This note draws attention to previously unnoticed evidence that John White, coin dealer, coin forger, and straw hat vendor in Newgate Street, London, had personal and family connections with Cambridge and Cambridgeshire.
Author: BNS Blog Coordinator
An 1834 William IV Sixpence with a Laboratory Confirmed Multi-Strike Error from the Steam Press Era – A Ikraam
This research note presents a newly confirmed mint-stage striking anomaly on an 1834 William IV sixpence, authenticated through laboratory testing at Brunel University London and the University of Oxford. The coin displays severe deformation across both sides, including terraced doming, loss of the SIXPENCE legend, and evidence of repeated in-die striking. SEM–EDX and optical profilometry confirm that the distortion occurred during manufacture at the Royal Mint rather than through post-mint alteration or later damage. Mint errors of this severity are rarely recorded in William IV silver coinage, particularly from the early steam-press era. No equivalent example has been identified in Royal Mint documentation, British Museum catalogues, or major auction records, marking this specimen as a rare witness to early mechanised minting failure. The study demonstrates the value of integrating laboratory techniques with traditional numismatic analysis to distinguish genuine mint-stage anomalies from post-mint damage with high confidence.
2025 BNS Student Bursary Report – Elizabeth Lea
My time working with the British Museum was a dream come true. Upon arriving at the museum, I was astounded to see the galleries for the first time. I was set to work on my first project – going through a collection of Tudor and Civil War coins and creating a database for them.
Ballindalloch Works Checks – Eric Hodge
Ballindalloch Cotton Works issued UK merchant countermarked dollars but unusually they also issued paper money referred to by them as checks. For reasons known only to them these checks had a most bizarre numbering system. This paper, based on a new recently discovered check, takes another look at this numbering system offering possible reasons for its use.
New die for Edward III coinage London (class 15d) – Gareth O’Keefe
A couple of years ago I was fortunate enough to add this very rare Edward III London Class 15d penny to my collection which was found metal detecting in Lincolnshire.
The Bath (1755) Hoard : The Property of a Visitor from Midland England – Hugh Pagan
The Bath (1755) hoard, comprising coins of Aethelstan, Eadmund and Eadred, and deposited in the first half of the 950s, was the subject of an article in BNJ half a century ago by Christopher Blunt and the present writer. More now be said about it, and an updated summary list of its content is attached.
Continental Imitations of Henry III Long Cross class 5F – Mike Shott
The good reputation of the English coinage during the mid-thirteenth century gave rise to it being copied on the continent, with most imitations originating in Frisia or Westphalia. Some of the imitations are good enough to be easily mistaken for English coins, others less so.
The 1887 Double Florin – Andrew Thorburn
1887 Double Florins. To consider the mule 1/B, (unlisted), the existence of three different proof die combinations and the gradual deterioration of the reverse dies.
MCHBI – The Medieval Coin Hoards of Britain and Ireland Database – Three years on… Robert Page & Martin Allen
In November 2022 the British Numismatic Society’s Medieval Coin Hoards of Britain and Ireland database, “MCHBI”, first appeared online, and was documented in a BNS Research Blog article at the time; in the ensuing period of almost three years the database has been expanded with additional hoards, and some useful new software features added. Currently with over 2,100 hoards and still growing, this is the largest available compilation of medieval coin hoards for Britain and Ireland. It is now timely to present an updated overview of the current state of this important online resource.
A New Mint for Henry VI Leaf Mascle Pennies – Dave Greenhalgh
An unrecorded York mint penny for the Leaf Mascle issue 1432-1436 of Henry VI first reign.
BNS Research Blog 