Holograph draft memorandum giving a detailed list of measures to be taken to supervise the reminting in Spain, assess the quality of the resulting coin and organise finances

Author: Isaac Newton

Source: MINT 19/2/190, 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
  - 24 August 2016
    - Transcribed by Will Scott
  - 23 September 2016
    - Will Scott finished transcription
  - 27 September 2016
    - XML audited by Michael Hawkins
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Related Texts
- This document is a reply to:
  Copy of letter concerning adjustments to two Ryall pieces [T 27/20.22]

<190r>

If the Paymaster of her Majestys forces in Spain have received several summs of Mexico & Peru Dollars for paying those forces & have carried them to the Mints of K. Charles to be coined into two-ryal pieces: the Commissioners are to enquire what number of Dollars every Paymaster received, what was the weight of them before melting, what was the weight of the Ingots produced by melting, what silver was got out of the sweep, whether the weight of this silver & the Ingots equalled the weight of the Dollars wanting only the 300^th part of the whole weight, what number & weight of two ryal pieces was coined out of this weight including the seigniorage whether this weight of the two ryal pieces exceed the weight of the Ingots & silver got out of the sweep by the weight of the allay put to the Ingots & silver that is by about the hundredth part of the whole weight, whether the number of the said two ryal pieces be such as ought to be coined out of that weight, that is about 109 pieces out of every twenty ounces, or about 109 $\frac{3}{4}$ pieces out of every 21 Dollars. Also how many pieces have been deteined for seigniorage & for melting the Dollars into Ingots & how many the Paymaster has received out of the Mint for the Queens service & whether the number received out be in such proportion to the number of ounces coined, or to the number of Dollars melted down to be coined, as by the rules above described it ought to be. And whether the number of Dollars & two ryal pieces which the Paymasters have charged themselves with in their Accounts be the same with the number of Dollars received by the Melter for the melting pot & of two ryal pieces delivered from the Mint according to the Melter & the Mint. Or what evidence have the Paymasters ‡ < insertion from the bottom right > ‡by the books of Melter & of the Mint by Receips or Certificates or living witnesses < text from f 190r resumes > that they have <190v> caused all the Dollars received by them from the merchan{t} to be melted & coined & that they have charged themselves in their acco{un}ts with all the two ryall pieces which they have received from the Mint.

If any dispute should arise in Spain about the coarseness of the two Ryall pieces which cannot be decided without an assay, the best way to decide the Question by the assay is this. Let a pound weight or half a pound weight of the two Ryall pieces be melte{d} into a lump, & let the same weight of Mexico & pil{lar} Dollars be also melted in a lump. Let assays be cut off from these two lumps by a skilful Assayer & weighed by the assay weights for the fir{e} Let them also be weighed against one another in the assay-scales to see th{at} they be exactly of the same weight before they be wrapt up in lead. And when the lead is blown off from the last let the fire abate gently of it self ti{ll} the silver is ready to congealleast the silver by cooling too suddenly spring into the fire.. And when the assay drops are taken out of the fire let them be weighed in the Assay scales against one another exactly to find the difference of their weightAnd let one or two of the Commissioners (or persons appointed by them) see all this done.. Then say, As the weight of the assay drop of the two Ryal pieces is to the weight of the other assay drop so is the weight of the fine silver in a pound weight of two Ryal pieces to the weig{ht} of the fine silver in a pound weight of the Dollars & so is the weight of all the Ingots of silver coined, to the weight of all the tw{o} Ryal pieces which ought to be produced out of those Ingots by coinage. And wh{en} they have the whole weight & the number of two Ryal pieces in 20 pound weig{ht} they will thence know the number of two Ryal pieces in the whole weight by the Rule of three. And when they have learnt at the Mint what propo{rtion} is to be taken for seigniorage, they will know what number {t}{he} Paymaster ought to receive out of the Mint.