Draft of MINT00633 (Mint 19/2/356) with detailed costings, advice on quantities to be coined, and a proposal for preliminary trial coinage of one or two tons

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To the Rt Honble the Lords Commers of his Mats. Treary

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Let Copper of such a goodness as two years ago was worth at least about 95 or 96£ per Ton & a year ago was worth about 100 or 102£ per Ton & now os worth 110£ per Ton or 1s per lwt be purchased by a factor for his Maty. where it can be had cheapest, & delivered to the {illeg} Melter & let the Melter refine it so much as is necessary & cast it into barrs in cakes in iron panns & roll the cakes red hot to a due size & blanch them & send them to ye Mint ye & let the Moneyers cut out & stamp the blanks. whAll wch may be done for 4d per lwt to ye Melter & 1d$\frac{\mathrm{3}}{\mathrm{4}}$ per lwt to ye Moneyers

May it please yoer Lordps,

In obedience to yoer Lordps Order that I should lay before yoer Lordps a Scheme of coyning copper money, I humbly represent that the Copper may be imported into the Mint in barrs drawn to a due breath & thickness to be of such fine copper as will hammer without cracking when made red hot, & tThat out of these barrs blanks may be cut & coyned by the Moneyers, & That every Tunn (& somet{illeg} of (or parcel not exceeding a Tunn) of new moneys may be well mixed upon a floor & & {sic} four or five piecespounds weight taken out of several places of the heap may be assayed & as many put into a Pix to be assayed at the end of the year before persons as shall be appointed by his Majts. or by the Ld Treasurer & in take in fineness & the tale at a tMedium be recconed the Tale of the whole heap, & And tThat a piece taken out of every heap pound weight {illeg}ed aforesaid may be assayed in fineness & another piece put into a Pix to be tried at the end of the yeare before such person or persons as may be appointed to report the trial to ye Ld Treasurer, And that the money thus assayed may be parcelled into five or tenn pounds worth & put into baggs or barrells & conteining some ten five pounds worth an {illeg} weight, other half a hundred weight, five pounds worth of farthings to be delivered to the people who come for them, And that theall the {illeg}Receipts Assays & deliveries may be entred in books by two Clerks one for the King the other for the people with the weight of the money in every Barrel or Bag, & a Controllment Roll be made annually by the Kings Clerk.

The copper may be cast into Barrs for about 2$\frac{\mathrm{1}}{\mathrm{4}}$ per lwt but such copper will be coarse & not endure the assay by the hammer when red hot. It may be made in hammered into barrsplates & the plates cut into barrs at the battering mills for about 5$\frac{\mathrm{1}}{\mathrm{2}}$ per lwt b & such copper will be verysufficiently fine, but the charge is too great. In both these cases the barrs must be rolled to a due thickness, & the rolling w Moneyers demand a penny per pound weight for the rolling & a half pennya farthing more for blanching. I take the best way to be by casting the copper into cakesthat wch follows. Let the copper be melted & refined so much as is necessary & cast into cakes in iron pannes, & rolling the cakes rolled red hott in a water Mill, & this may be done to a due size for cutting, & this& the barrs may done & the barrs made cleane & fit for cuttingblanched & carried to the Mint: all wch may be done blanched for 4d per lwt, & the Copper by this way of working will be sufficiently fine So as to endure the assay by the hammer when red hot And tThe cutting out ye blanks & coyning them in the Mint will cost seven farthings per lwt And if 1d per lwt be allowed to my self the Graver & the Smith for th & 12s per Tunn to two Clerks, and Assayer & weigher & putter off & about an half penny for per lwt for Assaying, Weighing, entring in books, & pu barrellsing & putting off, & making a Controllment Roll the whole charge in the Mint will amount unto 3d$\frac{\mathrm{1}}{\mathrm{4}}$ per lwt & out {illeg} in the Mint & 4d put of the Mint in all 7$\frac{\mathrm{1}}{\mathrm{4}}$ per lwt besides the price of the Copper & the repairs of buildings & putting the coyning tools into repair in the beginning & buying such new ones as are wanting. [The Copper should be of such a fineness goodness at lesast as about 2 years ago was worth 9about 95 or 96£ per Ton & atbout presen a year ago was worth 100 or 1202£ per Ton & at present is worth 110£ per Ton, This price added or 1s per lwt] This price added to the 7$\frac{\mathrm{1}}{\mathrm{4}}$d will make the charge of a pound weight of farth copper money 19d$\frac{\mathrm{1}}{\mathrm{4}}$ at present. And something more is to be allowed for repairs of buildings & for putting the coining Tools into repairs in the beginning of the coinage or& purchasing such new ones as are wanting. Which may be done for about $\frac{\mathrm{1}}{\mathrm{4}}$ per lwt, so that ye whole charge will be about 19$\frac{\mathrm{1}}{\mathrm{2}}$ per lwt. If Asthe copper be such as at present is worth about 110£ per Ton the Manufacturer will refine it to a due degree & work it into barrs for 4d pr lwt.

And because a po the money cannot be sized so exactly but that there will be errors soo in excesse or defect, the errors may be limited to a half penny in the pound weight.