Beulah Hill treasure trove 1953 : Edward I-III, 138 coins, c. 1364 / [R.H.M. Dolley]

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BEULAH

HILL

TREASURE TROVE

1953

Edward

I-III,

138

Coins,

c. 1364

On

13

April

1953,

14

gold

and

124

silver

coins

of the

fourteenth

century

were

discovered

n

virgin

lay

a

few nches below the

surface

of the

garden

at

86

The

Woodlands,

Beulah

Hill,

Upper

Norwood,

Surrey.

The finder

promptly

reported

her

discovery

to

the

British

Museum,

and

there is

every

reason to believe that

the 138 coins

recoveredrepresentthe whole hoard. A Coroner'sinquest held at

Croydon

on

2

May

resulted

n the

find

being

declared treasure

trove,

and the

coins were

again

submitted

o the BritishMuseum

for

further

examination.1

A

small

number

(marked

with an

asterisk

in

the

accompanying

ist)

were

retained

by

the British

Museum

and the

remainderwere

acquired

by

the

London

Museum.

The

finder

was

rewarded with

the full

market value of

the

hoard.

Very

few

English

finds

can be dated to

the

decade

1360-70,

and

that fromBeulah Hill seems the first o be reported n any detail.2

Special

importance

attaches to

the

fact

that

it

is

a

mixed

gold

and

silver

hoard,

one

of

the first

o reflect

hanges

in the national cur-

rency

consequent

on Edward

Ill's introduction

f

the

gold

noble

and

silver

groat.

The

latter

coin

had

been

put

into

circulation

only

in

1351,

yet

the Beulah

Hill

findof 1364

contains

no fewer

han

94,

all

of

them

circulated.

It would

seem

that the new

denomination

was

meeting

adequately

a

very

real

need.

Another feature

of

the hoard

is

that,

with the

exception

of

two

battered

pennies

of

Edward

I,

all

the

coins were struck

within

a

period

of a dozen

years.

The

great

recoinage

of 1351

seems

effectively

o

have

driven

from

circulation

the heavier

coinsof

he earlier

part

of he

century.

Such

a

phenomenon

suggests

that

the new

coinage

was on

an

ample

scale.

No

less

significant

s

the absence

of

lusshebournes

the

only

"

foreigner"

n the find

s

a

Scots

groat

of

good

weight.

This

may

seem

to bear

out

Brooke's

contention

hat

t had been

a

faulty

djust-

ment

of

the values of

gold

and silver

that

had

precipitated

the 1351

1

The writer

s

grateful

o

Mr.

E. J.

Winstanley

ho

gave

up

a

whole fter-

noon

o

checking

hrough

ithhim

he coins

gainst

is

preliminary

ist.

2

Thewriter

s

grateful

o

Mr.

J.

D.

A.

Thompson

f

he

Ashmolean

useum

for

lacing

t

his

disposal

he

relevant

ages

of

his

forthcomingibliography

of

English

oin

hoards.

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116 R. H. M. DOLLE

Y

recoinage. Certainly

he

proportions

f the different

enominations

suggest

that a limited

mastery

of bimetallic

theory

nd

practice

had

at last

been achieved.3

Another

cause of

complaint

was

clipping

of

the

coinage,

and

in

this context the

followingfigures

may

be of

interest.

The total face

value of the

hoard was £3. 155.

10

d.,

£2

in

gold

and the balance

in

silver.4

Consequently

the

nominal

weight

should have

been

as follows

Gold

1

oz.

10

dwt.

Silver

1

lb.,

4

oz.,

2

dwt.,

2

grains.

The actual weightwas (to the nearestgrain)

Gold

1

oz.,

9

dwt.,

3

grains.

Silver

1

lb.,

3

oz.,

12

dwt.,

grains.

Thus,

the

deficiency

mounted

in

the

case

of

gold

to no

more than

11

grains,

and in

the case of

silver to 10

dwt.,

3

grains.

The ratio of

gold

to silverwas as

12

1,

and the

total

deficiency

n

the

coinage

can

be

expressed

as

Is 9

d.

in

£3.

1

5s.

10

d.,

or rather

ess

than

6d.

in

the

pound.

When

we

remember

hat the

gold

used

was 23

ct.,

3| gr.

fine, nd the silver11 oz., 2 dwt.,muchofthe discrepancycan fairly

be

attributed to wear

and

tear

in

circulation.

In

this connexion it

should

be

remarked

hat

scarcely

one of

the Beulah Hill

silver

coins

approaches

fleur

de

coin.

Nevertheless,

the

silver

generally

has

a

clipped

appearance,

and

it

is

hard to avoid

the

conclusion that

clippers

had been at

work.

Very

few coins

are within

grain

of their rue

weight,

nd the

follow-

ing frequency

tables for

the

London

groats

and

half-groats

eem

suggestive

LONDON GROATS

C

D

E F

G

1351/2

35213

354/5

1356

1356-61

Less

han

6

grains

.

.

.2 . . . .

2

66-66-9

1

..

2

1 ..

4

67-67-9

2 . . . .

2

68-68-9

2

1 1

..

..

4

69-69-9

6

1

4 1 1

13

70-70-9

11 1

8

1

15

36

71-71*9

8

3

1

8

20

72

grains

r

more

.... 1 1 1

.

3

6

33

4

19 4 27 87

3 This snottosaythat hecoins n thehoard re nthe ameproportion

as

emissions

rom

he

Mint. n

theory

sum f

gold

worth 2 hould

ave

been

made

up

of

2

nobles,

half

nobles,

nd 2

quarter-nobles.

4

The

present-day

urchasingower

f this um

s hard

o

estimate

ut s

perhaps

etween

hree

nd

four undred

ounds

terling.




BETJLAH

HILL

TREASURE TROVE

1953

117

Thus,

the

"C"

groats

are on

average

3-7

per

cent,

light,

the "D"

groats 2-3 per cent., the "E" groats 2-9 per cent., the "F" groats

3

per

cent.,

and the

"G"

groats only

1-5

per

cent.

LONDON

HALF-GROATS

C

D E

F

G

1351/2

352/3 354/5

1356 1356-61

361-3 363-9

Less han

3

grains

...

33-33-4

1

1

33-5-33-9 . .2

1

.. ..

3

34-34-4

.

.

.4

2 6

34-5-34-9 . .2

..

1

..

1

..

4

35-35-4

.

.

.1

2

3

35-5-35-9.. 2 .. 1 .. 1 .. .. 4

36

grains

rmore

.

1

..

.. ..

1

..

..

2

12 2

2 1

4 2

23

Obviously

there are not sufficient

oins for the columns

to be

per-

centaged

with

any profit,

ut

generally

his second table

bears out the

picture

presented

by

the

first.

The older

coins are

generally ighter.

Many

more

hoards will have to

be examined beforewe

can

attempt

a

final

stimate,

but the

present

writer

s

not convinced that

clipping

was not practised n the mintquite openlyin orderto correctover-

weight.

This is

not to

deny

that

it

was

an

objectionable

practice

facilitating

ater

depredations,

ut

in

the

throesof

recoinageprinciple

is

often

acrificed o

expediency. Against

this t

may

be

argued

that

both

the

Treaty half-groats

re

clipped

and

under-weight,

ut we

do

not

know to what extent new

batches of

coin were

picked

over mme-

diately

after

eaving

the mints.5

If,

too,

illegal

clipping

was

rife,

t is

strange

that

the

malefactors hould

have

spared

the noble

and

its

divisions. Mintpractice,on the otherhand,mightwell have winked

at

irregularities

n the silver

that no

press

of

business

could

have

afforded o tolerate

n the

gold.

To the numismatist

s such

the main

interest f

the hoard must

be

the

E/D

mule of

the London

groat.

The

D/E

mule

has

long

been

known,

nd

there

was

no reason

to

suppose

that

its

brother

would not

turn

up

in time. The

Scots

groat

is a

die-duplicate

of one from

he

Montrave

hoard now

in the British

Museum which

also is of

good

weight.

Generally

the

proportion

f coins

in

each

class accords well

5

There

s

some

eason

or

elieving

hat he

earlier

heck n the

weight

f

individual

ieces

had

been

bandoned

n

the case of silver.

This

being

o,

it

would e

surprising

f henew

oin

was not

picked

ver. It is

perhaps ignifi-

cant

that he

heaviest

alf

groat

as a

thoroughly

lipped

ppearance.




118

R. H. M. DOLLEY

with

prevailing mpressions oncerning

heirrelative

rarity,

ut it is

a little

disturbing

o comparethefollowing hronological able of the

hoard with

contemporary

igures

f

coinage

published

by

Crump

and

Hughes

in

the

NumismaticChronicle

or

1913.

Before

13511351

1351/2

352/3

354/5

356

356-61

361-3

363-9

Gold

Noble

1

.. 2 .. ..

3

Half-noble

1 1

Quarter-noble

...

. . . .

2

2

6

10

SilverGroat 33 5 24 4 27 .. .. 93

Half-groat

12

2

3 1

4

.

2 24

Penny

.2..

1

.. 2 ..

1

..

.. 6

2 .

46 7

30

5

36

2

9 137

Also

ne

Scots

roat

f

1358-66.

Naturally

allowance has to be made for the fact that this

table

includes a fewcoins not of the London

mint,

nd it must also be

borne

in

mind that

in

neither case are the

figureskeyed

to

the

modern

calendar year, and that the two medieval years are reckonedquite

differently.

ven

so,

it

is

a little

disturbing

o find

he

year

1351/2

accounting

for a third of the coins

in the find when silver

coinage

between

September

1351 and

September

1352

was

only

slightly

above the annual

average

forthe

period

1351-65.

In

the

following

ist of the

find,

full

use

has been made of

L.

A.

Lawrence's

masterpiece

which first

appeared

in these

pages,

his

Coinage

of

Edward III

from

1351

and each

coin

has been

described

as

nearly

as

possible by

reference

o the dies Usted

therein. It

must

be

emphasized,

however, hat the fact that two coins have the same

Lawrence

number

does not

necessarily

mean

that

they

are

die-

duplicates.

It will

be

noticed,

too,

that

many

coins differ

rom

specimens

recorded

by

Lawrence

only

by

the

absence

or

presence

of

a bar

or

serif

n a

particular

etter. In

a

fewcases

this

may

be

because

Lawrence

had

access

to an

example

in

an

inferior

tate

of

preservation

but

generally

he

present

writer

s

inclined

to

postulate

a

die-variety.

There

are

sufficient

oins

n

the

find

with

ndisputable

new

readings

or

us to be certainthat as yetwe have by no means a completepicture

of Edward

Ill's

new

coinage,

and

it is

a measure

of

Lawrence's

achievement

that

his conclusions should

be

strengthened

nd

not

weakened

by

a

discovery

uch as

that

at

Beulah

Hill.




BETJLAH

HILL

TREASURE TROVE

1953

119

All Coins

of

London

Mint

unless

Otherwise

tated

NOBLES

Coinage

of

1351-61

(1)

Class

E

as L.

AG-64

117-8

(2)

Class

Gd

as

L. BG-30

119-4

(3)

?

mule

Ga/gd

as

L.

AW-31

(Obverse

worn)

115-2

HALF-NOBLE

Coinage

of

1363-9

(4)

Class

a as L.

1 59-5

QUARTER-NOBLES

Coinage

of

1351-61

(5)

Class

Gf

as L.

2 29-8

(6)

Class

Gg

as L.

7

29-4

Coinage

of

1361-3

(7)

Class

a

as

L. 2

29-5

(8)

Class

a

as

L.

3

29-8

Coinage

of

1363-9

(9, 10) Classa as L. 1 29-4,29-8

(11,

12)

Class

a as L. 6

29-8,

9-9

(13)

Sub-mule

as L.

1 29-8

(14)

Sub-mule

as L. 2

29-8

GROATS

Coinage

of

1351-61

(15)

Mule

B/C

as L. 5

71-4

(16,

17)

Mules

B/C

as

L.

19

but

hVhh

and

ilVW

66-6*,

1-1

(18-21)

Class

C

as

L.

1

but

A in

TAS

barred

71-7, 1-7,70-8,

9-6

(22) ClassC as nos. 18-21 but ílVB» 70-4

(23)

Class

C

as

L. 5

but

1

J

throughout

nd

barredA

in

TAS

68-4

(24)

Class C

as

L.

13

68-8

(25)

Class

C

as no.

24 but

hVBo

70-5

(26)

Class

C

as

no.

24 but unbarred

A in

TAS

72-0

(27)

Class

C

as

L. 19 but unbroken

M 69-4

(28)

Class

C

as

L.

27

but DM-fcVB

70-8*

(29-34)

Class C

as L.

27 but

^

throughout

uter

egends

61-9,

70-8

71-1,

7-9,71-3,

1-0

(35,

36)

Class C

as

nos. 29-34

but

3J

nd ends

SJ

70-0,

70-3

(37) ClassC as nos. 29-34but7Ï, Ä and 7J 69-3

(38)

Class

C

as

L. 29

70-2

(39)

Class C

as L.

31/27

but

Bo

and

7J

throughout

uter

legends

71*2

(40)

Class

C

as

L. 33

but

B

»

69'9




120

R. H.

M. DOLLEY

(41)

Class

C

as

no. 40

but

7J

hroughout

uter

egends

70-1

(42,43) ClassC as L. 34 butÇ and barredA inTAS 67-0, 9-0

(44)

Class C

as

L.

35

70*5

(45,

46)

Class C

clipped

but

top

arches

unfleured

69-4,

69-3

(47)

Class

C

clipped

but all arches

fleured

70*0

(48)

Mule

D/C

as L. 4 but

«Í6V

69-7

(49)

Class

D

GDW7SRDD0«

RGX«7tII0l¿íFlR7TIIÓ «DhVB

P0SVI D6VffMIļDIVT0R|G«MīlGV

KOHiDOn aiVX¡T7tS

728

(50)

Class

D

GDW7TRD-D-0-RGX«7raeL-Z*HR7raa-D''ft

P0SVI¡-D6V«l-7í|DIVT0R|60MH6V

CIVI|T7TSļUOHļDOH 68 9

(51)

Class

D

GDW7ÎRDD0'REX"7tII0l

IIGDřiVB

POSVI|DGVitt-7ï|DIVTOR|6

líOHDOH|GIVl|T7TS

704

(52)

Mule

E/D

GDW7TRD

D0-RGX-7ÏII

Ll-FR7tIia-DftVB

POSVI|D-VÍK7T1DIVTOR|GÍ«5KGV

LOn|DOII|aiVI|T7tS

687*

(53)

Class

E

as L. 6

66-0

(54)

Class

E

as L.

17/18

72-0

(55)

Class

E

as L. 22

but

W

70-7

(56-60) Class E as L. 25 on nos. 59 and 60 there s a pro-

gressive

ie-flaw

rom

eft url

o

left heek

71-0,

1-5,

70*7,

0-2*,

0-8*

(61)

Class

E as

L.

25/26

69-4

(62, 63)

Class

E

as L.

26

69-5,

0-1

(64)

Class

E

?

as L. 28

69*9

(65)

Class

E

as L.

46/43

66*5

(66)

Class

E

as L.

46

70-4

(67)

Class

E

? as

L.

50

69-4

(68)

Class

E

as

L.

58/59

70-2

(69) ClassE as L. 64 70-0

(70)

Class

E

as L. 71

71-1

(71)

Class

F

as L.

10/2

ut

GIVI|DOII|LOH|T7ïS

71-8*

(72)

Class

F

as

L.

10/5

70-9

(73)

Class

F

as L.

17

but ast

six

words

f

obverse

nd

whole

of

reverse

egend

unstopped

66-9

(74)

Class F

as L.

22/21

69-6

(75)

Mule

F/G

as L. 2

but

ast

three

words

f

obverse

egend

unstopped

70-5

(76)

Mule

F/G

as

L. 8

70-8

(77,78)

Class

Ga as

L. 1-4

70-6, 0*1(79) ClassGa as L. 7

7q.q

(80-83)

Class

Ga as

L.

14

70-3,

0-9,

1-9,

1-0

(84)

Class

Ga as

L.

29

71-9

(85)

Class

Ga as

L.

37

72-0




BETJLAH

HILL

TREASURE TROVE

1953

121

(86)

Class Ga

obversewornbut

reverse

eads

POSVI|DGV«í°7t| lítt-ÍHGV 711

(87)

Mule

Gb/Ga

s L.

2/34

72-1

(88)

Class Gb as

L.

4

7M

(89)

Class

Gb as L.

19

but

hV*B

and

ittflGGV

70-0

(90)

Class

Gb as

L.

21

70-2

(91)

Class

Gc

as L. 2

70*9

(92)

Class

Gc as L.

15

but

stop

after

REX

70*1

(93)

Mule

Gb/Gd

s L.

1/2

70-7

(94)

Mule

Gb/Gd

s L.

3

71-7

(95)

Class

Gd

as L.

1/2

but EIV in

first

uarter

72*1

(96) MuleGe/Gd s L. 1 butomitsfleur n left houlder 70-6

(97)

Class

Ge

as L. 4

69-8

(98)

Class

Ge

as L.

5/4

70-9

(99)

Mule

Gf/Gg

s L.

1/2

71*1

(100)

Class

Gg

as L.

6 but

D**6

70-8*

(101)

Class

Gg

as L.

5-6/7

71-0

Royal

Mint of York

(102)

Class

D as

L. 1

70*9

(103)

Mule

E/D

as

L.

2

70-2

(104,105) ClassE as L. 8 71-6, 10

(106)

Class

E as L.

12

(ft

altered rom

I)

69-8*

(107)

Class

E

as L. 21

71-8

HALF-GROATS

Coinage

of 1351-61

(108)

Class Ca

as L. 1

but

reads

lHR7tM

35-9

(109)

Class

Ca

as L.

3

? but doublestruck

34-1

(110)

Class Cb

as L.

6/9

35-1

(111)

Class Cc

as L. 1

34-0

(112) Class Cc as L. 1 but7J 36-0

(113)

Class Cc

as L.

5

35-5

(114)

Class Cc

as L.

5 but

°RG°

33-8*

(115)

Class

Cd obverse

llegible

but ends

HR7TMC-É nd

reverse s

L.

6b

34-4

(116-18)

Class Cd

as

L.

9

but

DGV

and

TÄS

34-8,

34-6,

4-1

(119)

Class

Cd

inscription

uite

uncertain

33-9

(120-21)

Class Cd

as

L.

10

but

normal

topping

n

reverse

34-2,

4-0

(122)

Mule

D/E

as

L. 2

35-6

(123)

Class

E as L.

8/5

34.7

(124) ClassF as L. 5 33 0

(125)

Class

Ga

as

L.

4

but

ÄDIVT

33-9

(126)

Class

Ga

as L.

8/20

37-1*

(127)

Class

Ga

as

L.

18

35-6

(128)

Class

Ga

as L. 21 but

VIDGV

and

ORG«*-

34-8




122

BEULAH HILL TREASURE TROVE 1953

Royal Mint

of York

(129) ClassE as L. 6 33-7

Coinage

of

1363-9

(130)

Class

I as L. 1-12

35-4

(131)

Class

II

as

L.

30

35

1

PENCE

Edward

I

(1272-1307)

(132)

Brooke,

Class

X

(1302-7)

16-5

Episcopal

Mint of Durham

(133) Brooke,Class IV (1282-3)with nitialcrossmoline 14-1

Edward

III

(1327-77)

Coinage

of

1351-61

Episcopal

Mint

of

Durham

(134)

Class

C

as L.

1

17-1

(135)

Class

E

-

probably

s

L. 2

15-2

(136)

Class

Gc

as L. 1 16-9

Royal

Mint of

York

(137) ClassE as L. 4 16-8

David II of

Scotand

(138)

Edinburgh roat

f he 1358-66

oinage

s

Burns,

ig.

50

72-2

R. H.

M.

Dolley

Beulah Hill treasure trove 1953 : Edward I-III, 138 coins, c. 1364 / [R.H.M. Dolley]

Documents

Transcript of Beulah Hill treasure trove 1953 : Edward I-III, 138 coins, c. 1364 / [R.H.M. Dolley]