[A1567/12/20]* [print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
Item, forasmuch as the ordering of the mint-house and forging of money within this realm is a matter of great importance to the whole lieges thereof, as may appear by diverse acts made in our sovereign lord's predecessors' parliaments of before, and seeing the great necessity now required for having of good and sufficient coin within the realm, seeing the good silver, such as testoons and other old silver, is utterly smelted and destroyed, so that the ounce of silver is at double price that it is accustomed to be at within these late days, through which the realm is utterly impoverished by evil coin; therefore, it is declared in this present parliament that our sovereign lord, with advice of [James Stewart, earl of Moray], my lord regent, may cause print and coin gold and silver of such fine as other countries do, to pass within this realm to the lieges of the same; and that no print nor coin of any alloyed money be made or coined in any time coming, except by advice of the three estates of parliament. And likewise our sovereign lord, with advice of my lord regent and three estates aforesaid, ordains that no manner of gold nor silver already coined within this realm be smelted nor broken down in the mint-house, or otherwise in any time hereafter, under the pain of confiscation of the half of the goods of the owner and smelter for the first fault, and if the smelter be not responsible, to punish his person at the discretion of the justice; and the second fault, confiscation of their whole goods.