Coinage as an Expression of Loyalty in the French Lands of Henry Plantagenet c. 1150–89

The significance of Henry Plantagenet’s continental coinage is often overlooked in the face of the well-documented monetary reforms he implemented as king of England (1154–89). Like most of twelfth-century continental Europe, Henry’s French lands (the duchy of Normandy, duchy of Aquitaine and county of Anjou) had a currency made up of many different local coinages. Originally minted in the names of local lords, these coins continued to circulate throughout Henry’s domains. At no point during his almost forty-year rule did Henry mint a French coinage in his name. When the circulation patterns are studied in detail it becomes clear there were separate monetary zones existing in the regions north and south of the River Loire. The divisions in the coinage reflect the differing loyalties of the regions: the staunchly Plantagenet north and the Aquitanian south. This essay is part of a Special Issue on Loyalty in Medieval Europe.