Tudor Coinage B.J
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TUDOR COINAGE B.J. COOK Introduction THE study of Tudor coinage since the foundation of the British Numismatic Society has been overwhelmingly dominated by two figures, Henry Symonds (PI. 3c) in the first half of the 20th century, and Christopher Challis (PI. 7b) from the 1970s to the present day. It is pleasingly apposite that Symonds's contribution is considered in detail elsewhere in this volume by Christopher Challis. The work of both Symonds and Challis has not for the most part been numismatic in the very technical sense: neither of them has produced catalogues, or works of detailed classification. Their achievement has been rather to provide an unparalleled insight into the production, organisation and use of coinage, that scholars of other periods can only hope to emulate, rather than excel. Specialist work on the coinage of the Tudors before the foundation of the Society was in fact sparse in the extreme. In Brooke's English Coins of 1933 the only such early contribution deemed worthy of inclusion in the bibliography was Sir John Evans' 1886 paper on the debased coinage of Henry VIII, published in the Numismatic Chronicle.' Occasionally picked up by modern scholars is A.E. Peake's 1891 article 'Some notes on the coins of Henry VII', which was an enterprising attempt to link details of the coinage with historical events, not all of which may have been wholly misguided.2 Given this scope for further investigation, it cannot be said that the foundation of the BNS did a great deal initially to remedy this apparent neglect, since work on Tudor numis- matics in the first half of the 20th century continued to be somewhat restricted, apart, of course, from Henry Symonds (the most spectacular exception to this generalisation), who split his many publications between the Journal and the Numismatic Chronicle. Otherwise, there was relatively little, with Raymond Carlyon-Britton, L.A. Lawrence and Helen Farquhar the only really substantial contributors, mostly concentrating on the early Tudor period. The lack of activity may have become apparent to students, however, and from the late 1940s there was a definite change, inaugurated by C.A. Whitton's major study of the coinage of Henry VIII. It may be the case that the likely and then actual accession to the throne of a second Elizabeth encouraged this shift, especially for the long-ignored late Tudor series: a rare example of 'New Elizabethan' sloganizing having a positive consequence. Whatever the impetus, in the 1950s, '60s and '70s a range of now very familiar names began to appear in the literature in Whitton's train: Potter, Winstanley, Spufford, Grierson, Metcalf, Schneider, Brown, Kent, and, of course, Challis. By this time the Journal had undoubtedly become established as the natural outlet for this research. Towards the end of the century, in the 1980s and 90s, there seems to have been something of a falling-off from this peak of activity. Challis continued to be productive, but otherwise only Ian Brown (continuing his work with his new collaborators David Border and Christopher Comber) and Joe Bispham have moved forward to take up the slack, assisted by the late-straying medievalists, Martin Allen and Tim Webb Ware. 1 Sir John Evans, 'The debased coinage bearing the name of Henry VIII', NC 3rd ser., 6, 114-60. This decision by Brooke was, of course, eminently justified, since Evans had made the crucial discovery (implicit in his careful title) that the debasement coinage in Henry VIII's name was also struck under Edward VI. 2 A.E. Peacke, 'Some notes on the coins of Henry VII', NC (1891), 34^T7: for comments, see Challis. pp. 52, n. 18 and D.M. Metcalf, Sylloge of Coins of the British Isles 23. Aslvnolean Museum, Oxford. Port III: Coins of Henry VII (London. 1976), xli. 108 TUDOR COINAGE General works Challis's The Tudor Coinage still stands alone as a study of the administrative and institutional history of the coinage for a lengthy period of modern English history (or indeed of European history).3 As the work of an historian, it draws on masses of unpublished documentary sources, as well as of the limited published literature, to illuminate the subject as no-one else has. It is complemented by the new Mint history, edited by Challis and to which he contributed the central section, 'Lord Hastings to the Great Silver Recoinage, 1464-1699'.4 Separately, each would be a uniquely significant contribution to Tudor numismatics, and together they stand as models for the integration of numismatic and historical research. Challis has made many other contributions (for which see below), but an important general piece is his 1989 essay in which he discussed the relationship between the money supply and the economy during the Tudor and early Stuart period.5 Among the various books devoted to the English coinage in general, special mention must be made of George Brooke's English Coins, which both summarised and stimulated research in many areas of the national coinage. Brooke's organisation of the coinage of the Tudor period was based soundly on the current research to which he was a distinguished contributor, and it was explicitly taken as a starting point in several of the major studies of the mid-century.6 Helen Farquhar bestowed the same lavish prolixity on the numismatic portraiture of the Tudors as she would do on the Stuarts, and there is still much of interest in her work, however much 'of the period' it remains in style and approach.7 She unquestionably holds an important position as one of the few numismatists to have seriously addressed the role of coinage in ceremony in early modem Europe, by virtue of her massive surveys of the ceremonies of Touching for the King's Evil, royal largesse and the Maundy.8 It is valuable to supplement her approach to the King's Evil with the major historical study by Marc Bloch.9 The Maundy ceremony has since been the particular study of Brian Robinson.10 Beyond the Maundy and King's Evil, the ceremonial use of coins in early modem England remains an area with scope for further investigation. Only a few works have been produced which have catalogued coins from across the Tudor period, and the most important is Peter Woodhead's sylloge of the first part of the Herbert Schneider collection of English gold coins, a superbly illustrated work accompanied by summaries of current knowledge of the field (issues, classification systems, mint output figures, hoards and finds etc), and a valuable bibliography." Wilson and Rasmussen's English Pattern Trial and Proof Coins included the relevant Tudor items, but did little to illuminate the significance and purpose of this interesting material.12 An unusual and stimulating approach has been taken by Craig Muldrew, in an investigation of the social meaning and function of money in the Tudor period.13 3 C.E. Challis, The Tudor Coinage (Manchester, 1978). 4 C.E. Challis (ed.), A New Histoiy of the Royal Mint (Cambridge, 1892), at pp. 179-397. See also Appendix 1 Mint Output (pp.673-8) and Appendix 2 Mint Contracts (pp. 699-758). As a source Appendix 1 replaces E. Stokes' pioneering 'Tables of bullion coined from 1377 to 1550', NC 5th ser., 9 (1929), 27-69. 5 C.E. Challis, Currency and the Economy in Tudor and early Stuart England. The Historical Association, New Appreciations in History 4 (London, 1989). ' 6 G.C. Brooke, English Coins (London, 1932). 7 Helen Farquhar, 'Portraits of our Tudor monarchs on their coins and medals', BNJ 4 (1907), 79-143. 8 Her enormous study 'Royal charities', is spread across many issues of the Journal. For the Tudor period, the principal sections are: 'Royal charities. Part 1. Angels as healing pieces for the king's evil', BNJ 12 (1916), 39-135; 'Royal charities (second series): The Maundy', BNJ 16 (1921-2), 195-228, 'Alms at the Gate, the daily alms, and the privy alms', BNJ 17 (1923-4), 133-64; "Largesse and the King's Dole',BW 18 (1925-6), 63-91; 'The Maundy coins', BNJ 19(1927-8), 109-29. 9 M. Bloch, The Royal Touch, Sacred Monarchy and Scrofula in England and France (English edition, London, 1973). 10 B. Robinson, The Royal Maundy (London, 1977) and Silver pennies and linen towels. The stoiy of the Roycd Maundy (London, 1992). These studies should be consulted for other contributions to Maundy history. 11 P. Woodhead, Sylloge of Coins of the British Isles, 47. Herbert Schneider Collection, Part 1. English gold coins and their imitations 1257-1603 (London, 1996). 12 A. Wilson and M. Rasmussen, English Pattern Trial and Proof Coins in Gold 1547-1968 (Cambridge, 2000). 13 C. Muldrew, '"Hard food for Midas": cash and its social value in early modern England', Past and Present 170 (2001), 78-120. TUDOR COINAGE 109 The Early Tudors The reign of Henry VII has probably attracted the most sustained attention of any of the Tudors, despite (or perhaps because of) the 'baffling and seemingly insoluble problems' it presented. Its appeal arises no doubt in part from its transitional nature, as in the course of a couple of decades English coinage shifted from medieval to early modern in its appearance, the pound and shilling made their debuts as actual coins, and realistic portraiture entered the English ambit. Yet despite the novelties of the reign (and assuming scholars were not simply deciding to start at the begin- ning), the persistence of medieval traditions may have had as much to do with the early attention Henry VII's issues received from numismatists, since well-established medieval specialists took the lead in giving it this level of attention.