King John Penny Coin Pack

Product Description: This reproduction King John Penny is moulded directly from an original coin and is made from lead-free pewter. The wallet type packaging has a hole on the front in which the coin is held in a clear blister. The coin pack has an image of a Medieval battle on the front, the two coins in the collection inside, as well as additional medieval images. It has historical information about the coins and about Richard I and King John.

Information: All King John pennies minted in the UK bear the name HENRICVS. The obverse of the coin has a portrait of John and the reverse has a short cross.

Richard I, known as the Lion-Heart, was a son of Henry II and ruled from 1189 to 1199. After Richard became king, he joined Philip II of France in a crusade to the Holy Land. Richard captured Acre (now called Akko) and later tried to retake Jerusalem, but failed.

In 1192, while Richard was on his journey home from crusades, he was seized and imprisoned. He was released in 1194 after a huge ransom was paid. Richard returned to England in 1194, but within a month he left for Normandy to fight a war against Philip II. In 1199, Richard was killed during the siege of a French castle, and his brother John became king.

King John reigned between 1199 and 1216. Heavy taxation, disputes with the Church and unsuccessful attempts to recover his French possessions made him unpopular. Many of his barons rebelled, and in June 1215 they forced King John to sign the Magna Carta at Runnymede, a peace treaty accepting their reforms. Still unhappy, the barons offered the throne to Louis of France and in the midst of the invasion John died.