What made coins from different metals in medieval times?

Answer 1

In England, where the quality,size and production of coins was strictly controlled, the process was fairly simple.

For silver pennies in the 12th century (to take a typical example) the minter would have a hammer, a two-part coin die and a supply of silver blanks which he had very carefully cast himself. The silver content was very high, making the coins fairly soft - they were also made very thin and must conform to a precise set weight.

Taking the first blank silver disk, the minter set it centrally in the female half of the metal die, then inserted the male half and struck it just once with the hammer. This created the embossed image on both sides of the coin at the same time. The coin was removed and another blank was inserted, and so on.

English pennies had the head of the king on the obverse (front), surrounded by his name in Latin (for example Henricus Rex = king Henry); on the reverse was a design usually incorporating a cross and dots, surrounded by the name of the minter and his town. (but in English, not Latin; for example Aldret on Wirec = Aldred at Worcester) This ensured that if the coin were in some way counterfeit (if some of the silver were replaced with tin or lead, for example), the maker could be immediately traced and punished.

The central cross allowed the coin to be cut exactly into halves or quarters, creating ha'pennies and farthings - many of these have been discovered in 12th century contexts.

Answer 2

The French denier, the English penny, perhaps even the Arab dinar, and similar units of measure in other lands, were all established with the rise in trade during the seventh and eighth centuries. Basically, the currency most people would have handled were pennies about the size of modern US cents or UK pence, but much thinner and made of silver.

In England, and in France, whose system the English copied, 12 pence (denier) made a shilling (sou), and 20 shillings made a pound (livre). The larger coins were not normally minted, and in fact larger coins and gold coins were often or usually odd denominations (76 pence, 80 pence, 120 pence, and so on) made at the whim of the king. Copper coins were not minted in most of Western Europe during the Middle Ages.

The solidus was inherited from Roman times, and was equal to 12 denarii, or 12 pence. This would have made the solidus, originally a gold coin, equal to a shilling, in terms of the number of pence, but the shilling did not appear until after the solidus went out of use, and was silver from the beginning.

The Byzantines continued minting heavy copper coins, silver and gold through the Early Middle Ages, somewhat similar to those of the Roman Empire. They later changed to fascinating, scyphate (cup shaped) coins called trachy. These were made of debased silver or gold.

The medieval penny was roughly a day's wage for a working man, though the value gradually declined and the wage gradually increased accordingly

To the best of my knowledge, all money was in the form of coins in medieval Europe. Drafts, much like bank drafts, could be done, however, possibly beginning with the Knights Templar. Money could be deposited with the Templars in one city and withdrawn in another. After the Templars were destroyed, this created a need that was soon filled by powerful banking families.
Small transactions were probably by barter, but coined money existed from the 7th century. The smallest denomination was a denarius, usually called a penny. English coins were silver and carried the portrait of the ruler on the front.

Answer 3

they had different values