The Job of a "Moneyer"

DesertRat

When the Romans left Britain in the first decades of the 5th century, their coins were mainly hoarded against the terrifying insecurity and loneliness of those times. Now, however, centuries of unemployment for the British coin-maker (or 'moneyer') have ended with the inauguration of coin production by forward-thinking Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. This is led by Offa, the 8th-century king of Mercia, and his chief Kentish coin producers: Eoba, Babba and Udd.

Opportunities are arising at mints all over the country – by the year 1000 there are more than 70 of them. However, the work is hard and the conditions are difficult. No pay is offered, but successful candidates are given lodging and food.

If you've got light fingers, you should think again. Anyone considering the job is warned that the punishments for theft are severe even by Anglo-Saxon standards. Pilfer the silver and you'll lose not only your sly twitchy fingers but the rest of your hands as well. That's not the worst of it. Your hands will be nailed above the door of the mint for passers-by to admire. Of course, without any hands to work with and support yourself, you'll soon be history too.

Link

Sylvestius

I thought that sounded familiar. Tony 'Baldrick' Robinson (also from Time Team as well as Blackadder) did that 'worst jobs in history' series and it was actually very interesting. I think for me the worst job would have been the pin maker... i hate fiddly things no patience for them. I'd get severely hacked off and end up throwing them.



Although i should point out that after th Athelstanian period (is that a real word?) that if you were light fingered you'd loose alot more than your fingers. Namely you'd not be reproducing any time soon. That's if you even survived the nut crackers of course.

1jester

I can't get over the names of the people back then! Like in Hagar the Horrible's time.

Danegeld

<< <i>I thought that sounded familiar. Tony 'Baldrick' Robinson (also from Time Team as well as Blackadder) did that 'worst jobs in history' series and it was actually very interesting. I think for me the worst job would have been the pin maker... i hate fiddly things no patience for them. I'd get severely hacked off and end up throwing them.



Although i should point out that after th Athelstanian period (is that a real word?) that if you were light fingered you'd loose alot more than your fingers. Namely you'd not be reproducing any time soon. That's if you even survived the nut crackers of course. >>



I remember that episode. If you lost one (coin) it was "Off With Your Head" well maybe not that bad, but still...

Cruzi

Just been reading a little about this, by the 1700's this was quite a lucrative job, with pay based on output of coinage. Since the British were having quite some trouble in getting a coinage system that worked, it was a "feast or famine" sort of job.

Sylvestius

<< <i>Just been reading a little about this, by the 1700's this was quite a lucrative job, with pay based on output of coinage. Since the British were having quite some trouble in getting a coinage system that worked, it was a "feast or famine" sort of job. >>




Payment on commission is never good!

Actually i don't think the British authorities did too bad with coinage output for most of the 958-1100, 1180-1399, 1420-1600, 1620-1640, 1670-1746, 1816-present periods. The gaps in those date runs were when bullion prices went up and created a shortage, or when there were periods of warfare or internal strife that disrupted things.

In the case of the 1746-1815 period which was undoubtedly the worse of the coin shortages there was external troubles, American War of Independence, the French Revolution which caused problems throughout Europe and finally the biggest hit of the all the Napoleonic Wars which practically elimitated regal coinage from circulation altogether as silver prices soared.

Britain was seriously struggling to maintain silver coinage output, the larger denominations had ceased by the early 1750s, the smaller silver denominations ceased in the early 1760s... and then there was just about nothing silver issued until 1816. Except for some counterstruck Spanish coins and a few sporadic issues of shillings (one of which the 1798 issue was deemed illegal and ordered to be remelted) and the 1787 run of sixers and shillings.

British currency was in a real bad way by the 1780/1790s, paper money, tokens and gold cons came to the rescue. The government issued gold quarter guineas and third guineas to try and make some coinage that would circulate. But of course as the silver had gone up, by the first decade of the 19th century the gold followed and gold currency slowed down, the guinea ceased, the quarter had been abandoned after only a year because people kept losing them.

In the 180X period the only coins generally issued were Half Guineas (ten shillings and six pence), Third Guineas (seven shillings), Pennies, Half pennies and farthings. Most of that gold got hoarded.

Any silver that was around was usually from the 1730s or earlier and worn flat, so much so that foreign silver coins were sanded smooth and passed off as British coins.

It was a real, real mess.

1816 saved the day when they did the only thing they could do to stop the hoarding. Create a new coinage of a slightly lower weight (a token coinage) with face value just above intrinsic rather than at intrisic. With the weights lowered the old coins were called in to be melted down on mass. The old guinea coinage came flooding back in large numbers for one reason only, the government had declared that there was to be a period of grace and after that period of grace all coins minted before 1816 were demonetised. So rather than getting stuck with the old coinage (much of which was so worn to be underweight anyhow) the Royal Mint got swamped out with tons of the stuff that people had being hoarding since the 1740s.

Bimetalism was abolished and Britain went on the gold standard with it's 'new' coin the sovereign. (Which was a reincarnation from a denomination that had last been issued in the late 16th/early 17th century).

Cruzi

The late 1700's is the period I'm currently looking at. The British were in all kinds of strife with silver and gold disappearing out of the country quicker than they could make it, and as you say most silver coins were little more than discs leading to quite a counterfeit problem as well. Think there was even a period where the Bank of England even refused to redeem gold for scrip.

It is quite a fasinating time, beginning to understand Vern's addiction to this period.

Sylvestius

<< <i>I can't get over the names of the people back then! Like in Hagar the Horrible's time.

>>





Ah Anglo-Saxon names! You know alot of them meant stuff. I don't mean like todays names mean things. Everyone's name today has a meaning but it's generally not as obvious. Back then names were often pieced together out of words in use in everyday language. Notably;


Æthel = noble
Ælf = elf
Cuth = renowned
Ead = rich
Os = god


which were often attached to;

Bald = bold
Berht = bright
Frith = peace
Gar = spear
Gifu = gift
Mund = hand
Ræd = counsel
Stan = stone
Wulf = wolf



So you could have the following;

Eadmund = rich hand (good for numismatists)
Eadgar = rich spear
Eadræd = rich counsel


Æthelstan = noble stone
Æthelbald = noble bold (bold noble)
Æthelgar = noble spear
Æthelwulf = noble wolf
Æthelræd = noble counsel (always the joke with) Æthelræd the Unræd (noble counsel the ill counselled)



And the favourite for women Ælfgifu (very Tolkeiny even if it does sound like a patch of alg&aelig

Sylvestius

<< <i>So you could have the following;

Eadmund = rich hand (good for numismatists)
Eadgar = rich spear
Eadræd = rich counsel


Æthelstan = noble stone
Æthelbald = noble bold (bold noble)
Æthelgar = noble spear
Æthelwulf = noble wolf
Æthelræd = noble counsel (always the joke with) Æthelræd the Unræd (noble counsel the ill counselled) >>





What really makes them look good though is when you get the runes involved, okay Æ is technically a rune itself. But it's always good to throw in thorns and eths.


Revisiting part of the above list with traditional Anglo-Saxon spelling;


Æ­­­­ðelstan = noble stone
Æðelbald = noble bold (bold noble)
Æþelgar = noble spear
Æþelvvulf = noble wolf
Æðelræd = noble counsel

1jester

Cool information, Syl! Thanks. A lot of those words are similar to present-day German words, for example Frith (Friede) and Aethel (edel).