Dr Murray Andrews

Archaeological Numismatist

Month: July 2022

Elizabethan treasures from Surrey: new publication for July 2022

25 July 2022 /

I’ve just got my hands on a copy of the February 2022 edition of Surrey’s Past, the new-look version of the Surrey Archaeological Society’s (SyAS) venerable Bulletin. This issue contains fascinating insights into the ongoing SyAS excavations at Cock’s Farm, Abinger, new thoughts on the Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Guildown, and much else inbetween, including a short note by me on the Pirbright hoard of Elizabethan silver coins.

Discovered in 1844 but long since lost, the Pirbright hoard was previously unknown to scholarship, but can be carefully reconstructed through archival research. It consisted of c.120 silver coins of Elizabeth I, and was hidden far away from prying eyes on the edge of Pirbright Common in 1567-71. The article explores the find in the context of hoards and money in Tudor Surrey, and suggests that it might represent the household savings of a prosperous yeoman farmer from the local area.

So why not have a look? You can download the article directly here, or read the entire issue via the SyAS website.

For a full list of my publications to date, check out the ‘Publications’ page on this website.

Money from Machynlleth: new publication for July 2022

21 July 2022 /

Lately I’ve been busy traversing the complex world of ‘small change’ in 19th-century Britain, so I’m delighted to share news of an article I’ve had published in the latest Token Corresponding Society Bulletin.

This article reports on a previously-unnoticed hoard found during repairs at Parliament House (Senedd-dŷ), Machynlleth, in 1909. Buried in the mid- to late 1810s, the hoard contained 14 copper coins and tokens, and almost certainly represents the contents of a small change purse hidden or lost when the building was used as a granary and ‘miserable dwelling-house’ in the Regency era.

Parliament House (Senedd-dŷ), Machynlleth, in c.1816 (public domain)

The hoard offers a fascinating glimpse of the state of the currency in everyday circulation: a mix of genuine and counterfeit Georgian halfpence,  new and old private tokens from Glamorgan and Worcester, and even a far-flung copper struck for the Canadian Provinces. The distance that these objects travelled before their deposition illustrates the remarkable growth of inter-regional economic integration during the Industrial Revolution, pursued across thousands of miles of new turnpike roads and canals.

So why not have a look? To purchase a copy, get in touch with the Token Corresponding Society.

For a full list of my publications to date, check out the ‘Publications’ page on this website.

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