TO THE KNIGHTS, CITIZENS, and BURGESSES, Of the HONOURABLE House of Commons Now Assembled in PARLIAMENT.  
The humble Proposals of Captain Anthony Stamp, for Regulating the Abuses of the Curra●● Coins, and for Raising the Price of Money, and Plate, within the KINGDOM of ENGLAND.  
HERE is humbly presented to this Honourable House, such safe and profitable Ways as may supply the Necessity of their Majesties; being agreeable to your Honour's late Votes, To find out such Ways and Means as may perfect your affectionate good Intentions to their Majesty's Service, and to the accomplishing of what is wanting to make up the gross Sum so much desired; The Proposer hath laboured, out of his Zeal to the present Government, to find out the most acceptable, easiest, and gratefulest, Ways to effect the same; and thereupon he humbly offers his Mite into the Scale, to turn the Beam to the Advantage of the Public, by raising of several Millions of coined Money, without laying any manner of Burden upon their Majesty's Subjects for it, towards defraying the great Charge this Kingdom will be at in their Wars: Which he performs, by raising the weighty currant Coin and Plate of this Realm, to a higher Value, and that too without Damage to the Owners; and the Overpulsh thereof accrueing over and above the intrinsic Value of the said raised Money and Plate, is to redown unto their Majesties towards the speedy reducing of Ireland, and the effectual carrying on their War against France. Which ways being put into Practice, will keep the weighty Money in this Realm from being further transported, and melted down at home; and likewise will be the only means to Import Foreign Gold and Silver into Their Majesty Royal Mint, to be Coined into Money: And moreover, will redress the Complaints ●f their Subjects, from being longer imposed upon by the evil Practices of an innumerable Number of wicked Persons, who have defaced and diminished their Majesty's currant Coin, both of Gold and Silver in their Clipping, Fileing, Drilling, and Washing of the weighty Money, that the greatest art of the running Money is clipped and light, which are sufficient Evidences in themselves to prove the Fact; and also all the currant Coins have and are daily counterfeited with base mixed Metals, some of them milled, and plated over, ringed about, to bear the Touch, and others double Silvered and gilded, to the cheating of the Receivers. All which irregular and insufferable Practices ought to be remeded, as being dishonourable to their Majesties, and a great Grievance to the Nation. For the preventing of the like Abuses for the future, and to bring easily and speedily to pass the raising of so vast a Fund, as he doubts not of; which with humble Submission he conceives, may prove, by the Authority of this August Assembly an additional Supply to their Majesty's Necessities; besides, it will give a vigorous Life to the now dying Trade, and Manufacture of this Kingdom, bringing along with it Peace, Security, and Tranquillity at home, under their now Majesties most Happy and Auspicious Reign.  
From these weighty, needful, and pressing, Considerations, follows his Propositions and Reasons, to make good the Sufficiency of his said Proposals.  

I.  
THat all the currant Money, both of Gold and Silver, within this Kingdom of England, and Dominion of Wales, which is not clipped or defaced, he humbly proposeth, may be ordered to be brought into Their Majesty's Mint, and other places to be appointed through the Realm, to receive from thence their Majesty's Royal Stamp to be struck upon all the said Money, denoting what each of the several Coins are raised in value, to pass currant for in all Payments whatsoever, by the Authority of this present Parliament; viz. Two Pence to pass for Two Pence Half penny Four Mites, Three Pence to pass for Four Pence, a quarter of a Thirteen-pence-half-penny to pass for Four-pence-half-penny, Four Pence to pass for Five Pence Farthing Two Mites, Four-pence-half-penny to pass for Six Pence, Six Pence to pass for Eight Pence, half a Thirteen-Pence-half-penny to pass for Nine Pence, Nine Pence to pass for Twelve Pence, Twelve Pence to pass for One Shilling and Four Pence, half a Crown to pass for Three Shillings and Four Pence, and a Crown to pass for Six Shillings and Eight Pence. In like manner all the Gold Coin are to be raised, viz. A Guinea, which now goes for Twenty one Shillings and Six Pence, to pass for Twenty Eight Shillings and Eight Pence, a half Guinea to pass for Fourteen Shillings and Four Pence, an old broad Twenty Shilling piece, which now goes without Authority, for Twenty three Shillings and Six Pence, to pass for Thirty one Shillings and Four Pence, the Ten Shilling piece, which now goes for Eleven Shillings and nine Pence, to pass for Fifteen Shillings and Eight Pence, and the Five Shilling piece, which now goes for Five Shillings and Ten Pence half Penny, to pass for Seven Shillings; and the old broad Twenty two Shilling piece, which now goes, without Authority, for Twenty Five Shillings and Six Pence, to pass for One Pound Fourteen Shillings, and the Eleven Shilling piece to pass for Seventeen Shillings, and the Five Shillings and Six Penny piece to pass for Eight Shillings and Six Pence.   

II.  
That the Owners, or bringers in of any one kind of Coin, be it Gold or Silver, is to deliver Four into the Mint, or other places appointed, and to receive out Three of the same kind of Coin with Their Majesties Stamp struck thereon with their several weights; which will then by virtue thereof be made of equal Value to the said Four Pieces: More especially the Gold, Crown, and half Crown pieces, are to be weighed and gauged, which ways will discover the currant Money from the Counterfeited. As for Instance, let Four Ninepences be delivered into the Mint, etc. Which now goes for Three Shillings, the bringers in of them are to receive out Three of the same stamped Ninepences, which are then to pass at Twelve Pence apiece; which said Three are of equal Value to the said Four.  
Le● Four Guineas of Twenty one Shillings and Six Pence a piece, be delivered in like manner into any one of the said places, which comes to Four Pounds Six Shillings, they shall receive out from thence Three Guineas, which are so stamped at Twenty Eight Shillings and Eight Pence per piece, which exactly comes to Four Pound Six Shillings, which said Three Guineas stamped are of equal Value and Worth to the said Four Guineas unstamped. This Proportion holds good in all the rest of the said Coins; as Eeight delivered, Six to be taken out; and so is 16 to 12, 20 to 15, 32 to 24, 40 to 30, 400 to 300, 8000 to 6000, etc. The telling of this raised Money, is as easy as the Money now passable.   

III.  
That Their Majesties would be graciously pleased (for the preventing of the future clipping, etc. of the currant Coin of this Realm) to cause their Royal Proclamation for the crying down of clipped Money from being any longer Currant, and to be refused in all Payments whatsoever; and be from thence deemed no longer Money but Bullion. After all the weighty Money of Gold and Silver is stamped, as aforesaid, than the said clipped Coin or Bullion (by another Proclamation) is to be brought, or sent, in Specie, unto Their Majesty's said Mint, to be melted down, and coined into milled Money, with their new raised Value and Weight to be expressed in their several Coins, not deviating from the uniform Standard that now is, the Owners or bringers in of the said clipped Money, shall deliver into the Office of the Mint Four Pieces of any one kind, and they shall receive out from thence Three weighty stamped pieces of the same Coin in full lieu thereof, being of equal Value to what the Owners received and took them for at first; and so in proportion to greater Numbers, as in the foregoing Paragraphs, the Owners will thereby be no Loser's for so profitable an Exchange.   

iv  
That the raising of the Currant Coin of England thus, will not only bring in all the Money both of Gold and Silver, as well the hoarded, as the running Money, to Their Majesty's Mint, and other places appointed, to be Stamped, as aforesaid, for no Money which has not the said Stamps are to go for no more than they now pass for, till they have received the said Stamps; and if any of the said Money so Stamped should afterwards be Clipped, Filled, Drilled, or Washed, and fall short of their said Weight, they are not then to pass as Currant Money, but to be refused by all Persons who are to receive the same.   

V  
That if all the Currant Money in England were brought into the Mint to be melted down, to have a greater Alloy added to the New Coin, and the said New Coin raised to a higher Value than the present Coin now goes for, as some Person has proposed in Print so to do, purposely to raise Their Majesty's great Sums of Money thereby; now if this Project were to take effect, it would draw a greater Evil upon the Kingdom than the Clipped, Light and False, Money does; and the reason thereof is, such Money will be easily Counterfeited with the same fineness, because the Gold and Silver is not as yet raised to a higher Value, which will encourage, increase, and enrich, Numbers of Unlawful Coiners, to the Impoverishing of this Kingdom. But the raising of the Currant Money to a higher Value above the Intrinsic, is both Honourable, Safe, and very Profitable, to Their Majesties, and likewise Beneficial to Their Subjects.   

VI  
That if all the Currant Coin of Gold and Silver were promiscuously brouht into the Mint to be melted down, and new Coined to the new raised Value, it would in all probability take up above Two Years time to have the same performed, which Their Majesty's most Urgent Occasions cannot permit of, though it is the Proposer's chief Aim to have the Currant Money to be Milled, which is a work of time, but the broad and weighty Money first to be Stamped, together with all the Plate hereafter mentioned, which will bring in speedily, as he doubts not of, several Millions of Money over and above all Charges, in regard there is an extraordinary Necessity, that a Bountiful Supply should be given to Their Majesties, in carrying Vigorously on their Chargeable Wars, which will not only be a Safeguard unto this Nation, but the Preservation of the Protestant Religion both at home and abroad, and the Established Laws of the Kingdom from being Invaded, which will give great Encouragement unto Trade and Manufacture.   

VII.  
That if the Clipping, Fileing, Drilling, and Washing, of the Currant Money of England be not timely stopped, in some few Years there will not be found amongst all the running Money one broad Piece but what will be Clipped, the Guineas Filled, Drilled, and Washed, and all the rest of the Money made light, he humbly Conceives, there is no better way to prevent these grand Abuses, but by raising the said Money to a higher Value, as is humbly Proposed.   

VIII.  
That all the Plate in this Kingdom be brought or sent to convenient places appointed, in all the Cities and great Towns, whereby every piece of Plate, great or small, may receive Their Majesty's Royal Stamp to be struck upon each Plate of them, and the Owners of the said Plate to pay unto Their Majesties for the said Stamp Fiveteen Pence per Ounce, being one Penny less to the said new raised Value upon Money, which Plate so stamped, at any time shall be exchanged at Their Majesty's Mint, for ready Money, to the full new raised Value, according to the weight of the said Plate; and the Goldsmiths, and others, which Sell Plate, the Buyers are to allow again to the Goldsmiths the said Fiveteen Pence per Ounce for the said Stamp, till the said bought Plate are brought to the Mint to be Sold as aforesaid; so the Owners of any Plate thus, can be no loser's thereby, therefore the Money and Plate ought to be raised to the said Value, for the Supplying the great Necessities of the Kingdom.   

IX.  
That in regard the Goldsmith's having stocks of Plate by them, should have a Twelve months' time, or more, given them to pay Quarterly into Their Majesties for all their Plate so Stamped.   

X.  
That the Wyer-drawers are to pay Their Majesties for every Ounce of fine Silver they work into Wyer, Eighteen Pence per Ounce, and for every Ounce of Guilded Wire to pay Twenty One Pence, and for every Ounce of right Gold Wyer Twenty Two Shillings. The Gold-beaters are to pay in like manner unto Their Majesties, Eighteen Pence per Ounce for fine Silver, and Twenty Two Shillings per Ounce of fine Gold which they work into Leaves, in regard their Work is not Stampable.   

XI.  
That Their Majesties would be graciously pleased to Order the Buying up of all Bullion, Foreign Coin both of Gold and Silver, together with the Ingots, grained Sand, and Dust-Gold, (at the Currant Price,) which shall be brought into this Realm, by reason the Currant Coin and Plate are raised to so high a Value, which will be a means that great plenty of Gold and Silver will be Imported, about Two Thirds thereof to be Coined according to the new raised Value, and the other Third to be Sold in the Mint Office to the several Artificers that work therein, after their own Stock is wrought off, and disposed of, at the usual Price, saving the Wyer-drawers, and Gold-beaters, whose Work cannot be stamped, whereby these said Artificers may maintain themselves and Families, as formerly.   

XII.  
That the raising of the Plate and Money of this Realm thus, will, (being forthwith put into practice,) speedily raise Their Majesties a vast Fund of Money without any damage to the Owners, by reason the said Plate and Money is not taken from them, but remains with them at a higher Value, for all Silver and Gold, Coined, or not Coined, are here raised to their Values, so that the unlawful Coiners cannot Sergeant the Currant Coin of this Kingdom with the Royal Metals, for they will be loser's and no gainers by it, for should they add any greater Alloy to debase, (any manner of way,) the Money they make, which by Weighing and Gauging before mentioned, will presently discover the Counterfeited Money from the Currant, therefore the raising of Money and Plate to the said Value aught to be allowed of.   

XIII.  
For if the Currant Money and Plate be not raised thus, Their Majesties would be insufferable loser's, to change all the Clipped and Light Money in England and Wales, and give out in lieu thereof Weighty Money, purposely to the Benefit of Their Majesty's Subjects, whereby this Pestilential Evil, which has so long overspread the Land, may be healed, and the Lives of Hundreds saved that would else follow that abominable Trade of Clipping, Fileing, Drilling, Washing, and Counterfeiting, of the Currant Money of this Kingdom, who being discovered, and taken, are by the Law put to Death for the same, for there is hardly a Sessions at the Old-Baily, or Assizes in the Country, but there do more or less of these Notorious Offenders suffer. Now for all these warnings they still go on, and wonderfully multiply in their Numbers, their Charge so little to set up, their Profit great, and their Trade being presently learned, which cannot be prevented but by the raising the Price thus upon Money and Plate, which undoubtedly will prove an easement to Their Majesty's Subjects in Their Public Taxes.   

XIV.  
For had an Act of Parliament been made in the Reign of King Charles the First, that no Clipped Money should pass Currant in Buying and Selling, nor to be received in Payments of Money, there would have been little loss to the Crown, for then there was scarce Ten Clipped Pieces to Three Thousand now, besides in all the former Kings Reigns, till King Charles the Second, all the Gold was Weighed, and not otherwise taken, purposely to prevent the Washing of them light; and ever since the last Civil Wars in England Gold passeth without Weighing, insomuch, that there is hardly to be found one old Piece of Gold but what is extremely diminished in Weight by Washing, unless hoarded up, and the Guineas begin to fall into the like Distemper by Fileing, Drilling, and Washing, of them light; and for preventing of the like Evil Practices, there is a Necessity, that all Pieces of Gold after they are Stamped, as aforesaid, all Receivers, or Changers of Gold, should Weigh and Gauge their Pieces to see that they agree to the said Stamp, and this way will hinder the making of Gold light; and likewise the Crown and Half Crown Pieces of Silver to be also Weighed and Gauged, will also prevent the Counterfeiting of Money for the future. Now for all these Weighty Reasons given, the Currant Money and Plate ought to be raised to the said Value.  
These Proposals and Reasons for Regulating the Currant Coin, and for the raising the Value of Money and Plate of this Kingdom, is humbly Offered to the Consideration of this Honourable Assembly, to do therein as their great Wisdoms shall think fit, for so Public a Service to Their Majesties, and Kingdom, as it will be, without Damage or Charge to any.    

London Printed, and Sold by Obediah Blagrave at the Bare in St. Paul's Churchyard, 1690.