St Thomas a' Becket Church, Heptonstall - Grave of David Hartley (Cragg Vale Coiners)
Introduction
The photograph on this page of St Thomas a' Becket Church, Heptonstall - Grave of David Hartley (Cragg Vale Coiners) by Colin Park as part of the Geograph project.
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St Thomas a' Becket Church, Heptonstall - Grave of David Hartley (Cragg Vale Coiners)
Image: © Colin Park Taken: 24 Aug 2019
In the churchyard is the grave of ‘King’ David Hartley, notorious leader of the Cragg Vale Coiners who were a band of counterfeiters based in the local area. They produced fake gold coins in the late 18th century to supplement small incomes from weaving and were so successful that they almost succeeded in destabilising the country’s currency. They removed the coins' genuine edges and milled them again, collecting the shavings. The coins were only slightly smaller. They then melted down the shavings to produce counterfeits. Designs were punched into the blank "coins" with a hammer and a "coining kit". The Coiners then had their accomplices place the fakes into circulation. A ‘tip off’ to the authorities by one of the gang led to David Hartley being caught and as a result he was hanged at the Tyburn in York.
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Image Location
Latitude
53.74864
Longitude
-2.021799