Master of Coin (2024)

Master of Coin^[1] is a royal official in the government of the Six Kingdoms. The holder is a member of the monarch's Small Council, the inner cabinet of the realm. The Master of Coin is in charge of the royal treasury, advises the monarch on financial matters, and is responsible for raising money to meet the Crown's needs.

History[]

House of the Dragon: Season 1[]

Nine years into the reign of King Viserys I Targaryen, the Master of Coin is Lord Lyman Beesbury of Honeyholt. Shortly before Lord Beesbury, Prince Daemon Targaryen was Master of Coin, but the Hand of the King, Otto Hightower, persuaded the king to have him replaced for wasting money. Lord Beesbury is a skillful and prudent Master of Coin, mindful of costs that are needed for large projects such as the re-equipping of the City Watch.^[2]

House of the Dragon: Season 2[]

After Lord Beesbury's death, the position of Master of Coin is filled by Ser Tyland Lannister.^[3]

Game of Thrones: Season 1[]

At the start of the TV series, Lord Petyr Baelish is Master of Coin under King Robert Baratheon. Baelish remains in the role when King Joffrey inherits the throne. As Master of Coin, Baelish is regarded as a financial magician, always able to conjure up gold to meet the Crown's demands.^[4]

Game of Thrones: Season 3[]

When Baelish leaves for the Eyrie with a marriage proposal for Lysa Arryn, Tywin Lannister, now Hand of the King, appoints his son Tyrion as the new Master of Coin. Tyrion discovers that his predecessor's financial wizardry actually amounted to borrowing large sums of money from the Iron Bank of Braavos, leaving the Iron Throne heavily in debt.^[4]

Game of Thrones: Season 4[]

The post was left vacant for some time after Tyrion's arrest and conviction for the murder of Joffrey.

Game of Thrones: Season 5[]

After Tywin was murdered by Tyrion, Cersei seizes control and reorganizes the Small Council. Stacking the council with men loyal to her by handing out offices as rewards, Cersei appoints Mace Tyrell as the new Master of Coin, in addition to the office he already held as Master of Ships.^[5]

Game of Thrones: Season 6[]

After Mace is killed alongside his children and many others, the post of the Master of Coin became vacant.^[6]

Game of Thrones: Season 8[]

Ser Bronn of the Blackwater (thereafter Lord Paramount of the Reach and Lord of Highgarden) is appointed to the position under King Bran Stark after the assassination of Daenerys Targaryen.^[7]

In the books[]

In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Petyr Baelish was appointed Master of Coin by Hand of the King Jon Arryn, around seven years before the beginning of the narrative. Originally, Jon's wife Lysa had convinced her husband to make Baelish the chief customs officer at the port of Gulltown in the Vale. Baelish excelled at the position, increasing revenue tenfold, so ten years ago Lord Arryn brought him to King's Landing and gave him a minor position in the royal customs office. Baelish increased gross revenues tenfold, and demonstrated such great skill that Arryn rapidly advanced him through a series of promotions, so that within three years he was named Master of Coin for the entire realm. Robert's reign lasted fifteen years in the books (expanded to seventeen in the TV series), and Littlefinger was only Master of Coin for the last seven years, but it is unstated which person (or persons) may have held the position in the early years of King Robert's reign. Thus Baelish is not a holdover from the previous Targaryen Small Council, in contrast to Pycelle and Varys, who formerly served under the Mad King.

In "A Feast for Crows",Queen Regent Cersei renames the office lord treasurer. She first appoints Lord Gyles Rosby to take the seat, and after he dies - he is replaced by Ser Harys Swyft, who still has this office by the point the novels reached.

References[]

External links[]

• Master of coin on A Wiki of Ice and Fire