Thomas Egerton (by 1521 – 1590/97) was a London merchant and member of the Worshipful Company of Mercers. He served as Under-Treasurer of the Royal Mint at the Tower of London from 1552 to 1555. In this capacity, he and John Godsalve issued the double-faced shilling (English coin), shillings of Philip II of Spain, Philip and Mary I of England, Mary. However he was held to have unduly profited from a silver-buying contract and was dismissed in December 1555; he would spend the rest of his life in debt to the Crown. His family obtained his election as Member of Parliament for Newcastle-under-Lyme (UK Parliament constituency), Newcastle-under-Lyme in 1558, to help him defend himself from his creditors (MPs enjoyed Parliamentary privilege against arrest for debt). However, when Parliament was prorogued he was arrested and committed to the Fleet prison. With the help of the Speaker, William Cordell, Egerton obtained his release on bond to pay off his debt. While he never succeeded in settling his debt in full, Egerton did enjoy commercial success during the remainder of his life. He was Master of the Mercers' Company in 1587, and was a founder-member of the Muscovy Company, Russia Company.

References

Secondary sources

* * * 1521 births 1590s deaths English MPs 1558 Members of the Parliament of England for Newcastle-under-Lyme Businesspeople from London 16th-century merchants Inmates of Fleet Prison People of the Muscovy Company People imprisoned for debt {{16thC-England-MP-stub