Money, money, money

Many of our collection blogs have mentioned the range of social and economic classes represented onboard the Mary Rose. This can be deduced using historical accounts and archaeological evidence such as the equipment found with individuals – including clothing and professional belongings which may suggest a particular role on board. But one important factor to judge wealth on board, is the actual money found.

The largest collection of coins found aboard is associated with the purser. The purser was responsible for paying the crew’s wages, distributing supplies, and keeping track of the ship’s stores. Within his chest, 11 gold and 20 silver coins were found, amounting to £2 18 shillings (over £1,200 in today’s money). This was an impressive amount back in the day, over a month’s wages for a captain – however this is much lower than could be expected for provisioning a crew of over 400 men. Is it possible that they didn’t want to be loaded with coinage on this campaign in case of capture, or sinking?

Aside from gold, metals such as silver corrode significantly in salt water. Clusters of silver coins corroded together into a single mass of coins which makes the identification of single coins difficult. Separating them into individual coins also risks significant damage to the individual items. As well as this, many objects that would have been in the port side of the ship, or the stern-castle (including the captain’s quarters) may have been salvaged soon after the sinking or eroded after being exposed to 500 years of currents and disruption. For these reasons, the complete profile of the ship’s wealth cannot be made, but the evidence left is a great insight into personal wealth on board.

In Tudor times, a coin’s value was related to the level of precious metals included in the coin; from tiny silver farthings (less than 1 gram), all the way up to solid gold sovereigns (around 12.5 grams). After decades of lavish living and waging wars – Henry VIII realised the country’s treasury was running low, and introduced a policy known as the ‘Great Debasement’. This reduced the amount of precious metal within a coin, replacing it with a cheaper base metal to try to make more money in turn. Other forms of debasement included increasing a coins’ face value (what it’s ‘worth’ in society) without increasing the precious metal content. This systematic cheapening of money began in 1544, a year before the Mary Rose sank.

Many of the silver coins found scattered across the ship are identified as being minted after the debasement in 1544. As many of us can see from the circulation of new currency with King Charles III’s portraits, it takes time for new designs to spread and replace their predecessors. Similarly, five half-sovereigns were found, these were only introduced into circulation in 1545 as part of the debasement scheme. They represented a mid-point between angels and sovereigns – like having a £1.50 coin! It is possible that such a high concentration of these new, cheaper coins is the result of an official sum straight from the Royal Mint, and were likely wages being paid.