Medieval Coin Names and the Money of the Middle Ages

The short answer: the penny did most of the work

For much of the Middle Ages, everyday money in western Europe was a small silver coin. In England it was the penny. In France it was the denier, and in the German-speaking lands the pfennig. These names share a common ancestry, and all were loosely modelled on the Roman silver denarius, which is why the English abbreviation for pence is still “d”.

Larger silver coins and gold coins arrived later and in stages. Gold in particular was scarce in much of western Europe for centuries, then returned to regular use in the 13th and 14th centuries. If you are trying to place a coin you have found or inherited, a useful first question is simply which metal it is and roughly where it came from.

Money of account versus real coins

Medieval people often talked about money in units that were not coins at all. The pound, shilling and penny are the classic example. In England and several other countries, 12 pence made a shilling and 20 shillings made a pound. For a long time only the penny existed as a regular coin, while the shilling and the pound were ways of counting.

This is why “names of old coins” can be confusing. A “livre” in France or a “pound” in England could be a counting unit, a weight of metal, or later an actual coin. When reading a medieval source, it helps to ask whether the writer means something you could hold in your hand.

English medieval coin names

• Penny: the main silver coin for centuries, struck by hammer between two dies.
• Halfpenny and farthing: smaller denominations. In the early period, pennies were sometimes cut into halves or quarters to make change, and later dedicated small coins were issued.
• Groat: a silver coin worth four pence, introduced in the 14th century.
• Noble: a gold coin introduced under Edward III in the 1340s.
• Rose noble, ryal and angel: gold coins of the later medieval and Tudor era, with the angel showing the archangel Michael.

For how these coins were made and how to tell them apart, see our hammered coin identification guide.

Continental silver: denier, pfennig, grosso, groschen

As trade grew, the small penny became awkward for larger payments. Several regions responded with a heavier silver coin. The Italian city states produced the grosso, and the name “groschen” (literally “thick”) spread across central Europe. The French gros tournois was another influential large silver coin. English groats belong to the same general family of thought, though they are not identical coins.

Gold in the later Middle Ages

Gold coinage in western Europe revived with a few prestigious issues. The Florentine florin, first struck in 1252, became a model that other states copied, and the Venetian ducat later became just as widely trusted. You can read more about the first in our article on the Florentine florin. The Hungarian forint and the German gulden are among the names that descend from it, though the exact family tree is more tangled than a short summary suggests.

For a wider look at gold issues from the ancient world onward, see names of old gold coins.

Byzantine and Islamic coins medieval traders met

Western Europe was not the only coin-using world. The Byzantine Empire continued the gold solidus tradition, and its later gold coin was known as the hyperpyron. Islamic states struck gold dinars and silver dirhams that circulated far beyond their borders. Medieval merchants around the Mediterranean regularly handled coins from several of these systems.

Why names vary and how to read them

Coin names changed over time and place. Some come from the coin’s appearance (a “crown” or “angel”), some from a ruler (a “louis d’or”), some from a place (a “florin” from Florence), and some from the weight of metal. Collectors also use modern or informal names that medieval people never used. Treat any single label as a convenient handle rather than the original term.

Quick glossary

Where to go next

If you are curious about the broader category of coins with a good story, see interesting coins of the world. For the question of whether coins count as historical evidence in their own right, read is a coin an artifact.