Veertien munten uit het Beleg van Pontefract before 1887

These fourteen coins, printed in a book, come from the time of the Beleg van Pontefract, or the Siege of Pontefract, and were likely produced around 1648. They are not struck from precious metals, but instead from base materials, a necessity born of conflict. These coins represent a moment of crisis, during which traditional systems of value broke down. The regular avenues of commerce were disrupted; hence, the need to produce coinage using whatever was at hand. The shapes themselves – octagons, diamonds – are roughly cut and far from standardized. The imagery includes a castle, a symbol of the town under siege, and lettering indicating the authority under which the coins were minted. The existence of these coins speaks to the ingenuity and resilience of a community under pressure. They remind us that even in times of upheaval, the impulse to create and to maintain a sense of order persists, disrupting established hierarchies of value.