The Regulating Silver Coin, Made Practicable and Easie, to the Government and Subject

In 1690s England, the silver in your pocket was worth less than the crown stamped on it. War with France had drained the treasury, good coin had been hoarded or exported abroad, and clipped, debased currency strangled all trade. Samuel Pratt wrote this treatise at the height of the monetary crisis, and he offers no abstract theory, only urgent, practical remedies. He argues that the quality of silver coin has so deteriorated that the nation's economic life is threatened, then lays out a detailed plan: call in the bad money, compensate owners fairly according to the true silver content, and re-issue new coin with adequate intrinsic value. The result is a fascinating window into how educated Englishmen understood money, value, and the obligations of government toward the currency thatokeeps a society functioning. It is dense, period-specific, and written for policymakers rather than general readers, but it remains a remarkable primary source for anyone curious about the foundations of modern monetary thought.