|
The Cragg Coiners were an infamous gang of local ruffians who were collectively known as the 'Turvin Gang'. Led by 'King' David Hartley and his family who resided at Bell House, on the moor edge above Cragg facing the Robin Hood Inn. They clipped the edges off gold coins and re-minted them - using the gold to make counterfeits. These were hard times for common folk, and it's difficult to judge how hard it was to get by.
He had many fellow 'Coiners' as they were known in the other farms and homesteads scattered over the hill tops above Cragg Vale. And in the valley below from Mytholmroyd to Halifax, and everywhere between.
During the period from 1765 until 1780 this gang and their associates ran a successful gold coin clipping business around Turvin Country, and were allied with gangs from Halifax to Burnley in Lancashire.
So serious was the debasement of the coinage that the attention of the King was drawn to it. Merchants would 'Bank' coin with the 'Coiners' who would clip them, and return them with half the clipped gold as profit. Their own half was used to mint counterfeits, passing them in local pubs and at fairs and markets.
Continued >>
Top of Page
|
