The Informaction of Iane Iuxon Richard Backe of Leominster in yethe County of Hereford Dyer and Clothworker taken this 12th. day of November Anno Dni 1698

Who saith ytthat abot.about a year and a half ago this Informt.Informant was in company wth.with Thomas Yarnold of Leominster aforesaid Glassier and Katherine his wife at Leominstr.er aforesd.resaid and there the said Katherine Yarnold did propose to this Informt.Informant ytthat her husband would make false and counterfeit milld money and she would have this Informt.Informant to put it off or pay it away an equall share in the proffit thereof but this Informt.Informant being very unwilling to be anyway to ped in such a bad prractise as making of bad money and enqingenquiring of the illegallity thereof the said Thomas Yarnold and Kath. his wife said yt.that what money they intended to make should be as good as any ytthat was coyned in the Kings mint so yt.that no body would be cheated or rummaged by taking of it whereupon this Informt.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 ytthat this Informt.Informant and the said Yarnold did conclude not to be any further concernd.ed in making of false money at yt.that tyme, but yt.that abot.about a quarter of a year after the sd.said Thomas Yarnold told this Informt.Informant yt.that he had been with one Willm Mawne who then lived in the ꝑparish of Midleton in County of Hereford Yeoman and that the said Mawne had told him that he makemade counterfeit money and the said Yarnold said yt.that he believed he could make false money for yt.that he supposed the said Mawne had been concerned with Yarnold's father in assisting him to make counterfeit money in imitaction of the Currt.Current Coyn of this Kingdom and the said Mawne and one Francis Eno of the sd.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 thethey went away imediatly and found a paper with Clippings in it fallen upon the floor and that he left yethe same where he found them and the said Mawne retaind.ed in a litle time and said he had left something in the room where he had been drinking, and went into it and carryd.ed away the Clippings with him as Yarnold told this Informt.Informant and yethe said Yarnold did importune this Informt.Informant to go with him to Mawne to talk with him abot.about making of counterfeit money and abot.about a fortnight after this Informt.Informant did go to mawns house and did then appoint a time togeather when Mawne should make and experimtexperiment of casting counterfeit money and the said Yarnold did buy arsnick and salt petre morder there to and shewd.ed them to this Informt.Informant and this Informt.Informant went to the said Mawns house abot.about a week after in company with the said Yarnold and the said Informt.Informant did then and there see the said Mawne cast one half Crown in sixpence and abot.about 3 or 4s. 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 Informt.Informant further sayth yt.that abot.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 Shropshshire a Smith and George Hampton of Dudley in Worcestershershire in Staffordshire Smith came also togeather to this Informt.Informant to Leominster and shewed him a pair of Shilling Dyes or Stamps and a Mill for edging of Shillings and offered to sell ym.them for 3ll. to this Informt.Informant but he did refuse tlo buy them and yt.that abot.about aprill last he saw the said Iones and Hampton counterfeit the Currt.Current Coyn of this Kingdom at Iones's house at Burrison aforesaid by stamping of shillings. Hampton blancht yethe Copper of which the false money was made and beat yethe 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 DepontDeponent ytthat the stamps and Edger were Hamptons and yt.that they were made by Hamptons brother who liveth in Birmingham and yt.that Hampton told the Depont.Deponent yt.that one mr. Perks an Iron monger of Ludlow in Shropshire had a considerable quantity of their money at the rate of twenty 5s.five shillings for 20s. and yt.that the said Iones told this Informt.Informant yt.that his father Iones who lives near Burrisson aforesaid was privy to his making of false mon'ey and yt.that Iones Senior used frequently to buy sheep and horses and let his son Edwd. 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 Informt.Informant that the said Iones senior and himselfe used frequently to make false and counterfeit money of the old Coyn and yt.that in aprill and may last past he this InformtInformant had severall times counterfeit money of the said Edward Iones and George Hampton to the value of abot.about 5ll. and bought some of it at the rate of 28s. of bad for 20s. good money and after the rate of 30s for 20s and that afterwards this Informt.Informant sold part of the said counterfeit money to the sdsaid Thomas Yarnold and his wife at the rate of 24s. of bad for 20s good and that this Informt.Informant sold 12s. of the said counterfeit money to the said Francis Eno and Erie gave him 9s. of good money for it and told him yt.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 Informt.Informant sold him as aforesaid and yt.that he gave Mawne after the rate of 20s. of good money for 26s. of bad money.— And this Informt.Informant further saith yt.that abot.about the beginning of Iune last past the said George Hampton and his wife came to this Informt.Informant to Leominster and did tell him yt.that a Gent.Gentleman who lived near Dudley aforesaid or some where in yt.that countrey had sent Hampton's wife to her husband to get her husband to go to him for ytthat 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 Informt.Informant to have gone with him to have been concerned with him but he refused but Hampton said yt.that his mother kept an alehouse in ytthat sdsaid Dudley and yt.that if this Informt.Informant had at any time a mind to see him he should enquire of himer and she would tell him where Hampton's wife was and yt.that she would tell him where her husband was and yt.that the said Hampton told this Informt.Informant yt.that Iones and he had a pair of stamps to make false $\frac{1}{2}$ GineasGuineas with from Hampton's said brother but yt.that upon tryall they found they found them not good so they had sent ymthem back to his bror.brother to mend them