Partial holograph draft of MINT00883 (Mint 19/1/10-11)

<106r>

The Assaymasters weights are 1, 2, 3, 6, 11, 12 & represent so many ounces. The weight 12 is about 20gr more or less as he pleases to have his weights made. With this he weighs the silver into the fire. And recconning a wast answering to 2 penny weight he weighs it out of the fire by the weight 11 to see if it be standard & if it be heavier or lighter he adds in the lighter scale penny weight & halfpenny weight to see how much it is better or wors. His scales when cleane turn with the 128th part of a grain, that is with the 2560th part of the weight 12 which answers to less than the 10th part of a penny weight.

+ < insertion from lower down f 106r > He cutts off from every Ingot a piece of about a drachm for two assays beats it out into a thin plate, scrapes it clean & cuts it into the ballance &c. In assaying the money he clips a little off from several pieces of money & assays them together. The Assay-drops of the money & of the Pot assay (but not of the ingots) are his fee. He makes + < text from f 106r resumes > He makes two assays of every Ingot, puts 13 coppeles at once into the furnace uses lead separated from its ☾: of this & ☾ an equal quantity He lets the fire cool gradually till the silvers set least by cooling too quickly the silver spring & the assay thereby make the silver seem wors then it is When the lead is blown off the ☾ looks very bright. The dimensions of the Assay furnace are these

<106v>

The melter runns from 600 to 800llwt of ☾ in a pot. When the ☾ is molten he puts in the allay. For the 1st melting including coales & wages of melters & mouldmakers & pots Ladles Ingot molds he is allowed $\frac{\mathrm{3}}{\mathrm{4}}$ per pound weight.         For wast 1$\frac{\mathrm{1}}{\mathrm{4}}$d & as much for remelting, the scissel & its wast that is in all 4d per pound weight. The sweep he has into the bargain & at his own charge makes it up for himself. There is more wast & expence in the scissel then in the ingots in proportion of 4 to 3 or 5 to 4 or thereabouts provided the quantity of silver melted be equal The scissel is to the money made out of it as 7 to 9 or thereabouts & all the ingots melted in the first melting to all the scissel melted afterward as the money made at every melting to the scissel of that money that is as 8 to 7+. There is more wast in money, plate & scissel then in Ingots & more in lincel & sweep then in scissel. For The wast is of the allay evaporating & this evaporation is most when the metal is ready to melt. Hence standard lincel or sweep by melting becomes better 2 or 3 penny weight, & scissel better perhaps $\frac{\mathrm{1}}{\mathrm{3}}$ penny weight A blast carrys away the fumes of the metall & thereby increases the wast. Therefore the melting pot should be covered close with an iron cover under the flames as well as the fire with a cover over them. The metal once molten fumes less & therefore scissel, & perhaps the lincel & sweep should be put into Ingots first molten. For they wast least, when put into molten metal. The

Hastings To the

May it please your Lordships

The petition annexed of the Clerks of the Officers of the Tower of London