Elementary arithmetic, with brief notices of its history... by Robert Potts.

24

MONEY.

Henry VIII., 1509-1547. When this monarch came to the
throne, he succeeded to the immense wealth the avarice of his father
had accumulated. According to Lord Bacon (Hist. Hen. VII. p. 230)
he left ~1,800,000 sterling. And Sir R. Cotton writes, that he left
in bullion four and a-half millions, besides his plate, jewels, and rich
attire. All this wealth Henry dissipated in a few years, and to supply
his extravagance for the future, he had recourse to disgraceful means,
and stands recorded as the first of the English Sovereigns who debase:l
the sterling fineness of the coins, and then legalized the debased
coins.
On Sept. 23, 1513, King Henry, with his army, took Tournay, ii
Flanders, and in the same year had small silver coins struck in that
city. They were groats of three kinds. One has his arms on the
obverse, with the figure 8 after his name, and Civitas Tornacensis
with the date 1513 on the reverse. This is the earliest date known
in Arabic numerals on the coins of any English monarch.
On July 24, 1526, a writ was issued to Thomas Wolsey, Cardinal
Abp. of York, legate a latere of the Apostolic See, Primate of England
and Chancellor, commanding him to carry out into effect the king's
design of reducing the English money to the standard of foreign
coins. The reason assigned in a proclamation of August 22 following, was that the price of gold in Flanders and in France was rated
so high as to cause all the coins of the realm to be transported
thither. It was ordained by proclamation on 5 November, that the
money of gold and silver should be reduced in weight.
One pound Troy of gold of the old standard was ordained to be ~27
by tale, and to be coined into 24 sovereigns at 22s. 6d. each; and rials,
angels, George nobles, half-angels, and penny pieces in proportion.
And one pound Troy of gold of 22 carats fine only was to be coined
into 100~ double rose crowns; or 201 half-crowns, making by tale
~25. 2s. 6d.
One pound Troy of silver of old sterling was to be coined into
135 groats or 275 half-groats, or a proportional number of sterlings,
half-pennies, or farthings, so that every pound weight made 45s. by
tale. The augmentation of the value of money by royal authority
brought on the natural consequences, and loud complaints were made
by the people.1
During the preceding reigns, all the provisions enacted to keep the
good English coinage in the kingdom appear to have failed. Sir
Thomas Gresham urged on Sir Thomas Audley, the Lord Privy Seal
(25 July, 1529), the necessity of permitting all merchants, both
subjects and foreigners, to exercise exchanges and rechanges without
restraint, the want of which was a great detriment to trade, and
requested him to prevail with his Majesty to issue his royal proclamation for that purpose, which was done when Sir T. Audley was
Lord Chancellor.
The debasement of the standard of gold and silver was preceded
'by a proclamation in rather ambiguous terms, the year before the
Act of Parliament confirmed it. By the indenture then made, 1513,
I In Rastell's Chronicle, 1629, may be read one of them: "But ye must note
that XLs. in those days [in the time of Richard II.] was better than xLs. of the
present day, which is now the xxI yeare of Kynge Henry the VIII, for at those
days v grotes made an ounce, and now at this day xT grotes maketh an ounce."London, reprinted 1811, 4to. p. 242.