On my bookshelf
The Royal Mint: an Illustrated History, by Graham Dyer
Where would a Royal Mint Museum employee be without a copy of this wonderful book? Perhaps wading through The Mint by Sir John Craig or the excellent though voluminous Challis, A New History of the Royal Mint. This invaluable guide was in my welcome pack when I was first employed, and has never left my desk.
Graham Dyer tracks the history of minting in Britain from its origins in London in the first century BC and the establishment of the Royal Mint at the Tower of London in the 13th century, to its move to Llantrisant, near Cardiff, in the 1960s.
Imagery is key to understanding that a numismatic collection includes more than just coins and medals, and that the context of social history gives these objects a much wider meaning. The book was revised last year by Kevin Clancy: as well as bringing the story up to date, the book’s modern digital photography means that researchers can indulge in the beauty of an Edward IV gold angel and still find the information they need.
After five years, what was once alien is now very familiar and still just as depended upon.
Lucy-Ann Pickering is the education and learning manager at the Royal Mint Museum, Cardiff
Graham Dyer tracks the history of minting in Britain from its origins in London in the first century BC and the establishment of the Royal Mint at the Tower of London in the 13th century, to its move to Llantrisant, near Cardiff, in the 1960s.
Imagery is key to understanding that a numismatic collection includes more than just coins and medals, and that the context of social history gives these objects a much wider meaning. The book was revised last year by Kevin Clancy: as well as bringing the story up to date, the book’s modern digital photography means that researchers can indulge in the beauty of an Edward IV gold angel and still find the information they need.
After five years, what was once alien is now very familiar and still just as depended upon.
Lucy-Ann Pickering is the education and learning manager at the Royal Mint Museum, Cardiff