A short excerpt from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (with thanks to a Private Eye, a Private Eye reader called Colin Knox – and an unnamed chronicler):
A.D. 1125.
In this year sent the King Henry, before Christmas, from Normandy to England, and bade that all the mint-men that were in England should be mutilated in their limbs; that was, that they should lose each of them the right hand, and their testicles beneath. This was because the man that had a pound could not lay out a penny at a market. And the Bishop Roger of Salisbury sent over all England, and bade them all that they should come to Winchester at Christmas. When they came thither, then were they taken one by one, and deprived each of the right hand and the testicles beneath. All this was done within the twelfth-night. And that was all in perfect justice, because that they had undone all the land with the great quantity of base coin that they all bought.
Although the story is a slight exaggeration it is basically true . In Saxon and Norman times all coins had on the reverse the name of the town where it was made and the name of the moneyer responsible ( not necessarily the name of the person who struck the coin as in some cases he would be an employee of the person whose name was on the coin ) .
In the later stages of the reign of Henry I there was as the story relates a spate of issuing base coins and names of the moneyers on the coins do indeed show a large % of names disappearing and new names appearing after the summons to Winchester . It was by no means all the moneyers as implied though something like 60-70% .
I seem to recall reading that the local Moneyers, here in Winchester, were not found guilty of debasing the coinage so retained their hands and were not subjected to bilateral orchiectomy. I have a note somewhere that the builder of Warwick Castle was executed for exceeding the budget by 14/7, i.e. fourteen shillings and seven pence.