Holograph draft of MINT00651 (Mint 19/2/425)

<439r>

Our Will & please is & We do hereby authorise & command you Sir Isaac Newton Master & Worker of our Mint in the Tower of London to receive into our said Mint from time to time fine British copper in barrs or fillets which when heated red hott will spread thin under the hammer without cracking & which shall be of a due size or thickness to be prescribed by you & out of the same to coyne half pence & farthings of such a bigness that forty & size half pence or ninety & two farthings may make a pound weight Averdupois excepting such small errors as may happen in & by the unequal sizing of the barrs: which errors you shall endeavour that they be not in excess or defect above the 40th part of the whole weight & this not by designe but only by accident. And you shall pay the Importer for such copper imported after such rates as the Lords Commissioners of our Treasury now being or our High Treasurer or Commissioners of our Treasury for the time being shall allow not exceeding eighteen pence by the pound weight, the one half thereof in money upon receiving the said copper & the other half in money & scissell together upon returning back the scissel, the said scissel being recconed at the same price by the pound weight with the Copper imported. And if the said Copper doth not beare the Assay in size & fineness you shall not receive the same but return it back to be manufactured anew. And you shall coyne such quantities of such moneys & at such times as the said Commissioners of our Treasury or Lord High Treasurer shall allow.☉ < insertion from f 439v > ☉ And you shall cause our effigies with the inscription GEORGIVS REX to be stamped on one side of each piece & the Effigies of a Britannia sitting upon a Globe with a speare in her left hand & a Mirtle in her right & the inscription BRITANNIA to stamped on the other side as in the late copper money, & under her the Date. < text from f 439r resumes > And when any Quantity of such moneys shall be coyned the same shall be well mixed in a heap, & assayed by counting out 23 pence from several parts of the heap & weighing every parcel so counted out & you shall take a medium of all the weights for the weight of 23 pence, & thereby estimate the value of the whole heap & of every part thereof according to its weight. And you shall cause the same to be also assayed in fineness by taking some pieces of the money, heating them red hot & battering them to see if they will spread thin under the hammer, & then you shall receive the said new moneys from the moneyers by weight & deliver the same in smaller parcells to such of our people as shall come for the same at the price settled & stated by the assay as above, abating one penny in every seven pounds weight in recompence for any small defect which may sometimes happen in the tale by the unequal sizing of the barrs of Copper. And the Moneyers shall not vend pay or distribute any of the said new coined moneys before the same be duely assayed & delivered to the said Master & Worker as above.

And we doe further appoint & ordein that all receipts & deliveries of Copper in barrs or scissel with the weight or price & all deliveries of new moneys from the Moneyers to the & with the assays in weight & the price stated & setled by the assays shall be entered in books by a Clerk who shall be appointed by us & be called the kings Clerk, & that our said Clerk shall see all the assays performed & the copper & moneys & scissel weighed, & one or more pieces taken out of every parcel of moneys assayed to be kept in a box under his key & the key of the Master & Worker to be tryed annually in weight & fineness before whom the Commissioners of our Treasury now being or the Lord High Treasurer or Commissioners of our Treasury for the time being shall appoint. And our said Clerk shall also yearly make a Roll upon oath of the weight <440r> & price of every parcell of new moneys coined & delivered from time to time by the Moneyers to the Master & Worker. And the said Master & Worker of our Mint shall account annually before the Auditor of our Mint for all the said copper moneys coyned, & be answerable to us for all the profits thereof above the charges. And our said Auditor in auditing the said Accounts shall have all the same power as in auditing the accounts for the coinage of gold & silver. And our said Clerk shall examin & signe all bills of Charges for repairs of buildings & for providing things requisite for setting up this coinage. And the said Sir Isaac Newton shall be allowed in his Accounts all summs of money paid by him for repairs of the buildings used in this coinage & for repairing or providing coining tools & all other things necessary for setting on foot this coinage, & all sums of money paid for copper imported, & the summ of three pence farthing by the pound weight for coining the said copper moneys & for bearing & sustaining all manner of wasts provisions necessaries & charges coming arising & growing in & about the coining assaying weighing & delivering the said copper & copper moneys. And the said Sir Isaac Newton shall pay unto our Clerk twenty shillings sterling by the Tunn of all the moneys coined for his attendance on this service & be allowed the same in his accounts. And our said Clerk shall examin all bills of charges which the said Sir Isaac Newton shall want as vouchers to his Accounts & testify his examina thereof under his hand writing.

‡ < insertion from f 439v > ‡ And our further will & pleasure is & we do hereby command & charge all the Officers of the Tower afforesaid, that all persons bringing Copper in barrs to the said Mint or coming thither for money or scissel of copper shall have free ingress egress & issue by the Gates & through the same Tower & Franchises thereof inward & outward at all times without any arresting, disturbance letting or gainsaying of the chief Governour Constable or Lieutenant or the Porter or any other Officer or person whatsoever he be, for any manner of Debt, matter or cause whatsoever it be, & without any thing given to them or to any other to have such entry. < text from f 440r resumes > And we do further command & require the Graver, Moneyers, Smith, & all others attending on this service to do their duty with diligence & application & to observe the tasks & directions given them by our said Master & Worker for coining our said monies well & with dispatch. And for so doing this shall be your Warrant & the Warrant of all others concerned in this coinage.

To our trusty & well beloved

Sir Iassc Newton Knight

Master & Worker of our Mint