome of the filver from the pieces, 

 was flill in ufe, though round halfpennies and farthings had been many 

 years in circulation, but probably no't in fufficient quantity. In order 

 to prevent fo great a temptation to fraud, and to banifh all the counter- 

 feit or defaced money from the circulation, the king ordered a complete 

 new coinage of round pennies, halfpennies, and farthings, and alfo fome 

 pieces of four pennies each * ; and thenceforth no other than round 

 money was allowed to be current f . [ylmi. Waver/, p. 234. — T. Wikes, 

 p. 108. — M. Wejlm. p. 409 — Slaw's Ann. p. 307.] 



It feems probable that King Edward alfo coined pieces of two pen- 

 nies, as Alexander king of Scotland coined pieces of that value, and, we 

 may prefume, others of four pennies :|:. 



In order to difperfe the new money quickly through the kingdom, 

 it was given to the people in exchange for the old bad money, on pay- 

 ing the difference, at the minting offices, called changes or exchanges, 

 eftabliftied in moft of the principal towns. \ft. Wikesy p. 108.] At this 

 time the mint, or exchange (' cambium'), of London was under the 

 management of fome merchants from Luca in Italy, together with Gre- 

 gory de Rokefle mayor of London. {Madox's Hijl. of the excheq. c. 22, 

 § 4 ; f . 23, § I.] As we have good reafon to believe, that the Englifli 

 filver-fmiths were by no means deficient in their art, we muft fuppofe, 

 either that the king was under pecuniary obligations to the foreigners, 

 or that his own fubjeds were inferior to the Italians in the knowlege of 

 accounts, which is the moft probable. 



In the dark ages the people were made to believe, that the furefl way 

 to obtain eternal happinefs was to beftow their property upon, what 



♦ The coinage of four-periny pieces by Ed- land, has already been noticed and accounted for. 



ward I is mentioned, 1 believe, only by Stow; See above, p. 385, note. 



and it was thought a mitlake. ^Fleetwoed't Chron. % A piece of two pennies, coined by King Alex- 



prec. p. 38, td. 1745.] But his veracity is con- ander, is preferved in the Advocates' library at 



llrmcd by Mr. Folkes, who weighed eleven fuch Edinburgh, and is afcribed to Alexander I [. 



pieces of Edward I, and found them very unequal, [^Rudd. Pref. ad And. Dipt. p. 64.] But, as the 



fome too light, and others much too heavy, kings were net numbered on their coins in thofc 



^Tahhs of coins, p.'^.'\ They were probably never ages, it feems more reafonable to afTign it to his 



very numerous, nor generally current ; and it is fon, the only Alexander contemporary with Ed- 



pretty evident, that they, as well as the gold coins ward I, than to fuppofe that the Scots preceded 



of Henry III, were forgotten in the reign of the EngliHi in any innovation or improvement. 



Edward III. 'J'here is in the fame colledion a two-pciuiy piece 



f The milakcn notion, that this was the firft afcribed to Edward I. But, for the reafon now 



coinage of round halfpennies and faithings in Eng- given, it may be doubted, which Edward it be- 



3 longs to. 



