Trial of the Pyx. 11 



be made according to the standard of identical goodness. 

 (Premeuretnent qe horn doit fere un estandart qe doit demorer 

 al Eschekar, on en quel lieu qe nostre Seignor le Roy vodra. 

 Et sekme la forme del estandart serra fete la moneye, et de 

 tiel bonte come lestantar). In the sixth clause of the Ordi- 

 nance reference is distinctly made to a Pyx-box, in which was 

 to be deposited a sterling coin out of every ten pounds weight 

 struck for the purpose of making the assay or trial. It also 

 gives explicit instructions as to the custody of the keys of the 

 box, of which there were to be two, one for the Master, and 

 one for the Warden of the Mint. 



The system of holding trials of the Pyx, obtained with 

 more or less regularity, once in three months, until the reign of 

 Queen Elizabeth, and Ruding quotes the following from an 

 account of such proceedings which took place in her reign — 

 " And uppon reasonable warning thereof given, it (the Pyx- 

 box) shall be opmed once in three monnethes before some ot 

 the Queen's Counsell assigned, in the presence of the said 

 Warden and Master ; and ther shalbe maid assaies as well of 

 the finness as of the waight of the said monies of gold and 

 silver by enie meannes in the said box.-" 



Pending the troublous times of Charles I., trials of the 

 Pyx were held at very irregular and uncertain periods, the 

 probability being that they were deemed of much less conse- 

 quence than the trials of strength continually waged between 

 that unhappy sovereign and his parliamentary antagonists. 



During the Commonwealth it is believed that only one 

 public examination of the coinage took place, and that a long 

 time after Cromwell's accession to supreme power, namely, in 

 1657. The warrant for this is still extant, and, since, it is 

 very brief, it may not be uninteresting to, quote it entire. It 

 runs as follows : — 



" Oliver P. 



" Whereas, amongst other weighty affairs of the Common- 

 wealth, the care of assaying and trying the monies thereof by 

 the standard of England, according to the ancient custom of 

 the realm, is not the least. We, judging it necessary that the 

 trial and assay of the said money be forthwith made, do there- 

 fore hereby signify such our will and pleasure to be, command- 

 ing you forthwith to cause a trial and assay to be made of the 

 Pyx, now being in the Mint, within the Tower of * London, by 

 a Jury of Goldsmiths of our said City of London, of integrity 

 and experience, to be empannelled on a day certain to be by 

 you in that behalf appointed, in the place accustomed, within 

 our Palace of Westminster, and that the Lords Commissioners 

 of our Treasury, the Justices of the several Benches, and Barons 

 of the Exchequer, or some of them, be then there present and 



