Complaint about trial plates

Author: Isaac Newton

Source: MINT 19/1/275, National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, UK

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- Revision History
  - 1 January 2001
    - Catalogue information compiled by Rob Iliffe, Peter Spargo & John Young
  - 29 September 2011
    - Catalogue exported to teiHeader by Michael Hawkins
  - 22 August 2016
    - Transcribed by Will Scott
  - 22 September 2016
    - Will Scott finished transcription
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<275r>

To the R^t Hon^ble the Lords Comm^rs of her Majesties Treasury.

May it please yo^r Lord^ps

Finding reason to suspect that the present indented trial piece is too fine; I have nicely examined it & find that it is toofiner then the last trial piece by about a quarter of a grain & that the last trial piece is also \something/ too fine \by the assay./ Which excesses of fineness being of great consequence, I have further endeavoured to find out the reason thereof that the like accidents in making new triall pieces hereafter may be avoided. And by the assay I am satisfied that there are various degrees of fine gold, some being 24 carats fine by the assay, some a quarter of a grain fin coarser or finer or above, & that gold may be refined so high as to be almost half a grain finer then 24 carats. And accordingly as the fine gold of w^ch the standard pieces are made is finer or coarser the standard pieces will be finer or coarser in proportion. By w^ch means the standard \of gold/ is rendred uncertain|.| notwithstanding the fidelity of {juries}. And the like for silver.

I humbly offer therefore to your Lord^ps consideration, whether for ascertaining the value of gold & silver there should not be one common standard of gold & one of the silver for the money plate & Merchan|Merchantable| Ingots \of merchants/ in all great Britain, setled by the assay \which is the rule of the market/; & whether the standard once setled should not be preserved in the Exchequer for a rule to Iuries in makeing trial pieces for the future & whether new trial pieces should be also \now/ made according to this standard without varying the standard. {sic} or the present trial piece remain.