The story of King Alfred . me. There is no difficultyin examining them, for a great many coins of Al-fred are extant, and may be studied in the muse-ums. It is to be observed that the coinage, thenand long after, was entrusted to functionariescalled moneyers, who had license and power tostrike coins at certain towns only. This practicewas continued by the Norman kings. The story 170 THE STORY OF KING ALFRED. of the terrible punishment inflicted on his money-ers by Henry I. for issuing debased coins is anillustration of the practice and the dangers; forwho could prevent the production of debase
The story of King Alfred . me. There is no difficultyin examining them, for a great many coins of Al-fred are extant, and may be studied in the muse-ums. It is to be observed that the coinage, thenand long after, was entrusted to functionariescalled moneyers, who had license and power tostrike coins at certain towns only. This practicewas continued by the Norman kings. The story 170 THE STORY OF KING ALFRED. of the terrible punishment inflicted on his money-ers by Henry I. for issuing debased coins is anillustration of the practice and the dangers; forwho could prevent the production of debasedmoney when the moneyer made his profit outof the issue, and there was no place of assay ? Itis not stated anywhere to my knowledge how themints were supplied with silver; when the exist-ing coinage was all called in it was so muchworn and clipped as to be worth little, while itwas too frequently made of base metal, andworth nothing. There was more than one reason for settingup the mints in various places. The mint was, to. PENNY OF ALFRED THE GREAT. begin with, a sign of authority; where Alfredsmoney was made, there Alfreds authority pre-vailed. Again, the difficulties of internal com-munication were so great—in the winter it waswell-nigh impossible to convey any kind of goods,merchandise, wares, or stores, from one place toanother—that it was necessary to set up a mintin every important centre. When the coinagehad become scarce, debased, or clipped in onedistrict—these things were always happeningwith the coinage—it was desirable to replace itby another impression as speedily as possible. SUMMARY OF THE REIGN. 171 If there had been but one central mint, howcould the coinage be supplied within a reason-able time, say, from London to the North ? Itwas, therefore, convenient to have mints in vari-ous parts of the country. If we examined intothe matter more curiously I think it would befound that there was a direct connection betweenthe situation of the mint and the popul
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