An Account of the Debaseing the Hammerd Silver Mony by Clipping

Author: Hopton Haynes

Source: Lansdowne MS 801, ff. 40v-47r, British Library, London, UK

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An Account of the Debaseing the Hammerd Silver-Mony by Clipping

When a good part of the Silver Coins were diminish'd, as has been showen, and yet pass'd at the first value, as current as the mill'd Mony, which was of a just weight and standard: the debaseing of the Coins by an excessive allay was carryed on with great diligence in all parts of the kingdom; but especially in the Citty of London, and as we have too much reason to beleive, by some of our neighbours abroad: For 'twas reasonable to suppose that 8 or 9 penny worth of silver mint with a third part of copper should be accepted and pass for a shilling, if the stamp was but of a tollerable resemblance, and be as current as that quantity of silver alone, without any such mixture or allay: and the size of those counterfeit pieces being nearer the dimensions of the original Coins, was on that account more apt to impose upon many of the common people

<40v>

Besides, the graving of the Hammerd mony being for the most part very bungling and unskillfull (the improvements in that art being of a few years date) the pieces were for that reason very capable of imitation. I make no question but many gravers of Seals and Coats of Arms, working Goldsmiths, Clockmakers, watchmakers, Gunsmiths and others in this Citty were very well vers'd in the proffitable Act of Counterfeiting mony and in mony of their pieces, outdid in point of workmanship the original Oxford $\frac{1}{2}$ Crowns, and other pieces after which they copyed.

But they needed no such exactnesse, for the people were extreamly supine and seem'd not altogether unwilling to be impos'd upon at that time: and continued in that —humour 'til the beginning of the year 1695, which was the greatest incouragement that could be given so pernicious a practice. Wee agreed in all our Bonds, Deeds, and legall Contracts for payment in good and lawfull mony of England, that is in pieces of a just standard, both in weight & fineness: and yet made no scruple every day and every where through out the kingdom to receive and pay mony that had neither the weight or finenesse the Law and our Contracts requir'd which is just as if a Tenant should contract with his Landlord <41r> to pay his Rent in a 1000 bushells of wheat Winchester measure: but having afterwards lessen'd his measures, and next his wheat with Rye; or other cheaper grain, he pays his Landlord by this new measure & mis'lling; instead of good wheat of winchester measure. The fraud in the former is as apparent as in the later case.

Some of the Counterfeit pieces were standard, being made out of the Clippings of our monys; and a few pieces were pewter wash'd over, and passd for a time, and some of the half Crowns were of copper or Iron plated over with silver: but the farr greater part of the counterfeit Coins, were of a mix'd, debas'd mettall: though in appearance of the same stamp and dimensions of every sort of silver mony current amongst us. When the clyp'd mony was received without any scruple, and rather taken by some people for a time, being look'd upon to be better silver than the larger pieces, immediatly there comes abroad a sett of this base mony, that look'd as if it had come out of the Mint a 100 years since, and had unhappily fallen into the Clippers hands, who had paved away the edges and fil'd away the Impression, for the sake of the silver, this sort of mony passd for a time among the unskillfull, who thought no body would be at the pains to clip the base mony; and it becoming very <41v> current after the Revolution, pesterd the marketts & shops extreamly; having but little silver in it, yet 'twas so handsomly clip'd that it sometimes deceived persons of good skill.

It cannot be known exactly what quantitys were counterfeit, and how great a summ the publick loss by debasing amounted to, yet by the clip'd mony received in the publick taxes pursuant to the 1.^st Act for remedying the ill state of the coin, of which the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury took an Account in the 12 generall Remaines, it must be concluded to be a very considerable summ. For the gross weight of all the Clipt monys receiv'd at the Exchequer aforesaid amounting to pound weight 805713^{£^wt}: 08^oz: 07^{d.^wt} which ought to have been standard. But the actuall standard weight proceeding from that summ amounting to no more 790860^{£^wt}: 1^oz. 19^{d^w^t}. 8^gr. there was consequently lost by counterfeit coins of a coarser allay then standard in the mony receiv'd at the Exchequer by the first Act for remedying the ill state of the Coin no less then 14853^£wt: 6^oz: 7^{d.^wt} 16^gr. which was about 4 $\frac{1}{2}$ ^{d.^wt} or exactly 4^d.^wt and $\frac{341995}{805713}$ parts of a penny weight of worsness upon each pound weight and in the whole made above 46000^£ in tale. The hammerd monys receivd afterwards were not so much debas'd, so <42r> the whole loss by debasing may be reckon'd at under 100000^L sterling. But of this more exactly hereafter. —

<43r>

A 3^d. thing which wasted the publick Cash was the picking the weighty pieces of the Hammerd and mill'd mony out of all summs that came to hand, and melting 'em down, to make the smaller silver wares; when foreign silver was scarce, and above the price of standard silver; Great quantitys of the hammar'd coins and of the mill'd monys coind since the year 1663, People thought they had good reason to conclude were sunk by this practice: and the working Goldsmiths and Refiners were suspected to have made no small advantage by it.

This sort of crime has been very much in practice in former reigns, as appears by divers Statuts which make it penall, & was taken notice of by the Government^[1] in 1662. whereupon a new Law was then made, whereby, the party convicted of melting down the silver was to forfeit double the value and to be disfranchis'd, if a freeman, and suffer 6 months Imprisonment if a forreigner. But notwithstanding these penaltys the proffitt being quick and considerable was too strong an Inducement for many persons to resist: and some Refiners and working Goldsmith's have, and I doubt will always have, whilst things continue in the present posture, such conveniencys <43v> as well as temptations to melt down the weightier species of our silver monys, without fear of discovery, or indeed of being suspected; that I don't know of any remedy for it at present, but one; which I doubt we have not enough prudence & resolution to apply.

For this practice of melting down our silver coin, there us another lure, which perhaps, the most tender conscience can hardly withstand: and it is when 7, 8, or 10 per Cent may be gott in a few hours, by throwing the mill'd Crowns and $\frac{1}{2}$ crowns into the melting pott, and casting 'em in imitation of spanish or forreign barrs.^[2] I know there is a 500^ll. penalty, when this is prov'd, & that tis provided that the barrs are to be mark'd at Guildhall, That you are to make oath that these barrs are not the current mony of England, and did not proceed from clipping or plate: but all this is very easily eluded: for if your servant swears in this sense, that the small barrs into which you your self have first melted down mony, plate or clipping, when he afterwards remelted 'em were neither of those 3: or if you throw a few pieces of $\frac{8}{8}$ or any other forreign Coin into the Pot, or when your servant is out of the melting room, you throw into the pott our heaviest mony; or Lastly if the milld mony be melted down in Ireland where great summs are current, or in short If you have no regard to the obligation of an oath you may swear off for Exportation severall hundred weight in a day at Guildhall, and be well pay'd for so doing.

<44r>

Besides the provision in the Act aforesaid against exportation was but of a new date; and I doubt it came too late to save a good part of the mill'd crowns and $\frac{1}{2}$ crowns of King Charles and King James the 2^d.

The Mint Books inform us that the mill'd mony coin'd from the year 1663 to the year 1696 amounted to 3709,437^L: 14^s : 05^d and according to a pretty nice observation of the proportion of that mill'd mony now current amongst out present silver cash, there is not much more than $\frac{1}{3}$ of that summ now remaining; so that above two millions, 500 hundred thousand pounds of the said mill'd mony have been melted down, or exported.

To this Account might be added a very great summ of the weighter Hamerd coins, from Edward the 6.^th to the Restauration.

The few Crowns and $\frac{1}{2}$ Crowns of King Edward 6.^th and Queen Elizab.^th were almost vanish'd, and those of King James and King Charles the 2^d. reduced to a very small number, and M^r. Lowndes observ'd that not above 10^s. in a 100^ll of the mill'd mony was to be mett with in the great receipts at the Exchecker, just before the late recoinnage which is but $\frac{1}{200}$ ^L in proportion to the silver cash of England which I have before suppos'd to be about 9,000,000^L: a good part of the said mill'd mony being hoarded was sav'd <44v> from being melted down for utensills and exportations, & came abroad amongst the new mony just after the recoynage.

The Mint affords us no account of the proportion of the severall species coyn'd from the 6^st year of King Edward to the 6.^th year of the late King William; but if wee take a reasonable estimate from the summs actually coind in the severall reigns, and thence compute the loss our Cash had sustain'd by melting it down for utensills or exportation, or by actually exporting it in specie it will be found to rise to a very vast summ by a moderat computation.

For admitt/till we have the certain account the coynage
of silver in the last year of Edward the 6^th and the short reign of Queen Mary to have been about	}	0300,000^£sterl.00:00
And that in Queen Elizabeths time there was coyn'd	}	4632,932:3:2 $\frac{3}{4}$
And during the reign of King James the 1^st. about	}	1,700,000:00.00.
And in the reign of King Charles the 1^st. the summ of	}	8,776,544:10.03.
And in the reigns of King Charles and King James the 2^d. which includes the mony coynd in the Interregnum from 45 to 60:	}	4,203,628:05: 10.
And in King Williams reign	)	115,956: 15. 6
All these summs together would make the whole stock of the kingdom in silver monys to have been. Besides the counterfeit mony which amounted to a large summ	}	19,729,061: 14: 09 $\frac{3}{4}$

<45r>

Now if wee deduct out of this Totall the greatest part of the mony coyn'd by Edward the 6^th. and Queen Mary: for very few pieces of theirs were left at the time of the grand coynage	}	290,000^£.
And admitt that of all the monys coyn'd in the following reign of Queen Elizabeth, the Crowns, $\frac{1}{2}$ Crowns, groats, 3 pences, three half pences, pence, and half pence were almost suck, and many of the weighter shillings, and six pences too exported, I thinke all these together might make above $\frac{1}{5}$ of the whole summ coyn'd in her reign, which is also to be deducted.	}	1010000^£.–
Then wee must abate out of King James the 1^st. his coynage allmost all the Crowns and $\frac{1}{2}$ Crowns, and at least $\frac{1}{2}$ of the shillings, some of the six pences and all the lesser coins intirely, all which abated may make the amount to be about	}	700,000^L.
And we may deduct out of the coynage of King Char. 1 $\frac{5}{6}$ of the Crowns, $\frac{3}{6}$ of the $\frac{1}{2}$ Crown's, $\frac{2}{6}$ of the shills, most of the 6 pences, and near all lesser coins which will be about	}	5,000,000^£.
And for the reigns of King Charles the 2^d. King James 2^d. and the first 6 years of his late Majesty, wee may fairly deduct (very little or none of the hammerd and little mill'd mony being current at the time the grand coynage began) the summ of	}	3,000,000^£.

<45v>

So the deductions for all the species in all the foremention'd reign will amount in the whole, to no less than	}	10,000,000^£.
And the remaining silver Cash of the whole kingdom after this vast substracttion, will be about nine millions, seven hundred thousand pounds	}	9,700,000^£.
Now the next Enquiry will be which way was all this vast quantity of silver disposed of? and it has been affirm'd that we are obliged to some of our Goldsmiths
and Marchants for the much greater part of this vast Consumption of the publick treasure excepting what was exported in Queen Marys reign to the Pope's coffers, and in other reigns for publick service, and what might be carried into Ireland, and Holland for the paying King Williams Forces before the year 1696, for both which accounts if we reckon two millions sterling.
I take it to be a full allowance, however I charge it at	}	2,300,000^£.

And I think it may with good probability be supposed that the consumption of the remainder was effected by melting it down for utensills and all sorts of plate and the smaller silver wares,— <46r> particularly by the Goldsmiths in above 600 Country markett-Towns, who have no good opportunity of buying silver in Bullion and being under no regulation may do it without much fear of discovery.

From the year 1552 to the year 1696 at 10,00£0. per annum, which in 144 years will amount to the summ of	}	1440,000^L.
And by melting down for exportation principally for the service of the East India Company from the year 1552 to the year 1696 at 30000£per annum.	}	432,0000^L.
And by exporting in specie to Norway, France and other Countrys by marchants and others at 10000£. one year with another in 133 years amounts to	}	1440,000^L.

And by mony hoarded and hid in the Civill warrs and not found again and by small summs lost by fire and other accidents, in all about	}	050,0000^L.
	Total	10,000,000 ^L
Of this at least wee are certain that since the Erection of the East India Company there have been very great quantitys of bullion exported, and what would have been imported from Cadiz has been frequently bought up there to be carryd to the East Indies: which practice if it should be continued for an age longer, silver may become as scarce a Commodity

<46v>

in Europe as it was before the discovery of America. The Government in former reigns, have allways taken great care that the Exitus, as they call'd it, or national Expences on forreign Commoditys did not exceed the Introitus^[3] ^[4]or returning proffitts by our goods exported, as any body may observe from the statuts of the 27 Edw. 3. 14. 4 Hen. 4, 15. 5 Hen. 4, 9. 8 Hen. 5. 2. 27° Hen. 6. 3. 17°. Edw. 4, 1.

They found that a great consumption of forreign Commoditys drayn'd us of our Coin, and imploy'd the Manufacturers abroad, but starv'd our people at home for want of business. The ballance of trade was kept pretty even till the year 1673.^[5] and in the time of Edward the 3^d. our Creditts abroad considerably exceeded our Debts: but the Learned Gentleman who made this observation, took notice with regrett of the luxurious consumption of foreign Wines, spices, silks and Linnen in his time. . . . what thoughts could he have had of the present age, when nothing will satisfy us but what is farr fetcht, and dear bought. When every Lady dresses and entertains in Indian, and the very furniture of our houses is, a good of it, brought out of those Countrys. What had he thought of the ensuing List of Bullion exported to India! And what Iudgment will our wiser Posterity make of us? In short, wee seem at present resolv'd to impoverish our own Country and to carry <47r> the treasure of all Europe into the Indies: for there it is, as a Gentleman who liv'd many years in that part of the world assures us,^[6] all the Gold and Silver exported out of Europe centers at last. With very great pains and care these valuable mettalls are taken out of the bowells of the Earth in Peru and Guinea and at first were purchased off the natives for our baubles, for which reason wee (wise Folks) mightily despis'd the purchasers, yet wee as wisely exchange 'em for Indian Baubles; where for fear of the Mogul, or some Inferious Tyrant this treasure is buryed in great quantitys by the Indians and so returns like mankind to the dust whence it came

^[1] 14 Car. 2.31.

^[2] 6. & 7 w'.3'.

^[3] x q

^[4] +

^[5] Sir Robert Cotton Posthumous pag. 198 }>

^[6] D^r. Fryers Account of India & Persia