IS. NEWTON/ CRA. PEYTON
Introduction by W. A Shaw, 1896link
 

 

[Dorso.] REPORT OF THE MINT UPON THE PETITION OF TUNNAH & DALE. (27 Janry. 171¾) (Read, and my Lord agrees with the report.)

 

 

 

 

 

To the Most Honbl. the Earl of Oxford & Earl Mortimer, Lord High Treasurer of Great Britain.
 
MAY IT PLEASE YOR LORDP.,—
 
In Obedience to yor Lordps Order of Reference upon the annexed Memorial of Mr. Charles Tunnah & Mr. William Dale for coyning in ten years a thousand Tunns of half pence and farthings of an artificial metal wch touched like ordinary gold, & for cutting a pound weight Avordupois into 32 pence. We humbly represent.

That the selling blancht copper, or making it for sale is forbidden by law upon pain of death, because of its fitness to be used in counterfeiting the silver moneys, & for the same reason it may be of dangerous consequence to encourage the making of an artificial metal which toucheth like gold, & is used in making sword hilts & other wares in imitation of gold. The half pence made of this metal, & melted down with a little fine Gold, may make a composition very dangerous for counterfeiting the Gold moneys.

That in the last coynage of copper moneys an hundred Tunns per annum at the end of six years, occasioned great complaints in Parliament, so as to cause the coinage to be stopped for a year. And after another hundred Tunns were coined, the nation was overstockt for four or five years. And therefore six hundred Tunns may be deemed sufficient for the use of all England, whereof there seem to be about 500 Tunns already current.

That the secret of making this metall being known only to the Petitioners, it has no known intrinsic value or market price; whereas half pence & farthings (like other money) should be made of a metal whose price among Merchants is known, & should be coyned as neare as can be to that price, including the charge of coynage.

And that the people are not nice & curious in taking good copper money, but may be imposed upon by money made of princes metal instead of the metal here proposed, and that the cutting a pound weight into 32 pence may be a great temptation to counterfeit such money.

All wch reasons incline us to preferr a coynage of good copper according to the intrinsic value of the metall. But we most humbly submitt our opinion to your Lordships great wisdom.

CRA[VEN] PEYTON.
IS. NEWTON.

MINT-OFFICE,
23 Jan. 171¾.

 


 

[Dorso.] THE HUMBLE MEMORIAL OF CHARLES TONNAH, GENT, & WILLIAM DALE, CITIZEN.

To The most Honble The Earl of Oxford, Lord High Treasurer of Great Britain, The humble Memorial of Charles Tunnalt, Gent, & William Dale, Citizen.
 
Sheweth,—

 
THAT they propose to Coin a fine Metal that Toucheth like ordinary Gold into half Pence & Farthings at Two Shillings & Eight Pence a Pound, tho' it is now Sold at Ten Shillings a Pound, for making Sword Hilts & other Uses.

That this Metal not being to be made for Twice that Money, unless they can Vend great Quantitys they Humbly Propose & Desire that they may have a Grant for Ten Years to Coin any Weight not exceeding a Thousand Ton (being One Hundred Ton each Year).

That they humbly beg leave to assure your Lordp this Metal cannot be Counterfeited no Person but themselves having the secret.

That they Propose every four half Pence shall Weigh an Ounce Averdupois, which will bring the half Pence to be by Weight Two Shillings & Eight Pence a Pound as above mentiond.

That the Metal being Malleable & so capable of Receiving any Impressions, they Humbly conceive the Glorys of her Maties Reign may be Transmitted to late Posterity by Inscriptions & Devices upon these half Pence.

All which is most humbly Submitted to your Lordships Consideration.

15 Augst. 1713.

TO THE OFFRS. OF THE MINT.

 

 


Treasury Papers,vol. clxxii. No. 25/ 25a. The first part in Newton's hand

Html-edition after William A. Shaw's edition in: William A. Shaw, Select Tracts and Documents Illustrative of English Monetary History 1626-1730 (London: Wilsons & Milne, 1896) [reprint: (New York: Augustus Kelley Publishers, 1967)], p.164-166 — webdesign: Olaf Simons, Sep. 2004.