Reasons for new-Coyning our Money,

so as to increase and preserve it, And for

paying the Publick-Debts.

The present Grievances under which we labour are, The great want of Silver-Coyn to carry on Trade, and the heaving Debts, occasion'd by the late War.

It is needless to spend much time to prove, That there is a great scarcity of Silver-Coyn among us, most of our Merchants, and all our Tradesmen feel it; and any person may soo be satisfy'd of the truth hereof, by sending even into the heart of the City to get a few Guineas exchang'd for Silver, thôough it is much worse in Out-parts; he that now can get a small Bill paid in Silver, esteems it a much greater favour, than a few years ago; he accounted it to be paid a large sumesumme in Gold.

The Reasons of this great scarcity of our Silver-Coyn among us, Notwithstanding all that has been formerly coyn'd in our several Mints, are these following.

We undervalue Silver in the Mint, both with respect to our selves at home, and our neighbours abroad

As to our selves, The Goldsmiths give 5s: 3d an ounce for that very silver, for which the Mint gives but 5s: 2d, The consequences of this are, No Silver goes to the Mint to be coyn'd, And that which has already been Coyn'd at a very great Expence to the Nation, is either carry'd abroad in specie, or melted down at home, to be refined, made coarser, wrought up, or exported in Ingots. Being a penny an Ounce cheaper than the very same Silver can be had any other way; A Refiner formerly thought a farthing an Ounce a sufficient profit in Melting Silver, It must needs therefore be a very great temptation to the Melting down our Silver-Coyn, when he that do's it now, gets a penny an Ounce by it, and sometimes more; And thus it has been, ever since the incouragement ceas'd for carrying Silver to the Mint to be coyn'd coyn'd. And this Mischief will continue as long as we have any Money left among us, by the melting down of which, such a profit can be made.

As to our Neighbours, it is as plain, That they draw away our Silver from us, Not so much by our putting no value upon the Coynage, As by our making it of less value by coyning; For, before it is coyn'd, it is worth 5s: 3d an Ounce, when coyn'd, it is worth but 5s: 2d, and as soon as ever the Kings Image is defaced in the Melting-pot, it is worth 5s: 3d again.

Of this weakness of our's, Our Neighbours have long made a very great advantage to themselves, Who have abundance of Silver and a flourishing-Trade, which we are distress'd extreamly, by the avarice of some particular persons, who have indeed got great Estates to themselves, out of the ruins of the Publick, by melting down or exporting our Silver-Coyn.

It is much easyer to get English Silver-Coyn in Holland, than in England; Our Crowns and half Crowns are carry'd over thither, notwithstanding our Laws. Because they go for more there, than they will here, and because the Mints there give a profit to all that bring them thither; Whereas, they that carry Silver to our Mint to be coyn'd must lose a penny by every ounce they carry.

None of the Dutch-Money is ever melted down or brought over hither, unless it be by meer accident. Not because of any Law that forbids Melting or exporting it, But, because every one that do's it, knows he loses by so doing.

Our English-Money being seldom weigh'd & (it it appear to be Standard, & coyn'd in the Tower) never suspected, The Iews in Holland have fall'n into the way of washing it, whereby they make to themselves a profit of near 7 ꝑper Centt, and return our Money to us so much lighter, thôough as fair to the Eye as ever it was, notwithstanding the Letters on the Edges; And 'tis very probable, There e're long they will wash away four586 four times as much, if a speedy stop be not put to that pernicious practice. The Clippers formerly when they foudn we would bear our Hammmer'd-Money a little clipt, they (doubtless) went over with it again, And thôough the Dutch-Money is only hamer'dhammer'd, & very easy to be wash'd or Clipt, Yet, it do's not appear to be in the least diminished, otherwise than by the ordinary wear thereof, The reasons of it's being so spared, are it's coarseness, & it's being sorted, & taken by weight, when receiv'd in any considerable sumemme.

The RemedysThe Remedys proposed are, To put a value upon our Coynage, to make it an advantage to every one that brings Bullion or Foreign-Coyn to the Mint, and to render it a loss to him that shall melt down, diminish, or Export our Coyn.

If a Bill for this purpose passes, Every one will bring or send Bullion, Wrought-Plate or Foreign-Coyn to the Mint, while there is a profit to be made that way, & when it is once coyn'd, No man in his Wits will melt it down, wash or export it when he knows he shall lose by so doing; There will then be no need of any Law to forbid it, Every Man's Interest being the best security for it's preservation.

It is proposed, that the Money be made of a coarser Alloy than the present standard, about 12 ꝑper Centt. That about 2 ꝑper Centt thereof be allow'd to him or her that brings Gold or Silver to the Mint; 2 ꝑper Centt to defray the charge of Coynage, And the other 8 ꝑper Centt towards paying off the Publick-Debts, which will soon ease the subject in the present Taxes, Customs and Excise, reduce the rate of Interest and make Trade flourish.

Here it will be objected, That if we make our Money coarser, Goods will rise in proportion, That is to say, If we put but ii pennyworth of Silver in a Shilling, no Merchant or Tradesman will give us any more than ii pennyworth of Goods for that piece, which we shall then call a Shilling; Or, which is the same thing, Every one that that parts with his Goods, will see to it, That he has the intrinsick value thereof in Money.

To this it is answer'd, That as to his Majesty's own subjects, The same Authority that raises the value of our Money on account of the Coynage, in order to increase & preserve it among us, may also if they see it necessary, forbid under very severe Penaltys the advanceing the price of Goods on that account, But it is absolutely necessary to set bounds to the prices of Gold & Silver in Bullion, & and in foreign-Coyn brought among us, So that they shall never be so high aas the same Gold & Silver in our Coyn, and thôough by such a Law, A value will be put on the Workmanship, And Money will be plentyfull, yet other Gold and Silver will remain a Commmodity still, & the value of all Goods will naturally rise or fall in proportion to the plenty or scarcity of such Goods, and the Demands there are for them.

If this Objection intends only the subjects of his Majesty, There is nothing at all in it, Because they must take the Coyn as the Law directs, and we find nobody raises the value of their Goods, thôough they are paid in our Copper Coyn, which is not half the intrinsick value of our Silver, or in six pences that are not so valuable as our Crowns and half Crowns, But, we find a considerable value is put on the Coynage in all other Countreys, particularly in Holland, where the greatest part of their Currant. Money is above 16 ꝑper Centt worse than our's, and yet it will purchase (within one ꝑper Centt) aas much as our's, and quite as much as the best of their own Current. Money, And yet, nobody sets a price on his Goods in Holland according to the intrinsick value of the Money he is to be paid in; you may purchase there One hundred ounces of the very finest Silver in Bullion; with 84 Ounces of fine-Silver in their Money; as appears by an exact Assay made at the Tower of London, by one that has been several Months in Holland to look into this affair; And yet there appears as little Counterfeit Coyn in Holland as in England, By this Means the Dutch (and the rest of the Northern-States) draw away our Money more than587 than that of any other Nation, Because all others put a value on the Coynage, Whereas we on the contrary, by our present management, make our Silver less valuable by coyning it, And that has made it (for many years past) so advantageous to the Dutch &ca: to melt down our Money, and recoyn it in their own Mints, And that they have effectually secured from ever returning to us again by making it go for more at home, than it will abroad.

But it will be said, That Foreigners will not take our Money according to the value we put upon it, if we raise it.

To this it is answer'd, That if our Money be rais'd in it's value on account of the Coynage (which indeed no Foreigner will have any regard to) It is the very thing we aim at; Foreigners having for many years past, taken so much of our Coyn, is one of the principal Reasons that we have so little of it left, And it is to be hoped, it will not be thought any disadvantage to us, when a Foreigner carrys away our Goods, & leaves our Money behind him, which is the very case in Holland, and other Countreys, where any considerable value is put on the Coynage; No wise man will bring away Dutch-Money, by which he must lose 16: ꝑper Centt, when he can lay out the Money he receives in Holland, in Goods; thôough by those Goods ('tis probable) he can make but two ꝑper Centt; Or, he can there get forreign-Coyn for his Dutch-Money, for about One ꝑper Centt loss to him.

But, the mighty Objection remains, And that is, Exchange will rise hereby, And the Merchant that sells Goods abroad for England, will raise the price of his Goods in proportion to the advance of our Coyn, because he will have no regard to what new names we give our Money; If he sells us now four hundred Ounces of coarse Silver for a hundred pound Sterling, If in a hundred pound of our new Coyn, we shall have but ninety pounds worth of Silver, then he will tell us, he must have 111li: 2s: 2d$\frac{1}{2}$ in our new Coyn; and so, if we lose the Ballance of Trade Trade, our Money must go abroad, notwithstanding this advance of our Coyn.