What was money called in Tudor times?
While some coins of the Middle Ages were florins, the common
coin for the English was the penny, which was the only coin minted
by a large number of medieval kings. This was the same as the
French denier, and a number of coins from other countries. Other
medieval words for coins included the groat, which was four pence,
and the testoon, which was twelve pence and was later called a
shilling. Others existed as well, such as the angel, the noble, and
the royal, all of which were gold. In addition, there was a
farthing, or quarter penny, which was occasionally made.
Other countries had other denominations, of course. Though the
English made no copper coins in the Middle Ages, there were copper
coins in other places, notably the Byzantine Empire.