A. D. 1344' 53^ 



exception of this new gold money. The currency of all coins of gold 

 or filver, except the king's, was prohibited. And no perfon, receiving 

 a payment of twenty fliillings or more, was to refufe gold money *. 

 The king, in his orders to the fliirrcfs of London for proclaiming this 

 laft coinage, obferved that hitherto people had been impofed on, becaufe 

 there was no fixed rate of exchange, and informed them, that he had 

 ordered an exchange to be opened at Servate's towerf in London, where 

 the public might receive 6/7 in filver in exchange for a noble of gold, 

 or a noble of gold in exchange for 6/8- of filver, and in the fame pro- 

 portion for the halves and quarters, thus taking to himfelf a profit of 

 1^ per cent on iflliing filver, and | per cent on iflliing gold ^. The firft 

 gold money having been rated fo much above its value that it was im- 

 poflible to get the people to receive it, the king proclaimed ( Augufl; 20 '') 

 rhat no perfon ftiould be obhged to take it but at its value as bullion. 

 \^Foedera, V. v,pp. 403, 416, 424.] 



February 6"' — The king, again defiring to be informed of the fiate of 

 the navy, or fhipping, of England, fent precepts to the magiftrates of 

 all the ports, ordering them to return a number of reprefentatives, pro- 

 portioned to their trade or population, well acquainted with maritime 

 affairs, to a council of fhipping, or naval parliament, to be held at Lon- 

 don in the enfuing lent, as follows, viz. 



* The permiffion to refufe it in fmaller quanti- 

 ties fhows, tliat it was difli'ied by the people, and 

 for a very good reafon, as it w as rated confiderably 

 above its ^alue according to the proportion then 

 eftablifhcd between gold and filver. About a year 

 and a half after this time we find it ftill refufed in 

 the north partsof En -land. \_Fcrdera, P. v,p. 480.3 



f Appar rtty tl-.r fame which Stow calls Sernes 

 tower tti> ' Ci:inei's tower in Bucklerlbiiry. [_Sur- 

 ijfy of London, pp. u8, 477.] 



X Before this time the exchanges iffued good fil- 

 ver money in exchange for fuch as was deficient in 

 weight or purity, and accommodated travelers with 

 Englifh or foreign money, when arriving in, or de- 

 parting from, the kingdom : and from thefe ex- 

 changes a part of tlie royal revenue was derived. 

 In the third year of King Richard I the profit of 

 the exchange ('cambil') of all England, except 

 Winchefler, amounted to j^400. In the beginning 

 of the reign of John, Hugh Oifcl, a foreign mer- 



3X2 



