Publisher's Synopsis
This major study traces the development of English minting from its origins in the seventh-century down to the highly mechanised factory production of the twentieth-century. It brings together the complementary skills of specialists who are already well-known for their distinctive contributions to the history of minting and coinage, and breaks ground by providing prevalent synthesis and analysis not only of numismatic and historical literature but also of primary sources. In each of the five chapters the location of minting, the chronology and size of output, mint personnel and organisation, and the main technology employed are closely described and analysed to reveal precisely what the main challenges to the Mint have been during its long history, and with what effect it has faced up to them. There are two substantial appendices - one on output from 1220 to 1985, the other on Mint contracts from 1279 to 1817 - a select bibliography, and copious illustrations in the form of 80 figures and maps.
