1££ Mr. Longstaffe on Groats found at Embleton. 



For reasons, which will be obvious on a perusal of my 

 description of this coin in the list appended, it must be one 

 of the very earliest of Edward lV.'s light coins. The probable 

 date and circumstances of the deposit having their interest, 

 and local events suggesting a time during the heavy coinage 

 of Edward TV., I considered the possibility of locating the 

 type during that time, for I knew not the state of the 

 coins quoted by Hawkins. But, taking a groat of Henry 

 VI. 's rosette coinage which had weighed sixty grains when 

 struck, clipped,, as this of Edward IV.'s., which had weighed 

 forty-eight grains, closely to the second circle, so closely that 

 the outer legends of neither coin can be read, I find a difference 

 of six grains between them. This is what we ought to have, 

 or thereabouts. Perfect groats of the two coinages differ by 

 twelve grains, and the wretched specimens I compared, no 

 better than good half-groats of the great Edward, may very 

 well differ by half that weight, or so. Taking also one of 

 Edward IV.'s heavy groats in almost as bad a state, I find a 

 difference of ten grains. 



From this, I conclude that the groat, in question, was in- 

 disputably coined after the indenture of 13th August, 4 

 Edward IV., 1464, establishing the change of weight, which 

 was followed up by a proclamation of 29th September, in the 

 same year. And I conclude further that we are not likely to 

 obtain any probable clue to the causes of the burial of the 

 coins. 1 will not speak of the reasonableness of supposing 

 that some little time ought to have elapsed, even in North- 

 umberland, so near the land of light coin, for bringing light 

 King Edward's money, of forty-eight grains, down to thirty- 

 seven (that is the weight). One might assume that some 

 villain had pruned the edges of our depositor's last acquisition 

 a few days after its issue. But the coin is otherwise in a 

 bad state. Had it not been for these circumstances, I should, 

 at once, have adopted the happy suggestion of the Vicar of 

 Embleton, that the coins were buried for safety during the 

 events at Dunstanburgh Castle (in the parish of Embleton), 

 which arose out of the Wars of the Roses. The details of 

 these need not be stated here. The matter was ended by the 

 execution of Sir Ralph Grey, in July, 1464, and Dunstan- 

 burgh Castle had been delivered to Edward, the month before, 

 in sufficient time to allow the king-maker to keep St. John's 

 day there. Now, the new coinage, which must have pre- 

 ceded the burial of the groats in consideration, could not be 



