Newton and the Counterfeiter: The Unknown Detective Career of the World's Greatest Scientist

by Thomas Levenson

  16. "BOXEFULLS OF INFORMATIONS IN HIS OWN HANDWRITING"

  [>] the case of the missing dies: According to John Craig's calculations, Newton appeared before the Lords Justices ten times in August and September 1696, and during that period interviewed at least six suspects, either at Newgate or at the Mint. That works out to about two days a week he devoted to the investigation, and it probably underestimates both the number of suspects questioned and the number of times each suspect was interrogated. See John Craig, "Isaac Newton and the Counterfeiters," Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London 18, no. 2 (December 1963), p. 137.

  [>] "paid Humphrey Hall to buy him a suit": Mint 19/1, sheet 467, cited in John Craig, "Isaac Newton—Crime Investigator," Nature 182, no. 4629 (July 19, 1958), p. 150.

  [>] Both men benefited: The Cambridgeshire undercover operation and George Macy's work are described in Malcolm Gaskill, Crime and Mentalities in Early Modern England, p. 170. The adventures of the brothers Maris and Rewse are documented in John Craig, "Isaac Newton and the Counterfeiters," Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London 18, no. 2 (December 1963), pp. 138–39. J. M. Beattie's Policing and Punishment in London, 1660–1750, pp. 228–47, details the experience of hired thief-takers in the 1690s and discusses Rewse's career in some detail.

  total of £626 5s. 9d.: "An Acoumpt of monies expended by Isaac Newton of his Majts Mint in the apprehension and prosecuting of Clippers and coyners between the third day of August 1696 and the...," Mint 19/1, leaf 477.

  "scandalously mercenary": Hopton Haynes, Brief Memoires, f. 36v, quoted in Malcolm Gaskill, Crime and Mentalities in Early Modern England, p. 171.

  [>] He used the warrant to blackmail victims: Mint 17, deposition 193, of John Holloway and Elizabeth Holloway, 14 and 17 April 1699.

  hint of sexual extortion: "a certain pension," Mint 17, document 198, deposition of Mary Townsend, no date; "in company with one Mr. John Gibbons," Mint 17, document 240, deposition of Mary Townsend, 31 August 1698; "Gibbons corresponds," Mint 17, document 31, deposition of Edward Ivie, 22 August 1698. The eighty-pound price, Mint 17, document 38, deposition of Mary Hobbs, 2 July 1698; "a little adjouning room," Mint 17, document 44, deposition of Elizabeth Bond, 15 July 1698. Hints that Gibbons regularly demanded sexual payment from women—coiners in their own right and those women who came to beg or buy his intercession for relatives or lovers—come in a number of the depositions Newton took in the summer of 1698. Besides Bond's testimony about Mrs. Jackson, there are several other, similarly indirect descriptions. But explicitly, witness after witness made the point that Gibbons had his victims absolutely in his power: they could hand over whatever he sought, or they could go to Newgate and the gallows. It seems clear from reading the numerous depositions that Gibbon lusted after more than money. See also J. M. Beattie, Policing and Punishment in England, 1660–1750, pp. 241–42. Beattie documents the authorities' knowledge of Gibbons's untrustworthiness.

  [>] "sought after for coyning of Gineas and pistols": "The Examination of Elizabeth Ivie of Liccabone street in Holbourn Widdow 13 October 1698," Mint 17, document 104.

  "Taverns & Prisons & other places": Isaac Newton to the Treasury, i October 1699, Correspondence 4, document 617, p. 317.

  [>] "boxefulls of informations" John Conduitt, Character, Keynes Ms. 130.7, p. 3r, online at the Newton Project, http://www.newtonproject.sussex.ac.uk. England's most prolific torturing monarch: John H. Langbein, Torture and the Law of Proof, p. 82.

  Little Ease: Ibid., p. 85. The rats did not have the desired effect on Sherwood, so his interrogation intensified with a session on the rack, ordered two weeks later.

  "marching to the beat of drum": British History Online, Lambeth—Lambeth Palace, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=45290.

  [>] "to cause him to be racked": David Jardine, A reading on the use of torture in the criminal law of England before the Commonwealth, pp. 57–58.

  Archer did not speak: L. A. Parry, The History of Torture in England. The description of the rack comes on pages 76–77; his account of John Archer's case is on page 60. Torture continued to be used legally in Scotland long after the practice ceased in England. Most notably, in 1693 King William took advantage of the fact that he ruled two separate kingdoms to transport Henry Neville Payne from London to Edinburgh to torture him there. evidence gained under torture: See Langbein's analysis in Torture and the Law of Proof, pp. 134–39.

  [>] "I shall have Irons put on me tomorrow": "Thomas Carter's Letter to the Warden of the Mint Sunday Afternoon," Mint 17, document 130.

  "The blood of coiners and clippers": Frank Manuel, A Portrait of Isaac Newton, p. 244.

  17. "I HAD BEEN OUT BEFORE NOW BUT FOR HIM"

  [>] arrested Ball and Miller: Mint 17, document 6, deposition of Mary Miller, 19 July 1698. Miller made this statement before Isaac Newton about two weeks after the events described.

  Miller was a known quantity: Mint 17, document 12, deposition of Mary Miller, 5 August 1698.

  [>] six or seven pence per coin: Mint 17, document 27, deposition of Samuel Bond, 16 September 1698.

  "imposing up on a whole Kingdom": Guzman Redivivus, p. 3.

  [>] "Debased, Diminished and Counterfeited": William Chaloner, "The Defects in the present Constitution of the Mint," p. 1.

  The rot started at the top: "Report of the Committee Appointed to Inquire Into the Miscarriages of the Officers of the Mint," reprinted inRogers Ruding, Annals of the Coinage of Britain and its Dependencies, vol. 2, p. 468.

  "hath got a great estate": Ibid., p. 467.

  [>] why not add "an Officer": William Chaloner, "The Defects in the present Constitution of the Mint," p. 1.

  "Morally impossible to Counterfeit": Ibid.

  [>] "such bad Workmanship": Ibid.

  "to perform some of his Proposals": Ibid., p. 2.

  Newton's responses: Isaac Newton, untitled and undated memo, Mint 19/1, f. 496.

  [>] "undeniable demonstrations": "Report of the Committee Appointed to Inquire Into the Miscarriages of the Officers of the Mint," reprinted in Rogers Ruding, Annals of the Coinage of Britain and its Dependencies, vol. 2, p. 467.

  "Mr Chaloner may make an Experiment": Mint 19/1, f. 516. Reprinted in Correspondence 4, pp. 231–32.

  And there the matter rested: Isaac Newton, "An Answer to Mr. Chaloner's Petition" (draft), Mint 19/1, f. 499. See also John Craig, "Isaac Newton and the Counterfeiters," Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London 198, no. 2 (December 1963), p. 141.

  Newton's testimony: "Report of the Committee Appointed to Inquire Into the Miscarriages of the Officers of the Mint," reprinted in Rogers Ruding, Annals of the Coinage of Britain and its Dependencies, vol. 3, pp. 533–42.

  [>] "libeling ... in print": Isaac Newton, "An Answer to Mr. Chaloner's Petition" (draft), Mint 19/1, f. 499, and an untitled memo, Mint 19/1, f. 496.

  18. "A NEW AND DANGEROUS WAY OF COINING"

  [>] "fun[ne]d the Lords of the Treasury": "The Information of John Peers taken upon Oath ye 18th day of May 1697," Mint 17, document 86. This deposition was taken by a judge, Francis Negus, and not Newton himself. Newton heard much the same thing, possibly from Chaloner's close associate Thomas Holloway. In "An Answer to Mr. Chaloner's Petition" (draft), Mint 19/1, f. 499, Newton writes that Chaloner said he was on the verge of "funning the Parliament as he had done the King and the Bank before." "the Character he deserv'd": Guzman Redivivus, p. 6.

  [>] "a new and dangerous way of coining": Isaac Newton, untitled memo, Mint 19/1, f. 496, and "An Answer to Mr. Chaloner's Petition" (draft), Mint 19/1, f. 499.

  [>] "a house in the Country": Isaac Newton, "An Answer to Mr. Chaloner's Petition" (draft), Mint 19/1, f. 499, and untitled memo, Mint 19/1, f. 496. See also "Chaloner's Case," Mint 19/1, f. 503.

  [>] practically indistinguishable: Isaac Newton, "Chaloner's Case," (undated, probably late 1697), Mint 19/1, f. 503. See also parts of this account repeated in various drafts, especially in Mint 19/1, f. 496.

/>   "might be hidden anywhere" : Isaac Newton, "Chaloner's Case," (undated, probably late 1697), Mint 19/1, f. 503.

  "new way quick and profitable": Ibid.

  [>] Chaloner make his famous boast: "The Information of John Peers taken upon Oath ye 18th day of May 1697," Mint 17, document 86.

  [>] He bailed his man out: He was reimbursed. See John Craig, "Isaac Newton—Crime Investigator,"Nature 182 (1958), pp. 150–51. Newton's accounts show two sums paid out of his own funds for "frustrating the designs of Chaloner + his associates in their conspiring to set on foot a new way of coyning in summer 1697 and of apprehending some of them." The two entries total twenty-three pounds eighteen shillings, and while Newton did not itemize his expenses, the cost of funding Peers and hauling him out of jail both fit the general category here. The charges are recorded in Mint 19/1, f. 577.

  Newton again arrested Holloway: Isaac Newton, "Chaloner's Case" (undated, probably late 1697), Mint 19/1, f. 503.

  [>] he was to arrest William Chaloner: John Craig, "Isaac Newton—Crime Investigator," Nature 182, no. 4629 ( July 19, 1958), pp. 150–51.

  Chaloner readied his counterattack: Ibid.

  [>] "asked him if Holloway was gone away": "The Information of Henry Saunders of Cross Lane in ye parish of St. Gyles in the Fields in the County of Middx, Tallow Chandler 25 augt. 1698," Mint 17, document 98. The details of Holloway's escape to Scotland come from this deposition and from Mint 17, documents 80, 81, and 107. Document 80 contains "The Information of rob Brown Joyner at the Turk's head near the Hermitage Bridge in Wapping 13 December 98." Documents 81 and 107 are depositions by Elizabeth Holloway.

  19. "TO ACCUSE AND VILIFY THE MINT"

  [>] "such redress as shall seem best": William Chaloner, "Petition by Chaloner," late 1697, copied out by Isaac Newton, Mint 19/1, f. 497. Also Correspondence 4, document 580, pp. 259–60.

  "raised himself by coyning": Isaac Newton, "An Answer to Mr. Chaloner's Petition," early 1698, Mint 19/1, ff. 497–98, reprinted in Correspondence 4, document 581, pp. 261–62.

  [>] "any privilege or direction was given": Ibid.

  Newton was standing in the dock: John Craig, "Newton and the Counterfeiters," Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London 18, no. 2 (December 1963), p. 141.

  gaps turned up in the plaintiff's story: Calendar of State Papers Domestic, 1697, p. 339.

  a bald rejection: Isaac Newton, untitled and undated, Mint 19/1, f. 503.

  20. "AT THIS RATE THE NATION MAY BE IMPOSED UPON"

  [>] "being afraid to have them": "The Examination of Thomas Carter Prisoner in Newgate 31 January 1698/9," Mint 17, deposition 118.

  "they were so light": "The Deposition of John Abbot of Water Lane in Fleet street Refiner 15th day of February 1698/9," Mint 17, deposition H9. "he would do some better": "The Examination of Thomas Carter Prisoner in Newgate 31 January 1698/9," Mint 17, deposition 118.

  [>] "to engage themselves in this Fund": Thomas Neale, A Profitable Adventure to the Fortunate, p. 2.

  [>] to secure the best possible return: See Anne L. Murphy's analysis in her article "Lotteries in the 1690s: Investment or Gamble?," Financial History Review 12, no. 2 (2006), pp. 231–32.

  a quarter of a million pounds behind: Ibid.

  "Credit and Honour of the Nation": Anonymous petitioner quoted in ibid., p. 231.

  [>] actual bills of exchange: Thomas Neale, "Fourteen Hundred Thousand Pound, made into One Hundred and Forty Thousand Bills of Ten Pounds apiece, to be given out for so much as Occasion requires, and to be paid as Chance shall Determine in course, out of 1515000 l. being left to be only made use of to pay Interest, Premium and Charge," 1697.

  "nobody does or will understand": Anne L. Murphy, "Lotteries in the 1690s: Investment or Gamble?," Financial History Review 12, no. 2 (2006), p. 233.

  forty-five thousand pounds' worth: "The fourth parliament of King William: First Session," History and Proceedings of the House of Commons, vol. 3, pp. 91–106, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=37657.

  [>] the smaller and less valuable fish: All the quotes and the narrative of Davis's pursuit of Chaloner come from the deposition in which Davis described the information he provided Secretary Vernon, Mint 17, document 85.

  Robert Morris: John Craig, "Newton and the Counterfeiters," Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London 18, no. 2 (December 1963), p. 142.

  21. "HE HAD GOT HIS BUSINESS DONE"

  [>] "why am I so strictly confined": William Chaloner, "Letter to the Warden of the Mint," undated, Mint 17, document 133.

  "he had a Trick left yet": Guzman Redivivus, p. 7.

  [>] Brady had received some of his supply: "The Examination of Edward Ivy als Jonas late of [ sic] in London Gentl[eman] taken before me the 17th day of May 1698," Mint 17, document 31.

  Newgate or some other jail: See, for example, Mint 17, document 99, "The Information of Mary Townsend of the p[ar]ish of St. Andrews Holborn in the County of Midd[lese]x Widdow taken this 31 day of Augt. 1698," a deposition in which Townsend implicates John Gibbons and Edward Ivy. Two months later, Elizabeth Ivy complains of Gibbons and John Jennings in document 104, along with Brady—all of whom were named later by her husband—and someone Townsend omitted, a Valentine Cogswell. Newton already knew about Cogswell, though, because in May, an informant whose name is missing from the surviving portion of his or her deposition mentioned "Cogswell a Gent[leman]," whom Brady initiated into the coiners' society. That witness was clearly well placed, listing eighteen men and women involved in clipping, coining, and other crimes in document 91—a tally that included the horrifying charge "that one Capt. Tuthill" kept "a Rape Mill." This informant did mention Chaloner under his pseudonym Chandler, reporting that his coining operation ran under the protection of John Gibbons—but here again, his was just one name in a list. The point of the testimony as recorded by Newton's clerk was to paint a synoptic picture of a capital overrun with counterfeiters from every class.

  [>] more than 140: The Mint 17 file contains obvious omissions—at one point there are some one hundred numbers missing in the document sequence. I share the conclusion of John Craig ("Isaac Newton—Crime Investigator," p. 151), that up to half of the relevant documents are missing.

  Newton and his witness signed the document: This procedure is pretty clear from the depositions themselves, but I was pointed to this view of Newton's handling of the witnesses by John Craig in "Isaac Newton—Crime Investigator," p.151.

  "abot. 7 or 8 years ago she hath seen": "The Information of Katherine Coffee wife of Patrick Coffee Goldsmith late of Aldermanbury by Woodstr[eet] 18 day of February 1698/9," Mint 17, document 124.

  [>] "abot 10 of thes counterfeit Gineas": "The Information of Katherine Matthews [aka Carter] of Earles Cour in Cranborn ally in the p[ar]ish of St. Anns Westm[inste]r," Mint 17, document 116.

  "either Ginea Dyes or half Crown Dyes": "The Depostion of Humphrey Hanwell of Lambeth p[a]rish in Southwark 22d Feb 1698/9," Mint 17, document 123.

  a document he titled "Chaloner Case": "Chaloner's Case," Mint 19/1, ff. 501–4.

  [>] six hundred pounds of false half-crowns: "The Deposition of John Abbot of Water Lane in Fleet street Refiner 15th. day of February 1698/9," Mint 17, document 119.

  "a Coyning Press at Chiswick": "The Information of Cecilia Labree 6th Feby 1698/9," Mint 17, document 143.

  22. "IF SR BE PLEASED..."

  [>] "joined they should save themselves": "The Examination of Thomas Carter Prisoner in Newgate 31 January 1698/9," Mint 17, document 118.

  seven times in the pillory: "Chaloner's letter to Mr. Secretary Vernon," Mint 17, document 126.

  [>] "an evidence agt. him": "Carter's Letter to Mr Secretary Vernon," undated, Mint 17, document 130. Carter's visits to the pillory included one for forging a Bank of England note in 1696, lending a powerful tinge of authority to Chaloner's hope of discrediting Carter before a jury. See The Proceedings of the Old Bailey for trials completed on 9 December 1696, http://www.hrionline.ac.u
k/oldbailey/html_units/1690s/t16961209-59.html.

  Newton's good graces: Thomas Carter in Mint 17, documents 83, 84, 118, 123, and 130.

  "if ever King James came again": "The Deposition of Samuel Bond of Ashbourn in the parke in the Count of Derby Chyrugeon 16 October, 1698," Mint 17, document 27s.

  "to come to the Dogg": "John Whitfield's Lettr to the Isaac Newton Esqr Warden of His Majtys Mint Febry 9th 98/9," Mint 17, document 134.

  [>] "such vacan[t] places": Ibid.

  "Chaloner was a little suspicious": "Thomas Carter's Letter to the Warden of the Mint Sunday afternoon," undated, Mint 17, document 130.

  "All his discourse to him": Ibid.

  "I will get out of him": Ibid.

  [>] "20 such as the Warden": "The Information of William Johnson Farrier at the Barbers Pole near the Watchhouse in Radcliff highway taken this 8th day of February 1698/9," Mint 17, document 145. See also document 146, "The Information of Ann Duncomb of Black cheek ally in East Smithfield Spinst[er] 8 Feb: 1698/9," and document 148, "The Examination of the Josiah Cook of Eagle Str[eet] of St Gyles in the fields in the County of Midd[lese]x Chyrurgeon 14 February 1698/9," for more of what Newton could hold over Lawson's head.

  "I hope Charity will moe": "Letter sent to Is[aac] Newton Esqr. From John Ignatius Lawson Sunday night and Munday morning," undated, Mint 17, document 132, and "The Information of John Ignatius Lawson Vizt," 3 April 1699, Mint 17, document 199.

  Lawson kept such tales coming: Each of the separate incidents in this paragraph are contained in "The Information of John Ignatius Lawson Vizt," 3 April 1699, Mint 17, document 199. (This document number contains a series of reports Lawson sent to Newton between January and April 1699.)

  [>] "the case of a small Bible": Ibid.

  so he slipped through: "The Information of Jno Ignatius Lawson now Prisoner in Newgate 3d. Aprill 1699," Mint 17, document 165.

  [>] "before she confess any thing": "John Ignatius Lawson's Letter to Is: Newton Esqr," undated, Mint 17, document 131.

  Elizabeth Holloway: "Letter sent to Is[aac] Newton Esqr. From John Ignatius Lawson Sunday night and Munday morning," undated, Mint 17, document 132.