ASHBY DE LA ZOUCH, 1645

During the English Civil War of the 1640s, Henry, a younger son in the Hastings family, became a Royalist commander in the Midlands. He based himself out of Ashby castle until he was forced to surrender it after a long siege. 

Coins with the letter "A" have been identified as likely originating from Ashby (George Boon, 1981). Mint equipment may have been conveyed from Bristol to Oxford and thence to Ashby, which received reinforcements from Oxford late in September 1645.  When Ashby surrendered on honourable terms in February 1646, it's garrison had liberty to march off, maybe to Bridgenorth or Worcester.

If Ashby is the "A" mint then all it's coins should be expected to be dated 1645 in the old style (Julian calendar), however the 1996 discovery of an "A" coin with a reverse dated 1646 has re-opened the question. Maybe an "A" obverse die was taken from Ashby and used at the next location where the mint was etablished.

Denominations: Halfcrown, shilling, sixpence, groat and threepence, Spink numbers 3028-3035.

   The castle seen from the south-west, showing the Kitchen Tower (left) and the Great Tower (right).. (Enlarge)

By Pahazzard - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,