Draft of MINT00270 (Mint 19/2/139)

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To the Right Honorable the Lords Commissioners of his Majesties Treasury

May it please yor Lordships

The great value put upon French & Spanish Pistoles in England has made them of late flow plentifully hither above all other sorts of Gold especially the French Pistoles which are better sized & coyned & less liable to be counterfeited & by consequence of more credit then the Spanish. For Pistoles pass amongst us for 17s 6d a piece whereas one with another they are worth but abiut 17s 0$\frac{\mathrm{1}}{\mathrm{2}}$d or 17s. 1d at the rate that Guineas of due weight & allay are worth 21s. 6d. And if allowance be made for the lightness of oer silver monies by wearing , yet Pistoles will be worth between 17s 2d & 17s. 3d.

About four years ago by the English putting too great a value upon Scotch money the Northern borders of England were filled with that money & Scotland with oers the Scots making about 8 or 9 pr cent profit by the exchange untill yor Lordships were pleased to put a stop to the mischief. The case being now the same (but of much greater consequence) in the reputed Par of the Exchange between English money & Pistoles, whuch runs 3d or 4d in a Pistole too high to the nations loss in the course of Exchange; we therefore thought it oer duty humbly to represent it to your Lordships in order to such a remedy as yor Lordships shall think fit,

We presume also to lay before yor Lordships that by reason of the great demand of silver for exportation in Trade, the price of Bullion exceeds that of silver monies 3d or 4d and sometimes 6d or 7d pr ounce, whereas monies ought to be of as great or greater value then Bullion by reason of the workmanship & certainty of the standard. And this high price of Bullion has not only put an end to the coynage of silver is a great occasion of melting down and exporting what has been already coyned. All which is most humbly submitted to yor Lordships consideration & great wisdome.