Details

COLEM:1971.127

Colchester Collections

hoard, penny, 1200 = 1300, Henry II

445 silver pennies from the Colchester Hoard II, found in 1969. The coins date to the late 1200s. One interpretation, that was originally included in the display at Colchester Castle, was that it was believed to have been buried in the Jewish quarter of the Medieval town, possibly belonging to a Jewish money lender. However, the hoard was found just outside the Jewish Quarter and there is no definitive evidence that the person who owned or looked after the hoard was from the Jewish community. It may well have belonged to a money lender, but their faith and culture are impossible to determine from the find alone. The closest evidence for a Jewish connection that we know is that the hoard was deposited in the late 1200s, which is when the edict of expulsion forced the Jewish people of England to leave the country. However, it could quite as easily have been left by a money lender of any other faith.

Medieval