Sir Henry Slingsby (c.1621 – c.1688) was an English

Master of the Mint Master of the Mint is a title within the Royal Mint given to the most senior person responsible for its operation. It was an important office in the governments of Scotland and England, and later Great Britain and then the United Kingdom, between ...

. He was the third son of Sir William Slingsby of

Kippax, West Yorkshire Kippax is a village and civil parish in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, West Yorkshire, England. It is situated to the east of the city, near to Garforth and Great Preston. The Kippax and Methley ward of Leeds City Council was part of t ...

and was educated at

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth-oldest college of the un ...

. He was appointed Deputy Master of the Mint (based in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...

) to Sir Ralph Freeman from 1662 to 1667 and sole Master from 1667 to 1680. Slingsby introduced the idea of stamping the inscription "Decus et Tutamen" around the edge of silver coins to prevent clipping. He built a new house at Park Wood, Burrough Green. The position of Master was normally held for life, but in 1680 Slingsby was suspended from office on the grounds of incompetence. His financial accounts were so faulty that he was suspected of fraud and his property temporarily seized to make good the losses. The duties of Master were then executed by a commission pending Slingsby's resignation in 1686. He died a debtor around 1690. Elected an Original

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in 1663, he was expelled from the Society in 1675 for non-payment of dues. He had married Ann Cave, with whom he had sons Anthony and Henry.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Slingsby, Henry Year of death missing Year of birth unknown Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Fellows of the Royal Society Masters of the Mint Year of birth uncertain