Featured Family History and Coins, the Wallace Clan and Edward I

Have you ever looked at a coin and asked yourself who has held this? Have you ever asked yourself if maybe one of your ancestors held this coin? Well I decided to dive into my past a little and collect some coins from the era of one of my more famous predecessors, John Wallace.

Now you've probably never heard of John Wallace. But I'm sure you've heard of his much more famous older brother, Sir William Wallace. Not much is known about these two characters of history beyond a few battles and their deaths. But I am sure that for every step that William took, his brother John was close beside him.

The Wallace's foray through history begins with the Battle of Stirling Bridge. The bridge itself was a narrow, wooden thing only wide enough to fit two horsemen abreast. The English numbered around 9,000 men under the command of John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey and Sir Hugh de Cressingham who was the Kings treasurer in Scotland at the time. The Scots numbered less than 6,000 men led by Sir William Wallace and Andrew Moray. And somewhere in the midst was John Wallace.



The Scots knew they couldn't beat the English in a head on conflict. So they waited as the English army crossed the bridge. When a large part of the army was across the river they attacked. Without the full force of the army the English were crushed. At some point the bridge collapsed. Some say the retreating English were too heavy causing the bridge to break. A folk tale said William had an engineer put a flaw in the bridge to collapse. But in reality it most likely was the British purposely destroyed the bridge to cover their retreat.

The victory was much needed by the Scottish. The English lost 100 cavalry and 5,000 infantry and Hugh de Cressingham was killed in the battle. It was said that William took a broad strip of skin from his body to make a baldrick for his sword.



A year later the English began another invasion of Scotland led by King Edward I himself. William Wallace was called upon again to help fight the new menace. Once again the Scots were heavily outnumbered. The English were fielding 15,000 men to the Scots 6,000.

The Scots relied primarily on spearmen while the English had Welsh longbowmen and more cavalry. The English archers would punch holes through the spearmen lines, where the cavalry would charge in making the most of the holes. The battle ended in a Scottish lose and the discreditation of William as a general.

After the battle William stepped down as the Guardian of Scotland, a post he had held for less than two years. Not much is known about Williams life for the next few years. It looks like he was an ambassador to other Kings and rulers in Europe trying to get support for Scotland.

In 1305 William was betrayed to the English by a Scottish knight loyal to Edward. He was given a mock trail and executed in London (it's very graphic so I won't go into details). His head was dipped in tar and placed on the London Bridge.

John Wallace was captured two years later and was executed in the same manner as William. And eventually his head joined his brothers on the London Bridge.

As you go back my family's line the majority of the men in my family have been named either William or John. With one George Washington Wallace thrown in there for good measure. I've known about my heritage for a while but it was fun to do more research into the people.

And now to keep this coin related here are three of my newest pickups. English pennies from the time period of John Wallace. Did he or his brother use these coins? Perhaps. But it has the face of their enemy, the King of England so perhaps not. But if you're an army scrapping for any coin, you might just take what you can get.

Edward I Silver Penny, 1272-1307, London Mint



Edward I Silver Penny, 1272-1307, York Mint



Edward I Silver Penny, 1272-1307,Canterbury Mint



Thank for reading and feel free to share any coins from the same era.

 

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Nice write-up and pennies.


Edward I (1272 - 1307 A.D.)
AR Penny
O: + ЄDWR’ ANGL’ DИS’ hУB, crowned and draped facing bust.
R: / CIVI | TAS | LOИ | DOИ, long cross pattée; trefoils in quarters.
1.43g
19mm
SCBI 39 (North), 60; North 1015; SCBC 1386.

 

I'll throw my penny in! Nice write up @rooman9 !

 

Thank you! And a great penny there

 

Great coins!

 

Excellent write-up and GREAT coins @rooman9 !

I, too, am from Scot and other Celtic descent. Scot: House of Gordon.

Here is my Eddie Penny that I captured from @Mat for the History you wrote.


PLANTAGENET. Edward I. 1272-1307.
AR Penny, 19mm, 1.3g; Class 10c, 1302-1310. Canterbury mint.
Obv.: +EDWARD R ANGL DNS hYB, crowned facing bust, star on breast; crown with tall thin ornaments.
Rev.: Voided long cross; three pellets in quarters.
Reference: North 1040.
From the Mat Collection, ex-Dave Hess

And here are some contemporary coins showing what else was in the news at that time:


Bhuvanaika Bahu CE 1273-1284 Æ Massa 3.9g 19mm King throne solar symbol altar flame lotus - King reclining sankh-conch Nagari-Sri Bhuvanaika Bahu MNI 851-52



Egypt Mamluk Qalaun 1279-1290 CE AR Dirham Dianeshq



FRANCE PHILIPPE IV LE BEL CE 1285-1314 AR 25mm GROS TOURNOIS À L'O ROND AR 25mm DUPLESSY 213 - Killed off Knights Templar Friday 13 October 1307



Mongols-Ghazna mnt Khwarezm Genghis Khan 1206-1227 CE AE Jital Islamic RARE - only The Just Kahn in title Album 1969 Tye 329



SELJUQ OF RUM Kaykhusraw II 1236-1245 AR dirham Siwas AH 639 A-1218 lion sunface star L

 

Nice write up! Not like the movie, huh?

 

Funny that was my exact thought as well.

 

Haha not even close! Although I've heard the Netflix movie "Outlaw King" is decently accurate. Takes place right after braveheart.

 

Edward's son:


England Edward II AD 1307-1327 maille blanche (a small silver coin)
Silver, 20 mm x 22 mm, 1.65 gm
Obverse:
ED' REX AnGLIE (Edward King of England)
+ BnDICTV : SIT : nOmE : DnI : nRI (Blessed be the name [of Jesus Christ])
Reverse:
+ DnS : hIBERnIE (Lord of Ireland)

He died in a bad way too.

 

Very nice writeup. we are on opposite sides of history. Edward I is my 24th great grand father

 

Water under the bridge now. I think 800 years is enough time for feuds to end that is cool though.

 

Very nice write up. I love collecting coins from Edward's reign. Always a plus when you can tie family to the coins.

 

Here's my long-cross penny London

 

And a contemporary Gros Tournois
Funny how this tournois design got used in English (see Edward II maile blanche above) & German coinage later.

 

Another contemporary is this Venetian grosso from 1289 - Giovanni Dandolo?

 

Happy St Andrew´s Day! ALBA GU BRÀTH

 

Quite interesting write-ups and coins by all.

 

My sister claims to have traced our ancestry to Longshanks, so I bought a silver penny of his and sent it to her...can't find the pic.