Calculations of the weight and value of the new louis d'or and louis d'argent which are to be made current in Ireland
To the most honble the Earl of Oxford & Earl Mortimer Lord High Treasurer of Great Britain.
May it please yor Lordp
According to yor Lordps Order of Reference signified to us by Lowndes his Letter dated 29th of April 1714 last we have considered the annexed Letter of the Lords of the Privy Council in Ireland concerning the making current the new French moneys of Gold & Silver in that kingdom, & together with the Re annexed Report of Mr Vincent Kidder Assaymaster there concerning the intrinsic values of those moneys. And by the weight of 55000 {illeg}Louidiors of the new species amounting to 1197Lwt 41oz 11dwt we find that singly they are in weight one with another 5dwt 4gr 9mi And by the Assays of several Ingots melted out of new Louidors compared with the Assays of many single pieces We find that they are at a medium one grain & one 12th part of a grain worse then standard. b And therefore by the weight & assay together they are singly worth byut twenty shillings & six pence in England. And in Ireland where a Guinea passes for 1li 3s they are worth 1li 1s 11d, & in our humble opinion should not pass there for more then 1li 2s. At wch rate the half Lewidor may pas for 11s & the Quarter for 5s 6d.
Fifteen hundred new silver Lo{illeg}uisses of the new species weighed 1470 ounces, & therefore one with another they weigh singly an ounce wanting 9gr 12mites. They are an halfpenny weight worse then standard one with another, & therefore their standard weight at a medium is an ounce wanting 10gr grains. And so they are wroth 5s & three farthings a piece in England at present. And in Ireland where a Crown piece English passes for 5s 5d these Lewises may pass for singly are worth 5s 5d, {illeg}& in the nearest rownd number may pass for 5s 6d & the half Lewises for 2s 9d & the Quarter pieces for 16d.
All wch is most humbly submitted to yor Lordps great wisdome
Source
MINT 19/2/223, National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, UKMay 1714, c. 352 words.