coinage, which allowed trade to increase. As with all coins of this period, the denomination was not written on the coin, which was worth its weight in silver; thus a halfpenny was half the size and weight of a penny. All hammered halfpennies tend to be difficult to identify because they are small, often clipped, and in poor condition, and the legends on the coins are often incorrect because of the difficulty in making dies which were small enough for the denomination. The fact that Kings Edward II, III, and IV also issued halfpennies makes it difficult to distinguish between them – in general, Edward I's coins are slightly larger than his successors'. As with other denominations, by far the majority of coins were produced at the London mint, in the Tower of London, but five other mints were active in Edward I's reign. The legend on the reverse of the coin identifies the mint's name, and reads CIVITAS LONDON or LONDONIENSIS for London, VILLA BRISTOLLIE for Bristol, CIVITAS LINCOL for Lincoln, NOVI CASTRI for Newcastle upon Tyne, CIVITAS EBORACI for York, and VILLA BEREVVICI for Berwick-upon-Tweed. The king's name appears in the obverse inscription, usually EDW, EDWA, or EDWR R ANGL DNS HYB, or RICARD or HENRI respectively for the issues of Kings Richard II (1377–1399) and Henry IV (1399–1413). During the reign of King Edward II (1307–1327), halfpennies were only produced at the mints in London and Berwick, probably because sufficient had been produced when his father introduced the new coinage. The principal difference between the coins of Edward II and his father is that the obverse inscription of the London-produced coins reads EDWARDUS REX A(NG), and EDWARDUS REX AN on the Berwick-produced coins. Three mints were actively producing halfpennies in the reign of King Edward III, 1327–1377, at London, Berwick, and Reading (VILLA RADINGY), although Berwick and Reading coins are very rare. The usual obverse inscription of this reign was EDWARDUS REX AN – Edward King of the English – or occasionally on earlier coins EDWARDUS REX – King Edward – or EDWARDUS ANGLIE D or EDWARDUS DEI GRA R – Edward by the grace of God King. At this time English coins were much envied in Europe for their weight and good metal content, with the result that English halfpennies were copied on the continent; they are similar in style to those of Edward III, but