The Master of Coin

The Master of Coin is one of the five principal offices on the king's small council, charged with overseeing the royal treasury, collecting taxes, managing expenditures, and negotiating loans. In the Seven Kingdoms, the position carries immense practical power, as the crown's ability to wage war, reward allies, and maintain the realm depends on the flow of gold. During the reign of King Tommen Baratheon, however, the office has become a symbol of weakness rather than strength.

Identity and Appointment

Ser Harys Swyft holds the title of Master of Coin in the regency government that rules after Queen Cersei Lannister's imprisonment. A Lannister loyalist by marriage—his daughter Dorna is wed to Ser Kevan Lannister—Swyft is a nervous, querulous man with a puff of white hair on his chin and a tendency to quail before stronger personalities. He did not seek the office; it was thrust upon him after the flight of the previous Master of Coin, Aurane Waters, who stole the royal fleet. Swyft's own father-in-law, Kevan Lannister, serves as Lord Regent, but that connection does not shield him from contempt. Mace Tyrell, the King's Hand, openly insults him, and Randyll Tarly, the justiciar, speaks to him with undisguised scorn.

Duties and Financial Crisis

The crown's finances are in catastrophic disarray when Swyft assumes his post. King Robert Baratheon left enormous debts, and the Iron Bank of Braavos, the realm's chief creditor, has ceased all lending after Tommen's government stopped repayment. Swyft's primary task is to find new sources of coin. He writes to Myrish bankers, hoping they will assume the Braavosi debt and extend a fresh loan, but his efforts yield nothing. The treasury vaults, he reports, contain only "rats and roaches." When Kevan Lannister suggests he travel to Braavos to treat with the Iron Bank in person, Swyft visibly quails, asking, "Must I?" His reluctance is not mere cowardice; the Iron Bank is notorious for funding rebellions against defaulting monarchs, and a Master of Coin who fails to secure new credit may find himself blamed for the realm's collapse.

Council Dynamics and Humiliation

In the small council meetings depicted in the epilogue, Swyft is the weakest member. He attempts to deflect blame for the financial crisis, insisting that "this trouble is not of my doing," but Mace Tyrell cuts him off with a sneer, and Randyll Tarly reminds him sharply that he is the master of coin. Swyft's only ally is Grand Maester Pycelle, another elderly figure clinging to influence. When Pycelle asks for guards to protect him from Tyrell's wrath, Swyft immediately echoes the request, saying, "I am in need of guards myself. These are perilous times." Kevan Lannister dismisses their fears with a suggestion to hire the Mountain's former men, but the exchange reveals how thoroughly the council is riven by mistrust.

Narrative Significance

The Master of Coin's impotence is a deliberate structural parallel to the decay of Lannister power. Where Tywin Lannister once commanded the wealth of Casterly Rock to dominate the realm, his grandson's government cannot even pay its bills. Swyft's failure to secure loans forces Kevan to consider paying the crown's debts with Lannister gold—a confession that the family's private fortune must now prop up the throne. The Iron Bank's threat to back Stannis Baratheon or another claimant hangs over every discussion. When Varys murders Kevan and Pycelle in the epilogue, he destroys the last competent Lannister administrator, ensuring that the Master of Coin's incompetence will continue to cripple Tommen's rule and pave the way for Aegon Targaryen's invasion. Swyft himself survives the massacre, but his survival only underscores his irrelevance: he is too weak to be worth killing.