Chapter 23

Of Coining of Moneys without Distinction of Weights

    The Proposition, intended under this Title, is this, That the
Money, hereafter, both of Gold and Silver should be coined of the
same fineness, that the Silver and crown Gold now are, but that
there should be coined no pieces of a certain weight either of
gold or silver, but that the Allay being certain, the weight
should remain uncertain; that all Money now current should be
valued by a certain weight.
    As for Example, That every ounce weight of Silver should be
valued at 5s. and every ounce weight of Gold at twelve times as
much, or thirteen times so much, or such a Proportion as should
be thought most equal; and that all former Contracts should be
acquitted in weight, by reducing every 100 l. sterling, into 400
ounces of Silver, or a proportionable weight of Gold, but that
all future Contracts should be directly made in weight, as in
pounds, ounces, and the Sections of the ounce, either in Silver
or proportionable weight in Gold: That there should be only
coined a certain Proportion of small Moneys in Silver, not in
value above a penny, or two pence sterling, of a certain weight
for the accommodation of small ordinary payments. But that all
the main mass of Money, both of Silver and Gold, should have no
certain weight imposed on it, but should be current according to
the weight it had, as it should fall out. The Authors of this
Proposition maintain.
    That the first Institution of Money was in this manner. That
this Addition of certainty of weight to the Allay, by making the
stamp to serve as a publick Testimony that the piece so stamped
or coined is not only of such a fineness but of such weight also,
have given occasion to all the Inconveniences that have since
grown in this Subject of Money, and that there is no other way to
reform these Inconveniences stablely and permanently but by
reducing the Money to this original Institution.
    And therefore they say, That the imposing of certain weight
to the piece by the stamp hath given the Opportunity to the Kings
and Common-wealths to help themselves in their necessities,
diminishing the Intrinsical value, and marking the piece of such
a weight, when as really it weigheth not so much; and thus much
may be observed in the first part of this Discourse of the
Historie of the Moneys of the Grecians and the Romans and other
modern States.
    They say likewise, That this diminution of the intrinsical
value by subtracting from the true weight of which the several
pieces of Money were first marked, hath introduced that practice
of draining of Money from other Nations, by raising the price of
it, which is the Mischief now grown into this Subject.
    They say, That it hath given occasion to the culling of the
heavier Money from the lighter, which is one of the greatest
Instruments of Exportation, that it hath also given the occasion
of washing, scaling, and clipping of Money, mischiefs that are
now grown very frequent.
    Lastly, It hath given occasion by the use and wearing of the
old Money to raise the price of the new and weighty Money in the
Estimation of the People, and consequently to melt the old.
    But although it should be acknowledged that these
Inconveniences have been introduced by these forms of Coinage now
in use, yet it remains to be considered how they would be
reformed by this new form of Coining. And first it is true, if
the form were used, it were not possible for any King or State to
make any advantage either by the raising of the price of Money or
diminishing the weight: neither could they indeed make any
Advantage by addition of Allay, if the Proposition be truly
observed. As for the raising of Money by other Nations, It is
plain that the Observation of this Proposition, here in England,
would not hinder them to raise still, as now they do; but then it
is to be considered, whether their raising would turn to our
Disadvantage as now it doth.
    And first, if other Nations raise their Money, they can
neither by that raising make their Moneys valuable to us, nor
make our Money more valuable to them; when as before their
raising or after their raising, they can give it no other value
than by weight, because the pieces are uncertain.
    But it may be objected, That when our Neighbours raise their
Money, then will our Money (being al by weight) go further to be
coined into theirs, than it would have done before and
consequently for that profit will be transported until the price
of their commodities do grow up unto their Money.
    To which it may be answered, That they cannot set an higher
price upon the pieces of our Money as now they use to do, because
the piece hath no certain weight, then they cannot cull out the
pieces as (now they do) which over-weight, and so by converting
them into their own Money, make benefit of them, so as there is
no way left unto them to make profit of our Money when it is
transported, but to deliver it into the Mint to be here coined
into their Money; in which case the Transporter must of necessity
loose all the charge of the coinage here, together with the Kings
Tribute, and he must also loose the like charge in the place
where he coins it a new. Both which put together would make so
great a Proportion, as no raising for the drawing of Silver or
Gold, into any State at one time hath hath ever equalled it.
    But yet this Scruple remains unsatisfied, That at least the
Bullion, which otherwise would have come unto you, will be in the
mean time diverted until the price of Commodities be grown up to
the value of their Money as it is raised. But it is manifest,
that all other mischiefs set down before would be taken away by
this Proposition, as culling, washing, scaling and clipping of
Money, for that no benefit could possibly be made by them, and
that equality of Exchange formerly propounded would by this means
be brought the nearest to perfection of any other; for that the
Merchant, first shall understand the true value of his own Money,
and cannot make the account of Exchange in a forrein place, but
by comparing their Moneys in true weight and fineness with his
own; so as he cannot be deceived either by a false reputed value
of his own Money, or of the Money which he is to receive by
Exchange, and therefore will not make his Exchange to loss,
except he be induced thereunto by some other circumstances which
have no relation to the Subject of Money.
    But having thus far debated of the Commodities and Benefits
of this Proposition and prevention of former Inconveniences; It
now remains to be inquired what new Inconveniences this
Proposition would bring with it.
    And first, The alteration would be very strange, and with
great difficulty would be received by the People in a matter that
is of most general and continual use of all others, in stead of
accounting by a pound sterling, angels, shillings, and groats, to
come now to accompt by Pound weights, Marks, Ounces, Scruples,
and Drachmas; to which the only answer to be made is,
    That although the Trouble and Difficultie would be very
great, yet being once settled, it would be settled for ever,
whereas now the Trouble and Inconvenience which the People endure
in this matter of Money is often renewed, but never amended.
    A second Objection is, The Extream molestation which the
People should receive in the practice of it, when as every man
should be bound to carry scales in his pocket (as they say they
do in China) and upon every little payment be bound to weigh their Money.
    To which it may be answered, That there have been antiently
Proclamations in England, and very lately in France, to avoid the
frequency of washing, clipping and scaling, to oblige the People
to weigh their pieces of Silver as well as of Gold, but for the
Silver, the People could never be brought unto it; whereas by
this Proposition, of Necessity, every man receives Money must be
tied to weigh the Silver as well as the Gold, and all these
Inconveniences of scaling, washing, culling, and wearing, would
be avoided with a small part of that trouble to the People,which
the weighing of the several pieces of Silver would put them unto,
partly because the least and most ordinary payments would be
accommodated by the small pieces coined of a certain weight, and
partly because the trouble of smaller payments would be
recompenced by the ease of the greater; for by this course a
thousand pounds will be as soon weighed as twenty shillings can
now be reckoned.
    A third Objection may be made against it, That by this
Proposition Princes and States would be deprived of the means to
make secret benefit of their Moneys, which hath been continually
practised, and especially in times of eminent necessity, even to
the preservation of Kingdomes.
    To this is answered, That the Objection though it be true is
yet of no weight, because that profit so made, is first made
unjustly, and by the breach of publick Faith, and then it is but
a false seeming profit, and always mischievous to the People, and
really not good for the receivers of it. And (as it was formerly
touched) it may be observed, That after the decay of the Roman
Empire, the Reglements of the Mint of that great Monarchy being
lost, through the Inundations of barbarous People (as many other
excellent Institutions were) the Jews (who by God's Curse were
dispers'd into all Nations, and being suffered to acquire no
natural possessions, betook themselves to artificial possessions;
especially gave themselves to the Study of the nature of this
matter of Money as their Patrimony) in most Countries were
imployed in the affairs of the Mint: and to them succeeded the
Italians, as it may be observed here in England, where for some
Ages, after the expulsion of the Jews, there were no Masters of
the Mint but Italians of Lucca or Genoa: Now these People being
subtil Masters of their Art, and having no natural affection to
these Countries where they were imployed, but aiming only to keep
their own Mills grinding, did by projects of colourable profit,
abuse those States where they were trusted, and keep them in
continual alteration of their Coin, which always in the end
turned to diminution of the intrinsical value; and therefore,
finally this Proposition seemeth to me most strange and remote
from common apprehension of all the rest; but, being duly
weighed, the least Inconvenient and most likely to produce good
effect of any of the others. And thus I have set down all the
Remedies, that by enquiry I could learn, to have bin propounded
either in England, or in other parts for the Inconveniences grown
into this Subject of Money, wherein all the particular Projects
that have made the same projects, varied only in form, or in some
by circumstances, yet I do believe, that hardly (one) can be
quoted, whereof the ground and essence is not here set down and debated.
        And, if the Reader, that with attention and care shall
have made his way through this intricate Discourse, shall in the
end complain that after all his pains, he finds himself as little
resolved what is fit to be done in this subject as before,
considering the variety and contrariety of the consideration
incident unto it, I must apeal whether I did not from the
beginning profess to set down nothing but problematically, and
that my Scope was not to render the Reader able to find out the
fittest course to govern this matter of Money and coin, but able
to judge of what should be propounded by others: a point of so
great Importance, that for want of that ability the wisest States
and the greatest Councils of Christendom, for many Ages, have
been abused by misterious names, and perplexed subtities of Mint
men, gold smiths, and Exchangers; who, as they had the whole
knowledge of this subject in themselves, so they had their
several Interests, and I conceive that I have performed all the
points that I have undertaken in this discourse; save on, which
is that speaking of the several means of raising of Money, I said
that the Occasions thereof had been two,
    The one for the drawing of Money from the neighbouring
Countries, or preserving of their own.
    The other, when the States without any such pretence, but
forced only by the violence of Necessity to raise means of
Subsistence for themselves, have doubled and trebled, nay
sometimes sextupled the values of their Moneys, of which I
promised to speak further: and for this purpose, I intend to set down, --
    The history of the most memorable Raisings that have been in
this kind, both in our Age and heretofore, of what nature they
were, and how these States did draw their Benefit and Subsistence
out of them.
    Secondly, What other Extremities and Confusions, those
Raisings did draw the said States, and the People thereof.
    Thirdly, What Remedies these States have applyed to reduce
and settle those Extremities and Confusions whereinto they were
fallen, in which History I shall come to touch some Examples very
modern, as that which of late years was made by the Emperour
which now reigns, especially in the higher parts of Germany, a
raising so high and excessive as it equals any of the antient
Examples, even of those mentioned by Pliny, to be practised by
the Romans in their great extremities in the Punick Wars, whether
you respect the excess of the Multiplication, or the Strangeness
of the effects which it produced; the most famous Occasions,
which I purpose to examine were,
    First, Those Raisings, mentioned by Pliny to be, by the
Romans in the first Punick Wars, which was to make every piece of
Coin current at six times the value of what it was before, since
which time, although there were sundry raisings made by the
Romans, yet none of them was neer this Proportion.
    In the Kingdom of France, I cannot find any extraordinary
raisings made of the Money, until the time of Phillip le Bell and
Charles le Bell, and then the Kings of France, did raise an
ordinary tribute by coining Moneys of a base value, and when they
were dispersed in the Peoples hands, suddenly calling them back
again, and making them uncurrent, by which they got extreamly
both by the coinage and recalling them; for that none might
exchange or melt these Moneys so recalled, but the Officers
appointed by the King, which was a Gain of a most unjust and
grievous condition that ever was practised in any Kingdom, and
did accordingly produce great Tumults and Seditions there; yet
his practice did remain until the time of Charles the fifth,
otherwise called the wise, whereof (besides the Records of the
Mint in that Kingdom which do shew the perpetual alterations of
the Moneys in these times) I do remember two memorable Evidences
out of Histories, of which one is,
    That at what time the State of France, during the desolation
of that Countrey by the English Wars, did grant unto the King the
Gabel of Salt, and the Impost upon Wine, they did particularly
Covenant, That for such a space the King should not alter the
standards of his Coin.
    One other is, that Hollingshead in his Chronicle making
mention of a voyage made by the black Prince from Burdeaux into
Languedock doth cite the Letter of one Sir John Wingfield, a
principal Servant to the Prince, wherein he saith, That the
Countries and good Towns, which were wasted at this Journey,
found to the King of France every year more to the maintenance of
his War than half his Realm besides, except the Exchanges of his
Money which he maketh every year, and his Customes of Poitou. But
the standard of his Moneys was stabely kept from Charles the
Fifths time till the first year of Charles the Seventh, at which
time the English being in possession of the greatest part of
France, Charles the Seventh having no other means to maintain the
Wars, did from the year one thousand four hundred seventeen, to
the year one thousand hundred twenty three, raise the silver by
several degrees from eight livres nine sols the mark to 360
livres the mark, so as the Money was raised in six years above
forty times the value of what it was before; of all which neither
our Chronicles nor those of France do make but ???nder mention,
in respect of what they speak of the Pucelle d'Orleans: And yet
the Truth of it is evident by the Records of the Mint: and all
those who have written of the affairs of the Mint, in that
Kingdom, do unanimously agree that this was the Principal mean by
which is as strange as all the rest, is, that at one instant the
Money was reduced again to seven livres, ten sols the mark; and
from that time there have not been any raising of Money in France
of this nature, although the Moneys there have been continually
raised ever since, either to follow the People, who did first
raise their Moneys by their estimation, or to follow the raisings
of other Nations, or to raise above other Nations, to draw their
Money into that Kingdom.
    In England there is but one Example of raising in this kind,
which was begun in the eighteenth year of Henry the Eighth, and
continued in divers Princes Reigns after, and was not absolutely
reduced, until the fourteenth year of Queen Elizabeth; and this
raising, although it were far short in Proportion to those
formerly recited, it was much more inexcusable than they were,
for that this Action though it be never justifiable, yet in a
case of extream and unresistable Necessitie, it may be excused,
which was not the case of Henry the Eight, for although he wanted
Money, yet there were much more justifiable wayes to supply it;
and it was not imployed to avoid his own ruin, but in ambitious Enterprises.
    The next in time was that raising Money by the overmixture of
ally made in Ireland, in the three and fortieth year of Queen
Elizabeth's Reign, which although it were not excessive in
Proportion, and lasted but a small time, yet had very many
memorable Circumstances to be observed in it.
    The last which I will mention is that which was made by the
Emperor (which now lives) in the year --- who being reduced
within the Walls of Vienna, and having almost nothing else left
him, but the Soverain title of the Empire, did by coining of the
lesser and baser kind of Money five times baser than formerly it
was, extend five times further in use, for the present, than
otherwise he could have done, all those Moneys which he drew by
way of assistance from the King of Spain, or from the Pope, or
from other Princes of Italy; and besides, having a part of the
profit of the Mint in divers other parts of Germany, he did
exceedingly support his Affairs at the present by that means; and
it was a principal occasion by which he prevailed against the
King of Bohemia, who although for his part also, he raised his
Moneys three times in value to what they were before (yet as he
was always a strict observer of the contributions of the Empire)
he coined no other small Moneys, but those of his own stamp, and
they were only current within his own Countries.
    Now all these several Raisings which I have mentioned, were
not all by one way, but indeed they were by all ways differing
from one another; and as the Ways of making profit by the Raising
did differ, so the Inconveniences which follow did differ
likewise, and as the Inconveniences did differ, so the ways of
Reduction did differ also, all which will require a long and
curious Disquisition but I do leave it to a second breathing.

Lord Coke's Account of Coin and Coining

Coin in 6 E. 1 was but 20d the ounce, but now it is above thrice
so much: Stat. de Glocestr. c. S.
    Ch 2. Instit. f. 311

    The pound of Gold and Silver containeth 12 ounces: 12 graines
of fine Gold make a Carrat. 24 Carrats of fine Gold make an
ounce, 12 ounces make a Pound of fine Gold of the touch of Paris:
but by the Statute of 18 Eliz. cap. 15. 22 Carrats fine make an
ounce.
    Ch. 2. Instit. 575.

    Polidore Virgil f. 304 etc. saith, That Sterling Money comes
ab effigie Sturni (Anglice Sterling) aviculae in altera parte
nummi impressa, etc. vol quod nummum haberet notum stellae, quod
Angli Star voccant: Of this Opinion is Linwood the Civilian, tit.
De Testamentis, cap. Item quia verbo centum solid.
    Ch. 2. Instit. 575

    But the Esterling or Sterling penny took its name from the
workmen, who were Esterlings, that both coined it, and gave it
the Allay. Hoveden parte poster. Annalium fol. 377 b. vet. Mag.
Charta 167. The Esterlings penny was first coined in Hen. the II
time: and 20d of Silver made the ounce. Dyer 7 Eliz. f. 82, 83
and 12 ounces made a pound of fine Silver, and 11 ounces fine
Silver, and an ounce of Allay maketh a pound weight of sterling
Silver, intended within the Act.
    Ch. 2. Instit. 575

    By 18 Eliz. cap. 15. plate of Silver ought to be of the
fineness of xi ounces 2d weight.
    Ch. 2. Instit. 575

    Allay is the mixture of Baser Mettal than Silver or Gold,
called in our Books, Fulse Mettal, 9 H. 5 Stat. 2 cap. 4 & 6. 3
H. 7, 10, a, b.
    Ch. 2. Instit. 575

    No more Allay must be put into Money than is limited in the
Indentures between the King and the Moniers, upon Pain of
Treason, Britton. f. 10 b. Fleta lib. i. cap. 22
    Ch. 2. Instit. 575

    Finis

Cell Phone - Mobile Phones - Personal Loans - Credit Card - The eBay Song