Philip Twopenny

Twopenny: "We are the experts in investment. Nothing would be built or improved, nothing would rise above the muck without our hand guiding - No, creating! - the future. They benefit as much as they're worth."

Jacob: "It is their city, not yours."

Twopenny: "Without our investments, there would be no city."

—Twopenny's final words, 1868.

Philip Twopenny (1827 – 1868) was the Governor of the Bank of England alongside Thomas Newman Hunt, and a member of the British Rite of the Templar Order during the mid-19th century.

Using Plutus as a pseudonym, Twopenny periodically orchestrated bank robberies, redirecting valuables and funds into the Templars' coffers, providing the Order with additional means to carry out their operations.

Biography

Early life and rise to power

The only child of an upper class family, Twopenny lost his mother at an early age when she died in a boat accident. His father profited immensely from the marriage, inheriting his wife's shipping company, several sugar plantations in Mauritius and his father-in-law's connections. As a result, Twopenny was raised in a privileged environment, attending the Charterhouse public school before going on to study at Oxford University.

He later served one term in the House of Commons as a Tory. Having become a member of the Templar Order at some point, Twopenny joined Thomas Newman Hunt, who had become the Governor of the Bank of England in 1867, in a joint role at the bank, recommended and supported by Grand Master Crawford Starrick. This unusual arrangement meant that Twopenny ran the bank on a daily basis, while Hunt was paid off by the former's fortunes.

Bank robberies

"Boiler, this Dredge character's meddling will be the death of us. He was loitering around the exchange today asking far too many questions about the bank. Should he discover my plan, you will face a far worse fate than losing your job."

―Twopenny in a letter to one of his underlings, 1868.

Using his knowledge of the bank's inner workings to his advantage, Twopenny began orchestrating heists that targeted different branches of the bank. Each fiscal quarter, his men would enter the vault unimpeded, steal money and then leave it in one of Twopenny's storehouses to be picked up. The robberies eventually drew the attention of Sergeant Frederick Abberline of the Metropolitan Police Service, who began investigating the matter, to the ire of Twopenny.

Twopenny about to be assassinated

After ordering his men to deal with Abberline, Twopenny carried out another heist. While his underlings were collecting the money, the Templar examined one of the paintings stored in the vault and considered taking it as well. Suddenly, the Assassin Jacob Frye, who had been hidden behind the piece of art, tore through the canvas with a kukri and assassinated Twopenny. As he lay dying, Twopenny claimed that only the Templars knew how to make the right investments and push civilization forward.

Due to the press' extensive coverage, word of Twopenny's death spread quickly following the arrest of his accomplices. This, coupled with the theft of the bank's printing plates, led to inflation and riots, as the populace had begun to mistrust its currency. Thankfully, Evie Frye managed to recover the plates and smuggle them back into the bank, restoring the citizenry's faith in the British economy.

Trivia

• Plutus, the pseudonym used by Twopenny, was the god of wealth in ancient Greek mythology.
• Twopenny's death is the subject of an era-appropriate folk song, called "The Tale of Twopenny", that was created for Assassin's Creed: Syndicate. Similar "murder ballads" were made for John Elliotson, Pearl Attaway and Maxwell Roth.

Gallery

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  Twopenny in the Bank of England
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  Twopenny being assassinated
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  Twopenny's final moments