The Regulating Silver Coin, Made Practicable and Easie, to the Government and Subject

In Short

This brief, analytical work addresses the dire state of England’s currency during the late 17th century, when clipp’d and counterfeit coins threatened to paralyze the nation’s economy. The author, writing as a patriotic observer during the Nine Years' War, presents a technical proposal to regulate the silver supply, stabilize prices, and prevent the flight of bullion. It has remained a vital historical document because it captures the urgent, high-stakes intersection of monetary policy, parliamentary power, and the everyday survival of merchants and laborers in early modern England.

The Story

The narrative arc begins with a stark assessment of a national crisis. The author describes a kingdom where the currency is so debased by clipping and counterfeiting that it no longer reflects its stated value. This is not merely a technical nuisance; it is a profound threat to the stability of the state, serving as a signal of weakness to hostile foreign powers like France. The author paints a picture of a nation where the "nummary wealth" has effectively vanished, leaving the government to struggle with a stagnant Royal Mint and a populace increasingly distrustful of the money in their pockets.

The argument progresses through a systematic investigation of why current policies fail. The author explores the hoarding of good money, the illicit melting of coins by goldsmiths, and the dangerous inflation of gold values relative to silver. He dismisses the idea that the problem is merely a side effect of war, arguing instead that the lack of a regulated, trustworthy currency is the root cause of the "ruin and confusion" affecting land-owners, farmers, and laborers alike. He warns that if the government does not act during the current parliamentary session, the nation faces the prospect of economic collapse, as foreign traders exploit England’s debased currency to undercut English merchants in global markets.

As the text moves toward its resolution, the author shifts from diagnosis to remedy. He rejects simplistic solutions like merely re-coining everything to the old standard, which he argues would just lead to more clipping and melting. Instead, he proposes a sophisticated, tiered system of government intervention. He advocates for a plan that involves calling in the debased currency, re-minting it with a specific, managed intrinsic value, and offering a modest interest incentive to ensure that holders of currency bring their funds to the state rather than hiding them.

The arc concludes with a detailed, mathematical defense of this plan. The author outlines exactly how the government can fund this transition through a minimal land tax and a series of administrative procedures. He concludes that by aligning the currency's value with the realities of the market while maintaining strict control over its exportation, the nation can secure its economic future. He envisions a return to prosperity where the coin once again serves as a reliable "pledge and surety" of the subject's property, effectively neutralizing the advantages foreign enemies have gained from England’s temporary poverty.

How It Unfolds

The diagnosis of decay The author establishes the gravity of the situation by detailing how clipping and counterfeiting have debased the currency to the point of national dishonor. He warns that failing to address this will signal to the French King that England is too poor to sustain its war efforts.

The anatomy of the crisis The middle chapters dissect the specific mechanics of the economic collapse, including the mysterious rise of gold prices and the predatory practices of goldsmiths. The author demonstrates how the scarcity of reliable silver forces farmers and tradesmen into ruinous financial arrangements.

The dismissal of false remedies The author systematically dismantles common proposals, such as simply altering the coin's denomination or debasing its purity. He argues that these measures are transparently fictitious and will only invite further speculation and inflation.

The pragmatic proposal The final portion of the book introduces a concrete, multi-point plan to call in debased money and replace it with a regulated currency. The author provides a detailed, step-by-step budgetary framework, including how the government can incentivize compliance through interest-bearing deposits.

A vision for stability The text closes with a confident summary of the advantages, arguing that this method will make English money less attractive to export while restoring its functionality for domestic trade. The author finishes by reiterating that his plan is the only path to national resilience during wartime.

The People

The author identifies himself only as a "Lover of his Country," a patriotic, anonymous intellectual who seeks to serve Parliament by providing "mathematical reasoning" rather than political rhetoric. He positions himself as a humble servant to the state, acknowledging his own limitations compared to prominent figures like Mr. Lowndes, whose earlier work on the coinage he respectfully critiques.

Opposing him are the "Clippers" and the "Goldsmiths." The former are portrayed as desperate or greedy opportunists who profit from the physical destruction of the coin, while the latter are seen as professionals who, driven by the search for profit, inevitably melt down valuable silver for plate, regardless of prohibitory laws.

There is also the "Foreign Merchant," a pivotal, almost spectral figure who represents the cold reality of international trade. This merchant acts as a parasite on the English economy, buying up debased currency to sell at a gain and outcompeting English manufacturers.

Finally, the "Land-owner" and the "Laborer" are the primary victims of the crisis. These figures want stability and a fair exchange for their crops and labor. They are currently trapped between the government’s failure to regulate the currency and the predatory behavior of those holding or hoarding stable wealth. The author wants these ordinary citizens to be protected, believing that his plan will rescue their livelihoods from the "confusion" caused by the state’s inability to manage the currency.

In Its Own Voice

The author acknowledges the difficulty of challenging established opinion on such a complex, technical subject.

"Writing on so curious, and intricate a Subject, I have great Reason to bespeak the Candour of the Reader."

He emphasizes that the debasement of the coinage is not merely a financial issue, but one that affects the nation’s standing on the world stage.

"The finest Clothes that our Soldiers can put on, in the Field, would not at all dazzle the Eyes of the Confederate Princes, nor strike any despondencies into the Minds of our Enemies, if they shall all come to know that the whole Power of England is at this time held up by the imaginary Value of Birmingham half Crowns and Shillings."

He insists that the government must move beyond simplistic prohibitions to address the core problem.

"That if our English Money will pass in any other Country for as much as it doth here, ’tis impracticable to hinder the Exportation of it."

What It's Really About

At its core, this book is an argument about the nature of trust in a sovereign state. The author explores the question of whether a government can—or should—intervene in the fundamental unit of its own economy to protect the public from the volatility of international markets. The text grapples with the tension between the "intrinsic" value of precious metal and the "extrinsic" or "imaginary" value assigned by the state. Beneath the technical discussion of minting and bullion lies a deep concern for the survival of the nation during a time of existential conflict. The author argues that a stable, reliable currency is the ultimate "pledge" of the government’s power and its duty to provide for the economic security of its subjects.

Why Read It Today

Readers with an interest in economic history or the evolution of public policy will find this book particularly rewarding. It offers an unvarnished look at the internal anxieties of the 17th-century British state, written with a sense of urgency that makes the dry subject of coinage feel surprisingly alive. The author’s prose is direct and methodical, though modern readers should be prepared for the dense, polemical style characteristic of 17th-century pamphlets. You will encounter occasional archaic spellings and the specific, often brutal economic attitudes of the period, which value the stability of the state over the individual's freedom to manage their own assets.

What lingers after reading is the author's relentless pursuit of a "practicable" solution. He refuses to hide behind vague platitudes, instead offering detailed tables and calculations that invite the reader to participate in his logic. For those who enjoy seeing a mind at work—slowly, painfully, and logically—trying to solve a complex puzzle that threatens to tear a society apart, this book is a fascinating study in early modern problem-solving. It remains a sobering reminder that the stability of a nation’s money is, in every age, intimately tied to the trust and participation of its people.