INTRODUCTION

Edward I’s reform of the English coinage in 1279 involved a major reorganisation of the administration of the royal mints and exchanges. The mint and exchange hierarchy envisaged in 1279 was subject to change during the recoinage of 1279–81, and it continued to change until it was radically altered by Henry VIII in 1544. A relatively stable hierarchy of officials and a formally organised Company of Moneyers did eventually emerge by the fifteenth century, but an element of change and improvisation remained, particularly during recoinages. The Calais mint and the ecclesiastical mints of Durham and York always had their own distinctive variations on the staffing arrangements of the London mint. The administration of the royal mints was disrupted on many occasions by disputes, accusations of malpractice and the prosecution or dismissal of mint officials.