416 Money and Money ers. 



has been made to the excellence of the coins then executed. 

 When it is remembered too that the inferiority of the coinage 

 is one of the main inducements to counterfeiting this fact 

 becomes sufficiently eloquent. As a proof of the admirable 

 talent of Thomas Simon as an engraver, we refer to the illus- 

 tration forming the frontispiece of the present number of the 

 Intellectual Observer, which is a faithful copy of his cele- 

 brated petition crown. The history of this is too well known 

 to require repetition. As it would be an invidious act to depict 

 only the work of an engraver of times long past, it has been 

 considered proper to introduce also a facsimile of the scarcely 

 less remarkable work of the late William Wyon — the Victoria 

 crown piece. This arrangement may appear inconsistent with 

 the chronological order of our narrative, but it certainly is 

 not obnoxious to a charge of injustice towards the memory of 

 Wyon. 



Once the moneyers were compelled to submit to the intro- 

 duction of Blondeau's machinery, they set about making the 

 best bargain they could respecting it, and a new contract was 

 arranged between them and the mint-master. They were 

 taught and instructed in their new duties by Blondeau, and 

 undertook to perform all the operations of minting, from the 

 stage of the standard wrought bar downwards ; to provide all 

 materials and necessaries ; to defray all waste of working, all 

 repairs of machinery, etc. They also agreed to maiutain the 

 horses for working the horse mills, to find alum, argol, and 

 sawdust ; ( ' to keep in repair the ovens and utensils for nealing 

 and blanching, and to make good the balances, tubs, bowls, 

 and sacks." Thus things went on till the year 1666, when a 

 new Coinage Act was passed which altered completely the 

 financial arrangements of the Mint. It also interfered materi- 

 ally with the constitution of the establishment, and Ruding, no 

 mean authority, says, that the act was "most fatal to the 

 interests of the mint." 



Between the years 1695 and 1697, a great re-coinage into 

 milled money, of all the clipped and defaced hammered silver 

 money of the country took place; and on April 6, 1697, a commit- 

 tee of the House of Commons, appointed to inquire into the 

 " Miscarriages of the officers of the Mint," made its report. This 

 report is of a most interesting character, and throws great light 

 upon the internal economy of the money manufactory as it ex- 

 isted at that time. It is, unfortunately, of too great length for 

 transcription here. We may, however, mention that Dr. (after- 

 wards Sir) Isaac Newton, who was then warden of the mint, 

 figures in the report as a witness examined by the committee. 

 A number of stringent resolutions were passed by the commit- 

 tee, who also proposed to bring in a bill for the prevention of 



