This Saturday (19th December) is the final Saturday before Christmas that the Radstock Museum and shop will be open.

The award-winning Somerset Coalfield Life site will be open from 11am-5pm, selling unique local history, railway and walks books, along with gifts and stocking-filler toys.

You can also buy paper copies of the hyper local Radstock Winter Quiz .

If you are still looking for Christmas present ideas - what about a subscription to the amazing local history magazine 'Five Arches' the Journal of the Radstock, Midsomer Norton & District Museum Society ? Published three times a year , all proceeds to the museum the current issue includes he museum.

Annual UK subscriptions cost £15 includes postage and packaging and annual overseas subscriptions cost £25 per year includes postage and packaging.

To Subscribe:

By post: Send your name and address and a cheque made payable to 'Radstock Museum' to Dennis Chedgy, La Ronda, Manor Road, Writhlington, Radstock BA3 3NA

In person: Pop into the museum shop to pay over the counter or via the museum website www.radstockmuseum.co.uk.

By email contact [email protected]

The current issues is packed with lots of local history articles. including an article on local trading tokens by Tom Randall.

Did you know that from the Middle Ages to the nineteenth century British monarchs and their administrations failed to acknowledge the need for a circulating currency in useful denominations? With English coinage being made almost entirely of silver, the trading value of the coin was equal to the value of its metal content. The standard coin was the penny, but everyday transactions made it necessary to physically break up the coins for want of small change, into half-pence pieces (the coin being cut in half) and farthings (originally fourthlings where the coin was cut into four pieces) This led to local towns, villages and trades people introducing their own currency by way of tokens or counters.

Tom's article tells the story of the monarchs who forbade the use of tokens along with details and images of the local tokens from Frome, Kilmersdon, Mells, Nunney and Midsomer Norton who issued their own farthings.

After closing after this Saturday - the museum hopes to re-open in February.