Crimes against currency
In the 1690s many coins in people’s pockets had been around for generations. Many were so heavily clipped that letters were missing and the coins appeared smaller than they should have been. The clipped metal was then sold for profit by unscrupulous criminals.
These coins presented little challenge for counterfeiters, and fakes flooded the market. They were cast in cheap metals such as lead or copper using moulds. They were then coated with silver to look like genuine coins.
In an attempt to solve the problem, William III’s government ordered a ‘Great Recoinage’ of all the old silver coins in circulation.
