"14. Where this has occurred, has it not been cus- 1810. tomary for the retail trader to settle his accounts monthly or quarterly with the manufacturer by whom the tickets were issued?

"15. Is there a disposition to petition the two Houses of Parliament, at their next meeting, for the repeal of the Act, which has recently passed, prohibiting the circirculation of local tokens ?"

In 1811, I manufactured above two millions of copper 1811 tokens for Samuel Fereday, Esq., the then greatest iron master in the world. He stated, upon examination before the House of Commons, that he had nearly 5,000 persons in his employ; and he mentioned to me that he had, during any quarter of bad trade, so alarmed the Prime Minister, by informing him that if he could not find employment for his workpeople, he could not answer for the consequence should they be discharged, that these statements frequently produced him East India demands and Government demands for iron. The tokens which I manufactured for him to a very large amount were all of copper, the obverse with the elevation of his different iron furnaces; and he had used to

send a carriage to my establishment every other Friday,

during the continuance of the pressing of these, to enable him to satisfy his numerous work people.

I remember presenting to many gentlemen, who were then become collectors of tokens, one of each of those which I executed as they came out; among the rest to my esteemed friend, Dr. John Johnstone, M.D., and received from him the following note:

1811.

1812.

Shcheklanten begs that Mr.

Thomason will accept his thanks for the obliging and handsome present of a set of tokens, which he values highly as a specimen of the ingenuity of one of his townsmen, and the more as containing a very good likeness, on one of the tokens, of Mr. Thomason himself.

Temple Row, Dec. 4, 1811.

"May 2, 1812.

"Sir,

"I have to acknowledge the receipt of the packet which you have so obligingly sent me, and to return you many thanks for your kindness.

"You will see that we have succeeded in getting a committee appointed to enquire into the effects of the Orders in Council and licence trade.

"The House of Commons are busy with the enquiry, and we think of making out a very strong case.

"The Lords will begin the enquiry on Thursday next. I suppose you know the state in which the East India business now stands. Mr. Percival conveyed yesterday a massage to the Court of Directors, telling them his determination to insist upon a perfect freedom of trade to every part of the possessions of the Company, and of the King's Government, with the exception of China, and to allow the out-ports to benefit by that intercourse as well as the port of London. To this the Company is not prepared to agree, and the manufacturers of this country cannot agree to it, if they understand their own interests, as China is likely to afford them a more immediate demand for their manufactures than the continent of India.

"My brother, who was long Governor of Ceylon, and 1812 who knows that country, and who knows all the East as well as anybody, tells me he thinks there will be a good market for all coarse steel works, in the shape of scissors, knives, implements of husbandry, &c., &c., at our new acquisition in the islands of the Eastern Archipelago. "Yours, &c.,

In 1812, the English army, then in Spain, were distressed for the want of small change. I was applied to, through Mr. J. K. Picard, of the great lead works, at Hull, who, I understood, was appointed the agent, to obtain a peculiar coinage to pass in Spain for the value of one penny English; and which coinage was not to interfere with the coinage of the English Government, or with that of the Spanish Government. It was resolved, then, to have on the obverse the head of Lord Wellington, and on the reverse the following victories :-Battle of Vimiera, Passage of the Douro, Battle of Talavera, Lines of Torres Vedras, Battle of Albuera, Capture of Badajos, Battle of Salamanca.

To make a good likeness of Lord Wellington for this coin, Mrs. Wellesley Pole sent me a wax profile.

W. Welleslag Pol

informs Mr. Thomason that she believes she shall be able, in a few days, to send him a wax profile of Lord Wellington, which is very like, and which she begs to have carefully returned to her when done with.

Saville Row, Jan., 1812.

1812.

I made upwards of two millions of these pieces in copper, which passed quite current with the army.

In this year an English guinea was worth twenty-seven shillings, according to the Mint price of gold; and so scarce was the coin, and the panic so great, that every maiden lady hoarded up all the gold she received. The Master of the Mint, at this period (the Honourable Mr. Wellesley Pole), could not obtain permission from the Government to proceed with a new gold and silver coinage; the country could not afford the loss which naturally attends the calling in and the re-issuing of a new coinage of gold and silver. Berkley Monk, Esq., M.P. for Reading, in Berkshire, the principal banker at that place, determined upon issuing both gold and silver tokens; and desired that I would proceed with manufacturing as soon as the dies could be completed conformable to his drawings. For the obverse he adopted the likeness of Alfred the Great, with the following motto on the legend:-"PIGNORA CERTA PETIS DO PIGNORA CERTA, 1812." And on the reverse :-" 40 shillings. Berks Token. Standard gold, 6 dwts. 18 On the legend :grains. Reading." Payable in bank notes, at 6s. the dwt., by I. B. Monk, Esq." The weight being struck upon the gold pieces fully proved the Mint price of gold at this period.

66

The Hon. Mr. Percival, the Prime Minister, requested that I would suspend proceeding with the gold tokens until he should see Mr. Monk. No more were manufactured, and only £1,600 were struck, which were eagerly bought up at as much as the sum of £5, to be retained as a memento of the only gold token ever struck, and to confirm the price of gold at this eventful period in this country.