In 1066 England had a highly developed coinage, which was left almost untouched by the Norman Con... more In 1066 England had a highly developed coinage, which was left almost untouched by the Norman Conquest, in the short term at least. The system documented by Domesday Book in 1086 is essentially that of Edward the Confessor in 1066, with large numbers of moneyers in dozens of urban centres minting silver pennies and making profits for the king and local magnates, lay and ecclesiastical. The moneyers paid fees to obtain their coin dies in London, and the designs on the dies were regularly changed to generate more income from the issue of coins to people who needed money of the latest type. This system survived in its essentials until Henry II's two major reforms of the English coinage in 1158 and 1180, but the apparent continuity between 1066 and 1158 masks a series of innovations and periods of instability.
The contribution of English and Welsh lead mines to the silver supplies of mints between Domesday... more The contribution of English and Welsh lead mines to the silver supplies of mints between Domesday Book and the end of the fifteenth century is assessed in this article, comparing evidence for the size of silver production with mint output data. It is shown that the proposal that northern Pennine mines were the principal source of the silver in the late twelfth-century English currency is untenable. Welsh mines supplied limited amounts of silver to local mints around 1200. Devon silver made a significant but not predominant contribution to mint output at times of bullion scarcity in the 1290s and the mid-fifteenth century. Imported silver was usually a greater source of the metal in the English currency than locally mined silver, and gold coins constituted most of England's money supply from the mid-fourteenth century onwards.e hr_552 114..131 1 I have greatly benefited from the advice of two anonymous referees and Prof.
In the debates on the economic effects of the Black Death and the causes of recession in mid-fi f... more In the debates on the economic effects of the Black Death and the causes of recession in mid-fi fteenth century England some historians have argued that money supply was a major causal factor. 1 It has also been proposed that England's supply of silver currency fell sharply in the late fourteenth century, as part of a European bullion famine, and that there was a more general shortage of coinage during a second bullion famine in the midfi fteenth century. 2 Estimates of the size of the English currency in 1351, 1377, 1422 and 1470 provide evidence to test these assumptions, but an additional factor that needs to be taken into account is the hoarding of large quantities of coinage, taking it out of active use in the English economy.
The series aims to provide a forum for the most recent research into the political, social, relig... more The series aims to provide a forum for the most recent research into the political, social, religious and cultural history of the fifteenth century in Britain and Europe. Contributions for future volumes are welcomed; prospective contributors should consult the guidelines at the end of this volume.
In 1066 England had a highly developed coinage, which was left almost untouched by the Norman Con... more In 1066 England had a highly developed coinage, which was left almost untouched by the Norman Conquest, in the short term at least. The system documented by Domesday Book in 1086 is essentially that of Edward the Confessor in 1066, with large numbers of moneyers in dozens of urban centres minting silver pennies and making profits for the king and local magnates, lay and ecclesiastical. The moneyers paid fees to obtain their coin dies in London, and the designs on the dies were regularly changed to generate more income from the issue of coins to people who needed money of the latest type. This system survived in its essentials until Henry II's two major reforms of the English coinage in 1158 and 1180, but the apparent continuity between 1066 and 1158 masks a series of innovations and periods of instability.
The contribution of English and Welsh lead mines to the silver supplies of mints between Domesday... more The contribution of English and Welsh lead mines to the silver supplies of mints between Domesday Book and the end of the fifteenth century is assessed in this article, comparing evidence for the size of silver production with mint output data. It is shown that the proposal that northern Pennine mines were the principal source of the silver in the late twelfth-century English currency is untenable. Welsh mines supplied limited amounts of silver to local mints around 1200. Devon silver made a significant but not predominant contribution to mint output at times of bullion scarcity in the 1290s and the mid-fifteenth century. Imported silver was usually a greater source of the metal in the English currency than locally mined silver, and gold coins constituted most of England's money supply from the mid-fourteenth century onwards.e hr_552 114..131 1 I have greatly benefited from the advice of two anonymous referees and Prof.
In the debates on the economic effects of the Black Death and the causes of recession in mid-fi f... more In the debates on the economic effects of the Black Death and the causes of recession in mid-fi fteenth century England some historians have argued that money supply was a major causal factor. 1 It has also been proposed that England's supply of silver currency fell sharply in the late fourteenth century, as part of a European bullion famine, and that there was a more general shortage of coinage during a second bullion famine in the midfi fteenth century. 2 Estimates of the size of the English currency in 1351, 1377, 1422 and 1470 provide evidence to test these assumptions, but an additional factor that needs to be taken into account is the hoarding of large quantities of coinage, taking it out of active use in the English economy.
The series aims to provide a forum for the most recent research into the political, social, relig... more The series aims to provide a forum for the most recent research into the political, social, religious and cultural history of the fifteenth century in Britain and Europe. Contributions for future volumes are welcomed; prospective contributors should consult the guidelines at the end of this volume.
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