Catalogue Entry: MINT00259

Memorandum. 'Proposals touching the Amendment of the English Coins'

Author: Isaac Newton

Source: MINT 19/2/605-6, National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, UK

[Normalized Text] [Diplomatic Text]

Contents

Legislation is needed to fix the value of bullion relative to coin and ensure coin is not worth less than bullion (which leads to its being melted down or exported). The crown piece should be on a par with an ounce of bullion, and their common value reduced by annual increments until it reaches 5s. Hammered half-crowns should be reminted with milled edges and a new stamp to distinguish them from originally milled half-crowns, and have a separate value set on them. Lists various practical issues to be considered before implementing these proposals.

© 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

Privacy Statement

  • University of Oxford
  • Arts and Humanities Research Council
  • JISC