Account of the Provisions in Parliament to remedy ye ill state of the Coins anno 1694
Account of the Provisions in Parliament to remedy the ill state of the Coin anno 1694.
The House of Commons took notice in 169 of the great increase of clip'd mony & the disadvantage wee lay under by the exportation of English Bullion, which are two of the great Articles to which I have before ascribed the diminution and mighty loss of our silver monys, and they orderd hereupon two bills to be brought in, one for the better discovery of the Clippers, and another to prevent the Exportation of English Bullion; both which were engross'd: but did not pass. at the same time Mr. Charles Godolphin according to order presented to the house an Account of Bullion exported to the East Indies from 1675 to 1685.
On the 8th. of January 169 the House of Commons took the same matters under consideration, and a Committee was appointed that day to receive proposalls to prevent the clipping of the coin and the exportation of silver on the 12 March Mr. Scobell reported from the said Committee that they had received severall Proposalls and agreed upon the following Resolves, vizt.
<51r>1. That the best way to prevent clipping the silver mony for the future was to recoin it into milld mony.
2. That one million is sufficient to make the deficiency of the clipp'd mony.
3. That the Crowns & Crowns be of the present weight and finenesse
4. That the Crowns pass at 5s. 6d. and the Half crowns at 2s & 9d. and the present milld crown and Crown the like.
5. That all mony coynd under the denomination of the Crown should have a remedy of 6d per ounce.
6. That for as much of the present Coin as any person brought to the Mint he should have weight for weight and the overplus by a Bill or Ticket at blanc per cent on a fund to be appropriated for that purpose
7 That the present Laws against clipping be enforc'd by some additions.
8. That all persons, whose Employments require such tooles and engines as may be us'd for clipping or coyning be obliged to register their names and places of aboad, under a penalty for their neglect
9. That it be penall on all such persons on whom clippings are found.
10 That it be penall on all such persons, who give more <51v> for the silver Coins that they goe for by Law.
11. That no such presses as are used for coyning be in any other place but his Majestys Mint.
12. That it be penal on all such persons as shall import any clipt or counterfeit mony.
13. That it be penal on any person to export English Bullion and the proof to lye on the Exporter
14 That it be penal on any person to counterfeit any forreign mark upon Bullion
These Resolutions hapned to be printed in the votes by misstake, of which notice was given, and some others which were not printed, were agreed by the House 11 April 1695.
On the 19 March the Lords, who had the same matters under their consideration: sent down a Bill to the Commons to prevent the counterfeiting and clipping the Coin, which was agreed and pass'd by the King 3 May 1695.
Whilst the House was debateing upon this Bill, a Petition on the 18 Aprill was presented to the House from diverse Cittizens & Inhabitants of the Citty of London about preventing the clipping of the coin: and Sir Robert Clayton one of the Commissioners of the Customs had given in an Account of silver enter'd and exported for a 12 month past, which commenced, I suppose, where <52r> Mr. Godolphins account ended the year before.
The Contents of the forementioned Act, are to this effect.
That, whereas the Coins had been greatly diminished by clipping rounding fileing and melting, and many counterfeit coins had been clipd, the better to disguise them.
T'was enacted therefore, that is 20s of unclipd or broad mony be disposed of for more than the value it was coyn'd at the summ of 10ll. be forfeited and a like proportion for any greater summ. That no barrs be cast like Spanish silver, nor stamp'd or impress'd like the Spanish mark, upon pain of forfeiting the silver and 500L. more for every offence. That whoever buys sells or has in possession any clippings or fileings of mony shall forfeit the same with 500L more, and to be branded on the right cheek with the Letter R. That no molten silver be exported 'til it be sworn, that no part thereof was before melting, either clippings or current mony, or wrought Plate of England, and a Certifficat hereof be obtained from the Wardens of the Goldsmith's company, who are to mark it et Cetera. That any molten silver shipt off but not mark'd and certiffied as before be lyable to seizure and forfeiture. That if any Broker being not a trading Goldsmith or Refiner buy or sell any bullion or <52v> molten silver, he suffer 6 months imprisonment without bail. That the wardens of the Goldsmiths Company & Cæta. and any two Iustices may search for and seize unlawfull bullion, and examin the proprietours upon oath and committ 'em to prison. That any person convicting a false coyner or Clipper or Importer of false or clipp'd mony receive a reward of 40s. and an apprentice be made free, & an accomplice who discovers 2 or more offenders be pardon'd. That when bullion about to be exported is seized, the proof of being foreign shall lye upon the owner; and if it be enterd in any other name but the owners, it be forfeited. Except hundred thousand ounces of silver licens'd by the King to be exported for paying his forces beyond the sears.
This was the Provision made against Clipping and diminishing the Coin in this session, which proved by an Imperfect remedy; for the clipping-trade was carried on with greater diligence in 1695 than in any other of the foregoing years, neer 16 per Cent being abated from the current Cash of the Kingdom, which on the whole amounted at least to above three hundred thousand pounds; which might have been sav'd by a Recoynage.[1] The Clippers saw their time was short, and therefore resolv'd to make quick work.
And no doubt but the foremention'd Resolutions of the House <53r> to raise the Crown and Crown, and to give bills for a recompence and Interest to the Importers of clipp'd mony,[2] did encourage the Clippers and gave occasion to all men who had any Cash, to keep up the mill'd mony and weighty hammer'd mony in hopes of advantage from the Government, and this lessen'd the current Cash, so that every body was oblig'd to receive their dues in clyp't and counterfeit silver or guineas, and the later being before their rise, pretty neer the Par of standard silver at 5s. 2d, were at first rather accepted in payment, upon which they began to rise to that extravagant rate which I have already mention'd. But in the Intervall between this and the next session, which began the 22d. November 1695, the Confusion & distraction in all Receipts and payments, by the high price of Guinea's and the clipt mony, came to that height that the Reform of the Mony could not be deferr'd any longer without an apparent hazard of the whole remaining Cash, and the dissolution of the Government.
Source
Lansdowne MS 801, ff. 50v-53r, British Library, London, UKc. 1700, c. 1,270 words.