Author: BNS Blog Coordinator

The Holdens: a Family of Utterers and Coiners in Nineteenth Century Lancashire – Stephen Minnitt

The making and use of counterfeit coins was a particular problem in nineteenth century England. In spite of this, relatively little has been published on the subject. This paper was written as a consequence of research into convicted counterfeiters in the first half of the nineteenth century. As nobody was convicted of counterfeiting in this instance the Holden family fell outside my remit. However, the family’s involvement with counterfeit coins over a period of twenty years and the circumstances that led to it, time and again, are exceptionally well documented making their story worth telling. The Holdens lived in Lancashire. They moved around periodically, sometimes to seek legitimate work and sometimes to reduce the risk of arrest for producing or uttering counterfeit coins. John Holden, the head of the family, claimed that he wanted to cease involvement in the activity and that circumstances repeatedly undermined his attempts. Was this true or was he seeking sympathy and justification for his criminal

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The ‘ED PERTH’ mint signature on the coins of Robert II – David Rampling

This note concerns an enigmatic rendition of the mint signature on some groats, halfgroats and pennies issued under Robert II. On these coins the signature of VILLA DE PERTH is rendered as VILLA ED PERTH. This latter legend has been attributed to die-sinker error, born of familiarity with producing VILLA EDINBURGH mint signatures. The representation of this anomaly across three denominations, involving multiple dies and many coins, suggests that the ED PERTH reading may have been intentional.

Die Sinkers Signatures on the Long Cross Coinage of Henry III – Ian Heavisides

Often unusual letter forms that are out of place in a particular class are dismissed as errors or die sinkers whims and of little real significance.  This article explores the idea that at least some irregularities were very deliberate attempts by the die sinker to identify his work.  In this article the work and signature letter of a particular die sinker is followed through from its introduction in Class 5b2 through to Class 5h and concludes with a table that shows in which classes this unique “signature” can be found. I would be very pleased to hear from anyone who has additional examples of these letter styles; I can be contacted via the comment section below. Since publishing this article an update has been produced – please see the August 7th blog article.

An Unusual Ballindalloch Countermark – Eric C. Hodge

A known British merchant countermark has recently been discovered on a French écu. The writer has accumulated as much information as possible to support and explain this issue. With only one example known it is not possible to be too definitive as to the reason for the countermarking. Other views are welcome to help to widen the debate as to whether it was official or otherwise.

Henry III (Posthumous) Class 7 Pennies – Part 5, Phelip of London, Die Illustrations -Robert Page

This is the companion paper to a recently published article introducing the different groups of dies for Phelip. A little longer than the usual blog article, it serves as a useful record of all the dies that I’ve been able to locate. 15/9/21 Update:Since publishing the article in June, an additional four coins have come to light; one of these being from new dies. The article has therefore been revised to incorporate these.  It may reasonably be assumed that there are additional dies yet to locate, and readers are urged to send me details of any class 7 pennies they may have, and this article will be further updated if and when necessary. Links to previous articles in this series are as follows: Henry III (Posthumous), Class 7 Pennies from the London Mint (Link) Henry III (Posthumous), Class 7 Pennies from the London Mint, Pt 2 – Renaud (Link) Henry III (Posthumous) Class 7 Pennies, Part 3 – The Dies

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BNS Video: The last golden age of British Numismatics; Reflections from the Stewartby Archive of English numismatic papers – Dr. William Day

This video begins by summarising the correspondence in the Stewartby Archive, focusing on that of Christopher Blunt, which constitutes the most voluminous component, and drawing attention to other highlights of the collection, for example the correspondence of Michael Dolley. It also discusses Lord Stewartby’s intense collaborations with Philip Grierson, which eventually evolved into some of Grierson’s more significant contributions to the discipline, and it reviews some of the general areas of Lord Stewartby’s academic interests. William Day has a background in Economic History, Medieval History and Numismatics. He came to Cambridge twenty years ago to work with Philip Grierson on the remaining Italian components of the Medieval European Coinage series, publishing vol. 12 on Northern Italy with Michael Matzke and Andrea Saccocci in 2016. He is also author of numerous articles on Italian Medieval Economic History and Numismatics. He is currently working on vol. 13 in the MEC series, which covers Central Italy.

Henry III (Posthumous) Class 7 Pennies from the London Mint – Part 4: Phelip – Rob Page

This article continues the series on the class 7 pennies of Edward I issued in the name of Henry III. The coins of Phelip from the London mint are the moneyer/mint combination most commonly seen, and in this study nearly 40 reasonably well preserved specimens have been studied and assigned to a number of different die groups. In a companion article, to be issued shortly, I will illustrate examples of all the known dies for Phelip. My thanks go to the collectors who have kindly let me have images of their coins.