'Observations upon coynes'
Observations upon coynes.
Mexico pieces of eight are recconed by Refiners to weigh (fresh out of the Mint) 17dwt one with another. I have seen an Account of 7 or 8 parcells each of which conteined 1200 Dollers & weighed 87lwt 6oz. At this rate a thousand Dollers will weigh 875 ounces Troy. Merchants receive them in America not of the Mint Masters but of the people with whome they trade, & find the weight of a thousand to be 872 ounces more or lesse, three ounces (more or less) being lost by the wearing of some of them before they come to the Merchants & by the mixture of Pillar pieces. Those that are unworn & fresh out of the Mint may be known by their glossy colour. They are generally 1dwt worse then standard. Merchants cull them & send the Pillar pieces to England for the melting pot, the lightest to places where they are current the 8 grain pieces to Barbary & the 4 grain pieces to Turkey. Before cutting the Merchants reccon every thousand at 872 ounces. Pillar pieces are finer & lighter then the Mexico, & taking their weight & fineness together are recconned by the Merchants of about the same value with the Mexico. But they are but few in number. Sevil pieces are all worn there having been none coyned since the year 1686. Peru pieces are still worse. The Pillar pieces are usually worn, the Mexico come to the Merchants with little or no wearing.
