SIEGE (0. Fr. sege, siege, mod. siege, seat, ultimately from sedere, to sit, cf. Class.

See also:

• LAT

Lat. obsidium, a siege)  , the "sitting down" of an army or military force before a fortified place for the purpose of taking it, either by, direct military operations or by starving it into submission (see FORTIFICATION AND SIEGECRAFT) . A special form of coin is known as a " siege-piece." These are coins that were struck during a siege of a town when the ordinary mints were closed or their issues were not available . Such coins were commonly of special shape to distinguish them from the normal coinage, and were naturally of rough workmanship . A common shape for the siege pieces which were issued during the Great Rebellion was the lozenge . A noteworthy example is a shilling siege-piece struck at Newark in 1645 (see TOKEN MONEY) .