Richard Backe: The Information of Richard Backe Leominster in the County of Hereford Dyer and Clothworker 12 November 1698

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The Information of Richard Backe of Leominster in the County of Hereford Dyer and Clothworker taken this 12^th. day of November Anno Dni 1698

Who saith that about a year and a half ago this Informant was in company with Thomas Yarnold of Leominster aforesaid Glassier and Katherine his wife at Leominster aforesaid and there the said Katherine Yarnold did propose to this Informant that her husband would make false and counterfeit milld money and she would have this Informant to put it off or pay it away an equall share in the proffit thereof but this Informant being very unwilling to be anyway to p{illeg}ed in such a bad practise as making of bad money and enquiring of the illegallity thereof the said Thomas Yarnold and Kath. his wife said that what money they intended to make should be as good as any that was coyned in the Kings mint so that no body would be cheated or {rummaged} by taking of it whereupon this Informant did agree to be concerning in putting of bad money as aforesaid, and the said Yarnold did declare that he believed he could make money and that his father and another had done it, and that about a month after this Informant saw the said Yarnold in his own house in Leominster aforesaid mould a pair of Flasks with burnt Alaboster and a Milld shilling and took this shilling out of the Flask and run melted metall into the mould and cast 3 or 4 milld shillings one after another but at different tymes but the edges of the said shillings were not well cast so that this Informant and the said Yarnold did conclude not to be any further concerned in making of false money at that tyme, but that about a quarter of a year after the said Thomas Yarnold told this Informant that he had been with one Willm Mawne who then lived in the parish of Midleton in County of Hereford Yeoman and that the said Mawne had told him that he <26v> made counterfeit money and the said Yarnold said that he believed he could make false money for that he supposed the said Mawne had been concerned with Yarnold's father in assisting him to make counterfeit money in imitation of the Current Coyn of this Kingdom and the said Mawne and one Francis Eno of the said Leominster Blacksmith were one tyme drinking togeather at the said Yarnold's house and the said Yarnold went into the room where they had been drinking imediatly after they went away imediatly and found a paper with Clippings in it fallen upon the floor and that he left the same where he found them and the said Mawne retained in a litle time and said he had left something in the room where he had been drinking, and went into it and carryed away the Clippings with him as Yarnold told this Informant and the said Yarnold did importune this Informant to go with him to Mawne to talk with him about making of counterfeit money and about a fortnight after this Informant did go to mawns house and did then appoint a time togeather when Mawne should make and experiment of casting counterfeit money and the said Yarnold did buy arsnick and salt petre morder there to and shewed them to this Informant and this Informant went to the said Mawns house about a week after in company with the said Yarnold and the said Informant did then and there see the said Mawne cast one half Crown in sixpence and about 3 or 4^s. all counterfeit money and the edges of the said money were not fairly cast and Mawn tryed to edge one shilling by a Tool like an Iron Chissell but could not edge it well And this Informant further sayth that about March last past the said Mawne and one who went by the name of Edward Iones of Burrisson near Tenbury in the Borders of Worcestershire and Shropshire a Smith and George Hampton of Dudley in Worcestershire in Staffordshire Smith came also togeather to this Informant to Leominster and shewed him a pair of Shilling Dyes or Stamps and a Mill for edging of Shillings and offered to sell them for 3^ll. to this Informant but he did refuse to buy them and that about aprill last he saw the said Iones and Hampton counterfeit the Current Coyn of this Kingdom at Iones's house at Burrison aforesaid by stamping of shillings. Hampton blancht the Copper of which the false money was made and beat the metall into plates and cut it round Iones filed it round and he and Hampton stamped it togeather and Hampton edged and they told this Deponent that the stamps and Edger were Hamptons and that they were made by Hamptons brother who liveth in Birmingham and that Hampton told the Deponent that one m^r.     Perks an Iron monger of Ludlow in Shropshire had a considerable quantity of their money at the rate of <27r> twenty five shillings for 20^s. and that the said Iones told this Informant that his father Iones who lives near Burrisson aforesaid was privy to his making of false money and that Iones Senior used frequently to buy sheep and horses and let his son Edw^d. Iones have the payment of the money by means thereof he used to pay away counterfeit money amongst good and that the said Mawne told this Informant that the said Iones senior and himselfe used frequently to make false and counterfeit money of the old Coyn and that in aprill and may last past he this Informant had severall times counterfeit money of the said Edward Iones and George Hampton to the value of about 5^ll. and bought some of it at the rate of 28^s. of bad for 20^s. good money and after the rate of 30^s for 2{0}^s and that afterwards this Informant sold part of the said counterfeit money to the said Thomas Yarnold and his wife at the rate of 24^s. of bad for 20^s good and that this Informant sold 12^s. of the said counterfeit money to the said Francis Eno and {Erie} gave him 9^s. of good money for it and told him that he the said Eno had bought counterfeit money of the said Mawne which he believed to be made by the same persons which made the said false money which this Informant sold him as aforesaid and that he gave Mawne after the rate of 20^s. of good money for 26^s. of bad money.— And this Informant further saith that about the beginning of Iune last past the said George Hampton and his wife came to this Informant to Leominster and did tell him that a Gentleman who lived near Dudley aforesaid or some where in that countrey had sent Hampton's wife to her husband to get her husband to go to him for that he would employ him to make false money for him and the said Gentleman would put it off by buying of Cattle and Hampton would have had this Informant to have gone with him to have been concerned with but he refused but Hampton said that his mother kept an alehouse in that said Dudley and that if this Informant had at any time a mind to see him he should enquire of her and she would tell him where Hampton's wife was and that she would tell him where her husband was and that the said Hampton told this Informant that Iones and he had a pair of stamps to make false $\frac{1}{2}$ Guineas with from Hampton's said brother but that upon tryall they found them not good so they had sent them back to his brother to mend them

And this Informant further saith that after the said Thomas Yarnold understood that this Informant had an Edging Mill and stamps offered to be sold to him as aforesaid he was very importunate with this Informant to buy them for him or to let him know where they were that he might buy them himselfe but this Informant refusing so to do the said Yarnold was very angery with him and that after some time the said Yarnold told this Informant that though he would not tell him where the stamps were yet he had learned by Mawne and was to have a pair of stamps and would have had this Informant to have been {sharer} with him in paying for them and that Katherine the wife of Thomas Yarnold told this Informant that she had shewed some of the Counterfeit money which her husband and she bought of this <27v> Informant as aforesaid to her sister Mary Perks who liveth near the said Leominster and told her how she came by it and this Informant doth believe that mrs mawne widdow and her daughter are privy to and do know of some of the evill practises that are above mentioned against the said Tho: Yarnold

Rich Backe

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