all the people is to be a traitor to the state. But it is asked, whether a merchant, who imports ingots of gold from America, and privately converts them into good money, be guilty of high treason and merits death, which is the punishment annexed to this crime in almost all countries? Nevertheless he has robbed nobody; on the contrary, he has done service to the state, by increasing the currency. But he had defrauded the King of the small profit upon the coin. He hath indeed coined money, but he hath led others into the temptation of coining bad. Yet death is a severe punishment. A lawyer was of opinion that such a criminal should be condemned, as a useful hand, to work in the royal Mint, with irons to his legs. Beccaria.

The vast increase, and extensive circulation of counterfeit money, particularly of late years, is too obvious not to have attracted the notice of all ranks. It has become an enormous evil in the melancholy catalogue of crimes which the laws of the country are called upon to assist the police in suppressing. Its extent almost exceeds credibility; and the dexterity and ingenuity of these counterfeiters have, (after considerable practice,) enabled them to finish the different kinds of base money in so masterly a manner, that it has become extremely difficult for a common observer to distinguish their spurious manufacture from the worn out Silver of the mint. So systematic, indeed, has this nefarious traffic become of late, that the great dealers, who, in most instances, are the employers of the coiners, execute orders for the town and country, with the same regularity as manufacturers in fair branches of trade.

Scarcely a waggon or coach departs from the metropolis, which does not carry boxes and parcels of base Coin to the camps, sea ports, and manufac

turing towns. In London, regular markets, in various public and private houses, are held by the principal dealers; where hawkers, pedlars, fraudulent horse-dealers, unlicensed lottery-office-keepers, gamblers at fairs, itinerant Jews, Irish labourers, servants of toll-gatherers, and hackney-coach owners, fraudulent publicans, market-women, rabbitsellers, fish-cryers, barrow-women, and many who would not be suspected, are regularly supplied with counterfeit copper and silver, with the advantage of nearly 100l. per cent. in their favour; and thus it happens, that through these various channels, the country is deluged with immense quantities of base money, which get into circulation; while an evident diminution of the mint coinage is apparent to every common observer.

It is impossible to reflect on the necessity to which all persons are thus reduced, of receiving and again uttering, money which is known to be false and counterfeit, without lamenting, that by thus familiarizing the mind to fraud and deception, the same laxity of conduct may be introduced into other transactions of life :-The barrier being broken down in one part, the principle of common honesty is infringed upon, and infinite mischief to the very best interests of society, is the result, in cases at first unthought of.

To permit, therefore, the existence of an adulterated and ill-regulated silver and copper coinage, is in fact to tolerate general fraud and deception, to the ultimate loss of many individuals; for the evil must terminate at some period, and then thousands must suffer; with this aggravation, that the longer it continues, the greater will be the loss of property. Nor has the mischief been confined to the counterfeiting the coin of the realm. The avarice

and

and ingenuity of man is constantly finding out new Sources of fraud; insomuch, that in London, and in Birmingham, and its neighbourhood, Louis d'Ors, Half Johannas French half crowns and shillings, as well as several coins of Flanders and Germany, and dollars of excellent workmanship, in exact imitation of the Spanish dollars issued from the Bank, in 1797, have been from time to time counterfeited; apparently without suspicion, that under the act of the 14th Elizabeth, (cap. 3,) the offenders were guilty of misprision of high treason.

These ingenious miscreants have also extended their iniquitous manufacture to the coins of India ş and a coinage of the star pagoda of Arcot was established in London for years by one person. These counterfeits, being made wholly of blanched copper, tempered in such a manner as to exhibit, when stamped, the cracks in the edges, which are always to be found on the real Pagoda, cost the maker only three half-pence each, after being double gilt. When finished, they were generally sold to Jews at five shillings a dozen, who disposed of them afterwards at 2s. 3s. or even 5s. each; and through this medium, they have been introduced by a variety of channels into India, where they were mixed with the real Pagodas of the country, and passed at their full denominated value of eight shillings sterling.

The sequins of Turkey, another gold coin, worth about five or six shillings, have in like manner been counterfeited in London ;-Thus the national character is wounded, and the disgrace of the British name proclaimed in Asia, and even in the most distant regions in India. Nor can it be sufficiently lamented that persons who consider themselves as ranking

ranking in superior stations of life, with some pretensions to honour and integrity, have suffered their avarice so far to get the better of their honesty, as to be concerned in this iniquitous traffic.

It has been recently discovered that there are at least 120 persons in the Metropolis and the country, employed principally in coining and selling base money; and this, independent of the numerous horde of utterers, who chiefly support themselves by passing it at its full value.

It will scarcely be credited, that of criminals of this latter class, who have either been detected, prosecuted, or convicted, within the last seven years, there stand upon the register of the Solicitor to the mint, more than 650 names!-And yet the mischief is not diminished. When the reader is informed, that two persons can finish from 200l. to 300l. (nominal value), in base silver in six days; and that three people, within the same period, will stamp the like amount in copper, and takes into the calculation the number of known coiners, the aggregate amount in the course of a year will be found to be immense. Colquhoun.

On the circulation of Spanish dollars in 1804 a Jew was apprehended for uttering base ones and also suspected of being the coiner thereof, but there being no provision in the act against counterfeiting this coin, though it had been called in before (1797) on that account the offender escaped with impunity. Editor.

So dexterous and skilful have coiners now become that by mixing a certain proportion of pure gold with a compound of base metal, they can fabricate guineas that shall be full weight, and of such perfect workmanship as to elude a discovery, except by per sons of skill; while the intrinsic value does not exceed

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eeed thirteen or fourteen shillings, and in some instances is not more than eight or nine. Of this coinage considerable quantities were circulated some years since, bearing the impression of George the Second and another coinage of counterfeit guineas of the year 1793, bearing the impression of his present Majesty, has been for some years in circulation, finished in a masterly manner, and nearly full weight although the intrinsic value is not above eight shillings: half-guineas are also in circulation of the same coinage; and lately a good imitation of the sevenshilling pieces. But as the fabrication of such coin requires a greater degree of skill and ingenuity than generally prevails, and also a greater capital than most coiners are able to command, it is to be hoped it has gone to no great extent; for amidst all the abuses which have prevailed of late years, it is unquestionably true, that the guineas and half-guineas which have been counterfeited in a style to elude detection, have borne no proportion in point of extent to the coinage of base silver. Of this latter there are five different kinds at present counterfeited; and which we shall proceed to enumerate.

The first of these are denominated flats, from the circumstance of this species of money being cut out of flatted plates, composed of a mixture of silver and blanched copper. The proportion of silver runs from one forth to one-third, and in some instances to even one half: the metals are mixed by a chemical preparation, and afterwards rolled by flattingmills, into the thickness of shillings, half-crowns, or crowns, according to the desire of the parties who bring the copper and silver, which last is generally stolen plate. It is not known, that there are at present above one or two rolling mills in London, although there are several in the country, where all

the