On 9November 1769, William Dighton was shot and killed in Halifax, Yorkshire. Itwas a planned assassination of a Supervisor of Excise—an official responsiblefor ensuring the collection of tax.

Dighton wasthe victim of the Cragg Vale Gang—criminals who operated what was perhapsEngland’s largest clipping and coining operation. That is, they createdcounterfeit coins from gold shaved off genuine coins.

SteveHartley, author of The Yorkshire Coiners is a descendant of DavidHartley, or ‘King ...