on the present state of the Circulation of Copper Tokensin England', 11 July 1808 (Series 84.15) - No. 0001

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July 11 1808

on the present state of the circulation of Copper Tokens in England

as the quantity of copper money current in Scotland is known to be very small & as Ireland has hitherto been seperately supplied with Tokens of a different description from those supplied coind for England, it has been deemed expedient to confine these Remarks to the Copper Currency of England

The circulation of the Copper Tokens now in use was begun in the Reign of King Charles the Second, about that time the Records of the Mint do not state the amount of the issues of Copper in the last century however the entries are compleat. The officers of the mint were of opinion in the year 1785 when they reported on this subject to the Lords of the Committee of P.C. for Coin that from the commencement of the issue of Copper Tokens to that time 1500 tons of Copper had been struck into half pence & farthings at the Royal Mint almost all of them at the Rate of 23 pence to the pound weight averdupoise [avoirdupois] of Copper none have been issued from thence since that time.

These officers were also then of opinion at that time that by casualties of Fire Losses at sea & in the common occurrences of Life Exports to our Colonies & such like means, 300 tons of these Tokens may have been destroyd, in which case 1200 Tons will be still found in circulation. They were also of opinion, that at least as large a quantity of Counterfeit Tokens as of those struck in the mint were at that time in currency