The ansvver of the Corporation of Moniers in the mint, at the Tower of London, to two false and scandalous libells printed at London, and lately come forth without date.: The first intituled, The humble representation of Peter Blondeau, as a warning touching severall disorders hapning by money ill-favouredly coyned, and the only means to prevent them. The second intituled, A most humble memorandum from Peter Blondeau. Which not only intends maliciously to sandall [sic] us the Corporation of Moniers, of the Common-wealth of England : but also most falsly to imprint in the hearts and mindes of all people in Christendome, and more especially the good people under the obedience of the Parliament of England; that ... the moneys of the of this Common-Wealth ... are not justly made ... Set forth to undeceive all the good people that have seen or read the said Peter Blondeau's false and scandalous libells.

The Provost and Moniers Answere to the Objections of Peter Blondeau is,

THat the Monies made by the Moniers are upon their delivery out of their Office view∣ed by the Warden, Master-worker and the Controler and the Assay-master, and both weighed, assayed for weight and fineness of all the monies, and examined by them, and severall peeces taken out of every journey of silver, which is 30. l. weight, and a journey of gold 15. l. weight, which peeces are put into a Box sealed with severall Seales, commonly called the Pix-Box, and formerly once every yeare, and now, when the State please, examined both in the say and fineness and in the weight, that it all bee made equall; and this is done upon the oaths of twenty foure men, that are Artists; (formerly in the Star-chamber) And if the moneys do not fall out to bee good and just, both in fineness and weight, then wee and all the Officers of the Mint are in a premunire. And this tryal hath ever been held; and (under favor of our superiors) wee humbly conceive, is the stri∣ctest and exactest of any Mint in Christendome. And wee do with all humility justify and affirm the mony of gold and silver delivered out of the Tower of Lon∣don, the most exact for the weight and fineness in the world. And of the truth of this, for the honour of sterling moneys of England, all the great Merchants both English and Strangers of London can certify

what wee say to the State, in this particular, to bee true.

That it is true, much clipped English moneys are passed in payment, which hath much encreased si∣thence these wars, which if there were a Law to have it cut in peices, the abuses practised by some men would for the future bee prevented. And whereas much light moneys pass abroad, and the weightiest is melted, this comes not through any fault of the moniers, for they are bound to make all their mo∣neyes at sixty two shillings the pound weight, with the remedy of 6. d. the pound weight under or over. Now when sterling sylver is as it hath been at 3. l. 3. s. the pound Troy, some people wee conceive have mel∣ted down the currant coynes of this Nation; which ought strictly to bee prevented; For if the Market will give more for silver then the monie is coyned at in the Tower, till that bee prevented, and the Lawes revived against it, and to set the price of sil∣ver, as it is in other countries, as you may see in Mr. Thomas Violet's book, the rule for all the great Mints in Christendome, not to exceed their Mints: While this be done the monies will be culled and weighed, and the Mint will bee obstructed; for if the State allowe the Mint to give but three pounds for sterling the pound weight Troy, and no more, and to coyn it and deliver sterling in money at three pounds two shillings the pound weight Troy, and there shall be a market amongst severall people in this Nation that will give three pound foure shillings, and three pound three shillings, and three pound two shil∣lings six pence sterling, the Mint will not bee set on worke, but also your owne current coyne will bee culled and melted, as wee humbly conceive hath beene, and so the stock of this Nation will bee wa∣sted and decayed. And this abuse comes not by the unevenness of the coyning of the money, as this

most ignorant fellow Peter Blondeau affirmes, but by the unevenness of the raising of the price of siluer for particular mens gains, to the dammage of publique; and this is the true reason why the Mint doth not go, and is humbly presented by us to the honorable Committee of the Mint, to rectifie.

There is one great and scandalous falshood by Peter Blondeau charged upon the moniers of the Mint, That whereas we ought by our Indenture to coyn the monie at sixty two shillings the pound, we coyn it at sixty four shillings or sixty five shillings, And this is that the Goldsmiths and other Traders into the Mint call their encouragement, as Blondeau in his Paper doth falsly allege.

Truly this sheweth the ignorance and impudence of Blondeau: He may have skill in making a Jack for a Kitchin, but none in Mint businesse. We have ser∣ved the State from our infancy, and every year had our tryalls made in the strictest manner before the Lords of the Councell, and upon the oath of a Jury of twenty four men, cleared every year in the Star-Chamber; And in the compasse of five years, for this Parliament, coyned this Common-wealth about six millions of silver from 1640. to 1645. And upon our tryalls afore severall Committees of Parliament, by a Jury of Artists, all cleared, That our monie was good according to our Indenture, both for the weight and finenesse, and we have cleared our ac∣compt to a penny for about twenty five millions to the State within thirty years; which we humbly hope the right Honorable Committee of the Mint will consider, and value us at such a rate, as, under favour, our just dealing hath deserved.

Whereas Blondeau saith, That the Officers and Workmen of the Mint have made their uttermost en∣deavors to finde out this Invention, which they could not attain unto, and every day brought new

tales to amuse the State, and made some few pieces after the old manner, and doth boldly and traiterous∣ly affirm, he the said Blondeau can wash both gold and silver severall wayes with great dexterity; And that he hath diligently studied, with great expences, the wayes of washing coyn.

Truly we the Provost and Moniers of the Mint wonder at his impudence that he dares say so, know∣ing how penall the Law is in England, brag of such a Mistery, that in all Countries to put it in practise is death: It may be for that reason of his skill, in wash∣ing coynes, Peter Blondeau run out of France into Eng∣land. If he confesse he studied this rare Art to wash coyn with extream dexterity, and made severall ex∣periments in England, by his own confession: Then we humbly say, he is fitter for Newgate then to be imployed in the Mint of this Nation.

We are humble suitors to the Honorable Com∣mittee of the Mint, for to take these our humble Pro∣positions into consideration. We have made the monies both gold and silver with letters about the edge; And the letters about the edges of the peeces we made, are more fair and exacter then Blondeau's peeces. Blondeau by his first Proposition to the Coun∣cell of State did demand fourteen shillings the pound weight for gold, and twenty pence the pound weight for silver. Our patterns are in the right Ho∣norable Sir James Harrington's hands. We have deli∣vered in severall patterns of coyns with a double graining, and to be exactly rounded; which we can afford for ten pence the pound weight silver, and three shillings the pound weight gold by the way of the hammer; And we have delivered in a Proposi∣tion, to bear all charges, saving for coyning Irons, at fourteen pence for silver, and four shillings for gold, by the hammer.

We are humble suitors to the right Honorable the

Committee of the Mint, That their Honours would speedily enquire out the obstructions of the Mint, provide remedies by good Lawes, and imploy such in trust as have skill and will to finde out the offen∣ders; If this bee done the Mint will flourish again, and till this bee done, in all humility wee say, the State will have little or no silver or gold coyned in the Mint; If men can make more of it to sell it to transport then to make it in coyne, experience shews private men will dispose of their gold and silver at their best market, for their privat profits, though it bee to the losse of the Common-wealth. All which wee, with all humility, submit to the right honora∣ble the Committee of the Mint, to settle such rules in the Mint as may bee most advantageous for the Nation. And wee shall pray, &c. 18 Novemb. 1651.

• Symon Corbet. Prov.
• ...John Benfeild.
• ...Henry Perrin.
• ...John Warner.
• ...David Rammage.
• ...John Corbet.
• ...Abram Hunt.
• ...Vall. Nicholson.
• ...Nathaniel Marsh.
• ...William Taverner.
• ...Walter Taylor.
• ...William Maynard.
• ...Andrew Colman.
• Symon Corbet Jun.
• ...Daniel Benfeild.
• ...John Butterfild.
• ...Edward Hawerd.
• ...Thomas Garnett.
• ...William Shanbrooke.
• ...Richard Johnson.
• ...Michael Garnet.
• ...John Pollard.
• ...Robert Gascoyne.
• ...Joseph Sanders.
• ...James Boone.
• ...Thomas Young.
• ...Richard Collard.
• ...George Collard.
• ...Thomas Russell.
• ...Thomas Brooke.
• ...Richard Nicholls.
• ...Hen. Lewis.
• ...Edmond Dawson.
• ...Steven Hauton.
• ...John Weatherly.
• ...Hen. Rome.
• ...Tobias Maynard.