Cragg Vale Coiners

David Hartley, who lived at a farm called Bell House, was the leader of the gang of Cragg Vale coiners in rural 18th Century England.

Led by "King" David Hartley, the Coiners obtained real coins from publicans and sometimes on the promise that they could "grow" the investment by smelting the original metals with base ores. Historically, their form of organised crime followed the earlier activities of the Highwayman, upon whom the subject of crime and punishment had caught up with. They also removed the coins' genuine edges and milled them again, and used the clippings. The original gold coins were only slightly smaller.

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. Most of the counterfeit coins had French, Spanish, or Portuguese designs.

The Cragg Coiners were so successful because the region of Yorkshire they operated within was isolated from centralised England.

The story of this particular gang was used as a basis in the independently published graphic novel, The Last Coiner written by Peter M. Kershaw [1], where David Hartley has become David Hawksworth and is portrayed by the actor, Keith Patrick [2]. There is an anticipated feature film to be completed.

References

1. http://www.detecting.org.uk/html/Cragg_Vale_Coiners_Famous_Fakes_and_Frauds.html
2. http://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/news/Coiners-could-soon-be-back.1806208.jp
3. http://www.bbc.co.uk/northyorkshire/content/articles/2006/10/24/the_last_coiner_feature.shtml
4. http://www.thelastcoinermovie.com/
5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIA-RUJu4fY
6. http://lastcoiner.blogspot.com