Drachmas Doubloons and Dollars: The History of Money
(Exhibition Home)
The Medieval West
Introduction
The Dark Ages and The Penny - The Normans - Bracteates - The Crusades (1095-1292) and the Bezant - The Third Crusade (1189-1192) - The End of the Crusades - The Italian Communes and the Papal States - The Hundred Years' War
The Third Crusade (1189-1192)

King Richard the Lionheart and Sultan Saladin (Yusuf bin Ayyub Salah al-Din) agreed on Muslim possession of Jerusalem.

On return from the Third Crusade, Richard was captured in Austria and held for ransom. His brother, Prince John, paid the ransom with English pennies, which flooded Germany, influencing coinage. John's heavy taxation inspired the Robin Hood legends.

Ayyubid silver dirham (1178) of Salah al-Din (1174-1193).
English silver penny of Richard the Lionheart (1189-1199).
English silver penny of King John (1199-1216).