Museums

Coins were minted in Northampton for over 250 years during the medieval period which shows the significance of Northampton as a major royally approved centre. This meant that Northampton was an established centre that manufactured coins to be used as currency.

History of minting in Northampton

There is an uncertainty over the exact date that minting began in Northampton, however the earliest coins can be attributed to the reign of Eadwig from 955-959. The last coins to be minted in the town took place within the reign of Henry III and finished in 1250. Coins from this period were of a standardised type at all mints across the county with the name of the moneyer and the mint town on the reverse of each coin. Northampton was important enough as a royal mint town to have more than three moneyers in most royal reigns.

There are over 130 Northampton mint coins from various findspots within the Museum’s collection. This includes individual coins lost in Northampton and groups of coins buried in hoards. A small number of coins can be viewed in History Gallery 2.