England’s first gold coin, minted under Henry III in 1257, was the gold penny.
The coin was produced during Henry III’s reign, probably in response to the expanding use of gold in European commerce. It was based broadly on continental European gold coinage, especially the gold coins circulating in France and Italy. The issue was extremely limited and did not become a practical everyday currency.
The gold penny weighed about 45 grains and carried an image of the king seated on a throne. Its face value was intended to be 20 silver pence, but its market value fluctuated because the relationship between gold and silver was not fixed.
The coin is often confused with England’s later and more successful gold issues. Edward III introduced the gold florin, leopard and noble in the fourteenth century, while the angel became a prominent later English gold coin. Henry III’s gold penny is historically important mainly because it represents England’s first recorded attempt at a national gold coinage.