This beautiful gold coin was found in a monk's cell in Coventry's Charterhouse. On the front is an image of St Michael fighting Satan, here shown as a dragon. On the back is a ship in sail, with a cross as the mast and a royal shield below. From the design and Latin text we know this coin was minted in London between 1480 and 1483.

What was this coin doing in a monk's cell? Charterhouse was one of only nine Carthusian monasteries in England. The monks who lived there were banned from owning private property. As well as this coin, a gold ring was also found in the same cell.

The answer might lie in the coin's value. The angel was created in the reign of Edward IV to be worth 'half a mark' - a standard fee for many professional services. The angel, therefore, would be a suitable payment for prayers. There are several historical references to monks or monasteries receiving payment for prayers. The angel was a large amount of money at the time of the coin's minting - it was the amount a craftsman would earn in four months.

One building from the Charterhouse monastery remains, Priors Lodging, which can be found off London Road, Coventry. The rest of the site is now an arts centre.