A REPORT Containing an ESSAY FOR THE Amendment OF THE Silver Coins LONDON Printed by Charles Bill and the Executrix of Thomas Newcomb deceas'd Printers to the Kings most Excellent Majesty 1695. To the Right Honourable the Lords Commissioners of His Majesties Treasury May it please your Lordships IN Obedience to your Lordships Command I have endeavoured to inform my self of divers Matters which concern the Gold and Silver Moneys and of the most Practicable Methods for New Coining the Latter and Supplying in the mean time sufficient Coins to pay the Kings Taxes and Revenues and to carry on the Publick Commerce and I do humbly represent to your Lordships That I have made diligent Search into several Records Books and Writings to see what Acts or Things have been formerly done or practised which might serve for Precedents or give any Light for the Re-establishment of the Coins that should now go and have Course as the Lawful Money of the Kingdom It is true as I find in a Book of great Authority remaining in the Exchequer called The Black Book written by Gervase of Tilbury in the time of Henry the Second that there were anciently Falsifiers and Clippers of Money for when King William the First for the better pay of his Warriours caused the Firmes which till his time had for the most part been answered in Victuals to be converted in Pecuniam Numeratam he directed the whole from every County to be Charged on the Sheriff to be by him brought into the Exchequer adding That the Sheriff should make the Payment ad Scalam hoc est as the aforesaid Author expounds it solveret preter quamlibet numeratam libram sex denarios and the Money afterwards declining and becoming worse it was Ordained That the Firmes of Manors should not only be paid ad Scalam but also ad Pensam which latter was the paying as much Money for a Pound Sterling as weighed Twelve Ounces Troy so that Payment of a Pound de Numero imported Twenty Shillings ad Scalam imported Twenty Shillings Six Pence and ad Pensam imported so much as weighed Twelve Ounces And in the time of King Henry the Second when the Bishop of Salisbury was Treasurer who considered that though the Money did Answer Numero Pondere it might nevertheless be mixt with Copper or Brass therefore Consilio Regis ut Regiae simul Publicae Provideretur Vtilitati a Constitution was made called the Trial by Combustion The whole Progress whereof as it was practised in the Exchequer in those Days is exactly set down in the said Book and differs little or nothing from the present method of Assaying Silver for its Fineness as plainly appears in that place where the said Gervase treats of the Office of the Miles Argentarius and that of the Fusor an Extract whereof is hereunto Annexed It appears also that the Crown Rents were many times reserved in Libris Albis or Blanch Firmes in which case the Payer was holden Dealbare Firmam that is His Base Money or Coin worse than Standard was Molten down in the Exchequer and Reduced to the Fineness of Standard Silver or instead thereof he Paid to the King Twelve Pence to the Pound by way of Addition But the most Remarkable Deceipts and Corruptions found in Ancient Records to have been committed upon the Coins of the Kingdom by Offenders were in the time of King Edward the First when there was Imported a sort of Light Money made with a Mitre another sort of Light Money with Lyons upon it a Third sort of Copper Blancht to Resemble the Money of England a Fourth sort of Light Money Resembling that of King Edward a Fifth kind that was Plated And the Crime of Rounding Money which I take to be the same with Clipping was then in Fashion all which was done out of England And the Merchants to avoid the Search at Dover and Sandwich concealed the Parcels in Bails of Cloth and brought them in by other Ports Les queux choses si elles suissent longent so efferts says the Book elles mettere yent la Monye D'englitere a nient And the Chief Remedies then Applied were First To Cry down all Money that was not of England Ireland or Scotland Secondly That such as arrived from beyond Seas should shew the Money they brought with them to the King's Officers Thirdly And not hide it in Fardels upon Pain of Forfeiture Fourthly That the Light Money and the Clipt Money might be Bored through without contradiction Fifthly And that the same should be Received and Paid by Weight at a certain Rate and that the Persons having such Clipt or Light Money should bring the same to the King's Changers who were settled in several great Towns in the Kingdom to be new Coined And by what I have Read in Libro Rubeo which is in the upper Exchequer concerning the Changers who as well as the Masters of the Mint had several Offices Erected in divers Parts of the Kingdom Namely at London Canterbury Bristol Kingston upon Hull Newcastle and Exeter a Principal Business of these Changers was to Buy in the Silver of the Bad Money que les Pollards Crockards les autres Mauvaises Moneis Contrefaits Soront abatues And there was a Writ then directed to the Sheriffs to Prohibit the Importation of Clipt or Counterfeit Moneys and the Use thereof in Merchandizing or Negotiating under severe Penalties and Commanding those that had such Money to Bore it through and to bring it to the King's Change to be new Coined And I find by an Indenture in the Third Year of Queen Elizabeth at which time there was Base Moneys that had been Coined by Publick Authority That it was Ordained that Fleetwood Under Treasurer for the Upper Houses of the Mint in the Tower should take in by Number and Tale the Base Moneys therein mentioned at such Rates or Values as were Appointed by a Proclamation in that behalf giving Bills to the Parties under his Hand for the Receipt thereof And the Officers of the Mint were to Melt down and Repay the same in Sterling Moneys to the Parties or their Deputies shewing and delivering their Bills having regard to the time when every Man brought in his Money And the Base Money Received and the Sterling Money Repaid were to be Entred in Two Legers one to be kept by the said Under-Treasurer and the other by the Tellers And the Comptroller and Assay-Master were to keep several Books of Refining and Melting the Base Money to the intent they might be Vouchers to the said Under-Treasurer who was to Account to the Queen for the whole These or such like Provisions might serve well enough in those Times when there was not much Money and but little Trade or Occasion for it and when the Species then in being which one would think consisted Anciently of Pence or Pieces of small Denomination were not Corrupted or Diminished to that degree as they are at this day But considering the present
low Condition to which Our Moneys are almost generally Reduced and the necessary Use thereof in daily Occasions and particularly in the ways of Trade upon which this Nation depends more at this time than it did formerly I do not see how the Prudence of our Ancestors which in many Constitutions relating to the Exchequer and the Mint appears to have been Transcendent and Admirable especially in Matters of Charge and Discharge and preventing Frauds and Abuses upon the Crown can without the devising new or additional Means and Methods be made Applicable to a present Work of new Coining the Silver Moneys and Supplying Currant Coins for the Commerce and for the Payment of Taxes and Revenues in the mean time If therefore the King to whose Regality the Power of Coining Money and Determining the Weight Fineness Denomination and Extrinsick Value thereof doth Solely and Inherently Appertain shall Judge it necessary to have the old or present Species of Silver Coins or so much thereof as hath been Clipt or otherwise Dimnished to be Melted down and Recoined I humbly conceive new Means and Methods for doing the same must be Devised And in Regard Money which some Lawyers have called Firmamentum Belli Ornamentum Pacis is most certainly of the greatest Importance to His Majesty in supplying the Taxes Revenues and Loans for Carrying on the War and Supporting His Royal Estate as also to His Subjects with relation not only to their Trade and Commerce but also to all other ordinary Means of Livelihood The said Means and Methods for Re-establishing the Coins and the many weighty things depending thereupon ought to be well Excogitated and to be Considered and Adjusted by Persons of the greatest Judgment and Sagacity and if I had not been Enjoyned by your Lordships I should scarce have Adventured upon a Subject so very Difficult and Curious I have Imployed my Thoughts chiefly upon such Matters as are Reduceable to the following Heads viz. First Concerning the Standard of the Gold and Silver Coins and the Establishment of a Iust and Reasonable Foot for the Course of the same Second Concerning the Present State and Condition of the Gold and Silver Coins Third Whether it be or be not Absolutely necessary at this Time to Re-establish the same Fourth The Proposing of Means that must be Obtained and the Proper Methods to be used in and for the Amendment of the Silver Moneys Fifth To Consider what must Supply the Commerce Pay Taxes c. Whilst the Clipt Money is under its New Fabrication As to the Particulars First Of the Standard This properly brings under Consideration Two matters relating to the Coins namely the Degree of Fineness and the Weight of the Pieces In treating upon which I shall humbly take leave to observe this Method First To explain what is meant by Sterling Moneys Secondly To set down Historically the Proportions of Fine Gold and Fine Silver with the respective Allays which the Masters or Workers of the Mints have been holden to Observe in the Fabrication of the Moneys of this Realm by their respective Indentures which I have found out Beginning with those in the time of King Edward the Third the farthest Extant and Ending with the Indenture of the Mint now in being Thirdly To propose the Standard of Fineness which in my humble Opinion ought to be continued for the new Coins which His Majesty may be pleased to direct at this time with my Reasons for the same to be deduced from the Experience of former times and an Impartial regard to present Circumstances Fourthly To set forth how the Value of the Gold and Silver in our English Coins hath been Raised from time to time which considers the Weight and Number of Pieces in a Pound Troy Fifthly To Offer my humble Opinion upon that Subject in reference as well to the Old Coins now in being and Unclipt as also to the New Moneys which may be directed to be made as aforesaid together with my Reasons for the same to be also Grounded upon the Experience of former Times and a due Consideration of present Circumstances All or most of which Points being of great Moment to be well weighed in this Affair I do humbly pray your Lordships that I may Discuss them severally First It is believed by some Authors and not without Reason that in the most Ancient times when Money was first Coined within this Island it was made of Pure Gold and Silver like the Moneys now Currant in some other Nations particularly in Hungary and Barbary where they have Pieces of Gold called Ducats and Sultanesses and in the Kingdom of Industan where they have Pieces of Silver called Rupees which I have seen and wherein as I am inform'd there is little or no Allay And that afterwards it being found convenient in the Fabrication of the Moneys to have a certain Quantity or Proportion of Baser Metal to be mixt with the Pure Gold and Silver the Word Sterling was introduced and hath ever since been used to denote the certain Proportion or Degree of Fineness which ought to be retained in the respective Coins composed of such mixture as aforesaid There are some Authors that fancy this Word Sterling took its Name from a Castle in Scotland as if it were first Coined there Some have derived it from a Star or Astracism which they imagine to have been Impressed thereupon There are those that fetch it from the Name of an Ancient Indenture or Bond which was taken by the Jews those old Userers for Security of their Debts and which was called the Iews Star But others think it comes from the Name of a People called Easterlings as the first Workers of it in England Of which latter Opinion is the Author of a very old Treatise concerning Money Entred at large in the Red Book abovesaid in the time of King Edward the Third For my own Part I do not believe the Word Sterling denoting the degree of Fineness or Goodness as aforesaid was known in the time of the Conqueror in regard there is no mention thereof in Libro Iudiciario or the Dooms-day Book which Valueth every Manor as it was worth in the times of the Confessor and Conqueror respectively in Money ad Numerum or ad Pensam or ad Pondus but not in Sterling Money and yet the Denomination of Sterling was soon after introduced because the Statute of the Twenty fifth of Edward the Third refers to Ancient Sterling and so do the Old Indentures of the Mint and the Ancient Entries concerning Money By reading of which it seems evident to me First That a Sterling or Easterling in a restrained Sence signified nothing but a Silver Peny which at first was about three times as heavy as a Peny is now and was once called a Lundress because it was to be Coined only at London and not at the Countrey Mints Secondly That the Words Sterling and Standard are Synonimous Terms Thirdly That the Ancient Sterling of England mentioned in
Allowing him a Market Price only for the said Silver remaining and Contributing to his Loss in Proportion to the Deficiency or Silver Clipt off because in the latter Case it will be in his Power before he brings in his Money to Clip it over again and Reduce it so low as that the deficient Weight if it were to be made good at the Charge of the Publick might be Twice Thrice Four times Five times c. as much as the real Silver brought in by him would amount to Whereas by this Third Rule the danger of far Clipping is perfectly obviated for no Man will Clip off Silver to Sell at Six Shillings Five Pence an Ounce by the Market Price when he may carry it to the King's Change and there Receive Eight Shillings per Ounce for it RULE IV. WHereas the said Clipt Moneys so to be brought in do retain very different and uncertain Weights and Sizes as they are more or less Clipt and it is evident that a Clipt Crown holding more than Twelve Peny Weight and Twelve Grains will produce more than Five Shillings in New Money if it should be Changed by it self at Eight Shillings an Ounce and an Half-Crown holding more than Six Peny Weight and Six Grains will if it were Changed by it felf for Eight Shillings an Ounce produce more than Two Shillings and an Half in the New Money and the like may be said of the Old Shillings and Six-pences not Clipt to a lower Degree in Proportion I have Considered although the Government would not suffer in this Case that Goldsmiths and other Subtil Dealers in Money will be very apt if an effectual Remedy be not Provided against their Artifices to Cull out the Heaviest of their Clipt Pieces and to get such into their Hands from their Neighbours to Change them at Eight Shillings an Ounce and thereby Gain for them more New Moneys in Tale than ever they Amounted to in their old Denominations And in regard One hundred Pounds by Tale of the said Clipt Moneys holding in Weight Two hundred and fifty Ounces Troy when it is Changed at the said Rate of Eight Shillings an Ounce will produce one hundred Pounds in Tale of the said New Moneys therefore it is Proposed That every Person who brings any Clipt or Diminished Moneys to be Changed as aforesaid shall be obliged to mingle so many of his lighter Pieces with his heavier Pieces as that upon the Draught or Weighing of them together they may not at the said Rate of Eight Shillings an Ounce fetch more of the New Moneys in Tale than the said Clipt Money was Coined for in its Old Denominations that is to say One hundred Pounds by Tale of such Clipt Moneys shall be so mingled with heavier and lighter Pieces as that it shall not exceed Two hundred and fifty Ounces in Weight and every other Sum of Clipt Money shall be restrained to the same proportion This will effectually prevent the said trick of Culling and create little or no Difficulty in Practice because amongst all the Clipt Moneys those which might be converted to the Advantage above-mentioned are few in comparison of the rest and a Sum consisting only of such Weighty Pieces will not in probability ever be brought to the Changers by any but by Crafty or Designing Men. And by this device your Lordships may be pleased to take notice that there will be no need of Weighing every individual Piece which as I think would render the Work endless and impossible The Changer or his Substitute when he shall have carefully Counted and Weighed the said Clipt Money observing the Caution aforesaid shall compute the Value to be paid for the same at the said Rate of Eight Shillings an Ounce and enter into a Leger Book to be kept for this purpose the Day Month and Year of his Receipt thereof the Name of the Person that brings it the Sum of the Clipt Money told the exact Weight thereof and the said Value which is to be paid for the same in New Moneys in several Columes to be made for that purpose for which Value a Bill or Ticket is to be given as is after-mentioned RULE V. THe Changer or his Substitute shall from time to time deliver over the Clipt or Diminished Moneys by him or them received and taken in as aforesaid to the proper Officer of the respective Mint for that District where it was Received in Order to be Re-Coined taking Receipts for the same by the Weight and Tale of every Quantity so delivered over which Receipts are to be the Vouchers for the Account of the Changer and the same together with his Leger will serve to Charge the Accounting Officer of the Mint RULE VI. THat there shall be provided for every Changer a Book or Books in which every Leaf shall be divided into Two Columes by a Figure or Cypher to be Printed therein and shall be so drawn with Lines cutting the Cypher at Right Angles as that Six Pair of Bills may be contained in every Leaf and so that every Counter-part may be separated from its Principal Indent-wise by cutting through the Cypher or Flourish all which Bills shall be numbred in Pairs Arithmetically 1 2 3 c. as far as there shall be occasion and there shall be Printed thereupon the Name of the Place where it is at last to be satisfied and other Words to this Effect No. 1. Nottingham This Bill Intitles the Bearer to the Sum of to be paid with Interest after the Rate of Five Pounds per Centum per Annum out of the Fond Settled by Parliament for Satisfaction of the Register for Clipt or Diminished Money kept at the Place aforesaid And the said Changer or his Substitute upon Adjusting by the Third and Fourth Rules aforesaid the Value which is to be paid in New Money for any Parcel of Clipt or Diminished Moneys brought in as aforesaid shall deliver to the Party bringing the same an Indented Note to wit one of those of the Extream Colume cut out from the said Book and Signed by himself for the said Value to be paid in Course as is hereafter mentioned taking Care that the Sum Expressed in the Note so delivered be also Written in Words at length in the Counterpart remaining in the Book which Book by this means will not only be useful and ready in the City or Countrey to Cheque the Principal Bill if there should be occasion for so doing but will also well serve for an Exact Register without making any other to Guide and Govern the Payment of the Principal in the due Course intended and the just Computation and Payment of the Interest upon every such Bill RULE VII THat no such Bill shall be given or asked for any Sum less then Twenty Shillings in Tale of the New Money and if several Pieces be brought to the Change for any Sum or Sums smaller then Twenty Shillings several of them may be joyned in One Bill which may be taken in