The struggle for control of the Irish mint, 1460-c. 1506
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Date
1978Author
Ellis, Steven G.
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Ellis, S. (1978) The struggle for control of the Irish mint, 1460-c. 1506. 'Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy' lxxviii sect. C, 17-36.
Abstract
Correlation of archaeological evidence with that from administrative records
provides a comparatively large body of information about the operation of the Irish mint under the Yorkists and Henry VII. This period was one in which the
king's control over his Irish lordship was particularly slack and when, in contrast
with previous policy, a distinctive coinage was minted especially for the lordship
to a lower standard than that in England. The mint's survival depended on the
maintenance of a difficult balance between the economic interests of the colonists
and the king's fear that lack of proper control might undermine confidence
generally in the royal mint or, worse, constitute a political risk. The relations
between the king and his Irish government with regard to this one aspect of
administration thus provide a useful guide to Anglo-Irish relations more generally
in the late medieval period.