English coinage and Royal Mint papers

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 0096 MS 100
Held at	: Senate House Library, University of London   Click here to find out how to view this collection at http://www.senatehouselibrary.ac.uk/our-collections ›
Full title	: English coinage and Royal Mint papers
Date(s)	: 1722-1774
Level of description	: Collection (fonds)
Extent	: 9 papers inserted in 1 volume
Name of creator(s)	: Unknown
Detailed catalogue	: Click here to view repository detailed catalogue

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

The English Royal Mint was responsible for the making of coins according to exact compositions, weights, dimensions and tolerances, usually determined by law. Minting in England was reorganised by King Edward I to facilitate a general recoinage in 1279. This established a unified system which was run from the Royal Mint in London by the Master and Warden of the Mint. There remained smaller mints in Canterbury and elsewhere until 1553, when English minting was concentrated into a single establishment in London. For several centuries control of policy relating to the coinage rested solely with the monarch, with Parliament finally gaining control following the Revolution of 1688. The Mint itself worked as an independent body until that date, when it came under the control of the Treasury.

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Manuscript volume containing papers relating to coinage and the Royal Mint, 1722-1774, including a table of the gold and silver minted in the reigns of kings and queens of England from Queen Elizabeth I up to 1772, with a value in sterling for the total in each reign; a table of gold and silver minted from 20 Jul 1660-31 Dec 1751, with a value in sterling for the amount minted in each reign within this period; table of the weight of gold brought to the Mint for 20 years [1751-1770], with columns showing by whom it was brought and in what species it was coined; a table of 'gold at the Mint before the diminished guineas were sent', with a monthly account of gold coined from Aug 1773 to May 1774 and a statement of all gold coined from 1760-1774; an account of cut guineas imported into the Mint between 25 Aug 1773 and 9 Aug 1774, and delivered out between 13 Oct 1773 and 5 Oct 1774; tables giving the costs of coining various metals; a calculation table [for measuring fineness]; details of rises in salaries for officers of the Mint; details of salary scales for officers of the Mint, [Aug 1772].

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English

System of arrangement:

Single item.

Conditions governing access:

Access to this collection is unrestricted for the purpose of private study and personal research within the supervised environment and restrictions of the Library's Palaeography Room. Uncatalogued material may not be seen. Please contact the University Archivist for details.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Copies may be made, subject to the condition of the original. Copying must be undertaken by the Palaeography Room staff, who will need a minimum of 24 hours to process requests.

Finding aids:

Collection level description.

Archival Information

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

Part of the Goldsmith's Library of Economic Literature, initially collected by Herbert Somerton Foxwell and presented by the Goldsmith's Company to the University of London in 1903.

Allied Materials

Related material:

Other University of London Manuscripts relating to the Royal Mint and coinage include MSS 14, 21, 51, 62, 72, 102, 108, 151, 152, 154 and 499.

Publication note:

Description Notes

Archivist's note:
Compiled by Sarah Smith as part of the RSLP AIM25 Project.

Rules or conventions:
ISAD(G) 2nd edition, and NCA rules for the construction of personal, place and corporate names (1997).

Date(s) of descriptions:
Aug 2000