HIGHLIGHTS of a forthcoming auction of Ancient, British and World Coins are coins which were found in Crediton Parish Church.

Stanley Gibbons Baldwin’s is thrilled to present the auction at its Auction house at 399 Strand, London on Wednesday, March 12.

The auction includes four half crowns of Charles I with an intriguing provenance.

A worn half crown found as part of the Crediton hoard.
A worn half crown found as part of the Crediton hoard. (Stanley Gibbons Baldwin)

The coins come with identifying tickets, stating that they were “found in the rafters of Crediton Church”.

Three of the half crowns are regular issues struck at the Tower of London in 1633/34, 1641/43 and 1643/44.

The fourth – much rarer – was struck at New Inn Hall, Oxford in 1645, when Charles had left London to his power base in the West.

Crediton Parish Church. AQ 4413
Crediton Parish Church. AQ 4413 (Alan Quick, Crediton Courier)

But when was this group of coins hidden in the roof of a West Country church – was it anything to do with the troubled times and the chaos of the Civil War?

After extensive research, Richard Gladdle of Stanley Gibbons Baldwin’s is able to reveal all, as in a volume of Numismatic Chronicle for June 1897, there was a report by H. A. Gruber, describing the hoard of 1,884 coins that had been found in the vestry roof of Crediton Parish Church in 1896, which at that time was in the British Museum being examined.

On October 15, 1896, workmen were doing some renovations to a small room just above the vestry, which previously had been used simply as a plumbery.

As they hacked off the ceiling plaster, the workers were showered with silver coins.

There, wedged between the rafters, was a leather bag containing 19¾lbs of 1,884 silver coins which rained down once the leather had been pierced.

Of the 1,884 silver coins, the latest dated was 1683, so it was concluded that they were concealed shortly after this date – especially as the few Charles II milled coins present were all in good condition, meaning that they had not circulated for long.

However, this particular hoard was of a very strange composition, for unlike the character of most coin hoards found, where the coins are by and large from a single period of time, the coins here ranged from Edward VI to Charles II, some 140 years.

In fact, there were a larger number of coins dating before the death of Elizabeth (1603) than coins struck after!

Found in the rafters at Crediton Parish Church, one of the silver coins.
Found in the rafters at Crediton Parish Church, one of the silver coins. (Stanley Gibbons Baldwin)

The possible explanation to this is that they had been accumulated over quite a long period of time.

As most of the coins pre-Charles I were in highly circulated and therefore poor condition, the British Museum concluded that the coins had been amassed over a 20-year period, probably beginning around 1665 to be concealed in the vestry sometime around 1685.

There were no Commonwealth coins present in this large hoard, something which was initially thought to be significant.

However, the circulation of Commonwealth coins was prohibited with the “Restoration” and in November 1661 all Commonwealth coinage was called in for recoinage.

This is the most probable explanation for their absence from this group – and also supports the argument that the coins did not begin to be accumulated until four or so years later.

So, who spent 20 years adding to a bag of silver, who concealed the coins in the rafters of the vestry of Crediton Parish Church?

It is unlikely they were put in the ceiling of the plumbery – but rather under the floorboards of the large room above.

The large room above was used as the meeting room of the Parish Council, so it does rather point to somebody “involved” with the church.

Going up for auction on March 12, one of the Crediton half crowns
Going up for auction on March 12, one of the Crediton half crowns (Stanley Gibbons Baldwin)

Most interestingly – what is the significance of the probability that the bag of coins took 20 years to amass?

Siphoning off some of the more worn coins from collections over a period of time? Secret “war chest” built up for emergencies?

A fortune built up over many years? Were they stolen or just hidden for safe keeping and then forgotten?

We may never know…unless, perhaps, you know something more about how this hoard came to be in the rafters of Crediton Parish Church.

Can any amateur sleuths in Devon help us with a piece of the puzzle?

If you can help, let us know at the Courier on 01363 774263 or email: [email protected] .

Richard Gladdle of Stanley Gibbons Baldwin’s explains: “In these four coins there is not just a glimpse into the Civil War but also the mystery of what they were doing in the rafters of a church in Devon – a marvellous piece of local history.”

For more information about the auction, please visit: www.sgbaldwins.com .