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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;TheRed, post: 7948087, member: 87080&quot;]I would hate to see the run of regular posts come to an end and while I&#039;m a little late the holiday weekend should be a good scapegoat.&nbsp; My newest coin is a bit of a milestone for me.&nbsp; The coin itself is rather common, a penny of Edward I from the Lincoln mint, but it is my 120th English penny from the Plantagenet period of Henry II thru Edward I.&nbsp; </p><p>[ATTACH=full]1376635[/ATTACH] </p><p>So why is 120 important?&nbsp; Well, in theory it represented one half of a pound of silver as the penny was supposed to be minted at a rate of 240 per pound Sterling.&nbsp; In actuality it was closer to 244 pennies, but that is delving into technicalities.&nbsp; More interestingly is the question of what 120 pennies, or 10 shillings, could purchase in the late 13th century/early 14th century.&nbsp; Digging into an old textbook of mine titled &quot;Standards of Living in the Latter Middle Ages&quot; I found some very interesting options for my money.&nbsp; My 120 pence would be enough to hire a labourer for about 3 months of work or a maidservant for one year. The amount could also purchase a draught horse or 5 pigs.&nbsp; If I wanted to stock my larder I could buy 80-90 gallons of first-rate ale, 10 pounds of pepper, or 200 lbs of cheese.&nbsp; If I wanted to put a roof over my head I could rent a cottage for one year.&nbsp; So, 120d is clearly a good some of money by the standard of the late 13th/14th century, but far from enough to make me a wealth person.&nbsp; Maybe I&#039;ll have to add up my quarter nobles, groats, half pennies, farthings, and cut fractions before I start to really live the medieval life in style.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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