Money is considered to be one of the greatest inventions of man. It became the primary instrument of trade and enabled different communities and individuals to engage in commerce with each other. When kingdoms were established, it became important for the rulers to establish a monopoly on the currency. Great significance was placed on the production of currency by governments in the Middle Ages.
The making of coins, which were used as legal tender by the people, was one of the most important tasks of any government. The document titled “A Treatise on the New Money” provides some insights into the minting process and the roles of the Master and Warden of the Mint. This paper will analyze this document to highlight how it reflects and challenges the assumptions held in England during the late 13th century.
The treatise begins by ascertaining the need for an authority to dictate the standard of coins. In so doing, the document reflects the key role played by the government in ensuring the quality of the coins. Suzuki (2009) notes that in the ideal situation, a coin represented a quantity of precious metal whose purity and weight were guaranteed by some trusted authority. According to the Treatise, the authority was the government, which provided a statute dictating the proportion of alloy in a coin and its weight.
As the guarantor of the coin’s quality, the government needs some way of ensuring standard. The Treatise declares that the Master of the Mint is in charge of making coins on behalf of the King. This official exercised his authority to make the coin meet the set standard. The availability of standard quality coins was crucial to the effective running of the government and the stability of the economy.
The government needed to ensure that adequate coins of good quality were available. The Master of the Mint was the official tasked with ensuring that this happened. The qualifications of the Master of Mint and the Warden of the Mint are also highlighted in the treatise. In England, the Warden of the Mint was in charge of procuring precious metal and making coins on behalf of the Master of the Mint. The ability of this individual to buy quality bullion and silver was key to making standard coins. The treatise asserts that the Warden of the Mint must be an expert in telling how much gold or silver is contained in an alloyed metal.
The government held a monopoly on the production of coins and great care was taken to ensure that the dies and the standards used to verify the fineness of silver were safe. The Treatise notes the efforts taken to protect the dies used to mint coins. Desan (2015) reveals that the die was treated “as though were the king’s seal” (p.74). It was the Warden of the Mint’s supreme duty to safeguard this device and therefore ensure the integrity of the money. This great care was taken to prevent counterfeiters from using knowledge of the standard to make their coins. Sian (2015) observes that coin counterfeiting was undesirable and the Master and Warden of the Mint frequently pursued counterfeiters.
The document touches on the issue of currency debasement, which was present at the time. This practice involved the mixing in larger portions of cheaper metals with silver and gold in the production of coins. The quantity of gold or silver in a coin was significant in its valuation. Glyn (2010) notes that in the Middle Ages, the value of money was based absolutely on the intrinsic value of the metal used to make it. The producers of this debased currency declared their coins to have a higher purity than they had. By doing this, they could increase their wealth since it did not cost as much to make debased coins as it did to make pure coins.
Coin debasement had a negative implication on the overall economy of a nation since eventually, their low value was discovered (Spufford, 1989). The Treatise observes that debased currency does not fool anyone since eventually, the experts in the coin will use various methods to discover the true quantity of precious metal used in a coin. The debased currency would lead to an increase in prices and trade disruption. It was, therefore, necessary to ensure that this activity did not take place.
The treatise reflects the political rivalry that existed in the time between the various government offices. The Treatise notes that the Warden of the Mint might harbor hatred or envy against the Master of the Mint due to the comfort and honor that the Master enjoys. This was a common phenomenon in the Middle Ages where those in authority aspired to have more power. Price (1997) reveals that the Master of the Mint was a coveted position and many people aimed to get into that prestigious office. It was, therefore, possible for the Warden of the Mint to try and sabotage his Master to acquire the position.
The Treatise of New Money is an important document written on the issue of coinage in the thirteenth century. This paper set out to analyze this treaty to show how it reflected the thoughts of the period in which it was produced. It has shown the monopoly that the government had on the production of money and the actions taken by the government to guarantee the quality of coins and prevent counterfeiting. The paper has also observed how the Treatise considered the issue of debasement. The various political rivalries that existed have also been deduced from the treatise.
References
Desan, C. (2015). Making Money: Coin, Currency, and the Coming of Capitalism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Glyn, D. (2010). History of Money. Wales: University of Wales Press.
Price, B. (1997). Ancient Economic Thought. NY: Routledge.
Sian, E. (2015). Coin of the Realm. British Heritage, 35(6), 56-59.
Spufford, P. (1989). Money and Its Use in Medieval Europe, Issue 1993. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Suzuki, J. (2009). Mathematics in Historical Context. NY: MAA.