Selected quad for the lemma: kingdom_n
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A31561
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To the Honourable, the knights, citizens, and burgesses, in Parliament assembled proposals humbly offered, for passing an act to prevent clipping and counterfeiting of mony [sic].
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Chaloner, William.
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1694
(1694)
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Wing C1809; ESTC R224687
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6,954
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4
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To the Honourable the Knights Citizens and Burgesses in PARLIAMENT Assembled PROPOSALS Humbly offered for Passing an Act to prevent Clipping and Counterfeiting of Mony WHEREAS Mony is the Principal Supporter both in times of Peace and War and the only Riches on which depends all Commerce and Trade It hath therefore been the care of all Countries to keep their Coyn as free from defects as possible Now England hath been more grieved with Clip'd and Counterfeit Mony than any other Country for want of proper Laws to prevent the same and by the abuse of the Minters of our Mony who have made the Coyn with so little Art and Ingenuity that any may Clip or Counterfeit Mony without much difficulty That it may be presumed the old Mony in this Kingdom is now worth two thirds of the Intrinsick value taking the large and small together But if there be not a stop put to Clipping of Mony it will in a few Years be so Diminished and Counterfeited that it will not be worth half the value it was Coyn'd for Therefore to prevent Clipping and false Coyning for the future It is Humbly Proposed That since it may be presumed the old Mony is worth two thirds of the Intrinsick it should be all called in and Melted down and new Coyn'd into Mill'd Mony of the same value it is now of one with another viz. Every piece so to be new Coyn'd to be only two thirds of the Intrinsick worth If it be Objected That to call in the Money and new Coyn it will be so great a trouble and charge to the King and Subjects that it must not be done at this time It is Humbly Answered That there shall be a moveable Mint that shall be placed in the middle of a County c. and shall give notice to all the Parishes in the said County to bring their Mony by such a day to be changed for new Coyn'd Mony so having done in that County the Mint shall move into the middle of the next to change and Coyn their Mony as aforesaid and so through the Kingdom until all the old Mony shall be Coyn'd into Mill'd Mony That the Mint shall first go into Cornwall Devonshire c. or where the largest Mony is to be found by which means the Mint will have a Stock to change the Mony as fast as it is brought to them That by this Method the Poor and Rich may change their Mony with very little ttouble or charge or fear of being Robb'd for it may be presumed that many will go together to the Mint and will take the Poor's Mony with them And further That many will make it their Imployment to fetch Mony from the Mint and carry it to the adjacent Towns to change their Mony and will do it for small profit so that the Mony in the Country will be changed with very little trouble and charge and in London with much less for all the old Mony may be thus Recoyned for 10000 l. Extraordinary Charge to the Mint which is no great Expence in regard it will remove the greatest Grievances this Kingdom is afflicted with If it be further Objected That to Coyn our Mony less than the Intrinsick value will be a great Abuse to the Subject and a Dishonour to the Kingdom It is Humbly Answered That it shall not be any abuse to the Subject for as soon as the Mony is Recoyned by which it will be known how much the Mony wants of the Intrinsick and Silver Cheap which now is very dear the Mony shall be called in and Coyned up to the Intrinsick This Recoyning being done ouly at present to stop the Currant of Clipping and false Coyning which is now so much Practised that it is probable they Clip and Coyn 500000 l. per ann So that if an Act should be made to call in the Mony and Coyn it up to the Intrinsick worth it would be so long about that the Kingdom would lose at least two Million of Mony by Clipping and false Coyning of mony before it could be done Whereas what is here Proposed may be done in one Year and then there may be a small Tax afterwards laid for calling the Mony in to Coyn it up to the Intrinsick which may be done by degrees so that it will be no trouble to the Subject at all after this first calling in of the Mony That it cannot be any Dishonour to the Kingdom to Coyn our Money less then the Intrinsick since we do not do it for profit but to prevent a Treasonable Practice crept in amongst us If it be yet Objected That to Coyn our Mony less then the Intrinsick worth will be a hindrance to Trade for that all Merchants are obliged to pay the Intrinsick worth for their Goods they Buy beyond Sea and so they will want Intrinsick Mony for that use It is Humbly Answered That it doth not appear in Holland France Portugal c. That their Mony altho' it be less then the Intrinsick is any hindrance to Trade nor hath there been any such Effect here in England since our Mony hath been reduced so invaluable by Clipping and it is directly against the Law to Transport our Mony besides it is the constitution of the Laws of England that all Debts shall be paid in Currant and Lawful Mony of England and any Mony is Lawful that the King and Parliament please to make so If it be Objected That the Masters of the Mint will Coyn Bullion into this Mony and so abuse the Kingdom It is Hambly Answered That it may be made High-Treason to Coyn and Bullion but such only as is old Mony melted down and the Office may be so Ordered that it shall be impossible for the Minters to act the same Cheat. If it be Objected That if Mony be Coyned less then the Intrinsick worth they will Coyn Mony beyond Sea and send it here It is Humbly Answered That no Foreign State or Government will allow of Counterfeiting our Mony and if it be Coyned as shall hereafter be Proposed it will be impossible for any private Person to do it without being discovered Besides it is High-Treason to bring any Counterfeit Mony into England and we have not observed any have done it lately altho' there would be great profit in it If it be Objected That if Mony be Coyned less then the Intrinsick worth it will be much Counterfeited for that they may make it of good Silver and get great profit thereby It is Humbly Answered That all Coyning is done by Casting or Stamping To prevent Conterfeiting of Mony by Casting it The Mony should be thicker and narrower than now it is made and it should be Mill'd with a Hollow or Grove and then it would be impossible to Counterfeit it by Casting To prevent Counterfeiting of Mony by Stamping it The Heads Letters and Arms should not be Grav'd but cut upon Counter-Punches and so
will be at which is but a small trouble and charge when a Man first Sets up his Trade or being once or twice in seven Years But the Coyners use great quantities of these Sheers Flasts c. If it be yet Objected That then the Coyners will Employ Goldsmiths Tin-men Brasiers c. to procure Sheers Flasts c. for them It is Humbly Answered To prevent that there must be kept Books of Record of those that have bought Sheers Flasts c. and if they offer to Buy more than two or three pair in seven Years they shall be questioned and suspected to be Coyers If it be further Objected That they will get private Smiths to make Sheers Flatting-Mills c. or procure them out of the Country It is Humbly Answered These Sheers Flatting-Mills c. are a curious piece of Work So none but those whose Trade chiefly it is can make them and there are not above Eight or Ten that make them in London and but Three or Four in Sheffeild and Burmingham All which easily may be observed by the Keeper and his Deputies all over England whether they make any for the Use of Coyners or not That to detect Thieves as well as prevent Clippers and Coyners buying or selling melted Silver no Person shall buy sell or receive any melted Silver but such only as have a Certificate from the Keeper of the said Seal and to be obtained as aforesaid to certifie they are Goldsmiths Refiners c. and do use melted Silver in their lawful Employments That by this method no Person can deal or Trade in melted Silver but such only as use Silver in their lawful Employments which will in a great measure prevent Transporting of Bullion That there are several Precedents by Act of Parliament for this way of Sealing or Marking which proves very effectual in preventing Cheats in Plate Leather Cloth c. For were it not for the Seal put upon Silver Plate called the Hall Mark there would be as much false Siver as there is false mony for if any false Plate be brought to be Marked it is immediately broke in pieces and if any ill Tann'd Leather is offered to be Sealed or good Leather sold unmarked it is all Forfeited c. In which Sealing and Marking they find no great trouble although it is used in their whole Trade This being but upon three peculiar Tools and but a few of them used in seven Years time so that it will be but little trouble to the Subject That March the 5th 1692. the Masters of the Mint ordered the Proposer hereof to draw up a method that would prevent Clipping and Counterfeiting of mony He therefore drew up these Proposals and sent them to the Warden of the Mint who laid them before the Honourable the Lords Commissioners of His Majesties Treasury and their Lordships were pleased to Refer the same to the Attorney General now Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England And that all the Persons aforesaid with most of the Company of Goldsmiths and Ironmongers have highly approved hereof Concluding these to be the most effectual means to suppress all Offences of this Nature and prevent such abuses for the future From Eagle-Street in Red-Lyon-Fields Feb. 11th 1694. William Chaloner The Minters have been a great cause of Clipping and false Coyning The Value of the old Mony What value the Mony should be when Recoyn'd How the Mony shall be called in How the Mint stall have a Stock The mony Recoyned with very little trouble or charge When the mony shall be Coyned the Intrinsick worth The Kingdom will lose greatly by any other method but this The Mony may be called in afterwards with little trouble This methed no dishonour to England Mony so Coyn'd will be no hindrance to Trade The Minters cannot Coyn more then allowed by Law They cannot Counterfeit our Mony beyond Sea Impossible for a private Person to Counterfeit Mony Examples to prove that mony cannot be Counterfeited The Standard of our mony The Price of Bullion Silver sometimes dear Merchants get great profit by Coyning The Kingdom much abused by Coyning Our Coyn is melted down to make Plate of The different prices of Bullion is grievous The King should have the profit of Coyning The Coyn should be of a new Standard How Coyning is done None shall keep Tools that are used in Coyning Very little trouble or charge to the Subject To prevent Goldsmiths c. To prevent Smiths To prevent Thieves Clippers and Coyners selling melted Silxer To prevent Transporting of Bullion Precedents for this method Orders of the Masters of the Mint