Great Recoinage of 1696 facts for kids

The Great Recoinage of 1696 was a big effort by the English government, led by King William III. Its main goal was to replace most of the silver coins in circulation. Many of these old coins were "hammered" (made by hand) and had been badly damaged or "clipped." This meant parts of the metal had been cut off, making the coins worth less than they should be.

Why England Needed New Coins

In the late 1600s, England's money system was in trouble. Here's why:

• Clipped Coins: Old silver coins made before 1662 were often clipped around the edges. This made them lighter and less valuable. They were especially hard to use when trading with other countries.
• Fake Coins: After 1662, the Royal Mint in the Tower of London started making "machine-struck" coins. These had special decorated edges to stop clipping. But clever criminals found ways to make fake versions, either by casting them or by using fake dies (stamps). By 1696, about 10% of all money in England was fake!
• Melting Coins for Profit: Silver coins in England were worth more as plain silver metal in places like Paris or Amsterdam than they were as actual money in London. So, many people would melt down English coins and sell the silver abroad to make a profit. This meant lots of valuable coins were leaving the country.

To fix these problems, new laws were passed. These laws helped create the Bank of England and aimed to make the country's money safer. William Lowndes, a key person in the Treasury, asked Isaac Newton, who was in charge of the Royal Mint, for help.

How the Recoinage Happened

To help make all the new coins, special mints (places where coins are made) were set up in other cities. These included Bristol, Chester, Exeter, Norwich, and York.

Between 1696 and 1700, a huge amount of new silver coins were made. The value of these new coins was about £5.1 million. To give you an idea, that's like making over £800 million today! This was much more than the £3.3 million (about £500 million today) that had been made in the 35 years before.

When people brought in their old, damaged coins, they were paid based on the weight of the silver, not the face value of the coin. For example, a special announcement on June 10, 1696, said that tax collectors should accept old "hammer'd Silver Money" at a rate of five shillings and eight pence per ounce.

What Happened Next

The Great Recoinage didn't completely solve all of England's money problems. Making new coins slowed down by 1698. It was very hard to have a money system that used both gold and silver coins, because the value of gold and silver metal kept changing. Usually, silver metal was worth more when melted down than as a coin.

Eventually, England decided to use a "gold standard." This meant that the value of money was directly linked to a certain amount of gold. For silver coins to stay in use, their silver content had to be reduced so that the coin's value was more than the value of the silver metal it contained. This big change for silver coins didn't happen until the Great Recoinage of 1816, much later.

See also

• Coin Act 1696
• Bristol Mint
• Chester Mint