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May it please yor Lordps

According to yor Lordps order we have the Pix of the Copper moneys coyned by Mr Wood for Ireland has been opened & tried in the Mint by the kings Assaymaster before us. And by the Comptrollers account \(to wch Mr Wood agreed)/ there has been coined from Lady day 1723 to March 28th 1724 in half pence 55 Tuns 5 C, 3Qters, 0lwt, 12gr {sic}, |[|making value 15,548li. 11s. 10d12.|]| And in farthings 3 Tunns, 17Q. 2Q. {illeg} 10li. 8oz |[|making value 1,086li, 6s. 3d.|]| And that the] And that by the specimens of{illeg} this coinage wch have from time to time had been \taken from the several parcels coined &/ put into the pix we found that sixty half pence weighed {3}|1|4 ounces Troy & eighteen penny weight that is, al wch or one pound weight Troy & averdupois & which is about a quarter of an ounce above one pound averdupois & that {illeg}|t|hirty farthings weighed thre {sic} ounces & three quarters of an ounce {illeg}|T|roy & forty six grains. And that both half pence & farthings when heated red hot barrs {illeg} endured to be hammered very thin\spread very thin under the hammer/ without cracking, as your Lordps may see by the pieces now laid before you. But tho the copper was very good & the the {sic} money taken one piece with another was {illeg} full weight, yet the single pieces were not so equally coined \in weight/ as they should have been.

We found also that thirty \& two/ old half pence coined \for Ireland/ in the reigns of king Charles the second king Iames ye second & king William {coi} \& Queen M{illeg}|a|ry/ weighed 6 ounces & eight/een\ penny wt Troy, that is, 102|3|12 grains a piece with another,|.| {better what} they had lost by wearing.\They were much worn./ And if \{illeg}|ab|out six or/ seven or eight grains be allowed \to each of them one with another/ forr {sic} loss of their weight by wearing, they might at first weigh about half a pound sterling. averdupoise one with another. But they were made of bad copper. Two of those coined in the reign of king Charles ye second \wasted {illeg}|m|uch in the fir{illeg}|e| & then/ spread thin under the hammer but not so well without cracking as those of Mr Wood. Two of those coined in the reign of king Iames the second & two of those coined in the reign of king William & Queen Mary \wasted still more in ye fire/ turned in the fire to \a substance like/ a cynder & flew {illeg}|in| pieces under the hammer|, as your Lordps| /may see by the pieces now laid before you.\

The half pence & farthings coined in the Pix coined by Mr Wood had one one side the head of the king wth this inscription GEORGIUS DEI GRAITIA REX & on the Reverse a woman sitting wth a Harp by her \left/ side & the inscription Hibernia HIBERNIA{sic} \with the date./ And we did not observe that any of them were of any other form. The half pence coined in the reigns of king Charles king Iames & king William had the\on/ one side the head of the kings\king Charles or King Iames or King Wm {sic}/ & queen Mary with & on the reverse a harp crowned.

Two of those coined in the reign of king Iames the second wasted more in the fire & were not malleable when red hot: two of those coined in the reign of K. W. & M. wasted much more & tur in the fire & turned to a|n| \unmalleable/ substan{ce} like a cinder, as your Lordps may see by the pieces now laid before you.

We reccon the copper of Mr Woods half pence & farthings to be of about the same goodnes & value with the copper of wch the copper money is coyned in the kings mint for England, & {at} or worth about 12 or 13d per pound weight {illeg} Averdupois \in the market/: & the copper of wch the half pence were coyned \for Ireland/ in the reigns of king Cha. king Iames & king William to be much inferior in value & {scarce} & almost of no value in the Market, the mixture being uncertain & not bearing the fire by wch it|th||e| \metal/ may be\for/ converted|ing| \it/ to any other use.

© 2024 The Newton Project

Professor Rob Iliffe
Director, AHRC Newton Papers Project

Scott Mandelbrote,
Fellow & Perne librarian, Peterhouse, Cambridge

Faculty of History, George Street, Oxford, OX1 2RL - newtonproject@history.ox.ac.uk

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