I was delighted to see the final struck coin for next year’s quincentenary celebrations of Sir Thomas Gresham (1519-1579). We, Z/Yen, ordered them to contribute to the celebrations. The coin was designed by Xenia Mainelli (yes, a relation, one of my two cherished daughters). This is the culmination of a four year, £250,000 project. Yes, this has been rather a “challenge coin“.
Much has been written, but we particularly look forward to Dr John Guy’s forthcoming biography (a pre-read was fantastic), and John’s Gresham lecture at Guildhall:
Sir Thomas Gresham (1519 – 2019)
Old Library, Guildhall
18:00 – 19:00, Thursday, 13 June
Bookings here from 15 April – https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/thomas-gresham-1519-2019
“Gresham’s Law: The Life and World of Queen Elizabeth I’s Banker” by Dr John Guy, 2019.
If you want my amateur take ahead of time:
Sir Thomas Gresham: Tudor, Trader, Shipper, Spy and the Ladies of Dulwich
And for even more…
Michael Mainelli and Valerie Shrimplin, “Sir Thomas Gresham: Tudor, Trader, Shipper, Spy”, London Topographical Society Newsletter, Number 79 (November 2014), pages 3-6.
or The Full Monty on Gresham’s Law.
But far easier to just have a sneak preview of the coin:
Good Money Drives Out Bad / Bad Money Drives Out Good
And why the contradiction?
Robert Mundell (Nobel Laureate Prize for Economic Sciences, 1999), “Uses and Abuses of Gresham’s Law in the History of Money“, Zagreb Journal of Economics , Volume 2, Number 2, 1998.
Imagery courtesy of Xenia Mainelli, Animation courtesy of CISI