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Message:: [QUOTE="johnmilton, post: 3580615, member: 101855"]Here is the text from The Plantagenets, page 154: "The national coinage was recommissioned. New silver pennies, stamped with John's image, flooded the country. Everyone handling one in receipt of payment for a service renderedto the war effort would have looked upon his king's face: his hair curling about his ears, his beard cropped short, and his eyes even in the simple minted likeness, bulging out at the holder, daring that person to defy him. Many of these coins were used to recruit mercenary soldiers: sailors and men-at-arms ..." Jones is probably off on the context because he begins by talking about an assault circa 1205. The Irish pennies were minted from 1207 – 11, but the concept is valid. John did mount another assault on the French coast in 1213.  Even the description of John’s portrait makes sense. From my perspective, the portrait on these Irish pennies looks like a human being and probably was a decent likeness of John. It certainly is a better portrait that the cartoonish figures that appear on other British coins of the period. For example, check out this Henry III penny. [ATTACH=full]955273[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]955274[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]