History of the halfpenny . The halfpennies of the first reign of King Edward IV (1461–1470) are divided into the heavy coinage up to 1464, which was only minted in London, and the light coinage from 1464, produced at London, Bristol (now ), Canterbury (), York, and Norwich (). The obverse inscription reads . During the short second reign of Henry VI (1470–1471), halfpennies were produced at London and Bristol. The obverse inscription was changed to read . Halfpennies of the second reign of Edward IV (1471–1483) are much like those of the first reign (only a few months earlier) but they were also
Henry Stafford (c. 1425 – 1471) 12 he made a firm decision to support Edward and to join him, accompanied by his Steward, John Gilpyn, and other retainers. Although ill-prepared, Henry and his men travelled to Barnet, where the Yorkists won a decisive victory on 14 April 1471. The previous day Henry had made a hastily drafted will, in which he referred to Margaret as “my most entire belovyd wyff”. Henry is believed to have suffered from the skin disease erysipelas, also known as “St Anthony’s Fire” and thought at the time to be a form of leprosy. In the last few years of his life,