Holograph draft of <ref target="/catalogue/record/MINT00173">MINT00173</ref> (Mint 19/1/109) Isaac Newton c. 10,080 words The Newton Project Oxford 2017 Newton Project, University of Oxford

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 After 21 August 1710, c. 10,080 words.

Contains a passage deploring the unequal coining that was normal when Newton first came to the Mint, but which has since been largely rectified.

Recommends the use of antimony as the best way of refining gold, 'But the Refiners of this city know not how to Refine gold by Antimony'.

 Memorandum by Newton: 'Of the assaying of Gold and Silver, the making of indented Triall-pieces and trying the moneys in the Pix' [MINT 19/1/109] MINT 19/1/243-51, National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, UK UKSurreyKew, RichmondNational Archives MINT 19/1/243-51 After 21 August 1710 England English Holograph MintPyx Trials and Analyses of British Coinage Catalogue information compiled by Rob Iliffe, Peter Spargo & John Young Catalogue exported to teiHeader by Michael Hawkins Transcribed by Will Scott
243

Of the assaying of Gold & Silver, the making of indented Triall-pieces, & trying the moneys in the Pix.

1. Of the Assay

Assaying & refining are operations of the same kind. The Assayer refines a small piece of any mass of Gold or Silver, & by the decrease of its weight makes his report. And if there be no decrease, that is, if the mass be of the same fineness with the refined Assay-piece, he reports (or ought to report) the gold 24 carats fine & the silver 12 ounces fine. And this is fine gold & fine silver in the sense of the law. And all gold & silver of the same fineness with the Assay piece is fine gold & fine silver in the sense of the law. And because the Assayer works more exactly to a rule then the Refiner & makes better dispatch, the Assay is made the standing universal Rule of valuing gold & silver in all nations in point of fineness, & the Law in ordeining that standard gold shall be 22 carats fine & standard silver 11 ounces two penny weight fine, means by the Assay.

The assays of gold ought to be made with two waters & no more, this being the constant practise of assaying, & the waters ought to be of the usual strength (the second water stronger then the first) & to work the usual time & in the usual heat, & the Assay piece ought to be hammered to the usuall thinness that the Assays may be uniform. And the Assays of silver ought to be made with a due proportion of Lead in a due & eaven heat, & as soon as the lead is blown off & the silver looks bright & glittering, the silver must begin to cool without roasting it, & it must cool slowly that it do not spring. But in refining gold & silver in great quantities these niceties are not observed

Assays are liable to errors, but the errors are generally very small & seldome exceed a quarter of a grain in gold & an halfpenny weight in silver. And by reason of these little errors the Assayer in single Assays makes his report to no less then a quarter of a grain in gold & an half penny weight in silver. But if two or more assays be made of the same piece of gold or of the same piece of silver, & the assays agree wthwithout any considerable difference & a medium be taken between them, the fineness of the Gold may be determined to less then half a quarter of a grain & the fineness of the silver to less an half penny weight. And this is the exactest way of assaying hitherto in use

2. Of making the Indented Trial-pieces.

The standard Trial pieces are made by the Assay. First a Iury of workmen summoned & sworn by Order of Council procures gold & silver refined by the Refiner, & assays them to see if they be of a just degree of fineness, that is, the gold just 24 carats fine & the silver just 12 ounces fine. Then they melt this gold & silver severally wthwith allay in due proportion & stir them well together in fusion several times to mix them very well with the Allay, & pour them off before the Allay evaporates, & then assay them several times to see if they be standard, taking assays from several places to see if the mixture be uniform. It must agree therefore with the assay as exactly as is possible least there be two standards, one by the Assay-weights, the other by yethe Trial-piece

Refiners find it difficult to refine gold to the degree of 24 carats. They seldome make it above 23car 3gr 3qters fine, & by fine gold generally understand gold of this degree of fineness. And if gold at any time prove finer then byupon the Assay Assayers out of prejudice do not report it finer. And thence it comes to pass that Goldsmiths are generally of opinion that Gold cannot be above 24 carats fine, not knowing that there are ways of making it finer then by the assay. Thence also it may have sometimes happened that at the making of new Trial pieces the Assayer may have reported the fine gold not so fine as it was, & by that means the Trial piece may have been made too fine. And if the fine gold was by 23car. 3gr. 3qters fine, the Trial-piece may may have been made too fine coarse. And there are other ways of erring, as by assaying with waters too strong or too weak or after any other unusuall manner, or by scattering any part of the allay or of the fine gold or suffering a sensible part of the Allay to evaporate or not mixing the gold with the allay very well, or using a faulty crucible, or roasting the fine silver or suffering it to spring in the assay And for avoyding these errors the Iury ought to consist of workmen very well skilled & exercised in assaying refining & allaying of gold & silver.

3 Of trying the Pix.

The trial of the moneys in the Pix is to be performed by a Iury of Assayers in the presence of the Warden Master & Comptroller of the Mint after the most just manner that can be made by fire by water by touch or by weight or by all or by any of them, as is described in the Indenture of the Indenture of the Mint. The Pix ais ifopened & the Iury sworn before the Queen or such of her Council as her MajtyMajesty shall appoint. If the triall pieces be exactly made the trial thereby is the most expedite & the least liable to errors or fallacy. But a Trial piece may happen to be erroneous, & then the other ways of assaying, as they are lawfull so also they may be usefull. For the assay by the assay weights exactly performed will discover the error of the Trial piece if there be any & how great that error is, & the assay by the Touch may be also used to see how it agrees with the other assays, tho it be less exact & not to be depended upon alone.

If at any time the Trial piece doth not agree with the Assay, either the error must be reported by the Iury or it must not be reported. If it be reported, either the Master of the Mint must be authorized to allow for the error in coining the money by that Trial piece for the future or a new Trial piece must be made. If it must not be reported, the Mint Master must go on to coin the money by an erroneous trial piece, & the Goldsmiths will have it in their power to alter the standard without controll as often as they are to make a new Trial-piece, & to make a new standard instead of making a new standard Trial piece agreable to the standard established by law.

At the last trial of the Pix the gold money was standard full by the Assay, & the Trial piece a quarter of a grain better then standard the money & the Iury in their Veredict represented the money a quarter of a grain worse then standard by the Trial piece. This Trial piece was made upon the Vnion A. C. 1707. It was made (I think) without an Order of Council, & by my assays very carefully made is five twelfts of a grain better then standard, that of 1688 made by order of K.King IJames II is a sixt part of a grain better then standard & that of 1660 made by order of K.King Charles II is standard.

Quære 1. If upon trying the Pix, the Trial-piece at any time doth not agree with the Assay, are not the Iury to report the error?

Quære 2. If any doubt arise about the manner of the Report or Veredict are not the Iury to make a special Report of the matter of fact & leave it to the Queen & council to make a judgment thereupon?

Quære 3. If any doubt arise about the truth of the tale, weight or assay, are not the Iury (especially at the motion of the Officers of the Mint to repeat yethe operation?

244

Of the assaying of Gold & Silver, the making indented Tryal pieces, & trying the moneys in the Pix.

1 Of the assay.

1 Assaying & refining are operations of yethe same kind. The Assayer refines a small piece of any mass of gold or silver, & by the decrease of its weight makes his report. And if there be no decrease, that is, if the mass be of the same fineness with the refined Assay-piece, he reports (or ought to report) it two carats better then standard or twenty & four carats fine if it be gold, or twelve ounces fine if it be silver. And this is fine gold or fine silver in the sense of the law. And all gold & silver in the sense of the law is fine gold & fine silver if it be of the same fineness with the Assay-piece And because the Assayer works more exactly to a rule then the Refiner & makes better dispatch, the Assay is made the standing universal Rule of valuing gold & silver in all nations in point of fineness, & the law in ordeining that standard Gold shall be 22 carats fine & standard silver 11 ounces two penny weight fine, means by the assay.

2. The assays of Gold ought to be made wthwith two waters & no more, this being the constant practise of assaying, & the waters ought to be of the usual strength t(the second water stronger then the first,) & to work the usual time, & in the usual heat, & the Assay-piece ought to be hammered to the usual thinness that the Assays may be uniform. And the assays of silver ought to be made wthwith a due proportion of Lead in a due & eaven heat, & as soon as the Lead is blown off & the silver looks bright & glittering, the silver must begin to cool without roasting it, & it must cool slowly it do not spring. But in refining gold & silver in great quantities these niceties are not observed.

45 Refiners find it difficult to refine gold to the degree of 24 carats. They seldome make it above 23 carats 3 grains & 3 quarters of a grain fine, & by fine gold generally understand gold of this degree of fineness. And if gold at any time prove finer upon the Assay, Assayers out of prejudice do not report it finer. And thence it comes to pass that Goldsmiths are gerallygenerally of opinion that gold cannot be above 24 carats fine, not knowing that there are ways of making it finer then by the assay. † Thence &c † Thence also it may have sometimes happened that at the making of new Trial pieces, the Assayer hmay have reported the Tria fine gold not so fine as it really was, & by that means the Trial piece may have been made too fine. And if the fine gold was but 23car 3gr 3qters fine, the Trial piece may have been made twotoo coarse. And there are other ways of erring, as by assaying after any unusual manner, or by scattering any part of the allay or of yethe gold or suffering a sensible quantity of the allay to evaporate, or not mixing the allay with the gold very well.

3. Assays are liable to errors, but the errors are generally very small & seldome exceed a quarter of a grain in gold or an halfpenny eight in silver. And by reason of these little errors the Assayer in single assays makes his reports to no less parts then a quarter of a grain in gold & an half penny weight in silver. But if two or more assays be made of the same piece of gold or of the same piece of silver, & the assays agree without any considerable difference & a medium be taken between them: the fineness of the gold may be determined to less then half a quarter of a grain, & the fineness of the silver to less then half an half penny weight. And this is the exactest way of assaying hitherto in use

2 Of making the Trial pieces.2 Of making the Trial pieces.

4. The standard Trial pieces are made by the assay. First the Iury procures gold & silver refined by the Refiner & assays then to see if they be of a just degree of fineness, that is, the gold just 24 carats fine & the silver just 12 ounces fine. Then they melt this gold & silver severally with allay in due proportion, & stilr them well together in fusion several times to mix them very well, & pour them off before the allay evaporates, & then assay them several times to see if they be standard, taking assays from several places to see if the mixture be uniform? They must agree thereforefore with the assay as exactly as is possible least there be two standards, one by the Assay-weights the other by the Trial-pieces.

3 Of trying the Pix.2 Of trying the Pix.

6. The trial of the moneys in the Pix is to be performed after the most just manner that can be made by fire by water, by touch or by weight or by all or by any of them, as is exprest in the Indenture of the Mint. If the Trial piece be exactly made, the trial therefby is the most expedite & the least liable to errors. But a trial piece may happen to be erroneous, & then the other ways of assaying, as they are lawfull, so also they may be usefull. For the assay by the Assay-weights exactly made will discover the error of the Trial piece if there be any, & how great that error is; & the Assay by the touch ebing very easy may be also used to see how it agrees wthwith the other assays, but it is less exact & not to be depended upon alone.

7. If at any time the Trial-piece doth not agree wthwith the assay either the error must be reported by the Iury or it must not be reported. If it be reported, either the Master of the Mint must be authorised to allow for the error in coining the money by that Triall piece for the future, or a new Trial-piece must not be made. If it is must not be reported, the Master must go on to coin the money by an erroneous Trial piece, & the Goldsmiths must have it in their power to alter the standard without controll as aoften as they are to make a new Trial piece & to make a new standard instead of making a new Trial piece agreable to the standard, to make a new standard. established by law.

Quære 1 Whether are the Iury to report the error of the Trial piece, if there be any?

Quære 1. If upon trying the Pix the Trial-piece at any time doth not agree with the Assay, whether are not the Iury to report the error?

Quære 2. If any other doubt arise, whether are not the Iury to make a special rReport of the matter of fact, & leave it to yethe Queen & Council to make a judgment thereupon?

When new moneys are coined two pieces are taken out of every 15 pound weight of gold moneys & two out of every 1560 pound weight of silver moneys, & one for the assay before delivery of the moneys the other for the assay after delivery. & the The first are assayed presently in the Mint by the Queens Assaymaster in before the t in the presence of the Warden Master & Comptroller, of the Mint the later are put into a Pix or Box to be opened by theupon reasonable warning before the Queen or such of her Council as her MatyMajesty shall think fit & tried by a Iury of sworn Assayers then to be swor in the presence of the Warden Master & Controller. But trials are of the same kind with

246

Of the Assaying of Gold & Silver, the making of indented Triall-pieces, & trying the moneys in the Pix.

1 Of the Assay.

Assaying & refining are operations of the same kind. The Assayer refines a small piece of any mass of Gold or Silver, & by the decrease of its weight makes his report. And if there be no decrease, that is if the mass be of the same fineness with the refined Assay-piece, he reports (or ought to report) it the gold 24 carats fine if it be gold, or& the silver 12 ounces fine. if it be silver. And this is fine gold & fine silver in the sense of the sense of the law. And all gold & silver is fine gold & fine silver in the sense of the law if it be of the same fineness with the Assay piece. And because the Assayer works more exactly to a rule then the Refiner & makes better dispatch, the Assay is made the standing universal rule of valuing gold & silver in all nations in point of fineness, & the Law in ordeining that standard gold shall be 22 carats fine & standard silver 11 ounces two penny weight fine, means by the Assay.

The assays of gold ought to be made wthwith two waters & no more, this being the constant practise of assaying; & the waters ought to be of the usuall strength (the second water stronger then the first) & to work the usual time & in the usual heat, & the Assay-piece ought to be hammered to the usual thinness that the Assays may be uniform. And the Assays of silver ought to be made with a due proportion of Lead in a due & eaven heat; & as soon as the Lead is blown off & the silver looks bright & glittering, the silver must begin to cool without roasting it, & it must cool slowly that it do not spring. But in refining gold & silver in great quantities, these niceties are not observed.

Assays are liable to errors, but the errors are generally very small & seldome exceed a quarter of a grain in gold or an half penny weight in silver. And by reason of these little errors the Assayer in single Assays makes his report to no less then a quarter of a grain in gold & an half penny weight in silver. But if two or more Assays be made of the same piece of gold or of the same piece of silver, & the Assays agree without any considerable difference & a medium be taken between them, the fineness of the Gold may be determined to less then half a quarter of a grain & the fineness of the silver to less then half an half penny weight. And this is the exactest way of assaying hitherto in use

2. Of making the Indented Trial-pieces.

The standard Triall-pieces are made by the Assay. First the a Iury of Assays & other workmen summoned & sworn by order of Council procures gold & silver refined by the Refiner & Assays them to see if they be of a just degree of fineness, that is, the gold just 24 carats fine & the silver just 12 ounces fine. Then they melt this gold & silver severally with allay in due proportion & stir them well together in fusion several times to mix them very well with the allay, & pour them off before the Allay evaporates, & then assay them several times to see if they be standard, taking assays from several places to see if the mixture be uniform. It must agree therefore with the assay as exactly as is possible least there be two standards, one by the assay-weights the other by the Trial-piece.

Refiners find it difficult to refine gold to the degree of 24 carats. They seldome make it above 23car. 3gr. 3qters fine, & by fine gold generally understand gold of this degree of fineness. And if gold at any time prove finer upon the assay, Assayers out of prejudice do not report it finer. And thence it comes to pass that Goldsmiths are generally of opinion that gold cannot be above 24 carats fine, not knowing that there are ways of making it finer then by the assay. Thence also it may have sometimes happened that at the making of new Trial pieces the Assayer may have reported the fine gold not so fine as it really was and247 and by that means the Trial piece may have been made too fine. And if the fine gold was by 23car. 3gr. 3qters fine, the Trial-piece may have been made too coarse. And there are other ways of erring as by assaying after any unusual manner, or by scattering any part of the allay or of the gold or suffering a sensible part of the Allay to evaporate, or not mixing the gold with the Allay very well, or using a faulty crucible. And for avoiding these errors the Iury ought to consist of workmen very well skilled in assaying of gold & silver.

3 Of trying the Pix.

The trial of the moneys in the Pix is to be performed by a Iury of Assayers in the presence of the Warden Master & Comptroller of the Mint after the most just manner that can be made by fire by water by touch or by weight or by all or by any of them, as is expressed in the Indenture of the Mint. The Pix is opened & the Iury sworn before her MajtyMajesty or such of her Council as her MajtyMajesty shall appoint. If the Triall pieces be exactly made the triall thereby is the most expedite & the least liable to errors or fallacy. But a Trial-piece may happen to be erroneous & then the other ways of assaying, as they are lawfull, so also they may be usefull. For the assay by the Assay-weights exactly performed will discover the error of the Triall piece if there be any, & how great that error is, & the assay by the Touch may be also used to see how it agrees wthwith the other assays, tho it be less exact & not to be depended upon alone.

If at any time the Trial-piece doth not agree with the Assay, either the error must be reported by the Iury or it must not be reported. If it be reported, either the Master of the Mint must be authorized to allow for the error in coining the money by that Trial piece for the future or a new Trial piece must be made. If it must not be reported the Mint master must go on to coin the money by an erroneous Trial piece, & the Goldsmiths will have it in their power to alter the standard without controll as often as they are to make a new Trial piece, & to make a new standard instead of making a new Trial piece agreeable to yethe standard established by law.

At the last trial of the Pix the gold money was standard full by the Assay, & the Trial-piece a quarter of a grain better then the money, & the Iury in their Veredict represented the money a quarter of a grain wors then standard by the Trial piece. This Trial piece was made upon the Vnion A. C. 1707. It was made (I think) without an order of Council, & by my Assays very carefully made, is five twelfts of a grain better then standard; that of 1688 made by order of K.King IJames II is a sixt part of a grain better then standard, & that of 1660 made by Order of K.King Charles II is standard.

Quære 1. If upon trying the Pix, the Triall-piece at any time doth not agree wthwith the Assay, Whether are not the Iury to report the error?

Quære 2. If any doubt arise about the manner of the Report or Veredict, whether are not the Iury to make a special Report of the matter of fact & leave it to the Queen & Council to make a judgment thereupon?

Quære 3. If any doubt arise about the goodness of the firsttruth of the tale weight or assay of yethe moneys are not the Iury (especially at the motion of the Officers of the Mint) to repeat the assay. operation.

248

For avoyding these errors the jury ought to consist of workmen very well skilled & exercised in refining assaying & allaying of gold & silver, & not to abound wthwith shopkeepers, wiredrawers, Gilder & other persons not very well skilled in the manual arts requisite to make the Trial pieces.

If any doubt arise about the goodness of the first assay, are not the Iury (at yethe motion of the Officers of the Mint) to repeat the assay.

Assaying & Refining are operations of the same kind. The Assayer refines a small piece of the any mass of gold or silver & by the decrease of weight makes his report; & if there be no decrease, that is, if the mass be of the same fineness with the Assay piece, he reports it better then two carats better then standard, or twenty & four carats fine, & this is fine gold in the sense of the law. And The Assay piece therefore, when the Assayer works exactly, becomes fine gold or fine silver in the sense of the law. And because the Assayer works more exactly to a rule then the Refiner, & makes better dispatch, the Assay is made the standing rule of universal rule of valuing gold & silver in point of fineness, & the Law in ordeining that standard Gold shall be 242 carats fine & standard silver eleven ounces two penny weight fine, means by the assay.

The standard Trial pieces are made by the Assay. First the Iury procures fine gold & fine silver refined by the Refiner, & then assays the same to see if they be of a just degree of fineness, that is, the gold just two carats better then standard & the silver just 18 penny weight better. And when the Trial pieces are made, the Iury assays them several times to see if they be standard.

The assays of gold ought to be made with two waters & no more this being the constant practise of assaying, & the waters ought to be of the usual strength & to work the usual time & in the usual heat, & the Assay piece ought to be hammered to the usual thinness that the assays may be uniform.

Refiners find it difficult to refine gold to the degree of 24 carats. They seldome make it above 23 carats 3g grains & three quarters of a grain fine And by fine gold understand gold of this degree of fineness And thence it comes to pass that the Goldsmiths are generally of opinion that there can be no gold cannot be above 24 carats fine. But if when they have watered their granulated Gold onece or twice with Aqua fortis, they should dulcify it & grind it very fine as painters do their colours & then water it once or twice more with double Aqua fortis in the same degree of heat as before, & keep it longer in the water then before, stirring it now & then with a wooden stick to make the gold mix with fresh water the Gold will become finer then by the Assay, & by consequence finer then four & twenty carats. Chymists also tell us that Godld may be made finer by Antimony then by Aqua fortis, & by consequence then by the Assay; but the Goldsmiths know not how to refine Gold by Antimony.

If Refiners should work perfectly in the same manner with Assayers, that is, if they should mix gold with silver in the same proportion & drive it off the Test wthwith the same proportion of lead & hammer it to the very same thinness & water it with waters of the very same strength in the same degree of heat during the same length of time, their gold would become just 24 carats fine. But they work not after all these curcumstances so exactly wthwith so much curiosity & eaveness.

The tryal of the moneys in the Pix is to be performed after the most just manner that can be made by fire by water by touch touch or by weight or by all or by any of them. If the Trial pieces be made exactly the trial thereby is the most expedite & the least liable to errors. But a Trial piece may happen to be erronus, & then other ways of Assaying, & then other ways of Assaying may be also usefull. For the assay by the Assay weights will disc exactly made will discover the error of the tryal piece, if there be any & how great that error is.

Th At the last trial of the Pix the Iury by the Assay found the money standard & the Trial piece a quarter of a grain better then standardthe money full by the Assay. & reported only in their Veredict that the money was a quarter of a grain wors then standard by the Trial piece. The Report or Veredict supposedrepresented imported that the Trial piece was standard & the the Trial piece to bewas standardmoney standard & the be worse then standard & the , tho the Iury by the Assay found itthe money standard full & the trial piece a quarquarter of a grain better then standard. full. The Iury made this report (I think) not out of corruption, but for want of a precedent to report the Trial otherwise then by the Trial piece.

Where the Importers I came first to the Mint & When I came first to the Mint & for some years before, the Importers were allowed the advantage of almost all the remedy, & then the Gold imported made about four pounds & two pence per ounce standard. The Goldsmiths now complain that their Gold doth not make 4li per ounce. It should make only three pounds nineteen shillings & eight pence three farthings, & so much it hath made ever since the last triall of the Pix.

While the Importers were allowed the advantage of almost all the Remedy, there Gold imported made wanted about 30 grains of fine gold in four & forty Guineas & an half, & as much or more fine silver in sixty & two shillings. There is now the just quantity of gold & silver in the moneys & there wants only about the third part of a grainthe third part of a grain of copppy in a Guinea wchwhich want is of no value orvalue or consequence being less then the thousandth part of a Guinea penny in a Guinea & is occasioned by the too great fineness want of so much allay in the gold Trial piece:

They must agree therefore wthwith the Assay as exactly as is possible least there be two standards. And therefore whenever an the assay of the money by the Assay weights differs from that by the Triall piece, the difference ought to be reported

And The Assays of Silver ought to be made wthwith a due proportion of lead in a due & eaven heat & as soon as the lead is block off the silver must begin to cool & not stay without roasting it, & fit must cool slowly that it do not spring. [But in refining of gold & silver in great quantities, these niceties are not observed.] But Then it becomes Then the Assay piece becomes 12 ozounces fine: And if the after the first parcel of lead is blown off, fresh lead be added, & the two or three times & the assay piece be well roasted after all the lead is blown off, the silver will become still finer but not a half penny weight finer then 12 ounces. In refining Gold & silver in great quantities, the niceties above described in making assays, are not observed, & therefore the Refiners fine Gold & fin& fine silver must be assayed to know how fine they are.

And if the Refiner in refining silver should in all circumstances imitateobserve the Assayers rules & proportions, his silver would become 24 carats 12 ounces fine. But Refiners are not so curious work not with so much curiosity & eavenness. Their fine gold & fine silver must be assayed to know the just degree of fineness.

The Trial piece is made by mixingmelting 11 ounces of fine gold wthwith one ounce of copper allay & 11 ounces 2dwt of fine silver wthwith 18 penny weight of copper allay & keeping the mixture in fusion 20 or 30 minutes & in the mean time stirring it severall times to mix the metalls very well & then pouring it off

And assay taken from them in several places must agree with one another to see if the fine gold & fine silver be eavenly mixed with the allay.

This Trial piece was made in the year 17071707.

The Trial piece of 1660 agrees wthwith the Assay, that of 1688 is (by my assays) the sixth part of a grain better then standard by the assay. & that of 169 1707 five twelft parts of a grain better. That of 1688 is established upon the present Indenture of the Mint; that of 16707 is not yet established nor nor can I find that it was made by the Queens Order as it ought to have been. In the entry books of the Treasury I meet wthwith no no mention of any such Order [nor is any such Order mentioned in the Letters of mythe Lord Treasurer Godolphin summoning the Iury wchwhich made to the Wardens & company of Goldsmiths for returning the names of a Iury & those for summoning them.] The Iury who [madeWhen that Trial piece was made the Goldsmiths refused to give a receipt of their T pieces for making their plate & contended that they were Pix was to be tried by them & not by the Trial pieces kept in the ExcheqrExchequer] When the next Trial pieces are makde they the goldsmiths ought to give a Receipt of them pieces delivered to them for for trying making their plate. For tho the Gold plate be 23 carats fine & the Trial piece but 22 carats fine yet yet they may make their gold plate by the gold Trial piece by putting into the Assay scales a weight answering to the difference.

ThTh

Are not the Iury to try the survey the fabrication of the moneys & make a special report of yethe matter of fact where my judicial doubt arises & leave it to the Queen & Council to make a judgment thereupon wthwithout presingingpresuming to preventing them by interposing their own judgments

By my assays the Trial piece of 1660 is standard without any sensible error worth of moment, that of 1688 is the sixt parts of a caratgrain better then standard, that of 16 1707 five twelft parts of a grain better then standard. [That of 1688 is established upon the present Indenture of the Mint that of 1707 is ye not yet established now can I find that either this Trial piece or another trial piece made in the beginning of the years 1697 little before Lady day 1697 for plate of the new standard wasere made (as they ought to have been) by the Royal authority. Nor did] The Iury also at the last trial of thie Pix finding this last quTrial piece a quarter of a grain better then standard full & therefore it is not a standard Triall piece.

Quære whether if a Iury find fhow much the error is of any Trial piece the Master of the Mint may not be an Order of Council allow for the error in coyning the money by that Trial piece.

If upon any trial of the Pix the money triall piece prove be prove not standard, whether are not the Iury to ascertainsatisfy the ascertain the error & to report it? And whether may not the Master of the Mint by an Order of Council allow for that error in coining the money by that Trial piece for the future

There he melts the gold & silver with allay in a just proportion, stirs them well together in fusion several times to mix them well & pours them off before the allay evaporate.

If at any time the Trial piece doth not agree wthwith the assays either the error must be reported by the Iury or it must not be reported. If it be reported, either a new Trial piece must be made, or the Master of the Mint must be authorized to allow for the error in coining the money by ytthat Trial piece for the future or a new Trial piece must be made. If it must not be reported, the Mastrer must go on to coin the money by an erroneus Trial piece & the goldsmiths willmust have it in their power to alter the standard without controll as often as they are to make a new Trial piece.

When a jury areis to make a new standard trial piece they are not to make a new standard but a new Triall piece agreable to the standard appointed established by Law. They may err in making a new Trial piece, but they ca They may err in making a new Trial piece but it is not in their power to alter the standard. And then if they err & the error amount to a quarter of a grain in gold or an half-penny weight in silver, the Trial piece is not standard & by consequence not a standard trial piece.

The standard Trial pieces aisre made by the Assay & the will always agree with the assay if they be rightly made. Assays are liable to little error, but if the two or threeconsistent number more of assays of the Trial piece argreeagree wthwith one another & disagree with the trial piece, there great reason to question the trial truth of ytthat trial piece. without any material difference & at a medium are standard, the Trial piece is standard. And the more assays of it are made the more wchwhich at a medium wchwhich agree wthwith one another without any errors of moment & at a medium are standard, the more surely the trial piece is standard. First the Iury – – – just 18 penny weight better. Then the Iury melts the fine gold or fine silver with a just proportion of allay & stirrs them well together several times to mix them very well & wthen they are well mixed poures of them of without keeping them longer on the fire then is necessary to mix them very well., And when & assays them again several times to see if they be standard. They must agree therefore with the assay as exactly as is possible least there be two standards one by the Assay, another by the Trial piece. An error of half a quarter of a grain in ytthat gold Trial piece or of half a halfpenny weight in the silver trial piece is sensible by the assay & should not be committed.

The assays of Gold &c – – uniform.

Refiners find it – –

If Refiners – – – made fine by the Assay.

The surest way to make gold just 24 just carats fine is to refine grain gold once wthwith Antimony, &then mixt it wthwith said fine silver to bring it to the degree of 2is such a proportion as by expericeexperience shall be found to bring it to the degree of 24 carats fine. This proportion being once found is found for ever.

Assays are liable to errors, but the errors are generally very small, & seldome exceed a quarter of a grain in gold or an half penny weight in silver. And if two or more Assays of the same piece of gold or silver agree wthwith one another wthwithout any considerable difference, the Report is to be made by taking a medium. And if By wchwhich means the fineness of any piece of Gold may be always determined to less then half a quarter of a grain & the fineness of any piece of silver to less then half a half penny weight And that is the exactest way of valuing gold & silver in point of fineness hitherto in use.

And by reason of these little errors, the Assayer generally in single assay make his reports to no less parts then a quarter of a grain in gold & a halfpenny weight in silver. But if two or more Assays be made of the same piece of gold or of the same piece of silver, & the assays agree without any considerable difference & a medium be taken between them, the finess of the gold may be determined to less then half a quarter of a grain in gold & half a halfpenny weight in silver, & even to less then half that quantity of by a competent number of Assays made by a good hand skilfull Assayer. And this is the exactest way of valuing gold & silver in point of fineness hitherto in use amongst Assayers.

When I come

7. When I came first to the Mint & for many years before, Importers were allowed almost all the Remedy, & the money was coyned unequally some pieces being two or theethree grains too heavy & others as much too light, & the heavy Guines were called cCome-again-Guineas because they were culled out is& brought back to yethe Mint to be recoined (as was the the common opeinion) & thereby the Mint was not publi public Moneys called the Coynage Duty were squandred away th to the profit of the Master & Moneyers & Goldsmiths & the new moneys wchwhich remained after the heavy pieces were culled out, & was put away by the Goldsmiths among the people, was to without the Remedy. The money is now coined equally so that the culling trade is at an end. And the Importers are not allowed the advantage of the Remedy, but the money is coined to the just value.

8. The When the Importers were allowed the advantage of almost all the Remedy, the Gold imported made about four pounds & two pence per ounce. The Goldsmiths now complain that their money Gold doth not make 4li per ounce. It doth should make only 3li 19s 8d34 by the Law, & so much it hath made ever since the last trial of the Pix. And to

9. TWhile the Importers were allowed the advantage of the Remedy there wanted about 30 grains of fine gold in 4412 Guineas & about 34 grains of fine silver sixty two shillings. And There wants is not the just quantity of gold & silver in the moneys, & there wants only about 15 grains of fine copper in 4412 & Guineas, & & if the trial pieces were exact being faulty or the third part of a grain of Copper in a Guinea wchwhich want is if no value or conquenceconsequence & is occasioned by the too great fineness of yethe trial pieces. If the Iury pleases to ex 10. The end of the Indenture of the Mint & of all the Rules of coynage is that the moneys for yethe sake of commerce have its just intrinsic value &And if the Iury pleases to examin the moneys in the Pix by the weight & assay together they will find those of that they are as justly coined to this value as every they were. 11 The moneys cnnot be coined by the Trial piece wthwithut knowing the grain fineness of yethe true By my Assays the Trial piece of 1688 is a sixt part of a carat better then standard & the Trial piece of 1707 is five 12th parts of a carat better, or thereabouts. If the At the last trial of the Pix the gold moneys were found standard by the assay & the t a quarter of a grain wors then standard by the trial piece of 1707 & the Iury reported only the latter. If the moneys be tried again by the same trial piece I humbly pray that they both the moneys & the trial piece may be tried also by the Assay & the event reported by the Iury. If For the Indenture of the Mint doth not restrain the trial to the trial piece alone, & a trial by an erroneous trial piece is no fair trial without allowing for the errors of the trial piece, nor is it for the advantage of commerce to admit of such a trial. 1 Assaying & Refining have yethe same foundation. The Assayer refines a small piece of the mass, & by the decrease of weight Reports the fineness of the mass & if there be no decrease, that is, if the mass be of the same fineness with the Assay-piece, he reports it 2 carats better then standard, or 24 carats fine & is the fine Gold in the sence of the law. And because the Assayer works more exactly to a rule then the Refiner, the The Assay is made the standing universal rule of valuing Gold & silver in point of fineness, & when the Law in ordeinsing that standard Gold shall be 22 carats fine & standard silver 11 ozounces twodwt fine, means by the Assay. 2 The standard Trial pieces isare made by the Assay. First the Iury procures assays the fine gold & fine silver & then assays them to see if they be of a just degree of fineness, that is, the gold just two carats better then standard & then th silver 1wt bette 18dwt better. And when the Trial piece is made the Iury assay it again several times to see if it be standard. The trial of the moenys in the Pix 3 The assays of gold ought to be made wthwith two waters & no more this being the constant practise of assaying & the Assay waters ought to be of tahe ordinaryusual strength, the second water & to work yethe usual time & in the usual heat, & the Assay piece ought to be hammered to the usual thinness that yethe Assays may be exact. uniform. 6 The end of the Trial of the Pix is to see thatit the moneys be of a just value for the sake of commerce, & the value is computed by the weight & assay together, & the assay 6 The trial of the moneys in the Pix areis to be madeperformed after the most just manner that can be thought of to be made by fire by water by touch or by weight or by all or by any of them: & because they The are to may be tried not only by the triall pieces but also by any o the tou any other just way if if any doubt shall arise ab for clearing any doubt wchwhich may arise A & by consequence the if the Triall piece piece the moneys may be tried by the single assay as well as by the trial piece to see if yethe trialls agree. If the tryal piece be made exactly by the Assay, the tryal thereby is the most expedite & least liable to errors. If the trial piece disagrees wthwith the Assay the difference should be mnoted may be noted & the moneys tried as well by the single Assay & by the to as by the trial pieces & But a trial piece may happen to be erroneus & then other ways of Assaying may be also used, & & usefull For the assay by the Assay weights will discover the error of the tryall piece .if there by any & how great that error is, & therefore whenever the Trial-piece agrees not wthwith the Assay, the Report should not be made by the Trial piece alone. A pound weight of standard gold should be cut into 44 Guineas & an half & therefore is worth 42 47li 16s 9d & an ounce of standard gold is worth 3li 19s 8d34. A pound eight of standard silver should be cut into 62s & therefore an ounce of standard silver is worth 5s. 2d & The 4 Refiners find it difficult to refine Gold to yethe degree of 24 carats,. but if & Their fine gold isThey seldome make it above 243 carats 3gr 34 fine. And But if And thence it comes to pass that the fine Goldsmiths are generally of opinion that there can be Gold cannot be made above 24 carats fine. But if when they should if have watered their granulated gold once or twice with Aqua fortis they should dulcify it & grind it very fine as painters do their colours & then water it once or twice more with double Aqua fortis in the same degree of heat as before & keep it longer in the water then before stirring it now & now & then wthwith a wooden stick to make the water do its workgold mix wthwith fresh water: the gold will become finer then by the Assay & by consequence finer then 24 carats. Chymists also tell us that gold may be made finer by Antimony then by Aqua fortis & by consequence then by the Assay; byut the Goldsmiths know not how to refine Gold by Antimony. 5 If Refiners should work perfectly in the same manner with Assayers, that is, if they should mix Gold with silver in the same proportion & drive it off the test with the same proportion of Lead & hammer it to yethe very same thinness & water it with two waters of like the same strength in yethe same heat during the same lenghlength of times, their gold would become just 24 carats fine. But they do not use to be at all this pains & charge & scupulputy in their common practise of Refining. Money being the rule of commerse ought to be coyned of a just intrinsic value This value is known by weight & assay comparedfineness together. A pound weight of gold is to b standard gold is to be cut into 4412 Guineas & 251 Observations uponQueres upon the proceedings of the Iury in trying the Pix. 1. The Iury being to try the monies in the Pix by the rules set down in the Indenture of the Mint Quære whether they should not first read so much of the Indenture as relates to yethe trial, so that they may have all those rules fresh in memory. 2 T 2 That Iury being to try the Pix by the rulesaid moneys in the presence of the Officers of the Mint, Quere whether they are not to suffer the said Officers to see the whole triall from the beginning to the end, & for that reason whether they are to go on with butmore then one operation at once. 3 The Iury being to try the said moneys after the most just manner as can be thought of to be made by fire by water by touch or by weight or by all or by any of them, & to use the standards in her MatsMajestys ExcheqrExchequer: Quere whether if any doubt shall arise about the triall by the Indented Trial pieces they are not to satisfy themselves about the doubt by any other way of triall & particularyly by the single Assay, that Assay being the Rule by wchwhich the Triall Assay being the Rule by wchwhich the Trial piece is made & examined by the Iury who makes it. And if any difference appear between the single Assay & the Assay by the Trial piece, whether the Iury are not to report the difference. 4. Quere whether The Iury are not to make their Assays in the manner commonly in use wthwithout varying in the heat or government of the fire, or in the strength or quantity of the water or in the quality there number of waters, poured on the Assay-pieces or in the thinness to wchwhich the Assay pieces are hammered, or in the quantity or quality of the Lead, or in any other circumstance wchwhich may influence the Assay. Observations upon the proceeding of the Iury in making a Tryal pieces. The Iury ar 1. If the Trial pieces are too fine they occasion a discouragement of so much to yethe merchant & others wchwhich import gold & silver as answers to the excess of fineness., And & therefore the triall pieces should rather err in defect of fineness then in excess, & forreign nations chuse rather to err in defect. 2. If the By fine gold & fine silver is to be understood such gold as is 24 carats fine by the Assay, & fby fine silver is to be understood such silver as is 12 ounces fine by the Assay. And by standard gold & silver is to be understood such gold as is 22 carats fine by the Assay & such standard silver as is 11oz 2dwt fine by the Assay. And in making judging of the fineness of the gold or silver there ought to be several Assays made as well successively as at the sa at once & if to see if the errors of the Assays wchwhich happen in excess be equal to the errors wchwhich happen in deffect. & that For such errors will happen, & a medium between them is to be taken. 3. If the fine gold or silver be not fully fine by the assay, it may be roasted to make it finer & if the Refiner hath made it too fine, it may be allayed to brin B make it coarser, to the end that the standard pieces by the Trial pieces may be the same wthwith the standard by the Assay. For otherwise there will be two standards, one by the Assay & another by the Trial pieces. The French & Spaniards seem to take such fine gold as is commonly made fby the Refiners Art without roasting it. For their moneys are a little coarser then the just standard. Its safer to err a little in coarsness then in fineness because the metal will refine a lttle in the fire in melting the gold & allay together 4. To every eleven ounces of fine gold must be added one ounce of fine copper & to every eleven ounces two penny weight of fine silver must be added two 18 penny weight of fine copper, & when the gold or silver is well melted the copper must be put into the pot & soon as that is also well melted, bothe mixturemetalls much be wellnimbly stirred together once & again to mixt them well & when they have stood in little on the fire to mix them sufficiently they must be poured to let without them without letting them stay longer ion the fire then is necessary to mix them well least the allay should evaporate in too great a quantity. 5 After the metal is poured off it must be of assayed again severall times, & if the Iury think fit they may cause it to be assayed by several hands for their greater satisfaction And for greater security & satisfaction to her MatyMajesty & people they may cause it to be assayed also by t Quære whether fine gold be not gol in the sense of the law be not such gold as is made fine by the Refiners art exercised in the same manner in the same manner & with the same skill in & diligence in refining a great quantity of metal gold by Aqua fortis, as in refining a small quantity by the Assay. And by consequence whether fine gold be not such gold as is 24 carats fine by the Assay, & as is skilfully refined by two waters without roasting the gold or using more then two waters Fine gold refined by t is gold refined by the Refiners art after the very same manner in a great quantity that it is refined isby the Assayers Art in a small quantity; the gold being mixed with silver in the same proportion & & in both cases & laminated to the same degree of thicknes in both cases & watered & with the same heat & length of operation in both cases, that it may become of the same degree of fineness in both cases, & by consequence 24 carats fine. If it be made fo the Refiner make the gold thinner or use stronger water or pour upon the gold oftener them the Assayer doth the he will make gold finer then the Assayer doth that is finer then the 24 carats And if he refine it by ♁ it will become still finer. But if the Refiner makes the gold not so then as the Assayer doth or pour on water but once or use weaker water or a less quantity, thereof, the gold will be less then 24 carats fine not be fully become so fine as by the Assay that is not fully 24 carats fine. And thus the reason why the REfiners gold is seldome made so fine, as the Assayers, And because the Refiner uses not to be of the paingpaying & charges of making his gold so fine as it should be in great quantity as it is made by the Assayer in small quantity thence it comes to pass that gold 24 carats usually fine is scarce to be met with or Ref & that the Iury who makes the tryal piece usually roasts the Refiners gold to make it 24 carats fine by the Assay. And because The Assay The Tryal piece is therefore made by the Assay And hence it follows that And wthwith And when the g fine gold is mixed wthwith Allay in due proportion to make the Trial piece, the Iury assay it again several times to see if it be standard. The Assay therefore is the fundamental as well as the universal rule of valuing gold & silver in point of fineness, [& the Trial-piece is only an expedient to assist the Master & the Queens Assayer in in judging of the fineness of bullion & the & money & the AssaymrAssaymaster & they in truing the money & therefore it ought to be made as exactly as may be by the Assay, & if upon trying the Pix if differs manifestly from the Assay the difference ought to be reported that the Triall piece may be mended.] And because Assayers by constant practise are better be skilled in refining gold to a certain degree by the Assay then Refiners are in refining it to a certain degree by the Art of Refining, therefore the Assay Refiners Art is not trusted alone in making fine gold, but the gold is examined by the Assay before it be concernedadjudged to be just 24 exactly 24 carats fine.