Definitions and terminology

[Capt. Flint]

Can someone tell me what a pipe of wine is. I have read in many books about how when a merchant was taken, amongst the items looted were ......"so many pipes of wine and hogsgead of tobaccoe. If anyone else has some terms they are unfamiliar with, post them here mabye we could all learn a word or two.....

[Hawkyns]

By English imperial measure, a hogshead is 2 barrels or 63 imperial gallons. A pipe of wine is 2 hogsheads or 126 imperial gallons. A pipe of ale is smaller, 108 imperial gallons.

Hawkyns

[crow]

By English imperial measure, a hogshead is 2 barrels or 63 imperial gallons. A pipe of wine is 2 hogsheads or 126 imperial gallons. A pipe of ale is smaller, 108 imperial gallons.

Hawkyns

Why Mister Hawkins yer a right handy feller to have onboard , yer a bottomless well of knowledge ye are . I would put thee forward for Quartermaster that I would sir . :)

[Capt. Flint]

Okay, heres a new one I've not heard before... Coin Clipping... Any info, on this one mates...

[Captain_MacNamara]

back when coins were made of real silver and gold, people would shave a bit off the edges here and there.

perhaps this is what it's referring to?

[Hrothgar Addams]

Or mebbe the act of clippin' Spanish 8Reale pieces into eighths makin' change.

Whole coin=One Spanish dollar

Half coin=Four bits=half dollar

Quarter coin=Two Bits=quarter dollar.

[Lady Seahawke]

Money used to be called back for re-minting because of coin clipping - cutting the edges off coins. People did this so that by shaving or clipping the gold or silver they could save up then have it melted down to make more money.

[Capt. Flint]

I'll have to re-read the passage that mentions this again. It is not being refered to in the way that you are describing it. I have read about what you are talking about. A common way of paying for things back then was to shave off enough of the gold or silver to pay for the item. Never heard of anyone shaving a coin in order to make more money... After I re-read the passage again, I'll re-post the question with better clarity.

[Cascabel]

Seems to me that long ago I read something about the reason for the "reeded" edge on coins was originally so that a person coul easily see if the coin had been shaved. Sounds reasonable to me.....

>>>>> Cascabel

[Silver Steele]

Initially planchets were hand struck. Upon weighing the coin, if the assayer found that the coin weighed too much, the coin was "clipped" to the correct size. The clipped bits were held in a bag and when the time came they just threw the entire bag with the shavings and clips on the fire and melted it back down. People picked up on this and over time they began to "shave" off a bit of the coin, and thus make a few bucks on the side. These coins were generally not very round unless it was a royal strike, but had a smooth edge.

Around 1732 the planchets were machine struck, the coin was generally more round, and an edge was placed upon the coin to deter people from "shaving" off a bit.

There is a process called coin "chopping" which is when a coin was "certified" as being an authentic coin when it was used in Asia. That was simply putting a "mark" on the coin.

Yes a piece of eight was occassionaly "cut" into bits to make the correct change.

I've got some stuff on my site regarding the history of the Spanish coin during the Golden Era, including pictures of the coins across the time.

[the Royaliste]

Initially, all 'cob' reales were by weight, eight reales being an ounce by weight; four reales, 1/2 ounce, 2 reales at 1/4 ounce, etc. down to 1/2 reales. Some of the clipping was req'd at the mint (mostly Potosi in Peru) to achieve correct weight for assay. Then , you also have restrikes for 'other' countries, and counterstrikes for re-evaluation. Most marevedis were restuck at one time or another, as supply of copper and vellon was available over a longer period of history.