| Description | The Operational Records relating to the various coinages undertaken at the Soho Mint are, for convenience sake, subdivided under the headings shown at the beginning of this Introduction; but they are discussed below according to their various kinds.
The original titles of the Press-Room Day Books are as follows:
British and Irish Coinages, 1805-1809:
"Novr: 25th: 1805 to / Octr: 4th: 1806 / Mint. / Day Book."
"Press-Room-Checks / of Stock / commencing 11th: Octr: 1806 / Mint."
"Weekly Abstract / Mint, October 30th, / 1807. / Press room."
"Mint / Weekly Abstract / Press room /1809."
Sundry Coinages, 1822-1825:
"Soho Mint / Day Book / From December 17th 1822 / To December 4th 1824 / B."
"December 6th 1824 / to."
In spite of the wide variation in the titles, all these volumes are of the same type. They contain daily accounts balancing, on the one hand, the weight of stock in hand at the beginning of the day added to the weight received from the picking shop (or sorting shop), and, on the other, the weight sent for packing added to the weight of stock remaining at the end of it. Occasional adjustments were made in respect of waste or error.
The original titles of the Press-Room Day Books are similarly varied, as follows:
British and Irish Coinages, 1805-1809:
"Mint Boys / Daily Accot. / July 18th: 1805 / to / Novemr 23: 1805."
"Press-Room-daily performance / 13 Octr 1806 to / 24 Octr: 1807."
"Weekly Abstract / Press room / Mint Boys Accot. / October 30th 1807 / to"
Sundry Coinages, 1822-1825:
"SOHO MINT / Boys’ Account / (Press Rooms’ Daily Performance) / From December 17th 1822 / To"
But these, too, are all of the same type. They contain tables showing the work done each day by the boys employed in the press-room: beside each boy’s name appears a record of the "Bare Blows" struck by him, the number of "Dies put in," the weight of "Money Struck" by him, and notes of any waste. Several papers formerly inserted in the earliest of these volumes have been extracted and placed with the Correspondence and Memoranda.
It appears that most of the packing records (variously entitled Packing Books, Packers’ Books, and Packers’ Day Books) have survived, and they were probably formerly kept together. These books record details of the procedures involved in packing coins for dispatch from the Mint, and provide a useful summary of the coins issued from the Mint during a given period. Newly-minted coins were "lapped up" into rouleaus or "papers," before being passed to the packer to be put into casks. The lappers-up delivered the coins to the packer in standard weights, usually 3 cwt; but the number of rouleaus and loose coins making up each "weighing" varied, for there was always a slight variation in the weight of individual coins. It was usual for a fixed number of rouleaus to be placed in each cask, so it was often necessary for the packer to add or subtract rouleaus or loose coin from the net weight received from the lappers-up in order to make up the required tale of coin. A final adjustment for these additions and subtractions would be made in the last cask of the order. Most of the information in the packing books is recorded in tabular form.
The following is John Robinson’s description of the contents of the columns in the packing book, 1822-1823:
1. "Number of the Cask,"
2. "Tare of the Cask before packing" (lbs/oz).
3. "Nett Weight of Copper recd from the Lappers Up by the Packer" (lbs).
4. "Number of rouleaus & pieces in the Preceeding Weight" (rouleaus/pieces).
5. "Substraction [sic] to Make the Tale, the Coin being too light & 336 rouleaus only being put into each Casks" (rouleaus/pieces).
6. "Addition to Make the Tale Coin being too heavy see Preceeding Number."
7. "Gross Weight of the Cask when Packed & Cooper’d ready for Sending off."
Details of the dispatch of batches of casks are sometimes recorded. The packers’ day books, 1822-1825, each contain two series of tables—the usual "packer’s check" and a concurrent "lappers-up check."
The Consignments and Weights Books for the British Coinage, 1798-1800, contain information as to the dispatch of casks of coins to various parts of the country. Four of these volumes, kept by William D. Brown, form a series, the titles and contents of which are as follows:
"Consignments No. 1" (at front) and "Weights No. 1" (at back).
Casks of penny pieces, 1-2100, 0001-01307 (21 Jul. 1797-3 Nov. 1798).
Weights of casks of penny pieces, 1-2100, 0001-03103.
"Weights and Deliveries No. 2."
Casks of penny pieces, 03108-03634 (6 Nov. 1798-20 Dec. 1798).
Casks of twopenny pieces, 121-141 (15 Jan. 1799-30 Mar. 1799).
Weights of casks of penny pieces, 03104-03634.
Weights of casks of twopenny pieces, 121-241.
"Consignments No. 3."
Casks of halfpenny pieces, 1-3540 (27 Nov. 1799-24 Jul. 1800).
Casks of penny pieces, 03635-03724, 91-1591 (20 Dec. 1798-2 Sep. 1799).
"Weights No. 3."
Weights of casks of halfpenny pieces, 1-3540.
Weights of casks of penny pieces, 03635-03724, 91-1591.
The remaining volume, compiled by William Cheshire, is entitled on the front:
Consignment of Coin.
Date / Parties to whom sent / Residence, names of Carriers / Numbers of Casks / & Amount / 1797
It is a kind of alphabetical summary of customers, with details of the consignments sent to them. Inserted in the front is a list of places served by various commercial carriers, either by water or land conveyance.
Similar books were kept for the British and Irish Coinages, 1805-1809. At first, these were kept, as before, by William D. Brown, but they were later taken up by another person, whose handwriting has not been identified. The Consignments Book records the weights and monetary values of consignments of coin, with the dates of dispatch. The Consignments Journal records very similar information; it does not record the weights of the consignments, but does indicate the folio of the Ledger to which the transaction was posted. The Weights Books show, for each cask of coin, its mark and number; the weight of the cask and paper; the nominal (or "first") and actual (or "net") weights of the coins, with the difference between the two; and the gross weight of the whole. The dates given refer to those on which the casks were dispatched and are derived from the Consignments Book.
The Comptroller’s Account Book contains a summary of consignments of British and Irish coin dispatched between 1805 and 1808, with, at the back, some similar notes on the copper coinage of 1799-1800.
The "Dies Used" Book records, in tabular form, for each die, the number of the press to which it was applied, the mark of the die, the forger’s name, the times when it was put in and taken out, and the weight of coin struck by it.
Besides the documents mentioned above, the Operational Records relating to Coinages also include a number of Copper Stock Books, not yet examined in detail. Note, however, that the later copper records are related to the Rolling Mill Books of Account (see above). |