Two iron coin dies used to forge gold coins

In the middle ages coins were made by striking a blank disc of precious metal between two engraved iron dies. The process of making the official coinage of England was closely controlled by the crown, and took place only in official workshops. In the later middle ages, Exeter was distant from the approved mints. These two iron dies, one for striking the English gold noble, the other the half-noble, were found in Trichay Street in 1972. The coin types which they cut were struck in the period 1351-1413. They must have been made to forge replicas of the official gold coinage at this time.