Numismatics: Studying Money

In many ways, Newton was perfectly suited to his work at the Mint, as it united his keen interests in metallurgy, mechanics and history. As young as 14 or 15, he had recorded a recipe for melting metal with brimstone, saltpeter and sawdust, and he continued to conduct chemical and metallurgical experiments throughout his career, even alongside writing the Principia between 1683-1687. As Warden and Master of the Mint, Newton worked to develop his expertise in all aspects of the study of money, and his broad-ranging approach to this task reflected the wider scientific and political movements of his day.

The late seventeenth- and early eighteenth centuries were characterized by the collection and testing of ‘matters of fact’ and the circulation of useful information across all levels of society and spheres of activity. Newton gathered everything he could about the history of the Mint, its operations and monetary systems, collecting proclamations and warrants relevant to the Mint stretching back into the reign of Edward IV[1] and gathering data about the Mint accounts over the years. He also studied more general knowledge about the history of coinage in England, Ireland and Scotland in order to better use historical precedent in the handling of the Nation’s money.

This was a period in which there was an increasing interest in antiquarianism, the study of the past through its material records. The Society of Antiquaries had been established in 1707, involving several Royal Society members and Mint employees, in the discussion of ancient coins, amongst other relics. Antiquarianism was part of a wider effort to map land, resources and customs across the Irish and British Isles for scientific and political purposes, and with the intention of fostering profit and economic improvement. The history of money was therefore tied to national histories of independence or association and was understood to be a useful tool in extending and defending political security. Newton used his studies of coinage in Britain to inform his design of Queen Anne’s and George I’s coronation medals[2], aiming to increase public confidence in the governments that issued the coin.

The study of the material, movement and history of money united scholars, merchants and politicians around the world, joined by increasingly complicated commercial and colonial networks. Newton investigated the movement of money (and the natural resources that made it) around the globe in order to make valuable economic recommendations to the government. In doing so, he helped contribute to a changing understanding of the world: from a system based on the assumption that there was a finite amount of money in the world (mercantilism) to a nationalised, ‘enlightened’ understanding of ever-expanding horizons for profit and progress.