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Home , Royal Mint, Thomas Simon, William Chaloner

Discover the & history of the Royal at the Kings Tower of

Self-guided school visits Key stages 2 & 3 1 Contents

Exhibition themes, Your visit to objects and stories Coins & Kings Edward I: The king Discover the story establishes the Mint of the Mint at the at the Tower ...... 7 ...... 3 Background: Elizabeth I: The queen School visits to restores ’s Coins and mints the exhibition ...... 4 currency ...... 8 An introduction to Learning activities the value of coins ...... 11 Charles II: The and curriculum links ...... 5 Monarchy returns to How coins were the Mint ...... 8 made at the Tower of London ...... 12 William III: Mint Warden Issac Newton How to read fights crimes old coins ...... 13 against coinage ...... 9 Cromwell , 1658

George III: Britain

teeters on the brink , of financial ruin ...... 9 Elizabeth I

Coins & Kings Schools resources 2

Exhibition Your visit to highlights

There’s plenty to do on a Coins & Kings visit to Coins & Kings. • Discover fascinating accounts of the Mint’s history-makers, including its famous Warden Issac Newton and his arch- nemesis, counterfeiter

• See rare and wonderful coins dating back to 1279

• Try your hand at the screw press and test the amount of in the Discover the story monarch’s coins of the Mint at the • Play Mint Master — a free smart phone download — and see if you can manage Tower of London the Mint at the Tower

Built nearly 1,000 years ago, the the Tower also housed the Royal Coins & Kings helps Coins & Kings is a Tower of London is probably Mint for over 500 years. At visitors of all ages explore this permanent exhibition best known as a fortress and its height, the Mint produced untold history of the Mint at produced in partnership prison, and for the occasional coinage for the whole of Britain. the Tower of London. Enjoy between Historic Royal execution. exciting tales of forgery and Over the centuries, economic financial crisis, grim conditions Palaces and the Its secure walls made it an ideal crises ensured the Mint at the and technological change, Museum. stronghold, serving monarchs as Tower played a crucial and and discover the institution a military storehouse, a records colourful role in the lives of responsible for maintaining the office and even as a menagerie monarchs, and the people’s trust in the country’s for exotic animals. Significantly, people of England and Britain. coins. 3 Coins & Kings is on Directions Accessibility Visiting the Mint Street, based Enter through the The exhibition is based in surviving Mint groups entrance (Middle on the ground floor and exhibition with buildings in the Drawbridge) on the has ramp access.There Wharf next to the river. is an induction loop Tower’s outer Turn left and continue available and large print school groups curtain wall down Water Lane (39). and braille booklets of the exhibition text are Turn right into Mint Street (26). available from warders. Visiting with large groups The Coins & Kings route consists of five spaces, each able to accommodate 4-5 visitors at a time. Its small size will not suit teaching within the rooms and large school groups should be prepared to divide into smaller groupings to view the exhibition comfortably.

School visit tips

• The exhibition space is small. Large groups will need to divide up. • Pre-visit classroom resources are available at hrp.org.uk/coins and tes.co.uk • Lost? Ask a Yeoman Warder for Mint Street! 4 Ideas and activities for teaching , George III Learning and learning — before, during and activities and after your visit curriculum links Learning objectives Curriculum links

Visiting the place where history really The Coins & Kings exhibition features a happened will help pupils develop their wealth of personalities, stories and objects imagination for what life might have been to inspire creative writing, historical like in the past, an essential skill for learning enquiries, numeracy activities and art & history. design projects.

Coins & Kings illuminates five eras in the You may also draw on pre-visit and history of the Mint when crises served post-visit activities developed using the to highlight the institution’s importance for exhibition’s themes to support: the monarch and for the nation. Key Stage 2 Pupils will learn that the Tower of London • English was once home to the Mint and discover • Art & Design how coins were made — both by hand and • History by the earliest screw presses. Key Stage 3 History Children will also develop an understanding Unit 2 How did medieval monarchs keep of the importance of the Mint as a form of control? monarchic control. Unit 5 Elizabeth I: how successfully did she tackle the problems of her reign?

Unit 7 Images of an age: what can we learn KS2 History: Discover the story of from portraits 1500-1750? William Foxley, the potter who fell asleep for 14 days and 15 nights Unit 8 The civil wars: was England ‘turned upside down’ in the seventeenth century? All Coins & Kings teaching resources are available at hrp.org.uk/coins 5 Pre-visit activities Back in the classroom... Key Stage 3 History

Before you visit, give your pupils a Build on your visit to the Mint exhibition and Edward I’s grounding in the history of the Mint at the extend your pupils’ learning with these in- coinage crisis Tower. depth, follow-up activities. Unit 2 Minted! Making the nation’s Key Stage 2 Pupils help the king coins at the Tower of London bring England’s Stories from Mint Street currency problems Key Stage 2/3 under control. This PowerPoint English resource helps you A series of short tell the story of the creative writing tasks Elizabeth I and the Mint at the Tower so to help pupils use Great Debasement your pupils have a the Mint’s settings, Unit 5 good understanding people and history as Pupils advise the before they arrive. inspiration for writing queen as she tackles their own stories. the country’s coinage crisis Faking it: Help Mint Warden Isaac Activities during your visit Newton take on the counterfeiters Kings on Coins: How Questions and investigations can give pupils Art & Design did monarchs wish to focus as they make their way through the Pupils train to be seen? exhibition. become spies for the Unit 7 famous Mint Warden Pupils consider how See pages 7-9 for Mint Missions by developing the monarchs from Henry skills and knowledge VIII to George III have of counterfeiters. been depicted.

The Mint and the Download all activities at Help Wanted! Working life at the Mint in Tudor times Restoration hrp.org.uk/coins Unit 8 History The monarch’s back. All Coins & Kings teaching re- Pupils examine What does it mean for sources are freely available to primary sources as the people and work of they consider what download from our website and the Mint? working life might tes.co.uk have been like at the Mint in Tudor times. 6 Coins & Kings Edward I The king establishes the Mint at the Tower By 1279, Edward I had centralised Themes, the London Mint by moving it to the Tower. The location in his newly re-built fortress provided stories security for the large amounts of used at the Mint. It also enabled him to benefit from the and profits of minting. At the same time, Edward had inherited a coinage in crisis. Coins were made by hand – by Try this... objects hammer and dies – and clipping Feel the weight and resistance was a problem on the thin, worn of replica shears, the type used coins in circulation. The devalued for making and clipping coins in coins led to inflation and low medieval England. foreign confidence in English currency. Look at this... Woodcut-inspired Edward responded decisively. He illustrations show the ordered the Mint to make new medieval minting coins. The coins would represent process from royal authority by being start to finish. produced at the king’s Mint and A preview of the by featuring his likeness. To justify a recoinage Mint Missions exhibition with Edward I needed scapegoats. He blamed Why might Edward have suggestions for and punished Mint moved the Mint to the Tower officials, and, of London? learning in particular, England’s Jewish community, for Find out why Edward made the poor state of coinage. life so difficult for the Jewish 7 population. Elizabeth I Charles II The queen restores The Monarchy returns England’s currency to the Mint Elizabeth inherited a troubled The 1660s was an exciting time kingdom and economy. at the Mint: Charles II had been Her father, Henry VIII, had restored to the throne and a new disastrously debased England’s era was beginning, heralded by currency by replacing silver in the impressive portrait on his the coins with cheaper metals. coins.

The Great Debasement led to New technology was introduced, widespread inflation. It also Try this... as machines became the primary Try this... earned Henry the nickname ‘Old Learn about one of the Mint’s means of production from 1663. Test your coin-striking rhythm in Coppernose’ for the most important processes - the screw press interactive. Feed that eventually revealed itself assaying - in an interactive game Screw presses allowed the Mint blanks between the dies — then through worn coins. that challenges you to measure to produce uniform, beautiful remove the finished coin (and try the precious metal content of coins very quickly. not to lose your fingers!) Elizabeth ordered a recoinage coins. which created large amounts The new coins were harder to of work at the Mint. Assaying counterfeit than hammered ones, Look at this... was an important, specialist Look at this... as the crisp machined edges and Engraver Thomas Compare Henry task required to understand beautiful deterred Simon’s royal job VIII’s debased and measure the precious metal unskilled criminals. plea, written on the content in coins. This involved coins with edge of a coin. Elizabeth I’s. nitric acid and, like other jobs at However, there was also a the Mint, could be dangerous and political motive behind the cause illness or even death. production of coins at the Mint Mint Missions under Charles II. They were a Restoring England’s coinage Mint Missions reaction to the Commonwealth, Why do you think didn’t solve all Elizabeth’s and to ’s coins Charles II overlooked the economic troubles, but the What were the different jobs at and manner of rule. talented queen was widely applauded the Mint? Which do you think as his engraver? by her contemporaries for was the most interesting / The inscriptions and portraiture her efforts to stabilise the dangerous / rewarding? on Charles’s coins emphasised Find at least two reasons currency. him as a restored king. machine-made coins Find out why Henry VIII was were more difficult known as ‘Old Coppernose’. to counterfeit than 8 hammered coins. William III George III fights Britain teeters on the crimes against coinage brink of financial ruin When the famous scientist Isaac On Sunday 26 March 1797, Britain Newton became Warden of the was at the height of financial Mint in 1696 he inherited a hive crisis: the had of activity. suspended payments in and would only issue . William III’s government had ordered the ‘Great Recoinage’. Its The situation sparked aim was to combat the problem One particularly roguish widespread outrage and financial of clipped and counterfeit silver. character was a talented panic. To avert catastrophe Prime The country’s old, worn coins engraver and counterfeiter called Minister William Pitt the Younger Try this... were still being used, leaving William Chaloner, with whom needed to act swiftly. Within Feel the weight of a bag of unscrupulous counterfeiters to Newton became embroiled. days the Bank of England’s guineas, like one mint worker take advantage and profit from store of Spanish Dollars had and thief James Turnbull would making fake coins. Try this... been delivered to the Mint to have stolen in his successful raid. Listen to scripted audio based on be quickly countermarked as Newton led the charge against English coins. The Mint worked accounts of the life of notorious Look at this... the clippers and counterfeiters, furiously day and night. In just coin forger William Chaloner. Guinea bringing personal integrity to his 17 days more than 1 million coins scales, for role as Warden. He investigated were countermarked, an average Look at this... checking the and accused several high-level of over 60,000 a day. criminals who were subsequently William III weight of halfcrowns — gold coins to tried and convicted of High The crisis of 1797 returned the ensure they , which carried a death real and fake. Mint to the limelight, renewing were not sentence. talks about moving it to a new forgeries. purpose-built factory which Mint Missions could cope with the heavy demands of modern Mint Missions minting. In 1810, the Mint Do you think the punishment relocated to nearby for forging coins was fair? Tower Hill, leaving what How did the Mint help solve had been its home for the financial crisis in 1797? Look at the fake coins. How nearly six centuries. can you tell the real ones What makes a coin British? from the forgeries? 9 Try this... Help your pupils imagine the scene at the Tower:

It is October 1360 and the long-awaited first instalment of Jean le Bon’s ransom has arrived from Calais where Edward III collected it from the French king’s government.

The ransom arrives During the Hundred at the wharf by ship, A king’s Years’ War between and is brought in via France and England, the Byward Postern Edward III’s forces in chests full of ransom captured the French French gold coins. king at the Battle of The street scene Poitiers in 1356. Mint officials count outside Coins out the 400,000 & Kings was Imprisoned at the gold coins worth inspired by the Tower of London, £100,000. Such a For more learning resources and French king Jean le Bon (John sum would be the II) was held for an educational programmes: John le Bon’s equivalent of £56 enormous ransom by imprisonment at million today. The the English. coins would have Historic Royal Palaces the Tower during weighed about 188 www.hrp.org.uk/learning the reign of Just outside the tonnes. Edward III Coins & Kings www.royalmintmuseum.org.uk (1327-77) exhibition on Mint The expected full Street is a medieval ransom was 3 million street scene, with coins (£500,000), or © Historic Royal Palaces 2013 a cart and table for £281 million today, counting coins. Coins and objects © Royal Mint Museum but only the first Monarchs/Isaac Newton © National Portrait Gallery installment was ever Illustrations by Tim Archbold paid... Exhibition curator Megan Gooch Background notes An introduction to What is a coin worth? You can explore the idea of a coin’s the value of coins denomination, or its ‘face value’ (eg, 1p, 50p, £1). The history of the Mint offers an engaging way to explore the You can also ask pupils to consider what the coin itself is made of and how valuable that concepts of currency, value and material is. In terms of the metal in today’s Coins exchange coins, is a coin actually worth its face value? Currency and methods of exchange For a long time coins were a convenient way of You can explore pupils’ experience and carrying valuable precious metals around. and understanding of modes of exchange, such as bartering or trading items of value other than Coin size was the number one indicator of coins or banknotes. how much coins were worth. Larger coins (in either thickness or diameter) were worth more minting Different cultures have traded a range of items because their value was directly related to how such as shells, cows and goats as means of much gold or silver was in them. exchange. Coin users would have been familiar with coin Cowrie shells are one of the most widely and sizes and would have recognised a or What is a coin? longest used currencies in history having been from size rather than by having a de- (useful defining features) used in Africa, China and . nomination written on it.

• A coin is an object with two sides What do we exchange today? Today, coins are worth what we all agree they • Coins are small and easy to carry You can identify that we can sell or receive are worth. They no longer contain precious • UK coins have the monarch’s head goods and services in exchange for money (in metals. Metals are chosen more for their on one side the form of coins, banknotes and, increasingly, hardwearing quality and to make them difficult • Most coins have inscriptions as well electronic payments). to fake. as designs • Coins often depict symbols that say People also offer their labour in exchange for Why do we have a mint? something about the monarch or wages. You might explore if any of your pupils To ensure money could be trusted, an official the country earn pocket money. mint was established that controlled the quality • We use coins to buy everyday of coins. British coins have the heads of kings or things You might also probe pupils’ experiences of queens stamped on them as a sign that they are • Coins are used by everyone using money in other countries. ‘’. It is also why the mint is called the Royal Mint today.

Coins & Kings Schools resources 11 • (in precious metal or coins) arrives at the Mint • An assay sample of metal is How coins taken to test purity of the bullion were made at Hammering • Metal is melted, alloyed and cast into ingots the Tower of • Ingots are rolled or flattened into sheets London • Blanks are cut For centuries, coins were • Edges of the blanks are made by manually hammering smoothed • Coins are struck with a a coin blank between two dies. hammer • Coins are blanched (cleaned Producing coins in bulk made Edward I groat, 1279 using a mild acid wash) it possible for the Mint to • Coins are checked for generate a profit (which went fineness, size, striking quality to the monarch). The difference • Coins are tallied and given to between the face value of a client or buyer coin and its production cost was called ‘seigniorage’. • Bullion arrives at the Mint Charles II In the 1660s, under Charles • Metal is melted down Petition Crown, II, the Mint adopted new • An assay sample is taken Milling 1662 technology already in use on • Ingots are cast in sand moulds • Metal is rolled flat using horse the Continent. Hand-operated power screw presses could make • Blanks are cut beautiful coins very quickly. • Edges of coin are decorated using new technology intended The machine-struck coins were to foil counterfeiters. Mint thicker and more regular than employees swear an oath of the old hammered ones. This secrecy not to reveal details of helped combat counterfeiting the invention and clipping, alongside other • Blanks are weighed and tested innovations such as specialist discarded edge marking. • Coins are struck with screw press (seven men per press) • Blanks are blanched, cleaned and dried with sawdust Coins & Kings • Coins are counted, scrutinised 12 Schools resources and weighed Coins & Kings How to read old coins Schools resources

Inscription Date or Heads (or obverse) is ‘King of , France mintmark the traditional place Symbols and Ireland’, Dates did not begin to appear Shields, regal written in . to find information on coins until the animals (thus The monarch’s . about the monarch ‘tails’) or other title is a display Previously coins symbols often of authority. The used mintmarks, who issued a featured. Lions reverse of older little symbols were symbols coins going back which identified coin, including of English to the Tudors who made a coin royalty; ships typically held a the portrait and and when. This signified military religious Latin was important prowess; crowns motto such as ‘I titles. so the makers of represented have made God faulty coins could kingship and my helper’. be brought to crosses account. religious William III devotion. sixpence 1696-99

Legend The monarch’s Regnal Latin name Portrait number appears on all All medieval The regnal number British coins (save kings had the of monarchs Tails (reverse) for some early same portrait. only appears medieval coins). The image wasn’t from Henry VIII reveals details about This was very naturalistic, but onwards. important as it a symbol of royal where or when a indicates under power. By the coin was made and whose authority Renaissance, a coin was made. monarchs were more information This inscription represented by reads ‘William III more naturalistic about the titles and by the Grace of portraits. God’. beliefs of the monarch. 13