Unfinished variant holograph draft of MINT00589 (Mint 19/2/301)

<434r>

To the Right Honourable Sidney Lord Godolphin Lord High Treasurer of England.

May it please your Lordship

In Obedience to your Lordships Order of Reference of the 16th of Iune last past upon the annext Proposal of Mr Abel Slaney for himself & Partners for a new Coinage of 700 Tuns of half pence & farthings We do humbly acquaint your Lordship that We have inquired into all the Coinages of that sort since the year 1672, & do find that in the Reigns of King Charles that 2d, & King James the 2d & in the beginning of the Reign of the late King & Queen, the coinage of half pence & farthings was performed by one or more Commissioners who had money imprested from the Exchequer to buy Copper & Tin, & coin'd at 20d per pound Haverdupois & accounted upon oath to the Government for the produce thereof.

That upon calling in the Tin halfpence & farthings by reason of the complaints made against them, there was a Patent granted to the Proposer & others who contracted to change the Tin farthings & halfpence, & to enable them to bear that charge they were allowed to coin 700 Tunns at 21 pence per pound weight without being accountable to the Government. Which reason now ceasing we are humbly of opinion that the former method by commission is most advantageous to the Government, especially if the