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

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Proposals for better preserving & encreasing the Coyn of this Kingdome.

All Spanish Barrs & other Ingots of Silver & all Virgin Silver & all other silver Bullions imported & designed for exportation 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 & one or more other witnesses who shall there shew their Bill of lading & prove the importation upon oath. And the sand Virgin silver & Bullion not yet run into ingots & all forreign monies designed for melting & exportation shall be there melted into Ingots at the charge of the Merchant. And these Ingots & all other Ingots or Barrs above mentioned shall at the choise of the Merchant be either coyned into monies or markt with a stamp provided in the Mint 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 silver & the time of the coynage thereof: which Ticket shall be cut out of a book kept in the Mint & shall be entred in the same book.

Ingots not markt with the Mint stamp shall not be exported nor carried into any ship nor bought or sold but may be brought to the Mint for encreasing the coyn of this kingdom. This law now obteins in France by an Edict of March was a twelvemonth 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 therin 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 & any forreign monies & the Customer shall enter the same & file the Tickets.

The Merchant upon shipping the said English silver monies for exportation shall pay 1$\frac{\mathrm{1}}{\mathrm{2}}$d per ounce Troy at the Custome house for the charge of assaying melting & coyning the same. Which Duty shall be kept apart with the duty granted for encouragement of coynage & therewith paid into the Exchequer & thence imprest to the Master of the Mint for the same uses.

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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 (suppose forfeiture of the silver) upon them who ship silver not licensed or without paying the Duty or upon any other Day then taht appointed the Warrant or in any other name then that of the true owner or buy or sell unmarkt Ingots or knowingly bring silver to the Mint to be markt or coyned as forreign which is not forreign.

Part of an Act of 6 & 7. W. & M. chap. 17 concerning the marking of Ingots at Goldsmiths Hall to be repealed.

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 & Yeild Hall after he has melted it at the Refiners or Goldsmiths. It would prevent the melting down of our monies for exportation or for sale to Goldsmiths much better then the laws do at present, no ingots cast in private being any longer exportable or vendible. It would decrease the Indian Manufacture of coyning our Bullion in Ports of India where the Company have not a Mint of their own, for which coynage the Indians receive of us a large seigniorage at discretion. It would be profitable to the Merchant by the use of his silver when turned into money till exportation. It 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 silver in the form of English money to be current in forreign nations & thereby make us appear abroad more rich & potent then we do at present. And all this without any new charge to the Government.