Mint
Existing records show that Hastings had a town mint, together with a mint master dating back to at least 924[1] under the reign of King Athelstan[2]. A coin bearing the name of the maker and town was found near Winchester by boys, who reportedly lost a marble down a hole, and upon digging for the marble, dug up a lead box containing about 10,000 silver pennies. One of these coins which bore the name of Hastings' moneyer is lodged at Hastings Museum.[1]
Cousins in his work 'Hastings of Bygone Days and Present' suggests that the mint was most likely within a fortified location, so possibly within the castle or an earlier structure. He goes on to mention the name of a mint-master as being 'Bridd' quoting from a work by Ruding, a numismatist, and speculates that this could be an ancestor of the Breeds family. Another historian (un-named by Cousins) suggests that the mint-master named may be the ancestor of the Brett or Britt family, again both fairly well-known names in the town[3]
Around the time of the mint's existance a settlement known as "Rammeslegh" was located nearby, and, although no fixed location has been determined, it is believed to have been somewhat east of Hastings towards Cliff End[4]
The mint would appear to have survived the Norman conquest, since a coin from Hastings minted dating to between 1074 and 1077 is known to exist[5] and there is record of the mint still being in existance until around 1154.[6], moneyers listed as being Dun(n)i(n)c/Duni(e)/Dning & Thio(d)red during the last periods of the mint's operation[7]
Known examples of coins
William 1 Penny (1074-1077)
Edward 1 Penny
References & Notes
- ↑ a b A Guide to Hastings & St Leonards (Thomas Ross 1835) pg.2 Google Books
- ↑ The Antiquities of Hastings and the Battlefield (Thomas Cole 1864) Pg. 29 Google Books - 1864 ESCC Library. A later edition is also available: ESCC Library - 1884
- ↑ Hastings of Bygone Days and the Present (Henry Cousins - 1911) pg.12 ISBN: 9789332862449 ESCC Library Google Books " Amazon
- ↑ Hastings Survey of Times Past and Present (Anthony Belt F.L.S.) 1937 pg.41 ESCC Library
- ↑ File:William 1st penny obv (FindID 455401).jpg - Wikimedia Commons, accessdate: 23 April 2020
- ↑ A New History of the Royal Mint (1992) Pg. 42 Cambridge University Press ISBN: 9780521240260
- ↑ 05 Allen 1787 - 2012_BNJ_82_5.pdf, accessdate: 23 April 2020
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