CURRENCY. 197 



was sold at Cambridge in March. But the corporation books 

 of Norwich supply a price of 53^-. In 1557 it sank to 8s. 4!^., 

 and stood at 9.$-. $\d. in 1558. My reader will remember that 

 the year means the harvest of the year, and is really three 

 months of the year named, and nine of the year following. 

 It is possible that Mary might have undertaken what her sister 

 effected, but she was drawn by her husband into the war with 

 France, in which Calais was lost, to the great indignation of 

 the English, and to the great relief of the royal exchequer. 

 In 1557 Mary declared war against France, in 1558 she lost 

 Calais. 



As soon as it was possible, Elizabeth began to reform the 

 currency. She began by issuing a currency eleven-twelfths 

 fine, having granted a commission for that purpose on Dec. 31; 

 and in 1560, Sept. 27, she issued a proclamation declaring the 

 value at which the base money should be received in exchange 

 and at the mint. Naturally she kept the time of her proclama- 

 tion a secret, else the pieces, which were of very various value, 

 would have been selected, and only the basest would be 

 presented at the mint. This practice indeed began immediately 

 on the issue of her proclamation, and was declared, of course 

 vainly, punishable on October 9. 



It is not easy or even possible to distribute the responsibility 

 of base money among the two sovereigns who issued it, but 

 it is highly probable that by far the greatest amount in circula- 

 tion was issued by Henry the Eighth. We know however what 

 was the amount of base coin, in pound weights, which was 

 brought to the mint in answer to the queen's proclamation 

 between Michaelmas 1560, and Michaelmas 1561. It was 

 631,950, * which was current money according to the rates of 

 the several standards to the amount of 638,113 i6s. 6d.' 

 From this it appears was extracted 244,416 Ibs. of silver, which 

 was coined into .783,248 at sixty shillings from the pound. 

 The costs of coinage were 12,983 4^. 3^., but the account 

 does not give the cost of refining. Of course this was not the 

 whole of the money in circulation. Elizabeth's government 



