East Riding Museums

Class IVb silver short cross penny; mint of London, moneyer: Willelm. Find: Bainton Hoard. The short cross penny was produced in the reigns of Henry II (1180-1189), Richard I (1189-1199), John (1199-1216) and Henry III (1216-1272). They all bear the name HENRICUS, a bearded portrait and the moneyers name & cross on the reverse. The Bainton hoard of 133 Medieval silver short cross pennies was found in a field at Bainton, near Driffield by metal detectorist Keith Bayles in 1982. They were found in seven or eight piles, so clearly deliberately buried as a group, rather than lost. The surrounding fields showed evidence of occupation in the form of earthworks, but the discovery field had been bulldozed flat about 10 years previously. The hoard includes coins of Henry II, Richard I and John and was deposited around 1204 (later short cross issues are absent from this hoard).