Under date 27th March, 1895, the Rev. G. E. Lee supplements his previous information:--
"I have seen Sir Edgar MacCulloch, and he agrees with me that the Alderney seal is a creation. I have now seen two documents of Sark. The first, of 1818, is sealed with a large seal, two inches in diameter, in green wax, bearing the de Carteret arms and supporters. The seal is called "Le sceau de la Seigneurie de l'ile de Serk." On the reverse is a counterseal, with the arms of the then seigneur, P. Le Pelley.
"The other deed is of 1852, and sealed with the Le Pelley arms, which, on that occasion, are called 'Le sceaux de la Seigneurie de cette ile'--the seigneur being P. C. Le Pelley.
"The late Mr. Collings, I suspect, used the de Carteret seal, which seems to have been lost in the wreck of the _Gosforth_. The de Carterets, no doubt, used the seal with their own arms, and some of their successors certainly used this same seal as the official seal for the island."
The _arms_ of the ancient family of de Carteret are, with supporters,
_Gu_--four Fusils in Fess conjoined _arg._,
and _crest_, a squirrel sejant holding a sprig--_ppr._, and their historic motto--"LOYALL DEVOIR."
THE JERSEY SILVER TOKENS OF 1813.
The Hon. Sir C. W. Freemantle, K.C.B., Master of the Royal Mint, has courteously favoured me with particulars of coinages as specially struck for the Channel Islands.
As regards the Jersey 3s. token of 1813, and the 1s. 6d. token of the same date, he says:--
"These were coined at the Royal Mint, under authority from the Committee of Council on Coins, dated 5th February, 1813.
"10,000 worth of silver bullion was purchased and coined into tokens of 3s. and 1s. 6d., nominal value. The current value of these coins appears to have been 11,473 17s. 6d., but there is no information as to the value of each of the two denominations of coins issued."
The Viscount of Jersey [Le Gros] kindly supplements the above with the following local information:--
"On the 26th October, 1812, the States, having taken into consideration the want of specie and of small coin current in the island--a want which makes itself more and more felt, both amongst the inhabitants and the troops in garrison--decided to order, with the sanction of Government, the coinage of a certain quantity of small silver tokens for circulation in this island. A committee of nine members was named to consider the amount and value of the coins to be issued, and to enquire into the cost of such issue.
"The States requested H.E. the Lieut.-Governor Don to consult His Majesty's Ministers on the matter before proceeding further therein.
"On the 12th December, 1812, a letter from Lord Chetwynd, clerk of the Privy Council, dated 18th November, 1812, in reply to the Lieut.-Governor's application, having been read, the States instructed their Committee to take the necessary steps for the coining and putting in circulation in the island of small silver coins to the value of not more than 10,000 of such amounts and design as they may consider most suitable.
"On the 20th March, 1813, the silver coinage struck at the Royal Mint by authority of the Lords of the Privy Council for circulation in the island, being expected to arrive any day, which coins are of the value some of 3s., some of 1s. 6d., and bear on one side the arms of the island, and on the other their value--the States instructed their Committee to take the necessary steps to put these coins into circulation as soon as they arrive, and the States engaged to take back the coins at their respective value, whenever it may become necessary, after having given one month's notice, both by publication in the several parishes and by advertisements in the local newspapers, to the holders to bring the coins to the Treasurer of the States, and receive the amount thereof."
The Viscount of Jersey [Le Gros], in a letter dated Seafield, 19th October, 1893, further informs me:--
"The result of the issue of these coins was that they were exported in large quantities--to Guernsey especially, and, I am told, to Canada also, where they were at a premium, passing, no doubt, as if of the same value as English coins of the same denominations.
"These coins, or what remained of them in the island, were called in by the States in 1834, in which year English money was declared the sole legal tender."
The above-named two Jersey silver tokens read respectively:--
_O._ STATES OF JERSEY, 18 13 = The arms of Jersey--viz., _gules_, three lions passant gardant _or._
_R._ THREE SHILLINGS TOKEN, in three lines, within a wreath of oak leaves.
and
_O._ STATES OF JERSEY, 11 13 = the arms of Jersey.
_R._ EIGHTEEN PENCE TOKEN, in three lines, within a wreath of oak leaves.
These silver tokens were the only coins of that metal ever struck for the Channel Islands. The countermarked Spanish dollars, indented "Bishop de Jersey and Co.," belong to Guernsey, and will be noticed together with the other coins of that island.
COPPER AND BRONZE COINAGES OF JERSEY FROM 1841.
The Viscount of Jersey [Le Gros] favours me with the following information:--
"In 1834 it was enacted that from the 1st October, in that year, English money alone should be legal tender in the island, and that the pound sterling should be considered equal to 26 _livres_, old French currency, which was, up to the date above given, currency of the island.
"There being 20 _sous_ to the _livre_, and 20 _shillings_ to the_ pound_, a shilling became the equivalent of 26 _sous_. The value of the Jersey penny, or _piece de deux sous_, therefore, became 1/13th of a shilling, the half-penny, or sou, 1/26th of a shilling, and the farthing, or _piece de deux liards_, 1/52nd of a shilling."
As regards the above, in plain English we may call a _livre_ a franc, a _sou_ a half-penny, and a _liard_ a half-farthing, as current in Jersey.
Sir C. W. Fremantle, Deputy-Master of the Royal Mint, has most kindly given me full particulars as to dates and amounts of actual supplies of copper coins to Jersey; and the Viscount of Jersey has furnished me with records of quantities ordered; thus collectors will now be able to judge as to rarity of the different issues, and also to know for certain when they may happen to meet with patterns or coins not sent to Jersey for circulation.
NUMBERS OF PIECES ISSUED.
Pence Half-Pence Farthings (2 _Sous_).(1 _Sou_). (1/2 _Sou_).
Copper coins bearing date 1841. (The 116,480 232,960 116,480 order, dated 13th July, 1840, was to the value of 1,000). These, and up to date, 1871 inclusive, were for 1/13th, 1/26th, and 1/52nd.
There was a further supply in 1844 27,040 232,960 --
On December 13th, 1850, there was an No record.
order, to the value of 1,000, for copper coins; but there is no record in the Royal Mint that supply was made therefrom. Still, both pence and half-pence of date, 1851, were supplied for currency, and are still common.
Copper coins of date, 1858 (ordered to 173,333 173,333 -- value of 2,000 on 15th October, 1857).
Copper coins of date, 1861 173,333 173,333 --
Bronze coins of date, 1866, ordered to 173,333 173,333 -- value 2,000 under date 8th Dec, 1864
Ditto, ditto, 1870. In 1869 the old copper 173,333 173,333 -- issues were called in to be used for recoining and re-issue as bronze coinage--as type of late bronze coinage of 1866. These re-coined issues were dated 1870 and 1871.
Bronze coins of date, 1871 (in continuance 173,333 173,333 -- of last-named order).
Bronze coins of date, 1877. These coins 260,000 312,000 312,000 coins were 1/12th, 1/24th, and 1/48th of a shilling respectively, instead of being 1/13th, &c., as previously. On February 25th, 1876, the leading tradesmen of Jersey had petitioned the States to this effect, and the States ordered 2,000 of the new denominations accordingly. At the same time, the coins of former denominations were called in. This new coinage was ordered through the Royal Mint, but actually struck by Messrs. Ralph Heaton, of Birmingham.