CHAPTER VI

LATER STUART PERIOD

AT the Restoration all the Commonwealth coins were called in by proclamation, and from this time the coinage tends to become much less complex; many of the mediæval coins, such as the angel, the noble, the smaller silver coins, etc., had entirely disappeared from circulation by 1660 and the coin denominations became those of modern times. In the reign of William and Mary control of the coinage was handed over to Parliament by the King.

The most important change in the gold coinage was the introduction of the guinea. The guinea derives its name from the Guinea Company, formed to trade with the West Coast of Africa, whose charter gave them the privilege of having coins struck at the Mint in gold and silver from metal imported by them. In 1663, when they sent gold to the Mint, they received special permission to have their mark on the coins, and the symbol chosen by them-the elephant, and later the elephant on a castle-was stamped on the coin just below the King's head. Half guineas were struck as well as guineas, and also a few five-guinea and twoguinea pieces. The value of the guinea varied considerably during the next half century. It was intended to take the place of the sovereign, i.e., to represent the value of the silver pound sterling in gold, and until the Revolution of 1688 it was current at 20s. In the reign of

William and Mary, when the silver coinage was very much depreciated, its value in silver money rose as high as 30s., and was only prevented by legislation from rising still higher; after the renovation of the currency it fell to 21s. 6d., and in 1717 to 21s., where it remained.

The silver coins issued for general circulation after the Restoration were only the larger denominations-5s., 2s. 6d., Is., 6d. The smaller silver coins, from the groat to the penny, were issued only as Maundy Money, which was first struck in this reign to supply the means of conforming to the old custom of distributing royal bounty on Holy Thursday, and which has been continued ever since. Special marks were placed on some silver coins as well as on the guinea. Coins struck from metal imported by the East India Company were marked E.I.C.; coins struck from silver supplied by the South Sea Company bore the letters S.S.C.; the stamp of a rose denoted that the silver came from the West of England, whilst a plume showed that it came from the Welsh mines.

The copper coinage was established on a firm basis after the Restoration. In 1672 the coinage of copper halfpence and farthings was ordered, and the copper coinage was henceforth the work of the Government, though private individuals were still granted patents by the Government to issue copper coins as in the time of the earlier Stuarts. The traders' tokens, which had until this time been in circulation in defiance of any orders to the contrary because there had been such a dearth of small change, were now declared illegal and disappeared. In the reigns of James II and William and Mary some halfpence and farthings in tin were issued as well at the rate of 20d. for every pound weight of metal. The weight of copper coins varied at first with the price of copper, and was fixed a little later at 92 farthings or 46 halfpence to the pound avoirdupois.

The introduction of a copper coinage supplied a

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pressing need, but inconvenience from the scarcity of small coins continued to be a difficulty for a long time, and this caused Locke, writing in 1691, to suggest the coinage of a large quantity of small silver coins below the value of sixpence "to answer all the fractions between sixpence and a farthing and thereby supply the want of small moneys, whereof I believe nobody ever saw enough common to answer the necessity of small payments; whether, either because there was never a sufficient quantity of such pieces coined, or whether because of their smallness they are apter to be lost out of any hands, or because they oftener falling into children's hands they lose them, or lay them up; so it is there is always a visible want of them; to supply which, without the inconveniences attending very small coin, the proposed pieces, I humbly conceive, will serve." Petty on the other hand thought that the coinage of small silver pieces was not to be recommended, because they were so apt to be lost and to be reduced in weight, even by ordinary wear and tear; "little of our old small money," he said, "is now to be seen and our groats are worn away (to the value of) three halfpence in metal."

At the Restoration the method of coining by the mill and screw, which had been attempted in the time of Elizabeth and used during the Commonwealth, and which had been for some time in use in France, was permanently adopted. According to the old method of coining the work was done mainly by hand. The metal when mixed with alloy was cast into bars, which were reduced by hammering to the required thickness and cut with shears. To get the impression of the device the means used were "rude and artificial; the sole expedient being to fix one die firmly in a wooden block, and to hold the other in the hand as a puncheon; when by striking the latter forcibly and repeatedly with a hammer the impression required was at length worked up" (Ruding). The

newer machinery consisted of a mill worked by horses, and the upper die was firmly fixed by a screw instead of being held in the hand: this screw "is worked by a fly, and forces that die which is attached to it with considerable effect upon the other die which is firmly fixed below" (Ruding). The improvement resulted mainly from the increase in force, which was now so great as to raise the impression at one blow. As the shape of the coins was now exactly circular, clipping could be more easily detected, and it was not so easy to counterfeit the coins.

After the Restoration the scarcity, of money was for a time a great difficulty, and large quantities of gold coins were exported to the Continent. The difficulty was an old one, but it was met now in a new way. Hitherto the Government had made constant efforts, on the one hand to keep pace with the rise of prices by reducing the amount of metal in the coins, and on the other hand to prevent the outflow of money by forbidding exportation of the precious metals and by altering the ratio of gold to silver. Statesmen had now begun to doubt the advantage of this policy of regulation and no longer advocated State control of the mechanism of currency, and when this finally ceased the ratio between the metals was determined only by the natural automatic action of international trade. The object of the Government was still to encourage money to come into the country and to keep it there, but the means used to gain this end were different.

In the first years of the reign of Charles II a last attempt was made to keep to the old system, and proclamations were issued forbidding the exportation of precious metals and the buying and selling of metals at higher rates than those offered by the Mint. These measures proved ineffectual, and the Government, recognizing that the exportation of gold was due to the higher value placed upon that metal on the Continent than in England, determined to bring up the price of gold to the

level of the continental rates. The value of the guinea was consequently raised first to 22s. and then to 23s. 6d. Two years later, in 1663, the laws forbidding the exportation of bullion were suddenly withdrawn. "For as much as several considerable and advantageous trades cannot be conveniently driven and carried on without the species of money or bullion, and that it is found by experience that they are carried in greatest abundance (as to a common market) to such places as give free liberty for exporting the same, and to better and increase the current coin of the kingdom "thus ran the preamble of an Act which abrogated the laws regulating the inflow and outflow of gold and silver. This Act, which established free trade in the precious metals, reflects the commercial traditions of Holland, but it was not allowed to be carried out freely, and far into the eighteenth century the Government tried to regulate the supply of the precious metals.

The influence of Holland is seen as well in the Act of 1666 abolishing seignorage. The charge for seignorage in 1660 had been 15s. on the pound troy of gold and 2s. on the pound troy of silver; this rate for gold had already been reduced in 1663, and the charge was now taken off altogether, the expense of coinage being defrayed by means of duties levied on certain commodities. The effect was, as had been intended, to encourage the flow of gold to the Mint; for, as the Mint was now thrown open, any one could bring metal there and have it converted free of charge into coin of a recognized weight and fineness. The effect on silver was not so noticeable, because even the removal of seignorage charges did not counterbalance the advantage gained by sending silver abroad. Hence the result of the change was that gold was now brought in plentifully to the Mint and that the preponderance of gold over silver in the currency was largely increased. For some time gold had been too highly rated in proportion to silver. As early as 1662