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NOTES.

(a) The Atandard of gold is commonly eftimated by caracts, but in this table I made use of Troy ounces, penny-weights, and grains, for that purpose, as being more generally understood; However, it may be remarked here, that a caract is not any certain quantity, or weight, but 24th part of any quantity or weight; the mint-men and goldsmiths divide the caract into four equal parts, which they call caract-grains, or grains of a caract, and this grain is divided into two-eights, and each of those eights into two-fixteenths, each of which are again divided into two thirty-two parts of the caract. Thus in the foregoing table,

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So in our prefent gold coin the standard is 22 caracts of pure gold, and two caracts of other metal, as ftandard filver, or equal parts of filver and copper, or all rofe copper; these two caracts are called Allay. The firft guineas, viz. thofe of Charles II. and James II. were generally alLayed with standard filver, but thofe of William III. and fince, are allayed with filver and copper, and the goldfmiths commonly allay their gold with all copper. Hence the different colours of gold.

(b) Moft authors have been of opinion that there was no gold coined in England before A.D. 1345, the 18th Edward III-VI; but this has of late been controverted,-(See an excellent differtation on this fubject by that learned antiquarian the Rev. Samuel Pegge, A.M. printed at London in 1755, in 4to. entitled, A feries of differtations on fome elegant and very valuable AngloSaxon remains, &c.-Confult alfo the Gent. Mag. Vol. xxvi. p. 285, 466. and Vol, xxvii. p. 499, 500, upon this subject.)

(e) It is proper to obferve here, that in 1671 the 22d Charles II. the pound, or 13 ounces of ftandard gold (viz. 11 ounces fine gold, and 1 ounce allay) was coined into 44 pieces and a half, (each weighing 5 penny-weights, 9.438 grains) which were called guineas, (because the gold of which they were coined was brought from theGuinea coaft in Africa) and their current value was fixed at the fame time at 20 fhillings each; and about 1690, the 28 William III. the fame pieces was raised by proclamation to 215. and 6d each, at which value they continued (except in the inftances mentioned in the next paragraph) till 1717, the 3d George I. when they were by another proclamation reduced to 21 s, each, which is their prefent current value; their standard and weight have always been and ftill continues the fame.

In 1695 the English filver money was so much reduced by clipping, &c. that a guinea was worth or went for 30 fhillings of this clipped filver (or rather 30 fhillings funk by clipping.&c. to a guinea, 215, and 6d.) but in a few months an act of parliament reduced them to 28 fhillings, and foon after to 26 shillings, and in a few weeks after to 22 fhillings, and when the new coined filver began to circulate (which it did the fame year) they presently funk to their former value of 211, and 6d. each: But as each of these variations were of fo fhort continuance, did not infert them in the table.

During the debates in parliament concerning the propofed re-coinage of the filver money, the following computation of the value of filver money coined in the reigns of Q Elizabeth, K. James I. and K. Charles I. was published in An effay for the amendment of the filDer coins, London, printed in 1695.

The author computes that the filver fterling monies coined in the reign of QElizabeth (exclufive of fome bafe Irish monies) amounted to

The filver monies coined in the reign of K. James I. are computed at la King Charles I's reign was coined of filver money

Then he confiders how far this fum is to be abated

£ S D. 4632932 32 170 000 00 8776:44 10 3

15109476 13 5£

First, all Q. Elizabeth's crowns, half-crowns, groats, quarter fhillings, half groats, three-halfpenpy pieces, three-farthing pieces, and half-pence, are wholly funk.

Secondly, great numbers of her fhillings and fix-pences are melted down or loft.

Thirdly, the crowns, groats, two-pences, pence, and half-pence of King James I. and King' Charles I. are quite gone; with many of their half-crowns, fhillings, and fix-pences; fo that he reckons there was not left above a third part of the whole, coined in thofe £ three reigns, which makes

5036492

To this he adds the unmelted coins of K. Charles II. K. James II, and K, William III, 2 which he supposed to amount to about

S563508

So the whole of the filver money, clipped and unclipped, hoarded & current, then was 5600000 Of this fum he reckons four millions confifted of clipped money, and the remaining million_fix hundred thousand pounds to be unclipped and lying in hoards, or current,in the remote counties. The author proceeds to compute how far the clipped pieces may have been diminished in the In order to this he obferves, that one hundred pounds sterling in filver, according to weight. the ftandard of the mint, ought to be 32 pounds, three ounces, I penny-weight, 22 grains, Tray. Now there had been brought in promiscuously, in the months of May, June, and July, 1,695, 572 baga

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Some Account of two Grave Stones lately discovered.

bags of one hundred pounds each, which five hundred feventy-two bags according to the standard fhould have weighed Troy weight

But upon examination they weighed only

Deficiency in the 572000l.

The weight of one hundred pounds fterling according to the mint

The medium of the weight of each hundred pounds of the clipped money
The medium of the deficiency

lb. oz. dw. gr. 18451 6 16 8 9480 II 5

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3 22

Hence it appears that the current filver coins were diminished near one half, about the proportion of 10 to 22; confequently if there were four millions of clipped money to be re-coined, it would make but about two millions, so that there would be a loss of about that fum. The real lofs proved to be 2,200,000/

Formerly there was in England, as there are fill in other countries, what we call the rights of feignorage and braffage; but fince the 18th of Charles 11. 1667, there is nothing taken either for the king, or for the expences of coining, it having been fettled by act of parliament that all money fhould be ftruck at the publick expence (which is defrayed by a duty of 10s. per ton on wine, beer, and brandy imported, called the coinage duty) fo that weight is returned for weight, (in proportion to their standards) to all perfons who carry their gold and filver to the Tower.. In our prefent coinage,

"

Fine filver to fterling filver is in value As I to.9250. And fterling filver to fine filver is in value As 1 to 1.081081081.

Fine gold to ftandard gold is in value As I to .91667, or as 24 to 22. And ftandard-gold to fine gold is in value

As I to 1.0909ogogo."

The fpecific gravity of fine gold is 19185, and of our prefent ftandard or coined gold, is 17732, from an actual trial of 20 guineas of different dates.

The fpecific gravity of fine filver, is 10431 and of our prefent ftandard or coined filver is 10360, from an actual tryal of fix crownpieces of different dates.

In both the tables, in the column entitled, Anni Regnorum, there is two Roman numerals fixed to the feveral names of Edward; the firft, or uppermost of which denotes the number of kings of that name fince the Conqueft, and the other the number of kings of the fame name from Egbert, first monarch of all England; which distinction is proper to be obferved..

Remarks on two curious Grave-flones dif covered lately in removing fome Rubbish in the Church yard of St Peer in Monmouthshire, now the Seat of Mr Lewis. Mr URBAN,

ST. PERE, that is St Pietre, as is e

vident from the Latin St Petri Ecclefia*, is a parish in Monmouthshire, fituate on the æftuary of the river Severn, a little South of Chepflow, and is now the feat of Mr Lewis. In the removing of fome rubbish this fummer in the church-yard of this place, an an tient grave-ftone was difcovered, of which Mr Perry of Liverpoole was pleafed to fend me a very neat and elegant drawing, with leave of communicating it to the publick, attended with fome neceffary remarks, by means of your valuable mifcellany.

The infcription is in old French, and in rhyme as I apprehend; and this will appear by the diftribution of it on the Plate annexed.

The fenie of it is this: 'Here lies the body of Urian de Senepere; pray for him heartily, that Jefus, for the fake of his paffion, would grant him ⚫ pardon of his fins. Amen. R. P.

The obfervations I have to make on this stone and its infcription are as follows:

* See Efton's Valor.

The infcription begins evidently ati the two dots adjoining to the right arms of the cross; and whereas it might be expected there should be a cross in that place, thus +, as is ufual in fuch infcriptions, and even upon coins, I look upon it that the large cross botonné fitché, with which the whole ftone is covered, fupplies the place of it; infomuch that in fact the cross, that neceffary appendix of funeral monu-t ments, is not absent.

As I take this tomb-ftone to be as old as K. Edward I. when fur-names were by no means general, and Chriftian names were confequently of the greatest importance, and feldom or. never omitted, I have divided the letters of the first line in this manner, LE CORS V DE SENE PERE; taking the V, that is U, for the initial letter of Urian, it appearing from Sir Willi am Dugdale's Hiftory of Warwickshire, p. 126, and 358, edit. 1730, that Urian de St Pere, Knt. lived in the reign of Henry III. and dying 3 E. I. left iffue by his wife Margaret a fon named Urian, who was also a knight, and 16 years of age when his father died. He. left iffue John de St Pere 8 E. III. who was probably the laft male heir of his family of that line, for Ifabella de St Pere, his fifter and heirefs. about 30 E. III. was married to Sir Walter Coke

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fey, Knt. who died 6 H. IV. However I fuppofe that in reading you are to fay, and not Urian, the metre requiring you to do so.

This perfon, Urian de Senepere, was probably lord of the manor of St Pere, though Sir W Dugdale does not tell us this; he being of that ilk, as the Scotch would exprefs it; that is, Senepere of Senepere; 'tis no objection to his rank that he lies buried in the church-yard, for great perfons in this age were often entombed in that place;' and the fword plainly fhews he was a military perfon, and of the rank and condition of a knight, as we learn from Dugdale, Urian was. The name is evidently the French translation, though fo incorrectly fpelt, of De Santo Petro, which was the true name of this place, as we are affured by its being written formerly St Petri Ecclefia, or Sanct. Piers. This variation or way of writing is little different from Senlis for De Santo Lizio, Semple for De San&to Paulo, &c. Nay, I have seen this very name written Seinpere and Sampier.

it

pé, no doubt, is for kЄ or que, being customary at this time to write ki for qui, and ke for que, as I could fhew by a thousand infances. But quare whether the oblique bottom troke may not be omitted in this letter by the ftone-cutter or the transcriber.

But as remarkable a thing as any, is, the metathesis or transposition of let ters in Phecez for Pechez: This is of itfelf a full proof how capable the artift was of committing any blunders or mistakes.

So far matters feem to be tolerably clear and intelligible; but what is the meaning of that long blank flip on the

A

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HE City of Oxford is feated on the North fide of the Thames, where the river Cherwell talls into it. Antiqua

Bries are not agreed about the original of the name. Some fuppofe it to have derived this appellation from a ford or paffage for oxen over the Thames at this place, in which fenfe the Saxons called it Oxenford, and the Welch Rbid-Yebin, and the city arms are an ox paffing a ford; but others have thought that the old name of the city was Ousford, a ford over the Ous, by which name the Thames was once known, and some islands, formed by the river at that place, are yet called the Ofoney or Oujney islands.

C

D

This city ftands in a beautiful plain and fweet air, the middle of it upon a rifing ground, and the other parts declining to the rivers. The foundation of the city is very uncertain: Some writers carry the origin as high as a thousand years before Chrift, and afcribe the foundation to a Britib king, named Memprick, from whom it is faid to have been called Caer Memprick, or the city of Memprick, which name is faid to have been changed to Caer

Boffa, the city of Boffa, and again to RbidYebin, a name fynonymous with Oxenford, from which the prefent name is thought to be derived. It is alfo faid to have been called Belleftum and Beaumont, in allufion to the beauty of the fituation.

Historians fay, that the city being deftroyed by the Saxons, it was rebuilt by Vortigern, and thence named Caer Vortigern,

ftate might be in the time of the Britons, it was a place of fmall note under the Saxons, till Afied founded, or rather refounded an univerfity here in 886.

right fide of the crois, oppofite to the For the city of Vortigern; but whatever its fword, I cannot fo much as guefs; Deither dare I prefume to conje&ure what RP after Amen fignifies. These are two points which I must leave to the more fagacious, and therefore I go on to obferve laftly, that another Hone was found at the fame time ly ing clofe to the former, having no infcription, but is of the form exhibited in the plate.

This, I am of opinion, fuppofing I am right in referring the former to the first Urian de Senepere, belonged to his

Or RR. for, it feems, there is fome doubt whether the latter of thefe letters may not be atío R.

(Gent. Mag. FEB. 1765.)

G)

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The Danes burnt the city in the reign of king Etheldred, about the year 1002, but it was rebuilt by Edward the confeffor. The inhabitants rebelled against king Wil liam 1, who befieged the city, took it, and permitted his army to plunder it, in revenge for an affront offered him from the walls. He alfo built a castle on the Weft fide, of which a fquare high tower, and a lofty mount, fill remain. He is alfo faid to have furrounded the city with new walis of which fome parts alfo remain, particularly on the North Eaft fide of New College garden.

The Empress Mazd was befleged here

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