science

Siege money

Siege money is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Siege money rather than just read about it. In short: Siege money or money of necessity is a form of notgeld (emergency money) that was issued in times of war or invasion, such as during a siege. In the early modern period, it was necessary in Europe because at that time coinage had an intrinsic value and even though a town was besieged commerce had to continue and soldiers had to be paid.

Key takeaways

Siege money belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Siege money to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Siege money from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Siege money or money of necessity is a form of notgeld (emergency money) that was issued in times of war or invasion, such as during a siege. In the early modern period, it was necessary in Europe because at that time coinage had an intrinsic value and even though a town was besieged commerce had to continue and soldiers had to be paid. There are examples from the Eighty Years War (1568–1648) and the English Civil War (1642–1651). There is also related coinage issued by some field commanders such as Duke of Ormonde in Ireland who did not have ready access to official coinage minted by the civil authorities (see Civil War mints). The issuing of money during sieges is not restricted to that period; for example during the Siege of Khartoum (1884–1885) currency in the form of paper money was issued by Governor-General of the Sudan, British Major-General Charles George Gordon.

Italian Wars In 1524 siege money was produced by Antonio de Leyva, Imperial Commander of the garrison at Pavia in northern Italy. The town was then under siege by the forces of Francois I the French king. Further money was produced in 1527 during the Siege of Rome.

Eighty Years' War

During the Eighty Years' War a number of towns and cities issued their own currency (money of necessity), for example during the siege of Leiden (1573–1574), the authorities issued diamond (square) silver coinage struck with a circular die. When silver ran out they used the same die to print money on cardboard. This was the first usage of paper money in Europe. An anecdote about these coins tells of an incident of a conflict amongst the rebels about why they were fighting. The city government had issued coins with the slogan haec libertatis ergo ("this is about liberty"). In a 19 December 1573 church sermon, preacher Taling rebuked the city magistrate, comparing them to pigs and asserting the coins should have said haec religionis ergo ("this is about religion"). Secretary Jan van Hout was furious, pulled out his gun and asked mayor Pieter Adriaansz. van der Werff sitting next to him whether to shoot the dominee, but the mayor calmed him down.

English Civil War During the First English Civil War a number of garrisons issued their own siege money. They included Carlisle (1645), Scarborough (1645) and Newark-on-Trent (1646). Of these the siege money of Newark was the most plentiful and compared to other similar coins minted at the same time more has survived. Around 2011 a rarer Scarborough siege sixpence sold for £42,000, while in 2012 a Newark shilling sold for US$1,900. During the Second English Civil War the besieged garrison of Pontefract Castle issued siege money. The coin design was changed to "for the son" after the trial and execution of Charles I on 30 January 1649.

Notes

References

Bibliography

Fraser, Paul (25 May 2011), "The Story of English Civil War siege money", CoinWeek, retrieved 28 September 2017 Homren, Wayne (26 April 2015), "Selections from the Slaney Collection of English Coins", The Numismatic Bibliomania Society (NBS), retrieved 28 September 2017 Siege money of the Dutch Revolt (PDF), mdstatenumisassn.org, archived from the original (PDF) on 29 September 2017, retrieved 29 September 2017 "STUART, Siege money. Newark. 1645-1646. AR Halfcrown...", Classical Numismatic Group (CNG), 23 May 2012, retrieved 28 September 2017 "STUART, Siege money. Pontefract. 1648-1649. AR Shilling (29mm, 4.68 g, 12h). In the name of Charles I. Dated 1648.", Classical Numismatic Group (CNG), retrieved 28 September 2017 "O'Brien Coin Guide: The Ormonde Money of 1643-44", The Old Currency Exchange, 21 May 2015, retrieved 29 September 2017

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Siege money

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Siege money claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Siege money before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Siege money ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Siege money

In research: Siege money appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Siege money in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Siege money is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Coins, Currency, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Siege money outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Siege money in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Siege money means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Siege money out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Siege money in simple terms?

Why does Siege money matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Siege money?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Siege money.