There was one crime which would virtually guarantee your execution in Medieval England,
Tudor England and in the following centuries. When we consider why people were publicly
executed during this time, we mostly think of the most serious crimes. That the condemned
must have been a convicted murderer or arsonist, or that they were sentenced to death by orders
of the King. Many people were executed for treason, but there was a crime which didn’t
involve physically causing harm to anyone, that was considered just as terrible. Coin
Clipping was one way for someone to guarantee their deaths, and it was considered virtually
stealing straight from the monarchy. So join us today as we look at this crime, and remember
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Coin Clipping was a widespread practice inside of the Middle Ages, and many people did this
to try to hold back some currency, and to try and hold some wealth. It was a serious
offence and was a capital crime, and it involved cutting small pieces from coins. Coins were
once made from pure gold and silver, and they were subject to wear. It was normal for people
to receive coins that were not perfectly round, or that appeared bigger than was required.
Because of this, people began to cut and file off a small amount of the precious metal,
as it would go un-noticed. These cut off peices would then be smelted into a bar of either
gold or silver, and then would be sold to a goldsmith, or was used to make counterfeit
coins. This was a huge problem in England, and was considered high treason and punishable
by death.
Everyone indulged in it, however it resulted in large scale executions and persecutions.
On the 17th November 1278, Edward I ordered the arrest of all the Jews in England based
upon the searches of their home, as they were suspected of coin clipping and counterfeiting
money. Eventually 680 Jews were arrested and were taken to the Tower of London, and in
1279 over 300 of these were executed for the crime of coin clipping. This was estimated
too have been around 10% of the Jews in England. At the time many raids took place, and and
more were rounded up following their houses being ransacked. This persecution was based
around the crime of coin clipping.
Coins that had been clipped contained less precious metal than they should have, and
they weighed less. This meant that shopkeepers weighed coins to check the true value, and
as the centuries continued the problem persisted. Different monarchs released different coins
to commemorate their reigns, but the coin clippers were deemed to be stealing from the
King or Queen’s own pockets, as the currency was deemed to be their property. The problem
continued into the 1600s, and the crime was such an issue that public hangings were used
commonly to deter criminals. The threat of hanging did not put them off, as clipping
was profitable and using the simplest tools could mean that even the very poor could benefit.
Defacing the coins of the realm usually meant in men being hanged, drawn and quartered,
and women were hanged, and in some cases even burned, but they were not put off.
It was well organised crime, and one woman for example had a network of clippers who
established a business where she would pay poorer people money for an amount of clipped
coins. She ultimately was burned to death. The Royal Mint brought in different things
to stop clipping, for example using machines to make ridges around the edge of the coin
and to engrave right up to the edge. The use of precious metals gave people the incentive
to do it, but once the metals were changed to make the coins using less valuable materials
this deterred the clippers. In 1692, in London there were over 300 clippers working, and
it was estimated that there were 100 people working inside of clipping gang that brought
in £6000 a month. In Modern day this would be a monthly wage of around £600,000 split
between 100 people, which was an incredible amount of money at the time. One clipper even
tried to buy his pardon for £6000, and many were arrested with hundreds of pounds in their
possession.
Many coin clippers were placed in prison to await their executions, and in London many
were placed in Newgate Prison. The conditions here were incredibly harsh and tough, with
disease and overcrowding at the time a real issue.
So one way of guaranteeing a death sentence over the centuries was by defacing coins and
clipping valuable metal shards from them to be melted down. Interestingly Sir Isaac Newton
was even the Warden of the Mint, and it was his job to interview criminals and informers
to stop clipping gangs. It was estimated that during his time, 1 in 10 circulating coins
was forged with even more being clipped, and this was a huge problem that thankfully isn’t
around today.
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