Rights Holder: Royal Institution of Cornwall
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COIN HOARD
Unique ID: CORN-9A1215
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation 
Seven silver-plated copper alloy copies of silver shillings of Edward VI (1547-1553); the bust is not like either Bust 3 or 4 which should be found on a coin of this date and mint, which suggests an attempt at a forgery, where the face has been carved into the die by hand, so that the cheeks, ear and nose do not resemble the correct busts. The coins seem to have been hammered from two different dies as they all have the same 't' mintmark for Canterbury (Spink 2468, North 1921) on the obverse and the arrow for the year 1549 on the reverse, where there is also the same mistake in the legend which reads TINOR and not TIMOR DOMINI FONS VITE. MDXLIX.
It is likely that many forgeries like these were in currency at the time of Edward VI's reign, as a proclamation of 30 April, 1551, mentions that coins were being counterfeited both abroad in and in England and orders the profile shilling to be made current at 9d. Since April 1549 several mints had been striking shillings of 6 rather than 8 ounces fine, with their weight reduced from 80 to 60 grains, or from about 5 to 3.9 grams. So these forgeries were probably produced between April 1549 and October 1551, when Edward issued his first 'Fine' coins and drove out of currency the worst issues of his reign (J.D.A. Thompson, 1948, 101). These coins on average weigh about 5 g, so they appear to be trying to copy the heavier originals.
Notes:
These are likely associated with a hoard of nine forged silver plated copper alloy shillings of Edward VI that were found in 1946 on the same hillside in the vicinity of a castle which dates from the time of Edward VI (HER PRN 7293). These also have different mints on the obverse and the reverse of the coins (Thompson, 1948, 102). The recorder is in correspondence with the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford where these coins were first identified and were last seen, but until they are found, this group does not fall under the definition of Treasure under the Treasure Act 1996.
The first two coins pictured are from Findspot 1, and the group of five coins are from Findspot 2.
The measurements below represent one of the coins (on the left) from Findspot 1 which is in the best condition and almost complete.
The last four photographs have been taken after cleaning and conservation by Laura Ratcliffe at the Royal Cornwall Museum (report on file) and are in numerical order as the coins are numbered from 1 to 7.
Subsequent actions
Current location of find: Isles of Scilly Museum, St Mary's
Subsequent action after recording: Donated to a museum
Chronology
Broad period: POST MEDIEVAL
Subperiod from: Early
Period from: POST MEDIEVAL
Date from: Circa AD 1549
Date to: Circa AD 1551
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 7
Thickness: 1 mm
Weight: 4.4 g
Diameter: 32 mm
Discovery dates
Date(s) of discovery: Friday 3rd August 2012 - Wednesday 5th September 2012
Personal details
This information is restricted for your access level.
Other reference numbers
SMR reference number: PRN 7293
Materials and construction
Primary material: Copper alloy
Secondary material: Silver
Manufacture method: Struck or hammered
Completeness: Incomplete
Surface Treatment: White metal coated
Spatial metadata
Region: South West (European Region)County or Unitary authority: Isles of Scilly (Unitary Authority)
District: Isles of Scilly (Unitary Authority)
Parish or ward: Tresco (Civil Parish)
Spatial coordinates
4 Figure: SV8816
Four figure Latitude: 49.962439
Four figure longitude: -6.35200785
1:25K map: SV8816
1:10K map: SV86SW
Grid reference source: From finder
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 1 metre square.
References cited
| Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kitchen, G.M., Sinclair, M. and Skingley, P. | 2004 | Coins of England and The United Kingdom | Spink and Sons Ltd | 224, | No.2468 | ||
| North, J.J. | 1991 | English Hammered Coinage: Volume 2. Edward I to Charles II, 1272-1662 | London | Spink and Son Ltd | 102, | No.1921 | |
| Thompson, J.D.A. | 1948 | Numismatic Chronicle Series 6 | London | Royal Numismatic Society | 100-103 |
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Timeline of associated dates
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