This major study traces the development of English minting from the seventh-century to the twentieth-century.

Private Enterprise and the Foundation of Modern Coinage

The United Kingdom was the last major nation-state in the world to adopt decimal currency, 50 years ago in 1971. Why was it so slow to do so? What changed politicians' and peoples' minds about it in the 1960s? Were Britain's plans to join the EEC influential? What was the impact of South Africa, Australia and New Zealand going decimal several years earlier? Or did it simply happen because of common sense, with a decimal system so much easier to learn and use than pounds, shillings and pence?The route to find the right designs was a complex one, with interfering politicians, struggling artists, and at one stage an angry Duke of Edinburgh! It took over five years to get there, and then there was the seven-sided 50 pence - a design classic we would say today, but what did the media and public think of it when it was launched in 1969?When Britain Went Decimal takes readers through the changeover leading to D-Day (decimalisation day), and beyond: how smooth and successful was the process? Did newspapers secretly hope it would fail? While decimalisation might have seemed right at the time, did it lead to inflation, as many people believe today?Entertainingly written and beautifully illustrated, this first book on decimalisation since 1973 attempts to answer all these questions and more, looking as much at the design - indeed the 'art' behind the new coinage - as at social, economic and political history.

This book reveals the multi-generational process involved in humanity's first major scientific achievement, namely the discovery of modern physics, and examines the personal lives of six of the intellectual giants involved. It explores the profound revolution in the way of thinking, and in particular the successful refutation of the school of thought inherited from the Greeks, which focused on the perfection and immutability of the celestial world. In addition, the emergence of the scientific method and the adoption of mathematics as the central tool in scientific endeavors are discussed. The book then explores the delicate thread between pure philosophy, grand unifying theories, and verifiable real-life scientific facts. Lastly, it turns to Kepler’s crucial 3rd law and shows how it was derived from a mere six data points, corresponding to the six planets known at the time. Written in a straightforward and accessible style, the book will inform and fascinate all aficionados of science, history, philosophy, and, in particular, astronomy.

Already famous throughout Europe for his theories of planetary motion and gravity, Isaac Newton decided to take on the job of running the Royal Mint. And there, Newton became drawn into a battle with William Chaloner, the most skilful of counterfeiters, a man who not only got away with faking His Majesty's coins (a crime that the law equated with treason), but was trying to take over the Mint itself. But Chaloner had no idea who he was taking on. Newton pursued his enemy with the cold, implacable logic that he brought to his scientific research. Set against the backdrop of early eighteenth-century London with its sewers running down the middle of the streets, its fetid rivers, its packed houses, smoke and fog, its industries and its great port, this dark tale of obsession and revenge transforms our image of Britain's greatest scientist.

War has shaped currencies, creating, abolishing and moulding them. By providing the means through which they have been fought, coins and banknotes have proved themselves an indispensable weapon of war. But the disruption that comes with conflict has seen usage of money change to cope with extreme circumstances. Coins have frequently been debased or often buried in hoards as an army advances, they have found themselves saving lives on a battlefield or becoming objects of sentiment as a memory of home. As symbols of state, money has offered the means through which victorious leaders have proclaimed their triumphs, evidenced from Roman Emperors through to the more poignant modern ways in which commemoration predominates. | In this new book Kevin Clancy, Director of the Royal Mint Museum, seeks to explore these themes, revealing how something which thrives on stability can adapt when the normal rules of life are turned upside down. Richly illustrated throughout, the book focuses principally on the experience in Britain from Tudor times but draws on other instances from around the world and across time to show how money and war have collided and influenced one another. | It is a fascinating story that will be as engaging to those with an interest in military history as much as to those of us with more than a passing interest in money.