How much is a pence in Medieval Times?

Answer 1

The monetary unit during the early medieval period in England was the silver penny, of very a strictly-controlled purity and quality known as "stirling". It is impossible to compare the silver penny of, say, 1190 with modern money, since the relative value of goods has changed immensely since that time.

If we take the average value of a rough-woolled sheep at that time (6 pence) and compare it to the modern value of a breeding sheep (about £90), this would seem to show that a silver penny was equivalent to £15.

If you take the 1190 price of a wooden farm gate (12 pence) and compare it with the modern version (about £200), this seems to say that a penny was equivalent to almost £17.

But the value of a top-quality destrier (war horse of a knight) was around 600 pennies; a similar horse today would be valued at between £3,000 and £6,000, making each penny equivalent to between £5 and £10.

Clearly there is no direct link between medieval penny values and modern values.