Advertise on podcast: The Secret Life of Coins

From its beginnings in the Tower of London, adjacent to the executioner’s block, the Royal Mint has a history intertwined with the grim and grotesque! Join us in exploring the dark corners, from the hidden skeletons buried beneath the Royal Mint at the Royal Mint’s ancestral home, to the coin-makers who lost their hands, their minds, and even their lives at the hands of the nation’s coinage. Ghostly goings-on and spooky legends have followed the Mint throughout each of its three locations, and even worked their way into legends about coins themselves. A number of the sound effects used in this episode are copyright BBC: bbc.co.uk – © copyright 2026 BBC.

How can one of the most important metal detecting finds of recent history help us understand the story being told in the Bayeux Tapestry? The year 1066 was a turbulent one for England. Three different kings sat on the throne and the Battle of Hastings changed the course of English history. As panic spread through the kingdom, we look in this episode at how people hid their coins from invaders, discovered years later as fantastic coin hoards containing thousands of silver pennies.

In this bonus episode of The Secret Life of Coins, join Abigail and Chris to hear more from Dr Janette Bright, historian of the Foundling Museum. Learn more about how unassuming coins can really tug at the heartstrings.

Who doesn't love a penny arcade at the seaside? Join Chris and David in our latest bonus episode, as they explore Williamson's Old Penny Arcade in Great Yarmouth with its owner, Peter Williamson.

In this bonus episode to Season 2 of The Secret Life of Coins, join Abigail and David in an extended-cut interview with Gordon Summers, Chief Engraver of the Royal Mint. Go behind the scenes and learn about why coins really are the perfect example of tiny art.

Join Susie and Abigail back up the Elizabeth Tower, for an extended-cut interview with Dr Andrew Strangeway, a clockmaker at the UK Parliament and keeper of the Great Clock, better known as Big Ben. Hear more about how coins are used to keep the nation's timekeeper running, as we go behind the scenes once again.

A trip to the seaside has become a staple of our summer. From dodging the showers to sandy ice creams, many of us have nostalgic memories of the beach. No trip to the seaside would be complete without a trip to the amusement arcades, and most of us will remember the joy of making our pocket money disappear into a hungry machine. Whilst it is all too easy to make our coins disappear from our pockets, very few of us can make them reappear on demand. Yet, this enviable trick is a way that talented magicians have been amazing audiences for centuries. In this episode we delve into the fascinating world of games and magic. Join us on our trip to the coast to play on the best collection of old penny arcade machines in the country and as we talk to one of the nation’s top magicians to see why coins are perfect for illusions.

Tipping a statue into a river or by chaining themselves to trees are just a few imaginative ways that protesters have come up with to get their messages across. Whilst we might be aware of the official propaganda value of our coins, we often do not associate them with protest. Yet, for those looking to give vent to their frustrations, or to get a message across, they have been an important way to do so. Whether it be Votes for Women, or Bollocks to Brexit, these acts of rebellion have power, especially when the act of defacement is done, not for political reasons, but as a way to recognise the baby that circumstances have forced you to abandon.From the political to the profoundly touching, we speak with Helen Pankhurst and the Foundling Museum to see how the British public has co-opted the coinage for its own ends.

In an era of social media and the internet we are constantly bombarded with messaging. Multinational companies and the over hyped claims of governments are all too easy to hear and read. This is not, however, a new phenomenon and one of the earliest forms of mass communication was our coinage. Circulated throughout the nation, and passed from hand-to-hand, coins were as ubiquitous as the daily notifications on our phones today. Listen as we take you back to the battlefields of the English Civil War and speak to an expert on biblical inscriptions as we show you how the state has used coins to attempt to rally a nation to their cause.

Throughout time, coins have been a powerful way of conveying wealth and status, granting influence and power to those who have them. They are transformative objects and have become central to many of our ceremonies and traditions. Ranging from the coronation through to centuries old religious ceremonies, like the Royal Maundy, or as part of the wedding ceremony with a silver sixpence in a bride’s shoe, we dive into the many ways coins are used in customs and why they still play a pivotal part in our ceremonies. In this episode we speak to the Bishop of Norwich, the new Royal Almoner, after he takes charge of his first ever Maundy service and we see just what the gift of Maundy money means to those who receive it.

Coins have been admired for their beauty for centuries and, because of this, for nearly as long as there have been coins people have been drawn to using them to create spectacular ornamentations and jewellery. Draped over the body in a glittering display of wealth and power, or emblazoned in artwork, coins have had an enduring appeal to the artist and jeweller alike  for the sheer glory of the object, or as a way to emphasise a much more powerful message. By talking to the talented jewellers at the Royal Mint, and through examining a recent treasury found in a field in Northamptonshire, we will show you that, just as all the glitters isn’t gold, there is much more to a coin in a ring or a gold coin necklace than meets the eye

We all know coins are handy little things, for buying a coffee, paying for parking or saving in money boxes, but what if we told you they also have a more varied and secret life? Welcome to the very first episode of our new podcast series, where we discover the surprising, quirky, and downright fascinating ways in which coins have been used over the centuries. And we’re kicking things off with a bang, or should that be a ‘bong’— at one of our most iconic landmarks: Big Ben. We all know the sound of the famous chimes, familiar on New Year’s Eve or every day before the news, they are part of the soundtrack of British life. But you may not realise that it is the humble coin which plays a vital role in keeping the clock running to time.

Join Susie at sea in this interview with the crew of the Johanna Lucretia. Operated as part of the Island Trust, the Johanna Lucretia is a traditionally rigged topsail schooner, which often hosts young people for residential and day-sailing courses. Hear more about life at sea today!

Hear more from Dr Eric Nordgren, Lecturer in Conservation atCardiff University, all about what goes into conserving finds. From coins to ships, in earth or water, hear all about the interesting processes involved in making archaeology accessible through museums.

In this bonus episode we speak to Dr Toby Jones, nauticalarchaeologist and Curator of the Newport Medieval Ship. Find out more about this fascinating medieval ship, and the unusual way that coins were used in its construction.