Good Money: Birmingham Button Makers, the Royal Mint, and the Beginnings of Modern Coinage, 1775-1821

In the 1780s, the Royal Mint failed to produce enough small-denomination coinage. As the currency shortage threatened to derail industrial progress, manufacturers began to mint custom-made coins, called 'tradesman's tokens'. In 1821, the Crown outlawed all moneys except its own. This book tells of the struggles over the right to coin legal money.