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

36

MONEY.

Er TUTAMEN, and the year of his reign with one or two exceptions.
This inscription was placed round the edge to prevent clipping.
Evelyn states that it was suggested by himself to the Master of the
Mint, having observed it in a vignette in the Cardinal de Richelieu's
Greek Testament. The inscription round the edge began to be dated
with the year of his reign, but different years of the reign sometimes
appear on coins of the same date. The crown of 1663 is inscribed
DECus ET TUTAMEN. ANNO REGNI xv. On that of 1667 is found
DECIiMO NONO, and subsequently the Roman numerals were changed
to the corresponding words.
James II., 1685-1688. The short and unhappy reign of King
James II. was in almost every respect eminently disgraceful, and in
no single instance more so than in the state to which he at length
reduced the coinage in his kingdom of Ireland. How different was
the conduct of his father Charles I., who in his extreme distress never
debased the standard of the coinage of the realm. The money of England escaped violation, for James was forced to abandon that kingdom
before his necessities became very urgent, and only the coinage of his first
year was of the same standard as his brother's. On 23 December, 1688,
he was compelled to abdicate the throne, on account of his unscrupuIous attempt to force the Roman Catholic religion upon the nation in
violation of his Coronation oath, and he retired into France. In the
following March he made an attempt to recover the Crown, and on
the 12th, with about 6000 French troops, he landed at Kinsale. On
the 24th he entered Dublin in a triumphant manner, and issued a
proclamation, raising the value of the current coins, the guinea in gold
to 24 shillings, and the crown in silver to 5s. 5d.
But all his expedients failed to procure a sufficient supply of
money, he coined brass and copper sixpenny pieces to meet his
immediate necessities, and shortly after, copper shillings and halfcrown pieces. Some of them are known for every month from June,
1689, to April, 1690, inclusive. To supply the mint with metal for
this degraded coinage, two brass cannons from the Court of Dublin
Castle were' delivered to the Commissioners of the mint. And it
appears that they not only bought old brass, old broken bells, and
pewter and copper, but actually pillaged the metal utensils from the
kitchens of the citizens of Dublin, because they found it difficult to get
a sufficient supply of copper or brass for the mint.
These brass and copper monies were found insufficient for the
expenses of his army. On 1 March money of white mixed metal was
coined into pieces about the size of a shilling and a sixpence, to be
current for a penny and a halfpenny respectively. These coins had on
one side the head of the king with JACOBUS II DUS. DEI G-RATIA; and
on the other side a piece of prince's metal fixed in the middle with the
impression of the harp and crown, and the inscription MAG: But:
FRA: ET: HIB: REX, with the date. A further coinage of white
metal for crown pieces was ordered to be current on the 21 April.
On 15 June the brass and copper half-crowns were called in, and
restamped with the die which was used for the white metal crown pieces,
and then re-issued at the value of 5s.
There is an account of this coinage preserved, from which it appears
that the weight of metal used was 389724 1bs. 2 ozs. Avoirdupois,
which at 4d. a pound (valued by the workmen at the mint) gives the
real value at ~6495. 8s. 4d. This metal was coined and issued as