S1428 N1020 Newcastle mint Class 3E   The baronial wars of the 1260s which pitted Edward’s father, King Henry III, against an alliance of nobles had resulted in years of lawlessness and unrest, conditions that were reflected in the sad state of the coinage. Many coins in circulation were badly made with illegible lettering and crude engraving, clipped, badly worn or counterfeits. In May 1279 Edward I started his great recoinage. Edward recalled all coins in circulation including his own early issues and replaced them with a new “long cross” penny and for the first time struck a regular issue of halfpence and farthings. To assist in this effort mints which had been long dormant were put into use. One of these mints was Newcastle upon Tyne which opened in late 1280 with two furnaces in operation. However, the mint did not operate long as the supply of silver in the north country dried up. The mint closed in 1281 after only a year in sporadic operation, producing only the type 3e penny.  Coins struck at Newcastle are easily identified by their reverse legend “VILL NOVI CASTRI”.  Bought Baldwins Auction #21, 11-12 OCT 1998 Lot 992 Part Ex Gorefield hoard. Deposited C 1315. Some lustre, nice portrait   Rare this nice , the highest graded by NGC or PCGS. NGC MS62

NGC 2925491-008