These are the records of the firm known successively as Matthew Boulton (Mint), 1791-1809; Matthew Robinson Boulton (Mint), 1809-1841; and Matthew Piers Watt Boulton (Mint), 1841-1850; manufacturers of coins, medals, and mint machinery. They also include records of the Soho Rolling Mill, 1825-1841. A large quantity of correspondence relating to the business of the Mint will be found among the papers of Matthew Boulton and Matthew Robinson Boulton. Related records, including drawings of mints and mint machinery, will also be found among the records of Boulton, Watt, & Co. (in the Boulton & Watt Collection).
History.
Matthew Boulton began constructing his Mint at Soho in the late 1780s but it does not appear to have been constituted as a separate firm till February 1791, when the books of account were commenced. The firm operated under the name of Matthew Boulton till his death in 1809, when it descended to his son Matthew Robinson Boulton and took his name. After M. R. Boulton died in 1842 it operated under the name of his eldest son, Matthew Piers Watt Boulton, till its dissolution in 1850.
Initially the firm was solely engaged in the manufacture of coins, medals, and tokens, but later it supplied mint machinery for mints in various parts of the world. However, only a small proportion of this machinery was manufactured by the Mint itself; the remainder was ordered from various other firms, particularly Boulton, Watt, & Co., the steam-engine company; from the early 1820s, indeed, the supply of mint machinery was carried on in the name of Boulton, Watt, & Co., as operations at the Mint were at a low ebb, but the Mint clerks conducted most of the correspondence with customers.
In 1850 Soho Mint was demolished, along with other parts of Soho Manufactory. The machinery and plant were auctioned on 29 Apr. and most
of it was purchased by Ralph Heaton & Son of Bath Street, Birmingham, who later moved to the premises in Icknield Street now known as the Birmingham Mint. One of the presses was acquired by James Watt & Co. (the successors of Boulton, Watt, & Co.) and in 1860 this firm, too, established a mint at Soho Foundry, which also became known as Soho Mint. The Birmingham Mint and the Mint at the Foundry must therefore be carefully distinguished from the original Soho Mint.
Records.
A comparatively large number of the Mint’s records have survived. For ease of reference they have been divided into four Parts, as follows:
Part I. Accounting Records.
Part II. Operational Records: Coinages.
Part III. Operational Records: Mint Machinery.
Part IV. Correspondence and Memoranda.
The Accounting Records (Part I) are further subdivided under three heads, as follows:
Books of Account (Mint & Coinage).
Books of Account (Rolling Mill).
Vouchers, &c.
The Operational Records for Coinages (Part II) are further subdivided under seven heads, as follows:
Sundry Coinages, 1792-1793.
British Coinages, 1798-1800.
British and Irish Coinages, 1805-1809.
Sundry Coinages, 1809-1820.
Sundry Coinages, 1822-1825.
Sundry Coinages, 1826-1850.
The Operational Records for Mint Machinery (Part III) are further subdivided under four heads, as follows:
Royal Mint, 1805-1822.
Danish Mint, Brazil Mint, and Russian Mint, 1806-1814.
Sundry Mint Machinery, 1821-1835.
Sundry Mint Machinery, 1834-1849.
The Correspondence and Memoranda (Part IV) are further subdivided under two heads, as follows:
Letter Books and Memorandum Books.
Files of Correspondence and Memoranda.
Books of Account (Mint & Coinage).
Separate books of account for Soho Mint were begun on 8 Feb. 1791. On 1 Oct. 1808 the principal books-Ledger, Journal, and Day Book-were again begun anew, apparently as a result of the transfer of the business into the name of Matthew Robinson Boulton. Some of the books are styled "Mint" books, others "Coinage" books, and others still "Mint and Coinage" books; the significance of these different names is not apparent.
The main series of Ledgers is complete to 1819, when it ceases altogether. Most of the accounts in the first volume conclude on or before 31 Dec. 1801, but the Profit and Loss account is continued to 20 May 1809 and there are necessarily a few corresponding entries elsewhere.
The main series of Journals is complete to 1803, but continues no further. The dates of the succeeding volumes may, however, be deduced from cross-references in the Day Books.
The Sales Book Ledgers contain accounts of coinage customers. A separate ledger was kept for each of the three British coinage contracts.
There is a single Tradesmen’s Ledger, 1823 to 1828, containing accounts of various suppliers.
The earlier of the two Memorandum Ledgers is a record of labour carried out by Mint workmen for Ann Boulton, Matthew Boulton, M. R. Boulton, George Mynd, and Zaccheus Walker. This volume is untitled, but for convenience sake has been given the same title as a later volume of a similar type (1843-1845), which records work done by Mint workers under the various accounts, including the following: Soho House; Garden; Boulton, Watt, & Co.; Rents and Repairs, and Plantations. The amounts of these accounts were periodically charged off in the day book.
The Day Books form an unbroken series, but there is a puzzling variety in their original titles, which are as follows:
"Coinage Day Book," 1791-1795.
"Mint Day Book," 1795-1798.
"Mint Day Book," 1798-1799.
"Mint Day Book," 1799-1801.
"Mint Day Book," 1801-1805.
"Mint and Coinage Day Book," 1805-1808.
"Mint and Coinage Journal," 1808-1811.
"Mint Day Book," 1808-1813.
"Day Book or Rough Coinage Journal," 1814-1819.
"Mint and Coinage Day Book," 1820-1834.
"Mint and Coinage Day Book," 1834-1849.
The earliest volume in the series is also referred to elsewhere as a Waste Book. These books contain a day-to-day record of the transactions of the business, i.e. receipts of money or copper, and expenditure. Weekly totals of wages paid were posted from the wages book (or time book; see e.g. Day Book, 1791-5, p. 1); records of petty expenses were posted each month from the petty cash book; and records of invoices sent were posted from the invoice books. Entries were posted hence to the Journal and (from 26 Jul. 1797) to the sales book ledger. The regular entries in the Day Book, 1808-1811, are continued to 30 Sep. 1808, at which point a new day book (1808-1813) was begun. (The journal was begun anew at the same date, and probably the ledger was too.) However, the earlier day book contains a further series of entries for the period from 1 Oct. 1808 to 1 Jan. 1811, some of which were posted from the new book. The precise nature of these entries is unclear, but they are probably connected with the transfer of the business from Matthew Boulton to his son (see above, and note that the later volume is styled in the cross-references "MRB D Bk"). The entries in the Day Book, 1820-1834, for 31 Mar.-30 Sep. 1834 were copied into the succeeding volume (p. 269).
The earlier of the two Cash and Bankers’ Books covers the years 1820-1827. Note that a similar book was kept for the Private and Great Tew accounts for the same period. (See the Private Books and Documents.)
The Petty Cash Book is entitled on the front
Mint Petties
Wm. LANGDON
It contains a record of petty expenditure (chiefly for postage and parcels) on the Mint account by the London agent William Langdon.
The surviving Invoice Book, 1792, contains tables showing, for each consignment, the marks and numbers of the casks, their gross weights, their tares, and the net weights of the copper contained in them. Also recorded here are details of the conveyance of the consignments and the issue of invoices. An invoice was issued for every consignment sent, and a summary of the invoice was posted to the day book. Invoice Book A, 19 Mar. 1791-18 Feb. 1792, is wanting, but a summary of the entries in it relating to coins delivered to Monnéron Frères will be found in the front of Book B; Book A is also referred to in the corresponding Packing Book and Day Book (pp. 2-26).
There are three surviving Bill Books, in which are recorded the details of bills of exchange drawn by, or in favour of, the Mint. They do not form a continuous series, and the second volume contains only details of bills receivable. The second volume (1810-1818) is stamped "Receivable" on the front cover (the spine has come off). The entries are recorded in eleven columns, headed as follows: No.; When received; From whom; By whom drawn and where; On whom drawn and where; Date; To whom payable; Time; Due; Sum; When and how disposed of. The bills are entered in the order of their receipt. The book was kept by James Pearson until 26 Jun. 1815 and thereafter by William D. Brown. The third volume (1820-1838) is entitled (on the spine) "M. R. Boulton. Mint and Coinage Bill Book." At the front are recorded Bills Payable; at the back Bills Receivable. The entries for Bills Payable are made in nine columns, the first eight of which are headed as follows: No.; When advised; On whom drawn; To whom payable; Date; Time; Due; Sum. In the right hand margin is noted what seems to be the name of the corresponding Ledger account-Personal, Rolling Mill, Private House, Coinage, and so on. The bills are entered in order of their dates. In the case of bills payable on demand no due date is recorded; otherwise, the due date is obtained by adding the "time" of a bill to its date, with the addition of three days’ grace. The bills dated before 30 Jun. 1832 were drawn on the firm of M. R. Boulton, J. Watt, & Co. (occasionally "per Matthie & Son"). After that date bills were drawn on the Cashiers of the Bank of England, in account with M. R. Boulton and J. Watt, and the heading of the second column was altered to "When paid away." The entries for Bills Receivable are made in eleven columns, headed as in the 1810-1818 volume. In a narrow margin on the right hand side is occasionally recorded what seems to be the name of the corresponding Ledger account. The bills received before 30 Jun. 1832, were disposed of by remittance to M. R. Boulton, J. Watt, & Co., or occasionally they were sent to M. R. Boulton at Tew to be forwarded by him to London. After the date mentioned they were remitted to the Cashiers of the Bank of England, in account with M. R. Boulton and J. Watt.
The first two Wages Books are named "Time and Wages Books" and the second two "Wages Books," but there does not seem to be any essential difference between them. They record the names of the workmen, divided under the several departments of the Mint, and the weekly wages paid to each. The series begins 17 Feb. 1798; prior to that date payments to Mint workmen were recorded individually in the Cash Creditor Books of the firm of M. Boulton. The entries in the Wages Book, 1825-1834, also appear at the beginning of the succeeding volume. A note at the end of the Wages Book, 1834-1841, refers to a new Wages Book, but this is wanting.
The Time Books contain daily records of the work done by each workman.
The Inventories are of various descriptions and do not form a series. The titles of most of these are self-explanatory. The 1809 volume is an inventory of the Mint as a whole. The undated volume conjecturally assigned to the year 1841 appears to be of the same form as the Rolling Mill Inventory of that year, and contains inventories of various machinery, namely a coining press, a cutting-out press, a milling machine, a multiplying press, a die-turning lathe, an annealing stove, and a die-annealing and hardening stove. The Inventory of 1849 may be the one mentioned in a letter from Charles James Chubb to John Coles Symes, 30 Jul.
In addition to the books mentioned above, there are also references to a Petty Cash Book and a Waste Book kept by John Tyrer in the late 1830s, but no specimens of these series survive.
Books of Account (Rolling Mill).
Among the records listed as "Other firms’ records" (MS 3782/5) will be found a Ledger and a Journal, covering the period from 1805 to 1818, which apparently relate to the Rolling Mill. It appears that at that period the accounts of the Rolling Mill were separate from those of the Mint, but the point remains unclear.
At the beginning of 1825 a new set of books was opened for the Rolling Mill, comprising a Tradesmen’s Ledger (or Invoice Book), a Customers’ Ledger, a Journal, and a Day Book. By this time the Rolling Mill accounts appear to have been incorporated with those of the Mint, and these books were probably related in some way to the Mint Ledger-which, however, does not survive. The Journal and the first Day Book (1825-1833) are not extant. The Day Book may be considered as both an "operational" and a "financial" record, as it records, on the one hand, weights of metal received and of scrap metal sent out, and, on the other, monetary amounts of charges for rolling metal. Consequently it contains cross-references both to the (Rolling Mill) Journal and to the Copper Journal (see below).
The Ledger contains references to an earlier Ledger, and a Wages Book (not apparently the Mint Wages Book); and there are references to a book apparently kept by William H. Remmett (possibly the Rolling Mill Cash Book) in the Mint Accounts. But these volumes are not extant. An Inventory of the Rolling Mill made in 1841 will be found among the Inventories (see the description above).
Vouchers, &c.
The Bills, Accounts etc. are the remnants of what have been a much larger series. They are made up of bills and accounts for items bought for the mint, such as metal parts, timber, scales, and so on. There is one small bundle of bills for each supplier, but this may not be the original arrangement, and they may have been extracted from much larger quarterly bundles. William D. Brown cross-referred many of the bills to the Cash Book and the Day Book.
The first bundle of Accounts (Jan.-Jul. 1834) appears to have been assembled by John Robinson, the rest by Joseph Westley. Some bills of Boulton, Watt, & Co. are among the regular series of bills, but several of them were also kept in a separate bundle, which, however, also contained two other bills; the explanation of this is unclear. The Accounts are numbered precisely in the order in which they were originally arranged.
The Cash Vouchers are vouchers for sums paid over, or received, by the Cashier, Charles James Chubb, on the Mint account. Each file was formerly a bundle, and the vouchers in each file were numbered by Chubb. The sequence of numbers in the first file, however, is not continuous, presumably because the missing numbers were given to vouchers for receipts and payments on other accounts. Many of the vouchers contain cross-references to the Mint Journal.
Operational Records: Coinages.
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).
Operational Records: Mint Machinery.
The Operational Records relating to the various mint machinery supplied by Soho Mint are subdivided into four groups under the headings shown at the beginning of this Introduction.
The first group comprises records relating to the Royal (or British, or English) Mint. These include various various small Order Books. The book entitled "Order Book-Mr. Brunton, Soho Foundry, Eagle Foundry, &c." contains a record of outgoing orders for parts for the mint. The book now listed as "Order Book (Boulton, Watt, & Co.)," has no contemporary title besides the words "National Mint"; it contains orders from William Creighton of the Soho Drawing Office, with specifications of parts. The "Order Book for the Royal Mint, London" records orders received from that place. The book now listed as "Articles furnished to the Royal Mint," is merely entitled "Royal Mint, 1816."
The Workmen’s Books contain accounts with individual workmen. Six of these were formerly been in one bundle, the wrapper of which survives. The seventh is a document of a similar form, for a later period.
The three Memorandum Books contain records of workmen’s time and wages on various projects connected with the Royal Mint.
Fifteen small volumes relating to the Danish, Russian, and Portuguese (i.e. Brazilian) Mints were formerly contained in a parcel labelled:
Miscellaneous-Books of
Wages, Piece-work, &ca
in preparing Machinery for the
Danish, Russian, & Portuguese
Mints-(15 Books)
But only four volumes relating to these mints survive, and they do not appear to match the description of the label. These volumes, with a loose copy of the specification of the Danish Mint, form the second group.
The contents of the third group of records date from the years 1821 to 1835, and relate to various mint machinery made during this period-namely for the Calcutta Mint, the Bombay Mint, the Soho New Mint, the Guanaxuato Mint, and the Mexico City Mint. There is also a single Rough Packing Book for the Culiacan Mint. It must be noted that the mints for Guanaxuato (or Guanajuato-the contemporary spelling) and Mexico City are generally referred to in the contemporary records by the name of the party who ordered them, namely Robert Mushet, and Barclay, Herring, Richardson, & Co. respectively.
The records in this group include two dissimilar Estimate Books, and series of Order Books (containing outgoing orders for parts), Fitting Books, and Packing Books. There are also various related loose Papers. For the Calcutta Mint there is a set of Workmen’s Books (1821-1823) similar to those kept for the Royal Mint (see above). The account book of Edward Riley (1826-1827) is somewhat different from the earlier workmen’s books, and contains his account for die-forging work for the Calcutta Mint and an account with William Alder for dies for the same. For the Calcutta Mint, the Soho New Mint, the Guanaxuato Mint, and the Mexico City Mint there are roughly uniform sets of miscellaneous operational books, now given the title "Manufacturing Account Books."
The fourth group comprises a single Packer’s Book, covering the period from 1834 to 1850, when the Mint was closed.
Correspondence and Memoranda.
The General Letter Books form two series. The first series covers the period 1805-1809; there is then a gap of eleven years before the beginning of the second series, which is complete to 1845. The two volumes in the first series are entitled "Mint Consignment Letter Book" (1805-1807) and "Mint Office, Soho, Letter Book" (1807-1808).
The volumes in the second series are each entitled "Mint and Coinage Letter Book." Inside the front cover of the letter book, 1820-1823, is the following explanatory memorandum in the hand of Zaccheus Walker Jr.: "N.B. All copies of letters previous to the 1st January 1820 have been folded up along with the letters received,-for which see boxes containing the correspondence." Below this John Robinson has added: "Copies of letters relative to cash agency transactions from above date to September 7, 1820, will be found in the Private and Household letter book." This clearly indicates that this book began a new series, and that the copy letters for the period immediately prior to the year 1820 were not pasted into books, but folded up with the incoming letters. A letter book for the period 29 Apr. 1830-1 May 1831 may be wanting.
The remaining letter book contains copies of correspondence with George Harrison of the Treasury, with copy lists of orders for coin.
The Memorandum Books are of various descriptions and do not form a series. The most important of these is the first, entitled "Memoranda, Calculations, Estimates, and Charges, of Coinage and Coinage Machinery."
The Mint and Coinage Correspondence for 1799 is a large series of letters, divided into monthly bundles. The majority of the letters are from firms or individuals ordering or paying for casks of pennies and halfpennies. There are also many letters from Zaccheus Walker at Soho, again about orders for coins. There are also twelve monthly bundles of press copies of the replies to these letters, written in the main by William Cheshire on Matthew Boulton’s behalf. There is also a large bundle of general correspondence, mostly about supplies of copper, and a bundle of press copies of general outgoing letters. All these letters came to the Assay Office in a large wooden box marked "Mint and Coinage Correspondence 1799."
Following the files for 1799, loose general Mint Correspondence have been found for several years from 1821 to 1844, but this series is not complete. Most of the letters are addressed to John Robinson and Joseph Westley, and many deal with the supply of copper to the Mint.
The bundle of Zaccheus Walker’s correspondence relating to the Royal Mint found its way out of the Matthew Boulton Papers at some point. The new owner pasted the letters into a volume, which was purchased by Birmingham Library in 1924. It was added to the Boulton & Watt collection, but has now been restored to its original home. It contains letters from M. R. Boulton, Master of the Mint W. W. Pole, Deputy Master J. W. Morrison, James Lawson and George Rennie.
The mint agents also kept files of correspondence and memoranda relating to Overseas Mints. The first file, for the Calcutta Mint, was opened by Zaccheus Walker, and closed not long after his death in 1822. The second file, relating to both the Calcutta and Bombay Mints, consists of a large amount of material kept by John Robinson and later Joseph Westley. This file may be a later amalgam of several smaller files. The Assay Office removed the Bombay material and mixed it in with Matthew Robinson Boulton’s Special Correspondence relating to the Bombay Mint, but the papers have now been re-united. Both these files contain letters, estimates, notes, calculations etc., particularly relating to the ordering and manufacture of the parts of the various mints from subcontractors such as Boulton Watt & Co.
Various smaller bundles of correspondence and papers relating to various Coinages were also found, including one for the Guernsey coinage, two for coinages for J. Colville, and a miscellaneous bundle.
The files of Cashier’s Memoranda contain miscellaneous correspondence, memoranda, inventories, and so on, particularly documents made or used in connection with the making up of the books. The contents of these files have been numbered precisely in the order in which they were arranged in the bundles. Possibly some of these documents belong more properly with the Cashier’s Vouchers, described above.
There are also various Miscellaneous Papers which were found scattered through the collection and whose place in the order of the records has been lost.