England, Charles I (1625-49) lozenge-shaped silver shilling siege piece, 1648, Pontefract

Pop-up mints and coins made from prayers

04 December 2017

In the tumultuous upheaval of the English Civil War, Royalist castles under siege used ‘pop-up’ mints to make coins to pay their soldiers. A unique display at the Fitzwilliam Museum tells the centuries-old story of emergency currency made from gold, silver and compressed prayer books.

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