'Considerations about the receiving of Scotch money by weight' Isaac Newton c. 373 words The Newton Project Oxford 2017 Newton Project, University of Oxford

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 1708?, c. 373 words.

An assessment of the true value of the recalled Scottish currency, allowing for deficiencies in coining and for counterfeit money.

 MINT 19/3/218, National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, UK UKSurreyKew, RichmondNational Archives MINT 19/3/218 1708? England English Holograph MintEdinburgh Mint Catalogue information compiled by Rob Iliffe, Peter Spargo & John Young Catalogue exported to teiHeader by Michael Hawkins Transcribed by Will Scott
218

Considerations about the receiving of Scotch money by weight.

If for every penny weight that any silver is worse then standard there be from sixty & two shillings deducted three pence & the third part of a penny, the remainder will be the value of that silver per pound weight & the twelft part of that remainder will be the value thereof per ounce very nearly.

The Scotch Marks, Half Marks, Two-mark-pieces & Four-mark-pieces (coyned in yethe reign of K.King Cha: II by my Lord Hatton who was then General of the Scotch Mint & accused in ParliamtParliament for coyning the money ill) being lighter & coarser then standard &for that reason called in, cannot now remain in any considerable quantity. The coarsest of those pieces wchwhich we have examined are vijdwt worse then standard & by consequence worth 5s per ounce. One piece wthwith another they may be recconed vdwt or vdwt ob worse then standard & by consequence worth about 5s 0d12 per ounce.

The 60, 40, 20, 10 & 5s pieces coyned in the reigns of K.King IJames & K.King William (so far as we have examined them) are most of them standard. Some few pieces are jdwt ijdwt & iijdwt worse then standard but one with another they may be recconed 1dwt worse & by consequence worth about 5s 1d12 18 per ounce. Of those coyned in the end of the reign of K.King Cha: II I have only examined two sixty shilling pieces & they prove the one iijdwt the other iiijdwt worse then standard. At wchwhich rate that coyn will be worth about 5s 1d per ounce. If it be thought requisite I will enquire for more pieces of that reign & get them examined. There is also an allowance to be made for some counterfeit money wchwhich may be mixed with the genuine Scotch coyn. By this mixture the broad hammered English money has this year proved 1dwt worse then standard, & the clipt money the last year (when all counterfeit cast money was was received) proved iijdwt or iiijdwt worse. But what allowance may be made for such mixtures in the Scotch money & for the charges of recoyning I leave to be considered.