Tuesday 19 May 1663

Up pretty betimes, but yet I observe how my dancing and lying a morning or two longer than ordinary for my cold do make me hard to rise as I used to do, or look after my business as I am wont.

To my chamber to make an end of my papers to my father to be sent by the post to-night, and taking copies of them, which was a great work, but I did it this morning, and so to my office, and thence with Sir John Minnes to the Tower; and by Mr. Slingsby, and Mr. Howard, Controller of the Mint, we were shown the method of making this new money, from the beginning to the end, which is so pretty that I did take a note of every part of it and set them down by themselves for my remembrance hereafter. That being done it was dinner time, and so the Controller would have us dine with him and his company, the King giving them a dinner every day. And very merry and good discourse about the business we have been upon, and after dinner went to the Assay Office and there saw the manner of assaying of gold and silver, and how silver melted down with gold do part, just being put into aqua-fortis, the silver turning into water, and the gold lying whole in the very form it was put in, mixed of gold and silver, which is a miracle; and to see no silver at all but turned into water, which they can bring again into itself out of the water. —[Not water — a solution of Silver Oxide. D.W.]—

And here I was made thoroughly to understand the business of the fineness and coarseness of metals, and have put down my lessons with my other observations therein.

At table among other discourse they told us of two cheats, the best I ever heard. One, of a labourer discovered to convey away the bits of silver cut out pence by swallowing them down into his belly, and so they could not find him out, though, of course, they searched all the labourers; but, having reason to doubt him, they did, by threats and promises, get him to confess, and did find 7l. of it in his house at one time.

The other of one that got a way of coyning money as good and passable and large as the true money is, and yet saved fifty per cent. to himself, which was by getting moulds made to stamp groats like old groats, which is done so well, and I did beg two of them which I keep for rarities, that there is not better in the world, and is as good, nay, better than those that commonly go, which was the only thing that they could find out to doubt them by, besides the number that the party do go to put off, and then coming to the Comptroller of the Mint, he could not, I say, find out any other thing to raise any doubt upon, but only their being so truly round or near it, though I should never have doubted the thing neither. He was neither hanged nor burned, —[No! They probably copied his technique. D.W.]— the cheat was thought so ingenious, and being the first time they could ever trap him in it, and so little hurt to any man in it, the money being as good as commonly goes.

Thence to the office till the evening, we sat, and then by water (taking Pembleton with us), over the water to the Halfway House, where we played at ninepins, and there my damned jealousy took fire, he and my wife being of a side and I seeing of him take her by the hand in play, though I now believe he did [it] only in passing and sport. Thence home and being 10 o’clock was forced to land beyond the Custom House, and so walked home and to my office, and having dispatched my great letters by the post to my father, of which I keep copies to show by me and for my future understanding, I went home to supper and bed, being late.

The most observables in the making of money which I observed to-day, is the steps of their doing it.

  1. Before they do anything they assay the bullion, which is done, if it be gold, by taking an equal weight of that and of silver, of each a small weight, which they reckon to be six ounces or half a pound troy; this they wrap up in within lead.

    If it be silver, they put such a quantity of that alone and wrap it up in lead, and then putting them into little earthen cupps made of stuff like tobacco pipes, and put them into a burning hot furnace, where, after a while, the whole body is melted, and at last the lead in both is sunk into the body of the cupp, which carries away all the copper or dross with it, and left the pure gold and silver embodyed together, of that which hath both been put into the cupp together, and the silver alone in these where it was put alone in the leaden case. And to part the silver and the gold in the first experiment, they put the mixed body into a glass of aqua-fortis, which separates them by spitting out the silver into such small parts that you cannot tell what it becomes, but turns into the very water and leaves the gold at the bottom clear of itself, with the silver wholly spit out, and yet the gold in the form that it was doubled together in when it was a mixed body of gold and silver, which is a great mystery; and after all this is done to get the silver together out of the water is as strange.

    But the nature of the assay is thus: the piece of gold that goes into the furnace twelve ounces, if it comes out again eleven ounces, and the piece of silver which goes in twelve and comes out again eleven and two pennyweight, are just of the alloy of the standard of England. If it comes out, either of them, either the gold above eleven, as very fine will sometimes within very little of what it went in, or the silver above eleven and two pennyweight, as that also will sometimes come out eleven and ten penny weight or more, they are so much above the goodness of the standard, and so they know what proportion of worse gold and silver to put to such a quantity of the bullion to bring it to the exact standard. And on the contrary, [if] it comes out lighter, then such a weight is beneath the standard, and so requires such a proportion of fine metal to be put to the bullion to bring it to the standard, and this is the difference of good and bad, better and worse than the standard, and also the difference of standards, that of Seville being the best and that of Mexico worst, and I think they said none but Seville is better than ours.

  2. They melt it into long plates, which, if the mould do take ayre, then the plate is not of an equal heaviness in every part of it, as it often falls out.

  3. They draw these plates between rollers to bring them to an even thickness all along and every plate of the same thickness, and it is very strange how the drawing it twice easily between the rollers will make it as hot as fire, yet cannot touch it. —[Many principles of Physics had not yet then been deliniated. D.W.]—

  4. They bring it to another pair of rollers, which they call adjusting it, which bring it to a greater exactness in its thickness than the first could be.

  5. They cut them into round pieces, which they do with the greatest ease, speed, and exactness in the world.

  6. They weigh these, and where they find any to be too heavy they file them, which they call sizeing them; or light, they lay them by, which is very seldom, but they are of a most exact weight, but however, in the melting, all parts by some accident not being close alike, now and then a difference will be, and, this filing being done, there shall not be any imaginable difference almost between the weight of forty of these against another forty chosen by chance out of all their heaps.

  7. These round pieces having been cut out of the plates, which in passing the rollers are bent, they are sometimes a little crooked or swelling out or sinking in, and therefore they have a way of clapping 100 or 2 together into an engine, which with a screw presses them so hard that they come out as flat as is possible.

  8. They blanch them.

  9. They mark the letters on the edges, which is kept as the great secret by Blondeau, who was not in the way, and so I did not speak with him to-day.1

  10. They mill them, that is, put on the marks on both sides at once with great exactness and speed, and then the money is perfect.

    The mill is after this manner: one of the dyes, which has one side of the piece cut, is fastened to a thing fixed below, and the other dye (and they tell me a payre of dyes will last the marking of 10,000l. before it be worn out, they and all other their tools being made of hardened steel, and the Dutchman who makes them is an admirable artist, and has so much by the pound for every pound that is coyned to find a constant supply of dyes) to an engine above, which is moveable by a screw, which is pulled by men; and then a piece being clapped by one sitting below between the two dyes, when they meet the impression is set, and then the man with his finger strikes off the piece and claps another in, and then the other men they pull again and that is marked, and then another and another with great speed.

They say that this way is more charge to the King than the old way, but it is neater, freer from clipping or counterfeiting, the putting of the words upon the edges being not to be done (though counterfeited) without an engine of the charge and noise that no counterfeit will be at or venture upon, and it employs as many men as the old and speedier.

They now coyne between 16l. and 24,000l. in a week.

At dinner they did discourse very finely to us of the probability that there is a vast deal of money hid in the land, from this:—

That in King Charles’s time there was near ten millions of money coyned, besides what was then in being of King James’s and Queene Elizabeth’s, of which there is a good deal at this day in being.

Next, that there was but 750,000l. coyned of the Harp and Crosse money, and of this there was 500,000l. brought in upon its being called in. And from very good arguments they find that there cannot be less of it in Ireland and Scotland than 100,000l.; so that there is but 150,000l. missing; and of that, suppose that there should be not above 650,000 still remaining, either melted down, hid, or lost, or hoarded up in England, there will then be but 100,000l. left to be thought to have been transported.

Now, if 750,000l. in twelve years’ time lost but a 100,000l. in danger of being transported, then within thirty-five years’ time will have lost but 3,888,880l. and odd pounds; and as there is 650,000l. remaining after twelve years’ time in England, so after thirty-five years’ time, which was within this two years, there ought in proportion to have been resting 6,111,120l. or thereabouts, beside King James’s and Queen Elizabeth’s money.

Now that most of this must be hid is evident, as they reckon, because of the dearth of money immediately upon the calling-in of the State’s money, which was 500,000l. that came in; and yet there was not any money to be had in this City, which they say to their own observation and knowledge was so. And therefore, though I can say nothing in it myself, I do not dispute it.

38 Annotations

First Reading

Grahamt  •  Link

DW's chemistry is a bit out. Silver disolved in Aqua fortis (Nitric acid) becomes soluble Silver Nitrate, not silver oxide.

Lawrence  •  Link

This Entry proves that Sam is able to put His mind above Home discomfort's,
and is a Man of Business...

Robert Gertz  •  Link

What a fascinating entry...Sam at his best. Though it's interesting that he went with Sir John (at the Comptroller's invite?).

Not the first time in history a counterfeiter was caught by his product surpassing the government issue...

A little link on the subject of counterfeiting coppers http://www.coins.nd.edu/ColCoin/C…

***

Sam and his jealousy...Shake of head.

Wait a minute? Did he say that fop Pembleton took our Bess by the hand?

Well thank God this is seventeenth century England...Where such 'problems' can be properly dealt with.

"So you see my situation Mr. Coventry...And why my work at the office has perhaps slacked a bit recently." Sam sighs.

"Indeed, my friend...A troubling situation. But, fear not, Pepys. Your efforts for the Navy and your King have not gone unnoticed...And His Majesty looks after his good servants' interests."

The following evening...Pembleton making his way home from the Pepys' rather late as the case these days...

"Mr...Pembleton, we presume?...Might we walk with you a bit on your way, sir?"

"Yes? Gentlemen? Have I had..."

"John Creed, sir. And my friend, Mr. Howe. I believe we have a mutual associate in Mr. Samuel Pepys, of the Naval Office. A good client of yours, sir?"

"Ah, yes. Both Mr. and Mrs. Pepys are my pupils in the dance."

"Exactly so, sir. And it was our Mr. Pepys who made your name known to certain influential members of His Majesty's government who wish to avail themselves of your good services."

"Sir? His Majesty's...?"

"Indeed, sir. You have been, in point of fact, selected for a mission of no little import. Eh, Mr. Howe."

"Indeed, Mr. Creed."

"Mission, gentlemen? But I'm only a dancing master."

"Hear how the young man belittles his skill, Mr. Howe. Refreshing these days is it not?"

"It speaks volumes as to his character, Mr. Creed. A reference in itself..."

"No wonder our Mr. Pepys recommended you so highly sir..."

"Mr. Pepys recommended me?...But...For what? I'm not..."

"Sir, your modesty is commendable. But for this mission even I can perceive that you are a perfect choice."

"But, gentlemen...Ummn, excuse this is not my way. I must be..."

"We must go this way, sir."

"Sir, I...What is this?"

"Your commission as royal dancing master to the governor of Barbados, sir."

"Barbados? But...My wife and family...?""

"Shall be well cared for, His Majuesty's government assures you. Howe?" Creed sighs as Pembleton attempts to scurry off...

Ooof...

"I am afraid these are His Majesty's orders, sir...And will brook no delay." Creed addresses Pembleton's now unconscious form.

"Charming fellow, eh Howe?" Creed notes as he and Howe drag Pembleton off to a waiting carriage...

"Alas, I fear I had not the time to make a complete judgment, Mr. Creed. However I'm sure he'll go far in the West Indies."

"Indeed, Mr. Howe. A land of opportunity for any bright young fellow."

TerryF  •  Link

O Robert, I laughed so hard that it really hurt!

(and I popped another Darvocet, given me by the surgeon after the laparoscopic....well, the ailment's one John Pepys....)

Barbados, location of the British admiralty's new and future annex....

dirk  •  Link

"Now, if 750,000l. in twelve years’ time lost but a 100,000l. in danger of being transported, then **within** thirty-five years’ time will have lost but 3,888,880l. and odd pounds; and as there is 650,000l. remaining after twelve years’ time in England, so after thirty-five years’ time, which was within this two years, there ought in proportion to have been resting 6,111,120l. or thereabouts"

L&M give "10,000,000£" instead of the word "within", marked with ** above. This makes slightly more sense, since what we have then is a standard maths problem:

____750,000£__corresponds to____100,000£ "lost"

______1,000£__corresponds to___(100,000/750)£ "lost"

__10,000,000£__corresponds to__[(100,000/750)*10,000]£ "lost"

which gives 1,333,333.333...£ "lost in 12 years time"

___1,333,333£____________in 12 yrs corresponds to
__(1,333,333/12)£________per year, corresponding to
_[(1,333,333/12)*35]£____in 35 years time

which gives 3,888,888.888...£ "lost over 35 years"

Note Sam's rounding: 3,888,888.888 etc
becomes 3,888,880£

Now if somebody would please explain to me what "lost" means here???

TerryF  •  Link

£ost?! £ost?! £ost?!

(John Pepys, Mired in Mirth, would have asked for more £audanum...)

Delirium is setting in.

dirk  •  Link

My own summary of the "lost" problem:

In Charles I's time near to 10,000,000£ of money was minted.

Of 750,000£ in old Cromwellian coins 500,000£ had been brought in to be reminted. Ireland and Scotland should be good for another 100,000£ in old coins, which leaves 150,000£ unaccounted for -- of which 50,000£ is presumed hidden or lost. This leaves 100,000£ that may have gone abroad ("transported").

Assuming the same proportions hold this means that in two years from now (1665) there will still be 6,111,120£ "or thereabouts" left on British soil -- i.e. the original 10,000,000£ minus the the amount "transported" abroad of 3,888,880£ (which is what the whole "loss" calculation above was about).

QED

dirk  •  Link

As per L&M the money "transported" abroad would have been spent on imported goods, or used to buy foreign coins. The latter would have been a profitable thing to do, as the silver contents of the British coins was valued higher abroad than in England.

Note also how Sam's reasoning is in line with the Mercantilistic thinking of his time: the wealth of a nation depends exclusively on the amount of precious metal (gold & silver) present on its soil. --- which is why money "transported" abroad is a "loss". In the economic thinking of the time, increasing the amount of precious metal should be the sole purpose of economic (trade) policy.

TerryF  •  Link

So, Dirk, having quickly swatted up on mercantilism, chattel (in the crude form that excludes the likes of Pembleton) sent out to Barbadops are £ost IFF (if, and only if) Barbadox is an annex to, but not a part of Great Britain?

Methinks an issue is what counts as British soil, and even though Barbados is a posession/annex/colony, it is considered alien for economic purposes?

That would explain why, in 1776, Thos. Jefferson, et al., representatives of 13 North American colonies in convebion assembled in Philadelphia ("City of Brotherly Love" - an irony not lost on many who mattered), said they had been deprived of rights guaranteed by their (British) constitution, since they were being treated as aliens, i.e. as a market population, to be protected against by Britain using tariffs on tea, &c. per the mercantile view of things?

in Aqua Scripto  •  Link

"tis why a little recouping, salvage, replenishing, was tolerated and was applied to the Spanish gold sea trade and other sources of free [booting] sailing wealth. If thy look at the Parliament sessions there be banned shipping of monies to pay and bribe the foreign sources for imports. Foreign exchange was tricky.
None has truly figured out the value of labour, material, an other expense in a fair??? manner.
It always has been hype, or the one that can con [use of ads etc.] to persuade a fair deal. like gold was swopped in Santa Domingo for Knick knacks as the gold was freely available to the populace were not in the position and were unable to understand why these Europeanss would swop these great European gizmos for this yellow stuff.
So glad we are off the Gold standard , we can inflate to out hearts content.

Australian Susan  •  Link

"...which is moveable by a screw, which is pulled by men; and then a piece being clapped by one sitting below between the two dyes, when they meet the impression is set, and then the man with his finger strikes off the piece and claps another in, and then the other men they pull again and that is marked, and then another and another with great speed."
I winced as I read this: how many Mint workers were missing parts of a finger....?
Isn't this a typical Sam entry - anything new and technical fascinates him. I have this image of a wide-eyed Sam watching everything and asking questions and asking for demonstrations, whilst Sir John swallows his yawns: he only being there for the good, free dinner, maybe??

A. De Araujo  •  Link

"So glad we are off the Gold standard"
The US Dollar standard will stand as long as China, Japan,Arabs and Europeans to an extent subsidize the US deficit by buying US Treasury Notes.

J A Gioia  •  Link

of Seville being the best and that of Mexico worst

indicative of the previous century, when gold from the new world poured through the spanish empire.

on money 'lost': gresham's law of currency states that bad money drives good money from circulation (e.g. people hoard silver coins when paper is introduced as specie).

it may be the case that the commonwealth money forced the 'good' tudor/stuart coinage into hidden chests or to be melted into plate.

JWB  •  Link

"lost"
1640 Chas. I confiscated gold owned & deposited w/ the mint. Fool me once...
Goldsmiths now holding gold as reserve on which they increasingly write notes, payable on demand. And since not all likely to demand @ same time, they are increasingly leveraging up the note/gold ratio and as such,per Gresham, driving out the gold for notes.

dirk  •  Link

The Gold Standard...

...is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is a fixed weight of gold. Money (coins and notes -- so called "chartal money") have a guaranteed value in gold, and can be more or less freely exchanged for their value in gold. Which means that the amount of chartal money depends on the national gold reserves.

Unfortunately (?) this system doesn't exist anymore...

In the US the Act of March 3, 1965 eliminated the 25% gold certificate requirement against Federal Reserve banks' deposit liabilities; and the Act of March 18, 1968 eliminated the 25% gold certificate requirement against Federal Reserve notes in circulation. Other nations took similar measures in the late 1960s, effectively ending the Gold Standard.

Ever since, money is no longer (theoretically) supposed to be a replacement of precious metal, but has value by consensus ("fiat" money -- which in real life had been the case for a long time before the 1960s.

The main reason why the Gold Standard was eventually abandoned, was that making the supply of money dependent on the physical availability of precious metal (basically just an ore), was not compatible with the need to adjust that same money supply to the needs of national and international markets. Also the fact that US dollars were themselves used as some kind of national reserve by some lesser countries, meant that the US currency was often under a lot of pressure that had nothing to do with the US economic situation.

Contrary to what one might think, abandoning the Gold Standard didn't give governments complete freedom to determine exchange rates -- and thus possibly over- or undervalue their national currency at will -- because exchange rates in a free market will automatically adjust themselves. At least in an ideal world! So far the system works fine -- better than the Gold Standard ever did.

in Aqua Scripto  •  Link

"— better than the Gold Standard ever did." Yes, For the top 20 % of the economic pile it does well, while the others enjoy the illusion of wealth,
as they have all the gizmos that have to be replaced every few years.
So please explain, why a pound only buys, what a penny did in 1940 and the 10 dollar bill only gets quarters worth of stuff now?
e.g. Tomatoes be 4 Dollars a pound when used to be pennies, etc.,etc..
All the dollars that be hoarded in foreign domains will eventually spent in The USA in buying up Real estate as that be the only item Governments cannot print, land except those Dutch.
'Tis a great deal, to hoard monies then loan it back at a good rate of interest. It sounds like what the Spanish Empire did when its supplies of monies ended up in deep waters or removed to another economy then had to borrow monies from the Central bankers at nice Usuary rates.[no countrie can be tollaly bankrupt unlike individuals, tho countries can starve and destroy themselves [internally] if they do not work in concert ]
The final answer is always be, how many working minutes to earn the amount it takes to have thy daily dose of calories , how days it takes to get a tent , and how many hours, it takes to knit thy T shirt.

Bradford  •  Link

In the Length Sweepstakes, with this entry we are up to 2100 words (not counting the enumerative 1-10).

TerryF  •  Link

Bradford, I have it at 2100 words includimg the enumerative 1-0.

alanB  •  Link

Word Counts..Not only has Sam written his diary (presumbly today) but Sam has also completed in long-hand his letter to Brampton followed by making a complete copy for himself this morning. Perhaps RSI will exorcise his jealousy.

Bradford  •  Link

Ah, the fault is not in us, Terry, but in our respective word-count programs.

A. Hamilton  •  Link

due process in Sam's day

but, having reason to doubt him, they did, by threats and promises, get him to confess, and did find 7l. of it in his house at one time.

-- threats and promises:talk about imagination working on the mind.

Kevin Peter  •  Link

Colonies and Mercantilism...

Back then under mercantilist thinking, colonies weren't part of the home country, but were to be exploited fully to enrich the home country.

This is why Britain prohibited manufacturing to take place in its colonies in the 18th century. They wanted the profits from manufacturing to end up in Britain and not the colonies. Of course, greater wealth in the colonies would have allowed them to afford more imports from Britain, leading to a larger market and greater wealth overall, but that was not part of the mercantilist way of thinking.

In a perfect mercantilist Britain, all the precious metal would have ended up in Britain, and there would have been none left overseas. In reality, such a situation would have led to a collapse in the economy, since nobody overseas would have had any money to buy anything with, and Britain would have been unable to find anyone to buy its exports. In a world where Britain has hoarded up all the money, people would be left to barter goods for other goods (as in the pre-monetary days), and all of Britain's money would be useless if there was no willingness to spend it overseas.

Pedro  •  Link

"They mill them, that is, put on the marks on both sides at once"

John Evelyn suggested to his friend Henry Slingsby, Master of the Royal Mint, that "Decus et Tutamen" (ornament and protect) was an appropriate Virgilian sentiment for the milled edges of the coinage introduced in 1663, to foil the fraudulent practice of clipping.

(John Evelyn by Gillian Darley)

These words are there today.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brit…

Pedro  •  Link

"and thence with Sir John Minnes to the Tower; and by Mr. Slingsby, and Mr. Howard, Controller of the Mint, we were shown the method of making this new money, "

In 1662 the Treasury had tried to alter the downward slide by introducing coins with milled edges, employing the inventor of the milling machinery already in use in France, Pierre Blondeau. But the move only served to exacerbate the problem, because the authorities in London had not taken the precaution of withdrawing the old currency as they introduced the new. Unsrupulous moneyers and goldsmiths (of which there were many) had secreted the new coins out of circulation, melted them down and sold them as bullion in Holland and other parts of the continent where the metal commanded a higher price than that set by the Treasury.

(Isaac Newton, The Last Sorcerer by Michael White)

Agneatha  •  Link

'Good' money in Gresham's Law refers not to its moral worth (i.e. Royal money is better than Commonwealth money), but its precious metal content. Tudor money was notoriously bad - Henry VIII's debased coins contained low amounts of silver, and Elizabethan coins in circulation in 1663 were worn almost flat. Grsham's Law may be used to explain why money went aborad as most European coins contained less silver than contemporary British coins and this meant good silver drained into Europe.

Second Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"old groats"

The old groats then current were the silver fourpenny-pieces issued under Mary Tudor and in the early years (1558-61) of Elizabeth. The next issue was in 1670. (L&M footnote)

Terry Foreman  •  Link

The clever counterfeiter "was neither hanged nor burned."

Counterfeiting the coinage was high treason, punishable by hanging in the case of men and burning in the case of women. (L&M footnote)

eileen d.  •  Link

so pleased Sam included his notes from the mint directly into the diary! I was expecting to learn they were buried somewhere in the Bodleian Library or had been lost. great entry today!

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

For centuries the quality of coins made at the London Mint was checked by goldsmiths in an annual ceremony. It was and is the duty of the King's Remembrancer (as I'm sure it was in Charles II's day) to hold the Trial of the Pyx, which dates to 1249. Until the 19th century this duty was undertaken at the Court of Exchequer (with the chequered table cloth) but is now held at Goldsmiths’ Hall in the City of London, where they ensured the value of the coins being made at the Mint.

Another duty, as of 1668, affected Pepys more: the King's Remembrancer also became responsible for overseeing the planting of trees in the Forest of Dean. This was to ensure an adequate supply of oak for the Navy, the ‘wooden walls of Old England’!

More information about the Queen's Remembrancer and the Trial of the Pyx:
https://www.historic-uk.com/Histo…

Terry Foreman  •  Link

The Trial of the Pyx (/pɪks/) is the procedure in the United Kingdom for ensuring that newly minted coins conform to the required standards. These trials have been held from the twelfth century to the present day, normally once per calendar year.

The term "pyx" refers to the boxwood chest (in Greek, πυξίς, pyxis) in which coins were placed for presentation to the jury.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tri…

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"The most observables in the making of money which I observed to-day, is the steps of their doing it."

L&M: This detailed account of the manufacture of English coins has a special interest. In theory the methods used were secret, and nothing was published on the subject. But some knowledge leaked out, since the secrets were shared among so many individuals. Moreover, the methods were essentially the same as those used by other countries (such as France) which had no inhibitions about publication. Sandwich, in his MS journal, has a similar but less detailed account of the mint in Madrid: Mappertin, Sandwich MSS Journal, ii. 241+.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"But the nature of the assay is thus: the piece of gold that goes into the furnace twelve ounces, if it comes out again eleven ounces, and the piece of silver which goes in twelve and comes out again eleven and two pennyweight, are just of the alloy of the standard of England."

L&M: Sterling silver had to be 11 oz a dwt in the pound weight (or 925 parts of pure silver to 75 parts alloy). This was the normal English standard for coins from Norman times until 1920. See A. E. Feavearyear, Pound Sterling, p. 9.
------------------
Sterling silver is an alloy of silver containing 92.5% by weight of silver and 7.5% by weight of other metals, usually copper. The sterling silver standard has a minimum millesimal fineness of 925.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ste…

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

Starting at the end of May, 1663, Louis XIV nearly died. The progress of his disease was noted daily by his physician, Monsieur Antoine Vallot, in the Journal de la santé du Roi. The translated bits come from
https://partylike1660.com/louis-x…

Louis XIV slept better, and when he awoke on Tuesday, May 29 Monsieur Vallot recorded that the symptoms seem to have gone.

Vallot again tried to stop the move of the Court from Paris to Versailles, but in the afternoon Louis, the Queen, and the Court moved regardless.

At Versailles, Louis enjoyed a stroll in the spring-gardens, but decided to retire early because his symptoms had returned. He felt exhausted but also restless; his headache and the fever had returned.

Monsieur Vallot ordered another clyster “to make him sleep“.

Louis had a difficult night; I wonder if it might have been easier without the clyster???

Third Reading

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"... we were shown the method of making this new money, from the beginning to the end, which is so pretty that I did take a note of every part of it and set them down by themselves for my remembrance hereafter."

Pepys was right. In May 2024 one of the rarest British coins in existence sold for £817,929 or $1,000,000 at an auction. It is now the most expensive silver British coin ever sold at auction.

The Petition Crown of Charles II was minted in 1663. Only 16 of these Petition Crowns exist.

The Petition Crown was struck by celebrated medallist and coin-designer Thomas Simon, who worked for the Royal Mint, in 1663. It was created by Simon to 'petition' Charles II to reinstate him as the sole chief engraver at the Royal Mint and also as a petition against the contemporary coins designed by the Flemish brothers John and Joseph Roettiers.

Using new mechanical coin machinery, Simon printed message around the edge of the coin asking the King to 'compare this his tryall piece with the Dutch', a dig at the Flemish engravers.

The coin features a striking portrait of Charles II so detailed that even a shadow of the veins on the King's neck can be made out.

Coin experts at the Classical Numismatic Group said: 'Our understanding is that there are 8 examples of the Petition Crown in museum collections and a further 8 in private hands.'

David Guest, director of Classical Numismatic Group said: 'Widely regarded as the most beautiful machine-made coin ever struck and undoubtedly the most important coin in the British series, we are delighted to have seen the 1663 Petition Crown realise a world record price.'

Highlights from an article which also has great sketches and photos of this rare coin at
https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/mon…

The article continues with information about 2 more rare English coins which were also auctioned:

The Oxford Crown was minted in 1644 and shows King Charles I in battle at Oxford during the English Civil War.

It is the only coin in the British series featuring a depiction of a city, and it sold for £382,798 or $486,000, making a record for any coin depicting Charles I.

Only 11 Oxford Crowns are known to be in existence, 8 of which are in museum collections.

Regal: The King Henry VIII Testoon is one of the most sought after coins aside from the Petition Crown. This coin was struck in 1544. It has always been popular with collectors because of the striking portrait of Henry VIII.

It represents a key moment in Henry VIII's reign, when lack of funds in the treasury led the Tudor government to introduce cheap metals into coins previously made of sterling silver, known as the Great Debasement.

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