Item 1979/1 - Letter from David Caldwell to Peter Woodhead

1 item, paper

Copy of a letter (faded) from David Caldwell to Peter Woodhead, typescript, single page, dated 23 August 1979, thanking PW for sending his list of the Aberdeen coins. He believes that PW is two coins short, as he makes his "London pennies go from 132 to 134". He explains how the coins were cleaned, careful to note that the method used is not one pursued with the coins from "the most recent hoard". DHC expresses interest in taking a selection of the coins including "what you [recorded] plus the Irish and the rest of the continentals and the two Edward III half-groats". He appears to offer PW the opportunity to purchase pennies from the hoard for £10 each, except one from Durham, for which he suggests £100. He also asks whether PW or his colleagues would like to arrange to purchase the rest of the coins directly from the finder, with the question underlined and queried in the margin. There are further manuscript notes added to the copy, including one in the upper right corner that reads "IHS", another in the left margin that identifies the pennies as Edwardian, and a comment concerning the price of £10 being asked for the pennies as being "a bit high considering the condition". There is a note to "Ian" in the lower margin that appears to read "Edwards?", signed Peter and dated 28 August 1979.

It is unclear to which hoard the letter refers, but it may be Upperkirkgate hoard of 1866, which included some 12,000 coins, mostly English but with a considerable Scottish element, covering the period from Alexander III of Scotland (1249-1286) to Edward III of England (1327-1377), with the Scottish coins going only up to the reign of Robert I (1306-1329). Two other large Aberdeen hoards of mostly English pennies with Scottish elements from roughly the same period were found later in St Nicholas Street in 1983-1984.