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

MONEY.

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The crowns were similar in type to the former coinage. The indenture to Sir R. Martin ordered that one pound weight of gold, 22
carats fine and 2 carats alloy, was to be coined into ~37. 4s. by tale,
and the pound weight of silver into 62 shillings, or a proportional
number of other coins.
A proclamation was issued on 16 Nov., in which it was stated,
that great inconvenience had arisen from the Scottish coins of gold
having been declared equal to the gold coins of England. It was
not said that the Scottish coins were not worth so much of the
English silver money; but because English gold coins in regard to
silver coins, were not of the true proportion between gold and silver
in other nations. This error had been the great cause of the transportation of gold out of the realm into other countries, because the
gold coins of England were of more value in those parts than
they were allowed to be current within the realm.
To remedy these and other inconveniences, new coins were struck
both of gold and silver to be made of several stamps, but of one
uniform standard and alloy, to be current in the kingdom of Great
Britain; namely, a gold coin weighing 6dwts. 103 grains, to be
called the unit of 20s. value, and other gold coins, of the values of
the half, the quarter, the fifth, and the eighth of the unit. The silver
coins ordered were pieces of the value of five shillings, two shillings
and sixpence, one shilling, sixpence, twopence, and one penny. All
these were proclaimed and authorised to be the current coins of
Great Britain.
In this year a very singular proclamation was issued dated 14 May,
which exhibits strange proofs of ignorance of the principles of commerce, and equal boldness of assertion respecting the nature of the
prices of the precious metals at that time; and a remedy was proposed
by fixing the rates at which foreign gold and silver coins should be
authorized to pass current. By another indenture of 1612, the pound.
weight of gold, old standard, was to be coined into ~44 by tale, and a
pound of gold, 22 carats fine, into ~40. 18s. 4d. by tale.
In the year 1613, farthing tokens of copper were first coined, and
allowed to pass in currency in his Alajesty's dominions. Several
coinages of gold and silver were ordered during his reign, and proclamations issued against the exportation of the precious metals,
which do not appear to have been successful, as the merchants and
goldsmiths gave higher prices for gold and silver than were given by
his lajesty's mint. On the coins struck after his accession to the
English throne, his style was JACOBUS DEI GIATIA ANTGLLIE, SCOTIE,
FBcANTIr ET HIBERNLZ BEX. In the second year, ANeGLIa SCOTIZM
were changed into iAGIoE BRITANNrI. His earliest English coins
had on the reverse EXURGAT DEUS DISSIPENTUR INIMICI. But
after his second year, they were Qu) DEus CONJUlNXIT NEMO SEPARET;
or TUEATUR UNITA DEUS; or FACIAM EOS IN GENTEM UINAM, or HENRICTs ROSAS, REGNA JACOBUS, in allusion to the two roses by
Henry VII., and his own desired union of the two countries.
Charles I., 1625-1649, inherited the kingdom with his father's
debts, and being engaged in war, he found his want of money exceeded all his means of supply. His first expedient was to enhance
the values both of the gold and silver coins. The natural consequence of such a scheme would have been, that all the old money both
of gold and silver would cease to circulate, and would become bullion,