May it please yoryour LordpsLordships
According to yoryour LordpsLordships order we have the Pix of the Copper moneys
coyned by Mr Wood for Ireland has been opened & tried in the Mint by
the kings Assaymaster before us. And by the Comptrollers account (to wchwhich Mr Wood agreed) there has
been coined from Lady day 1723 to March 28th 1724 in half pence 55 Tuns
5 Ccwt, 3Qters, 0lwt, 12groz,
[making value 15,548li. 11s. 10d.]
And in farthings
3 Tunns, 17Q. 2Q. 10li. 8oz [making value 1,086li, 6s. 3d.] And that the]
And that by the specimens of this coinage wchwhich have from time to time had
been taken from the several parcels coined & put into the pix we found that sixty half pence weighed 314 ounces
Troy & eighteen penny weight that is, al wchwhich or one pound weight Troy & averdupois & which is about a quarter of an ounce above one pound averdupois
& that thirty farthings weighed threthree ounces & three quarters of an ounce Troy
& forty six grains. And that both half pence & farthings when heated red hot
barrs endured to be hammered very thinspread very thin under the hammer withwithout cracking, as your LordpsLordships may
see by the pieces now laid before you. But tho the copper was very good & the
the money taken one piece with another was full weight, yet the single
pieces were not so equally coined in weight as they should have been.
We found also that thirty & two old half pence coined for Ireland in the reigns of king Charles the
second king IJames yethe second & king William coi & Queen Mary weighed 6 ounces & eighteen penny wtweight
Troy, that is, 1023 grains a piece with another,. better what they had lost by wearing.They were much worn. And if about six or seven or eight grains be allowed to each of them one with another forrfor loss of their weight
by wearing, they might at first weigh about half a pound sterling. averdupoise
one with another. But they were made of bad copper. Two of those coined in
the reign of king Charles yethe second wasted much in the fire & then spread thin under the hammer but not so
well without cracking as those of Mr Wood. Two of those coined in the reign of
king IJames the second & two of those coined in the reign of king William & Queen Mary
wasted still more in yethe fire & turned in the fire to a substance like a cynder & flew in pieces under the hammer, as your LordpsLordships may see by the pieces now laid before you.
The half pence & farthings coined in the Pix coined by Mr Wood had one
one side the head of the king wthwith this inscription GEORGIUS DEI GRAITIA REX
& on the Reverse a woman sitting wthwith a Harp by her left side & the inscription
Hibernia HIBERNIA.. with the date. And we did not observe that any of them were of any other form. The half pence coined in the reigns of king Charles king IJames & king William had theon one side the head of the kingsking Charles or King IJames or King Wm & & queen Mary with
& on the reverse a harp crowned.
Two of those coined in the reign of king IJames the second wasted more
in the fire & were not malleable when red hot: two of those coined in the
reign of K.King W. & M. wasted much more & tur in the fire & turned to an unmalleable substance
like a cinder, as your LordpsLordships may see by the pieces now laid before you.
We reccon the copper of Mr Woods half pence & farthings to be of about the
same goodnes & value with the copper of wchwhich the copper money is coyned in
the kings mint for England, & at or worth about 12 or 13d per pound weight Averdupois in the market: & the copper of wchwhich the half pence were coyned for Ireland in the reigns
of king Cha. king IJames & king William to be much inferior in value & scarce
& almost of no value in the Market, the mixture being uncertain & not
bearing the fire by wchwhich itthe metal may befor converteding it to any other use.