Draft of MINT00287 (Mint 19/2/602-3)

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Minutes for
An Act for further encouragement of the coynage.

|1| Vpon y^e arrival of every ship a Custome-house Officer to take an account of all Gold & Silver imported therein & enter the same w^th y^e exact weight of every species thereof in a Book for that purpose & give the Merchant an indented Ticket conteining a Copy of the said entry cut out from y^e said Book & \pay y^e Merch^{t [1]} p^r oz for all y^e ☉ & one q^ter thereof p^r oz for all the ☾ & {in {illeg}} entred therein & or so much thereof as shall contein {illeg} above $\frac{5}{6}$ of fine ☉ or ☾. And if any doubt arise about y^e fineness the/ to stamp all y^e Barrs or Ingots with a stamp for that purpose. All this he shall do gratis.

|2| If the Merchant within one yea |12| months after the date of the said entry or Ticket shall bring the said Gold or Silver or any part thereof to y^e Mint to be coyned, the Master & Worker or his Deputy after coynage thereof shall gratis enter on y^e Back side of the said Ticket, the species & gross weight of the Gold or Silver so brought into y^e Mint & the weight of the money into w^ch it hath been coyned.

|3|And upon delivering back the said Ticket at y^e Custome house, the Merchant or his Assignes may w^thin one year |12| months after the said Date thereof export the Bullion\Bullion/\Gold or Silver/ mentioned therein or any part thereof together with so much money by weight as hath been coyned out of the other part {illeg} thereof w^ch is not exported, paying a Duty of ^[2] |4^d or 6^d| p^r ounce for all English Gold monies exported and of ^[3] |2^d or 3^d| p^r ounce for all uncoyned Gold or forreign Gold monies exported and of ^[4] |1^d| p^r ounce for all English silver monies exported and of ^[5] |$\frac{1}{2}$^d| p^r ounce for all uncoyned silver or forreign silver monies exported. Which Duty shall be kept apart w^th the Duty already granted for encouragem^t of coynage & together with it be paid into the Excheq^r & thence imprest to y^e M^r & Worker according to y^e present usage of y^e Mint for or towards defraying the charges of coyning the monies so exported.

|4| The Ticket so {defaced} filed in y^e Custom house & y^e Exportation entred there. And if all the Bullion or money mentioned in the said Ticket be not exported the remainder to be entred & the Merchant to have gratis a new in{t}|d|ented Ticket \of the 1^st date/ for y^e sa{illeg}|m|e, & also for so much Bullion & Money as he exports to have gratis a License under y^e hands of        Comm^rs of y^e Customes.

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No gold or silver to be exported in Barrs or Ingots or molten masses w^ch have not y^e Custome house mark upon them

\Felony to counterfeit this stamp. And/ A penalty for counterfeiting this stamp or impressing it upon other Gold or Silver then such as shall be found in y^e ship at its first arrival, or exporting Gold or Silver without license or more then licensed|, or shipping the same for exportat{ion}|

No gold or silver to be exported out of Ireland unless into England upon pain of          |And an acc^t of all y^e ☉ & ☾ exported into England to be sent monthly {illeg}|from| y^e Custome house of Ireland to y^e Custome house in London.|

The Comm^rs. of the Customes to take annually an Acc^t of all y^e Gold & Silver {illeg}|of| every species imported & exported \in all o^r ports/ & {send} copies of the summs of every species imported from & exported to every place, to be sent to y^e Treary, y^e Council of Trade & y^e Mint.

In consideration of the advantages \accruing/ to the East India Company by this Act by lowering the price of Bullion & permitting the exportation of money, & for encouragem|ing|ent of \the/ importing|atio||n| gold & silver in lie{illeg}|u| of y^e great quantities exported by them they \the said Company/ shall annually pay into the Custome hous {sic} upon y^e Feast of — y^e summ of — ^[6] And out of this Annuity the merchant shall receive together w^th y^e Ticket about mentioned the sa       p^r ounce for every ounce of Gold imported |&         pr ounce for every ounce of Silver imported, provided the same contein not less then $\frac{10}{12}$ of fine ☉ or ☾. And upon any doubt, the Assaym^r of y^e Mint to assay the same at y^e Charge of y^e Merch^t.|

Such an Act {illeg}|w|ould be for y^e advantage of y^e Merchant by the use of his Gold & Silver when turned into money. It would \save him the trouble & charge of attending with it at Goldsmiths Hall. It would/ leave trade |free|{illeg} \even/ freer {illeg}|th||en| in Holland where y^e Merchant pays to y^e Mint for what he exports. It would prevent the \much better then {illeg} by Customehouse oaths|prevent\put an end to/ y^e perju{illeg}|r|y of such as now export by fals oaths & much better then by \oaths prevent the/|/ melting down of o^r money \for exportation/ by w^ch the nation loses the charge of coynage |[|& secure us from y^e exportation of more gold & silver then is imported,|]| much better then \tis done/ at p^rsent by Custome house oaths. It would increase o^r coyne by the merchants money {with} till exportation & \also/ by what is not exported within |2| months. \It would prevent y^e perjury of such as {illeg}|n|ow export by fals oaths./ It would be of great credit to y^e nation by the Merchants coyning\exporting/ their Gold & Silver {illeg}|in| the form of English money to {illeg}|b|e current in forreign nations. For this would make us appear to them more rich & potent then we do at present |[|& this without putting the government to any new charge worth considering or diminishing o^r money at home.

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Such a Law would leave\render/ Trade perfectly free even freer then in Holland when Bullion exported pays to their Mint. It would save the Merchant the trouble & charge of attending at \Gold Hall &/ Goldsmiths Hall with his Bullion. |&| It\& at Gold Hall/ witnesses w^ch d {sic}eters\iscourages/ him from bringing his Bullion hither. It would |[|put an end to y^e {illeg} practises of such as \now/ export by false oaths &|]| secure us from the exportation of more Gold & Silver then we import much better then we are now secured by \Custom house/ oaths. It would put an end to the melting down of o^r silver for exportation by w^ch y^e nation loses y^e charge of coyange\& exporting by fals oaths{.} It would put an end to y^e buying of Plate for exportation./ It would be profitable to y^e Merchant |[|who imports by y^e reward it gives him & t{illeg}|o| him who exports|]| by bringing down Bullion to y^e {illeg}|s|tandard price, & \also/ by the use of his gold & silver when turned into Bullion money, {sic} |[|& by the coyning of his money cheaper \& better/ here then abroad. |[| w^ch respects the East India Company would receive more profit by it then y^e charge of y^e above mentioned Annuity amounts to. It would free y^e Company from that odious clamour against them for exporting more silver then is imported|]| It would increase o^r coyn \as well/ by the Merchants money running amongst us till exportation & also\as/ by what is not exported within the year. It would be of great credit to y^e nation by y^e Merchants exporting their Gold & Silver in y^e form of \English/ money to be current in forreign nations. For this would make us appear to them more rich & potent to them then we do at p^rsent |[|w^ch & {illeg} so \mend our interest{illeg} &/ give us advange both in trade & treating|]| & {illeg}|\thereby/| mend our interest in t|T|rade & t|T|reaties.