754 C O 
permitting fuch importation. By 3 Hen. V. to make, 
coin, buy, or bring into the realm, any gally-lialfpence, 
fulkins, or dotkins, in order to utter them, is felony: 
and knowingly to receive or pay them or blanks (2 Hen. 
VI. c. 9,) incurs a forfeiture of an hundred (hillings. By 
14 Eliz. c. 3, fuch as forge any foreign coin, although it 
be not made current here by proclamation, (hall (with 
their aiders anil abettors) be guilty of mifprifon of trea- 
lon. By 13 and 14 Car. II, c, 31, the offence of melting 
down any current filver money, {hall be punifhed with 
forfeiture of the fame, and all'o the double value: and 
the offender if a freeman of any town (hall be disfran- 
chifed ; if not, fliall fuffer fix months imprifonment. By 
6 and 7 Will. III. c. 17, if any perfon buys or fells, or 
knowingly has in his cuftody, any clippings or filings of 
the coin, he (hall forfeit the fame and 500I. one moiety to 
the king, and the other to the informer; and be branded 
in the cheek with the letter R. [But fee'benefit of Cler¬ 
gy.] By 8 and 9 Will. III. c- 26, no perfon {lull blanch, 
or whiten, copper for fale (which makes it refemble fil¬ 
ver), nor buy or fell or offer for fale any malleable compo- 
fition, which {hall be heavier than filver, and look, touch, 
and wear, like gold, but beneath the ftandard : nor {hall 
any perfon receive or pay at a lefs rate.than it imports to 
be of (which demonftrates a confcioufnefs of its bafenefs, 
and a fraudulent defign) any counterfeit or diminifhed 
milled money of this kingdom, not being cut in pieces; 
an operation which is exprefsly direfted to be performed 
when any fuch money {lull be produced in evidence, and 
which any perfon, to whom any gold or filver money is 
tendered, is empowered (by 9 and 10 Will. III. c. 21. 13 
Geo. III. c. 17. and 14. Geo. III. c. 70.) to perform at 
his own hazard ; and the officers of the exchequer and 
the receivers general of the taxes are particularly required 
to perform : and all fuch perfons l’o blanching, felling, 
See. {hall be guilty of felony, and may be profecuted for 
the fame at any time within three months after the of¬ 
fence committed. 
Buttbefe precautions notbeingfound fufficient to pre¬ 
vent the uttering of falfe or diminifhed coin, which was 
only a mifdemeanor at common law, it is enabled by 15 
snd 16 Geo. II. c. 28, that if any perfon fliall utter or 
tender in payment any counterfeit coin, knowing it to 
be lb, he flull for the firlfc' offence be imprifoned fix 
months, and find fureties for his good behaviour for fix 
months more : for the lecond offence fliall be imprifoned 
two years, and find fureties for two years longer: and 
that for the third offence, lhall be guilty of felony with¬ 
out benefit of clergy. See Clergy. Alfo if a perfon 
knowingly tenders in payment any counterfeit money, 
and at the fame time has more in his cuftody; or fliall, 
within ten days after, knowingly tender other falfe 
money; he fliall be deemed a common uttererof counter¬ 
feit money; and fliall for the. firft offence be imprifoned 
one year, and find fureties for his good behaviour two 
years longer: and for the fecond be guilty of felony 
without benefit of clergy. By the fame ftatute it is alfo 
enabled that if any.perfon counterfeits the copper coin, 
he fliould fuffer two years imprifonment, and find fureties 
for two years more. By 11 Geo. III. c. 40, perfons coun¬ 
terfeiting copper halfpence or farthings, with their abet¬ 
tors; or buying, felling, receiving or putting off any 
counterfeit copper money (not being cut in pieces or 
melted down) at a lefs value than it imports to be of; 
fliall be guilty of Angle felony. And by a temporary 
flat. (14 Geo. III. c. 42,) if any quantity qf money ex¬ 
ceeding the fum of five pounds, being or purporting to 
be the filver coin of this realm, but below the ftandard of 
the mint in weight or finenefs, fliall be imported into 
Great Britain or Ireland, the fame fliall be forfeited, in 
equal- moieties, to the crown and profecutor. 
The coining of money is in all Hates the aft of the 
fc/ereign power: that its value may be knovyn on in- 
fpeftion. And with regard to coinage in general, there 
are three things to be conlidered therein 5 the,.materials, 
1 N. J 
the impreffion, and the denomination. With regard to 
the materials, Sir Edward Coke lays it down (2 Inft. 577,) 
that the money of England 111 lift either be of gold or fil¬ 
ver : and none other was ever iflued by the royal autho¬ 
rity till 1672, when copper farthings and halfpence were 
coined by Charles II : and ordered by proclamation to 
be current in all payments, under the value of (ixpence, 
and not otherwife. But this copper coin is r.ot upon the 
fame footing with the other in many refpefts, particular-) 
ly with regard to the offence of counterfeiting it, as has 
been already noticed. And as to the filver coin, it was 
enabled by 14 Geo. III. c. 42, that no tender of payment 
in filver money, exceeding twenty-five pounds at one 
time, (hall be a fufficient tender in law for more than its 
value by weight, at the rate of 5s. 2d. an ounce. This 
was a claufe in a temporary aft, which was continued till 
1783, iince which time-it does not appear to have been 
revived. As to the impreflion, the ltamping thereof is 
the unqueftionable prerogati ve of the crown : for, thought- 
divers bifliops and monalteries had formerly the privi¬ 
lege of coining money, yet, as fir Matthew Hale obferves, 
1 Hi/}. P. C. 161, this was ufually done by fpecial grant 
from the king, or by prefeription which fuppofes one ; 
and therefore was derived from, and not in deroga¬ 
tion of, the royai prerogative. Befides that they had only 
the profit of the coinage, and not the pow.er of militating 
either the impreflion or denomination ; but had ufually 
the {lamp fent them from the exchequer. The denomi¬ 
nation, or the value for which the coin is to pnfs current, 
is likewife in the breaft of the king ; and, if any unufual 
pieces are coined, that value mull be afcertained by pro¬ 
clamation. In order to fix the value, the weight and the- 
finenefs of the metal are to be taken into confederation 
together. ’ When a given weight of gold or filver is of 
a given finenefs, it is then of the true ftandard, and call¬ 
ed efterling or fterling metal: a name for which there are 
various reafons given, but none of them entirely fatisfac- 
tory. See S/elm. Glofs. 203. Dufrefne 3, 165. The mod 
plaufible opinion feems to he that adopted by thofe two 
etymologills, that the name was derived from the Efter- 
lings or Eallerlings, as thofe Saxons were anciently call¬ 
ed, who inhabited that dillrift of Germany now occu¬ 
pied by the Hans-towns and their appendages : the ear¬ 
liest traders in modern Europe. Of this fterling or efter¬ 
ling metal all the coin of the kingdom mull be made, by 
25 Edw. III. c. 13. So that the king’s prerogative 
feemeth not to extend to the debating or inhancing the 
value of the coin, below' or above the fterling value. 
2 InJ}. 577 : though fir Matthew Hale, 1 Hal. P. C. 194, 
appears to be of another opinion. The king may alfo 
by his proclamation, legitimate foreign coin, and make 
it current here ; declaring at what value it fliall be taken 
in payments. 1 H. P. C. 197. But this it feems ought to 
be by comparifon with the ftandard of our own coin, 
otherwife the confent of parliament will be neceffary. 
The king may alfo at any time cry down any coin of the 
kingdom, and make it no longer current. 1 Hal. P.C. 197. 
This ftandard hath been frequently varied in former 
times ; but for many years paft it has been thus invaria-, 
ably fettled. The pound troy of gold, confining of 
twenty-two carats (or 24th parts) fine, and two of alloy, 
is divided into forty-four guineas and an half of the pre- 
fent value of 21s. each. And the pound troy of filver, 
confilling of eleven ounces, and two penny weights fine, 
and eighteen penny-weights alloy, is divided into fixty 
two findings. See Foikes on Englifti Coins. 
In the 7th year of Wiliiam III. an aft was made for 
calling in all the old coin of the kingdom, and to melt 
it down and re-coin it ; the deficiencies whereof were to 
be made good at the public charge: and in every hun¬ 
dred pound coined, forty pound was to be {hillings, and 
ten pound fix pences, under certain penalties. Perfons 
bringing plate to the mint to be coined, were to have the 
fame, weight of money delivered out, as an encourage¬ 
ment ; and receivers general of taxes, See. were to receive 
money 
