DUR-05B561: Boy bishop token- DUR-05B561

Rights Holder: Durham County Council
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TOKEN

Unique ID: DUR-05B561

Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow status: Awaiting validation Find awaiting validation

Lead Boy Bishop Token, Post Medieval in date.

It is copying a long cross coin- with the reverse having a long cross. The obverse design is unclear but has a central design with the legend on the outside.

Notes:

Cult of Boy Bishops throughhout Europe in Medieval times. Many abbeys and larger churches elected a choirboy to act as the Boy Bishop during Christmas. He dressed as a bishop, preached sermons and handed out lead tokens to the congregation. In Britain this practise was mainly confined to East Anglia. Tokens from Bury, Ely, Sudbury and Ipswich are known. Earliest date from about 1480. Tokens could be used to buy alms at local shops. Shopkeeper was reimbursed by abbey. Tokens found on market sites suggest use as small change. Designs imitate pennies, half groats and groats with St Nick or a bishop's mitre on the reverse. Many Boy Bishop tokens were found in St Mary's church, Bury St Ed. when the priests stalls were removed in 1842.

Subsequent actions

Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder

Chronology

Broad period: POST MEDIEVAL
Period from: POST MEDIEVAL
Period to: POST MEDIEVAL
Date from: Circa AD 1500
Date to: Circa AD 1650

Dimensions and weight

Quantity: 1
Thickness: 3.74 mm
Weight: 22.4 g
Diameter: 37.46 mm

Personal details

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Materials and construction

Primary material: Lead
Manufacture method: Cast
Completeness: Incomplete

Numismatic data

No numismatic data has been recorded for this coin yet.

Spatial metadata

Region: Yorkshire and the Humber (European Region)
County or Unitary authority: North Yorkshire (County)
District: Hambleton (District)
Parish or ward: Raskelf (Civil Parish)

Spatial coordinates

4 Figure: SE5071
Four figure Latitude: 54.132424
Four figure longitude: -1.236298
1:25K map: SE5071
1:10K map: SE57SW
Grid reference source: Centred on parish
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 100 metre square.

Discovery metadata

Method of discovery: Metal detector
General landuse: Cultivated land
Specific landuse: Character undetermined

References cited

No references cited so far.

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Timeline of associated dates

Audit data

Recording Institution: DUR
Created: 12 years ago
Updated: 12 years ago

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