William Guest, known as “Flinky” to his friends was found guilty of treason for trying to debase coins in the 18th century.
As a bank employee he’d take guineas and file them down, then melt the shavings and make ingots out of them, which he’d sell on to brokers. His offence, known as coining, was for ‘filing, impairing, lightening, and diminishing a guinea and a half guinea, the current coin of this kingdom, against the form of the statute’.
Considered treason as it was a crime against the crown, the penalty for his misdemeanour was death.
Guest was hanged at Tyburn on this day in 1767.
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