Henry VIII – Debasement

Towards the end of Henry VIII’s reign, England found itself in financial difficulty. This had been caused by excessive spending on Henry’s lavish lifestyle and wars with France and Scotland. Henry had already sold off some of the Crown’s land and raised taxes but more money was still needed.

In May 1542, Henry ordered that the amount of silver and gold in the coinage be reduced and the previously unpopular Testoon be produced again. These were held in storage for two years until the lack of bullion prompted their release into circulation.

Between 1544 and 1551, the silver content of coins dropped numerous times. By 1551 it was only 25%; the previous fine silver content was 92.5%. It is estimated that this generated a profit of £1.27 million for the Crown.¹

The debasement of the coinage caused discontent and confusion amongst the population.

Edward VI – Return to fine silver

The advisers to Edward VI understood how the reputation of the coinage and the crown were inextricably linked. The king’s face on the coins was a guarantee of their worth. They sort to manage public opinion with a series of proclamations. Between 1542 and 1547, at the end of Henry’s reign, there had only been one proclamation related to the coinage. Between 1548 and 1565 there were 36.²

However, in the early year’s of Edward’s reign, the desperate state of the country’s finances dictated that coinage continued to be debased. His first issue continued to use the image of his father, Henry VIII. These included Testoons.

His second issue was in his own name and reverted to a profile image of the king. The Testoon was renamed as the Shilling. It was produced in two different weights and standards, which caused further confusion amongst the populace.

In 1551, Edward’s third issue returned to the fine silver standard of 92.5%.

In preparation for this, a declaration was issued to reduce the value of the previous shillings to nine pence and then to sixpence.

Elizabeth I – Currency reforms

When Elizabeth was crowned in 1558, she made reform of the currency one of her top priorities. As well as the issue of prolific counterfeiting the circulation of debased coins was still a problem. The worst affected coins were shillings because some were worse than others.

It was decided that the “worse” type should be valued at 2¼ and the “better” at 4½ pence.

In September 1560 a proclamation, with images, was issued to enable people to identify which was which. However, this relied on the details on the coin being identifiable, in particular the mint mark. Also, some of the information in the proclamation was technically incorrect.

This all served to create more confusion and so the government decided that all shillings would be countermarked to show their current value; the “worse” ones with a greyhound and the “better” ones with a portcullis.

Because of the widespread distrust of mints and mint officials, it was decided that the stamping should be carried out in public. Stamping irons were sent out to the mayors of towns throughout the country. Along with a goldsmith, who would determine which type of shilling it was and stamp the coin, they would sit in an “open place” and countermark shillings.

References

1. The debasement of the coinage, 1542-1551, C. E Challis, 1967
2. Currency, conversation, and control: political discourse and the coinage in mid-Tudor England. Jennifer Bishop, 2016

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Crondall Hoard

In 1828, 18 year-old Charles Lefroy was out shooting with his gamekeeper in Crondall, Hampshire. In a letter to the Numismatic Chronicle, dated 13 June 1843, he described the find:

“The coins which you have received from me for the purpose of publication in the Numismatic Chronicle were found by myself in the autumn of 1828 on a heath in the parish of Crondall in Hampshire. This heath is a continuation of Bagshot Heath. The boundary of the counties of Surrey and Hampshire cross it in the parish of Crondall, skirting an old encampment, situated on the abrupt point of a hill called “Caesar’s Camp within about a mile of which or a little more on the flat waste below I discovered these coins. A turf had been pared off for firing in the usual manner, leaving a smooth “dished” surface on the centre of which I saw a little heap of apparently brass waistcoat buttons lying mixed with earth but with the bright edges just washed bare by the late rains

On picking them up they proved to be these gold coins and the two jewelled ornaments and chains. The coins must have been confined in a purse, though there was no trace of one left, as some of the stones set in the ornaments had fallen out but were found among the coins together with a little stone, since lost probably belonging to some other ornament which had perished.

They were lying altogether on the surface completely cut out by the turf-cutter’s spade and upon a slight search which I made I could find no trace of any more. The collection consisted of one hundred small gold coins, the two jewelled ornaments and chain one of which was perfect at the time of their discovery and one fragment of a forged gold coin of which the circumference was perfect but the centre decayed.“

The 100 coins consisted of 73 Anglo-Saxon thrysmas, 24 gold Merovingian or Frankish tremisses and three unstruck gold planchets. It remains the only large hoard of Anglo-Saxon thrysma ever found and is now on display at the Ashmolean Museum. The hoard is thought to date to 635-650.

There were 12 different types of Thrysma of Anglo-Saxon manufacture in the hoard. Until this find, 5 of the 12 types are only known from this hoard. That is now 4. Only one has an interpretable inscription, of Eadbald of Kent.¹ That coin has been dated to c. 620-630.² It is the first coin issued in the name of an English king.

References

1. The Anglo-Saxon gold coins of the Crondall hoard by Nap, 2 October 2022
2. The Crondall Hoard of Anglo-Saxon Gold Coins by Michael Shutterly, 27 October 2020

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The reverse reads +DRIV:[  ][N?]:[C, E or L]ODE giving the moneyer as Driu. This name is known as a moneyer at Hereford in  Stephen type 7 and Henry II’s Cross and Crosslets (Tealby) coinage but is previously unknown for Henry I. The identity of the mint is unclear.

The PAS record notes that there our two other known Henry I types that have a three-quarter facing portrait, holding a sceptre (Type 6 and Type 15). It suggests that “The new coin appears to sit stylistically and chronologically between the two“

Type 6

Type 15

Bent coin

When found the coin was bent

The shallow even curve of the fold suggests that it may have been wrapped around a thick cord rather than being plough damage.

It may have been a prayer or pilgrims token.

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Danelaw and currency

Viking weights are widely known throughout its territories. They formed part of the bullion economy whereby repurposed or looted metal (mainly silver) could be traded. Although imprecise, the embedded objects in Viking weights allows them to be dated.

The establishment of a Viking settlement in part of England in the ninth century is known as Danelaw. The extent and nature of Danelaw is a matter of some debate. However, the dating of these “embedded object” weights suggest that a dual currency, bullion alongside coins, existed until at least 930 AD.¹

Embedded weights

Many different objects have been found embedded in Viking weights, including glasswork and shells but metalwork, including coins, is the most common. Where metalwork is used, it tends to be centred on the decorative design. It is not clear why decorative objects were embedded in weights. Perhaps, it simply provided a means of identifying a particular weight or maybe the origin of the embedded object afforded some kind of status or geographic identity to the owner.

References

1. ‘Viking’ Lead Trade Weights by An Oxford Historian, 24 April 2022

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Penny of William of Aumale

One of the two complete examples is held by the Fitzwilliam Museum

The obverse shows a standing figure in armour and helmet brandishing a sword with the legend WILL/EAMUS.

The reverse has a pseudo inscription and symbols typical of the Ornamental York series. It is believed to have been minted in York in around 1150.

The design is similar to that of Eustace Fitzjohn who was a supporter of Matilda, the rival to the throne of King Stephen.

This penny of Eustace Fitzjohn was sold by Noonans in November 2020 for £24,000. It was found by detectorist Robert Brown on 15 August 2020.

The obverse legend reads EVSTACIUS.

William of Aumale

William of Aumale, also known as William le Gros because of his size, was a leading supported of King Stephen. So, possibly curious that he would use a similar design to Eustace Fitzjohn but also pragmatic as both coins were minted in York.

He was made Earl of York after distinguishing himself at the Battle of the Standard in 1138. He became one of the most powerful men in the north of England. He was a founder of religious houses and built a castle at Scarborough, in its present location. The castle was later forfeited that to King Henry II.

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Robert served in the navy and married Mary Phinnes in 1640. The “R.I.S.” on the reverse suggests that he remarried at some point. He died in 1672, one year after this token was issued.¹

Chatham was the site of a Royal Navy Dockyard and the local brewers, Best of Chatham, received regular commissions for beer from the Admiralty². There is a story of a Captain Robert Smith searching “the smiths houses and other suspicious places for embezzled ironwork at Chatham“³ and with our Robert Smith being a navy man, this could be him but as it’s a relatively common name, it might well not be.

Unfortunately, the Kings Arms was ravaged by a fire in the 1990s and was eventually demolished in 2002.

The site is currently being redeveloped into a block of luxury apartments.

References

1. A Token in Time, by Catharina Clement, November 2012
2. Best Brewery Chatham
3. The history of CHATHAM DOCKYARD By James D Crawshaw Chapter 9, 1999

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