Trial of the Pix Options

[hussulo]

"No coin whatever is issued from the Mint until a portion of it has been assayed by the Queen's assayer. When that process has been gone through, one coin of each denomination is placed in a pix, or casket, sealed with three seals, and secured with three locks, the keys being separately kept by the Master of the Mint, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the Queen's assayer; the pieces of coin so secured are given to a jury to assay and compare with the trial plates which are kept in the ancient treasury in the cloisters of Westminster Abbey, the keys of which and of the pix in which the trial plates are deposited are in the custody of the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Lords of the Treasury. The process of comparison is called the trial of the pix."

Peter Cunningham, Hand-Book of London, 1850


I recently purchased a manuscript referring to the trial of the pix dated 9th of March 1836.










It reads:

When folded up on the front first picture:
Order in Council for
the Tryal of the Pix of the
mint dated the 9th of March
1836 ~

Front page

At the Court at St. James's
the 9th of March 1836
Present
The Kings most Excellent Majesty
in council
It is this day ordered by His Majesty
in council. that the Lords of His Majesty's
Most Honourable Privy council do
meet at His Majesty's exchequer at
Westminster on Thursday the 24th of
this instant March at ten o'clock in
the forenoon for the Trial of His Majesty's
Coins in the Pix of the mint; and the
Right Honourable the Lord High Chancellor
of Great Britain and Ireland is to
require the wardens and company of
goldsmiths to give attendance on their
Lordships at the place aforesaid; and
the

Second page

The Right Honourable the Lords
Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury
are to direct the Warden Master Worker
and Commissioners of His Majesty's Mint
with the officers therein concerned to be
present.

I cannot decipher the signature

[josie]

Nice info.

I thought that pyx was a box in the mint use for QA in the mint for coins for the mint itself.

There is also a trial of pyx for overall inspection or check and balance.

Nice to see the trial from bronze 1860 onwards and compare them to the quality of the coins minted on that time.

Just posting.

http://www.google.ie/search?q=trial+of+pyx...ved=0CG8QywEoBA

[Gwent_Boy]

Second attempt at posting a reply!

Fabulous piece of history, Hus. As with coins it is a great buzz to handle an item such a this.

Josie, copper alloy coins have never been included in the Trial of the Pyx. It only included precious metal alloy coins and their replcement alloys e.g. cupro-nickel.


Robert

[hussulo]

Second attempt at posting a reply!

Fabulous piece of history, Hus. As with coins it is a great buzz to handle an item such a this.

Josie, copper alloy coins have never been included in the Trial of the Pyx. It only included precious metal alloy coins and their replcement alloys e.g. cupro-nickel.


Robert

Thanks Robert,

Just like coins these documents are a tangible piece of history and I'll try and buy any that I may come across.

I too always spelt it Pyx but for this thread I spelt it as it has been on the document "Pix" is this just an old fashioned spelling or perhaps a more modern spelling of it?

Hus

[josie]

Thank you gwent boy thats is clear.

Only gold and silver then curpo nickel.

[josie]

It a new info for me.

And a new word.

Pix.

Just posting.

http://www.google.ie/search?q=pix+history&...ved=0CHMQyQEoAQ

[Gwent_Boy]

Hus,

I have always known it as "pyx" and this is how Craig in "The Mint" spells it. However my compact Oxford dictionary says:

n. (also pix) Eccl. the vessel in which the consecrated bread of the Eucharist is kept. [from Latin pyxis]

So presumably the Pyx box at the Mint was originally named after the religious container. Craig describes a writ of 1280 where Edward I "..commands them to open the Pyxes of London and Cantebury" . Unfortunately it is not clear if this is a direct quote or modern interpretation with his spelling. My guess is that the two spellings are just alternatives.

Josie,

There were very different standards of control used for the lower denomination copper/bronze coins compared with the higher denomination precious metal coins. This has continued up to today even though these higher denomination coins are not precious metal any longer.

Robert

[hussulo]

Hus,

I have always known it as "pyx" and this is how Craig in "The Mint" spells it. However my compact Oxford dictionary says:

n. (also pix) Eccl. the vessel in which the consecrated bread of the Eucharist is kept. [from Latin pyxis]

So presumably the Pyx box at the Mint was originally named after the religious container. Craig describes a writ of 1280 where Edward I "..commands them to open the Pyxes of London and Cantebury" . Unfortunately it is not clear if this is a direct quote or modern interpretation with his spelling. My guess is that the two spellings are just alternatives.

Josie,

There were very different standards of control used for the lower denomination copper/bronze coins compared with the higher denomination precious metal coins. This has continued up to today even though these higher denomination coins are not precious metal any longer.

Robert

Thanks Robert .

[josie]

Thanks again gwent boy.

They are checking or weighing precious metal gold and silver so that it will not be lacking in weight.

What is the device they use in checking the weight of the coins or the metal or counter weight,fist case or first time they will check a new coin and so on?

[josie]

There are some entry in the web that the trial are using grain as a counter weight to measure the coins that its so sensitive few grains is needed.

Since the pound or the symbol in GB currency came from pennyweight and pennyweight came from grain.

Grain are mostly kept in box go futher in ancient times boxwood which pix,pyx,pxyis.

Since that most of the coins are minted or its location is located abby or churches.

There are some entry that pyx used in corinth a boxwood if Im not mistaken.

Since donation of first century christian for the first century church that many roman silver coins are in circulation among other coins.

If im not mistaken belongs to different roman emperor dont know the standard weight of coins in first AD, tiberius silver penny or other silver penny upto 100AD

Boxwood grain much better BREAD.

Good tread Trial of Pix.

silver and gold precious metal in coins or currencies tried and tested.

Not lacking in weight.

Seen an episode on time team about weastminister abbey there is an pyx chamber Ive heard he metioned that its the treasury.