Monument record MDO487 - Mint, Bridport

There was a mint at Bridport from the reign of Athelstan until after the Conquest. Striking was intermittent, the last Saxon issue being that of Harold II.

The only coinage of the Bridport mint yet known belongs to the period 1066-1100 A.D. (1) Coins of AETHELRED II & CANUTE previously assigned to a mint in BRIDGNORTH, SHROPSHIRE are suggested to have come from a mint at BRIDPORT. (2-3) A penny of AETHELRED II struck at BRIDPORT MINT was exhibited by H. Symonds at the DORSET CO. MUSEUM. Forms part of SY 49 SE 70. (4) No further information concerning a mint at BRIDPORT was obtained during field investigation. (5) A mint existed at 'Brydian' in Athelstan's reign, the suggestion being that this was the site of the alleged Bridport mint. Brydian has been identified as Old Warren hillfort (SY 58 NE 20) in Little Bredy by RCHME. It is not inconceivable that Bridport was the 'port of Bredy', the definitive site being deserted in favour of the port site some time before the Conquest. The location of the Bridport mint therefore remains uncertain at present. (6) The mint sequence starts with Athelstan, then a gap until Ethelred II's reign, when coining was intermittent. Coins of Cnut are represented from 1023-35, and those of Harthacnut are fully represented. Only the 1046-8 issue of Edward the Confessor is known, and the sequence ends with Harold II. (7)

Record last edited

Dec 20 2022 3:31PM