British Coins

British coinage in the Barber collection begins in the first century BC with coins produced in the Channel Islands, under the influence of Continental models.

By the first century AD local rulers were producing coins with clear Roman influences, until Britain was largely brought under Roman rule.

From the mid first century A.D. until 410 coinage was minted by the Roman state for Britain, and for a long time thereafter Roman coins seem to have been use by local communities for trade and exchange. These coins became increasingly worn, and often continued to circulate long after the designs on them became almost invisible.

From the seventh century Anglo-Saxon coins began to be produced in Britain, which were completely different from the earlier Roman copper coins in appearance and value. This silver penny of Aethelred II (AD 978-1016), minted in Lincoln carries a large cross, a royal bust and an inscription including the name of the king and the location of the mint.