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The Scottish Mint After the Recoinage, 1709-1836 Atho Murrayll *

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The Scottish Mint After the Recoinage, 1709-1836 Atho Murrayll * Proc Soc Antiq Scot, 129 (1999), 861-886 The Scottish Mint after the recoinage, 1709-1836 Atho MurraylL * ABSTRACT This paper traces historyMintthe the of from post-Unionthe recoinage 1707-9of eventualits to abolition between 1817 1836, looksand and abortive at proposals resumingfor coinage between 1711 and last its 1761 production,and Revolutionthe Club Medal 1753.of postscriptA refersthe to attempts to bring the Royal Mint to Scotland, 1963-7. SURVIVAL OF THE SCOTTISH MINT On 5 October 1709 a final batch of new coins was delivered to the Bank of Scotland bringing to post-Unioe th d en n a n recoinage.1 Though these wer vere eth ystrucEdinburge e lasb th o t t k a h Mint, until 1814 it retained a full complement of permanent officials, some of whom remained in pos that t i organization tils a t l wa 1836 w .Ho n costing well over £100 0yeaa r survive over dfo ra century, while apparently doing nothing to justify its existence? The first reason is that its survival was written into article 16 of the Treaty of Union. The original proposal of the English commissioners for a common coinage, linked to the adoption of English weight measured san s that later becam separate eth Scottise th e o articlt t h pu e s 17wa , commissioners on 19 June 1706. On 21 June they put forward their own proposal: and after the Union the Mint at Edinburgh be always continued under the same rules as the Mint in Towee th Londof ro elsewherr no Unitee th n ei d Kingdom.2 On 26 December the Scottish Parliament inserted a further amendment: and the present Officers of the Mint be continued.3 finas it ln I for article mth e concluded wit hprovisoa , applyin Mine officerd th an o tgt s alike: subjec suco t h regulation alterationd san Majestyr He s heirsr a he ,successorsr so Parliamene th r o , t Greaf o t Britain shall think fit. 33 Inverleith Gardens, Edinburgh EH3 5PR | SOCIET 2 86 ANTIQUARIEF YO SCOTLANDF SO , 1999 Common coinage involved recoinage of existing Scottish silver coins (gold and copper were excluded) on the lines of the previous English 'great recoinage'. In spite of some problems the recoinage was completed without any hint of the fraud and mismanagement that had occurred in England. It was characterized by generally cordial relations between the Scottish Mint officials and Sir Isaac Newton, Master of the Mint in the Tower of London.4 e Englisth r hFo recoinage temporary branche e Royath f n i o sl p Min u d bee t ha tse n provincial cities. Once the work was completed these 'country mints' closed down. The same fate might have been envisaged for the Edinburgh Mint and, with hindsight, that was exactly what happened. However, the fifty or so years after the recoinage witnessed intermittent attempts to find a role for the Scottish Mint. That rolpartls ewa y define secone th y db d elemen articln i t e 16 'unde same rth e e ruleth s sa mint in England', that is similar to, but not subordinate. Previously the Scottish Mint had operated under an Act of 1686, which laid down standards for weight and fineness and the salaries of the officers. In the Tower Mint these were set out in the mint indenture, a formal contract betwee Sovereigne Mastee th n th indenture d w timo an r ne n ther s drao ea s t A .5 e p wewa u th , Scottish recoinag carries e wa t unde dou royara l warrant applyin currenterme e gth th f so t Tower Mint indentur Scotlando et . Thoug hScottisa h indentur t signeno s d ewa unti l 1712, belates 6it d appearanc takee b evidencs n na e ca intentio n a f eo maintaio nt nworkina g min Edinburghn i t . defins relationshie wa eth o d t no Whad pdi betwee t mintso i t tw e , nth particularl mattee th n yi r of funding. Under the Coinage Act of 1708 the Master of the Edinburgh Mint was to receive £1200 annually out of the coinage duty, which replaced the bullion duty levied under the 1686 Act. George Allardyce of that Ilk, then Master, had been consulted about the provision to be made for it in the 1708 Act. He had stipulated what was necessary to cover salaries, repairs to the buildings and provision of tools, but had not allowed for the actual costs of coining money, previously met from the free balance of the bullion money.7 OFFICERS AND PATRONAGE, 1709-25 schedulA mine th to et indentur e liste officere d th theid an s r salaries.8 Both wer accordancn ei e wit 168e t with th exceptio e 6Ac h th Collectoe th f no Bullionf ro , whose posceased tha 1708n di , along with the bullion duty, and the Clerk of the Bullion, who continued temporarily in the guise of Assistant to the Weigher and Teller and the Surveyor of the Meltings (offices with only a notional existence). At the head of the permanent officers was the General, normally a member of peeragee th , whose duties included supervisin othere g th presidin d san g ove Mint'e rth s courf o t wardenry. His office had no counterpart in the Tower Mint and was thus a target for criticism, particularly from Newton, who dismissed it as 'useless'. Nevertheless, the Generals seem to have taken their role more seriously tha post-Unioe nth n Masters. Thoug9 Mastee hth responsibl s rwa e for the Mint's operations and its financial affairs, in practice most of his duties were delegated to a deputy. The main function of the Warden and Counterwarden was to provide a check on the Master, including certifying expenditure on the buildings. Four lesser officers were concerned with the practical side of the Mint's work: the Assaymaster, Engraver, Smith and Clerk. Salaries ranged from £300 for the General and £200 for the Master down to £30 for the Smith.10 In addition the officers were entitled to accommodation within the Mint: houses for the General and Master on the west and north sides of the Mint close — off South Gray's Close — and apartments for the others in the oldest building on the south side fronting the Cowgate. These could be let if the officer was non-resident. Although the fabric funds were supposedly limited to essential repairs practicn i , e considerable sums were expende internan do l alteration decoration.d san 1 1 MURRAY: SCOTTISH MINT AFTE RECOINAGE RTH 3 86 | E The scope that the Mint offered for patronage was both a factor in its survival and a cause ultimatos fit e declin dissolutiond ean implications It . s were well illustrated whe Mastershie nth p fell vacant with the death of George Allardyce on 5 October 1709. Lord Seafield had promised support to have his son, James, appointed as Allardyce's successor. Though James was only sixteen years old, he could act through a deputy, as Allardyce himself had done. William Drummond, the Warden, thought his own claim was strong. He had been very active during the recoinage, with additional unpaid dutie weighes sa meltingse telled th ran f ro . Thoug salars hhi y y welpa asl o ovet Warde d rs onls predecessor ha £60hi wa ny d o t 0£150ha e h , , Captain Billingham.12 By December 1709 a new candidate had appeared. John Philp, Deputy Auditor of the Scottish Exchequer, told Patrick Scott Depute ,th y AllardycMastee th d ran e family lawyer: Ther is nothing done about the Masters place. Mr Anderson told me that he had the promise of it, wherof I have very great doubts. This Mr James Anderson was a Writer to the Signet here and falling in to write some ancient History of Scotland and to defend its soveraignity against a book writ by an English author about the time of the Union, he deserted his imployment, gott some acknowledgment fro Parliamene mth painss hi afte d r an ,tfo r that fell upon writin boow d ne k an g a taking notice of the old charters, printing them according to the old character, and some other antiquities. And going up to London gott the assistance of the Bishop [s] of Durham and Carlisle somd an e other historians seemt thei y b d proposeme s sh it . An mako st interests ehi . Passin thin go s informatio Lado nt y Allardyce, Scott added Philr :wri d M 'Bu po ha t thatI t such a story was going here of Mr Anderson and that it was wondered how his interest could prevaill beyon Lory dm d Seafield tha d r Andersoan sM t f suc o unconstann s ha nwa t unsetled humour that nobody thought him capable of such a post but that evry body wondered at it.' Nevertheless he advised her to write to Seafield: 'And I am of opinion your Ladyship may write to him once a week shalI . l hop lordshis ehi p hav I doe t neet ebu s no know t di n importunit sometimeo yd s good with others, howeve alwayet ri s keep mind.'n si 13 Six months elapsed before the post was filled, clearly for political reasons. The new Master, John Montgomerie of Giffen, was appointed shortly before the 1710 general election when he became MP for Ayrshire. Then, on 10 August 1710, the General, John, Earl of Lauderdale, died 4 suddenly 'o violena f t fever' sons Hi ., 1 Charles, Lord morMaitlando n Earl h s e6t thawa , w nno , twenty-two, but hoped to succeed to an office which had been held by three generations of his family for all but ten years of the last half-century.
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