The Francis Bartlett Collection of British Groats

Francis Bartlett

My interest in coin collecting started in childhood in a very unstructured way. By the 1990s I had amassed a collection of coins from the Roman Empire to those of our present Queen, but nothing of any real numismatic value.

So, when considering partial retirement from business, I consulted my friend and long-time business colleague Ken Eckardt, who many of you will know from his contributions to numismatics on the Caribbean countermarked currencies of the 18th & 19th centuries. His advice was simple but profound: “only focus on and collect a series for a period of history which really interests you and do it methodically without distractions”. I had a considerable knowledge and love of both Anglo- Saxon and later medieval history (particularly of the 14th and 15th centuries and the effects of the Black Death) and the development of the related English monetary history. Indeed, I have given many talks to Rotary, 41 and Probus clubs on both. So, the English hammered silver series seemed most appropriate to my interests and purse. After research, which included Ivan Buck’s booklet Medieval English Groats and attending coin auctions initially under Ken’s aegis, the die was cast or more appropriately ‘hammered’.

I have no claim to great numismatic scholarship, so rarity of mint marks, dies and similar were of little interest in themselves. What interested me was each groat had been hand-made, and handling them brought me closer to the history, so condition was everything. To me they are works of art and parting with them is a wrench, but I hope whoever buys my groats will have as much pleasure from owning them as I have.
Francis Bartlett