Draft of MINT00287 (Mint 19/2/602-3)

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Proposals for preserving & encreasing the Coyn of this Kingdome.

All gold & silver designed for exportation shall be examined & entred in the Mint. And for that end all Ingots of gold & silver imported & all old Plate imported & designed for exportation & all sand gold & virgin gold & virgin silver shall upon its first coming up the River of Thames to the Custome house be brought to the Mint by the Master of the ship &                 other witnesses who shall there shew their Bill of lading & be examined about the importation of the said Gold or Silver. And the said sand Gold & virgin gold & virgin Silver & plate & all forreign monies designed for exportation shall be there melted into Ingots. And these Ingots & all other Ingots of gold & silver above mentioned shall at the choise of the Merchant be either coyned into monies or marked with a stamp provided for that purpose. And the Master of the Mint if desired shall give the Merchant an indented Ticket certifying the weight of the monies coyned out of the said forreign gold or silver & the time of the coynage thereof: which Ticket shall be cut out of a book of the Mint & entred in the same book

Ingots not markt with the Mint stamp may not be exported nor bought or sold nor carried into any ship or boat but may be brought to the Mint for encreasing the coyn of this kingdom. This law now obteins in France by an edict of last March for preventing the melting down of the monies.

The Merchant upon delivering the Mint Tickets at the Custome house may within a year after the coynage of the monies mentioned therein, by Warrant of the Commissioners of the Customes upon a day appointed in the Warrant ship for exportation the said monies or the same weight of like monies or any part thereof & also any Ingots which have the Mint stamp upon them & the Customer shall enter the same & file the Tickets.

All silver monies before shipping for exportation shall pay 1d.$\frac{\mathrm{1}}{\mathrm{2}}$ per ounce Troy at the Custome house for the charge of assaying melting & coyning the same. And all gold monies shall pay 6$\frac{\mathrm{1}}{\mathrm{2}}$ per ounce. Which Duties shall be kept apart with the Duty already granted for encouragement of coynage & therewith paid into the Exchequer & thence imprest to the Master of the Mint for the same uses. And all Ingots stampt shall pay <575r> to the Master of the Mint before stamping a farthing per ounce of silver & 1d per ounce of gold for defraying the charges of the first meltings & stamping & towards the charges of assaying melting & coyning the monies & of providing & repairing things necessary for the same. For which Duty the Master of the Mint shall be answerable to the King.

No gold or silver (other then pocket money already allowed) shall be exported out of any other port of England then that of London nor out of Ireland except into England.

Felony without benefit of Clergy to counterfeit the Mint stamp or the Mint Tickets. And other penalties on them who ship silver not licensed or without paying the Duty or upon any other day then that appointed in the Warrant or buy or sell unmarkt Ingots or knowingly bring gold or silver to the Mint to be markt or coynd as forreign which is not forreign.

Such a Law would enable the Officers of the Mint to understand the state of the Money with respect to trade. It would render trade freer then at present. It would save the Merchant the trouble & charge of attending with his Bullion & witnesses at Goldsmiths Hall and Yeild Hall after he has melted it at the Refiners or Goldsmiths. It would cheque the melting down of our monies for exportation or for sale to Goldsmiths much better then the laws do at present no ingots melted down in private being any longer vendible or exportable. & prevent the open or publick importation of more gold & silver then is imported. It would bring down the price of Bullion nearer to a par with money & thereby make the money less liable to be melted down into Bullion. It would increase the coynage by bringing all gold & silver through the Mint & laying on that which is not coyned a small Duty to pay for the first meltings: for which Duty there is a precedent in Holland. It would decrease the Indian manufacture of coyning our Bullion in Ports where the Company have not a Mint of their own, for which coynage the Indians receive of us a large seigniorage. It would be profitable to the Merchant by the use of his gold & silver when turned into money till exportation. I would encrease our coyn as well by the Merchants money running amongst us till exportation as by what is not exported within the year. It would be of great credit to the nation by the Merchants exporting their Gold & Silver in the form of English money to be current in forreign nations, and thereby would make us appear abroad more rich & potent then we do at present. And all this would be done without any new charge to the Government.