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Thursday 5 June 1662

To the Wardrobe, and there my Lord did enquire my opinion of Mr. Moore, which I did give to the best advantage I could, and by that means shall get him joined with Mr. Townsend in the Wardrobe business. He did also give me all Mr. Shepley’s and Mr. Moore’s accounts to view, which I am glad of, as being his great trust in me, and I would willingly keep up a good interest with him. So took leave of him (he being to go this day) and to the office, where they were just sat down, and I showed them yesterday’s discovery, and have got Sir R. Ford to be my enemy by it; but I care not, for it is my duty, and so did get his bill stopped for the present. To dinner, and found Dr. Thos. Pepys at my house; but I was called from dinner by a note from Mr. Moore to Alderman Backwell’s, to see some thousands of my Lord’s crusados weighed, and we find that 3,000 come to about 530l. or 40 generally. Home again and found my father there; we talked a good while and so parted. We met at the office in the afternoon to finish Mr. Gauden’s accounts, but did not do them quite. In the evening with Mr. Moore to Backwell’s with another 1,200 crusados and saw them weighed, and so home and to bed.

Friday 6 June 1662Wednesday 4 June 1662

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Annotations

  • The crusados
    When we first hear mention of these, they are referred to as the King’s money, but Sam recorded that he thought My Lord ought to hang on to them because of his debts. Now, (mysteriously?) they have become “My Lord’s crusados”. Hmmmmm.

  • Nobody doth like to be caught out. “…to the office, where they were just sat down, and I showed them yesterday

  • Possesion be 9 tenths

  • Crusadoes

    On May 24 Sandwich apparently huffed at a present made to him of, “a bag of gold, which was no honourable present, of about 1400 l. sterling” because, annotations surmised, it was ‘gauche’ to present a gift of cash.

    May 26, the debt-ridden Sandwich, “having some 6,000 l. in his hands, remaining of the King

  • “…having some 6,000 l. in his hands…”
    The money in the basement hasn’t been said to be in crusados, has it? It might not be the dowry money, but unused money from the expedition to Algiers. Still the king’s money. And Sandwich wouldn’t be expected to serve the nation/king without pay. There may well be a full accounting, with the stash in the basement included as well as a “salary” debit for Sandwich. Quicker to get paid if you can point to the money owed and it is already in your possession.

  • a

  • “of the King

  • Cost of Social Stability
    3k @ 535=~3s7d each. Newton in 1702 Mint Assay gave Cruzado trading value @ 2s10d. This reflects the decline of population and continued deflation that put pressure on especially country folk with lower commodity prices leading to futher enclosure, leading to futher population decline. Hello America, got room for one more?

  • ‘Tis why they be told, then weighed, as there be some chiseling, not to be taken at face value.
    “…we find that 3,000 come to about 530l. or 40 generally…”

  • ‘Hello America, got room for one more’ It not be good, unless ye be given some land that be available on an island or a farm that be now ‘rock a fella ’ plaza, to be exchanged for some old noz musket plantation somewhere near Bali.

  • ”..thousands of my Lord

  • Crusadoes

    Numbers have never been my strong point, but here goes:

    1. On May 24 we learn that the new queen has given Sandwich a bag of gold said to be worth l. 1400. By implication, he is to dole this out to the captains and officers for her, kereping some for himself, but that obligation is not spelled out.

    2. On May 26 we learn that Sandwich has l. 7000 in debts and “he hath money coming in to him that will clear them all, but very little money in his purse.
    He also has some l. 6000 remaining of the King’s, presumably funds entrusted to him to manage his long expedition to Argier and Portugal (frugal fellow).Not clear: what part of the l. 7000 debt has been incurred in the King’s service, nor
    how Sandwich is compensated for his long absence. In any even, he will use the remaining expedition funds to keep his own accounts in order “and get off it as well as he can, for I fear he will scarce get beforehand again for a great while.

    3. On June 3 three chests of crusadoes worth 6,000 belonging to Sandwich are stored in Pepy’s basement. Inference: these three chests, containing more than 4 times the gold as the l. 1400 “bag” the queen gave Sandwich, represent the public funds entrusted to Sandwich, which he plans to lend to himelf to cover pressing debt and repay as funds become available (See May 26).

    4. The crusadoes being weighed at the money changer’s (Alderman Blackwell) could come from the public funds, but it seems to me more likely they come from the bag of gold, which at the 3s7p exchange rate should contain roughly 7800 crusadoes(Some bag!) at this stage more than half counted.

    5. JWB: I fail to see how a declining value of sterling to gold represents deflation. Works the other way, doesn’t it?

  • The Gift of Cruzados.

    Perhaps there is an answer to the ownership of the cruzados? My theory is

  • I got the impression that the King owes Lord Sandwich money (he hasn’t been paid since before he went to sea) and My Lord decided to keep this money as payment on account, rather than pass it on intact and then wait for His Majesty’s pleasure to pay his wages.
    http://www.pepysdiary.com/archive/1662/05/26/#annotations

  • Patricia: a lesson in leverage. possesionn not promises.
    As Juvenal has been quoted, Satirae, III, 145 -144
    Quantum quisque sua nummorum servat in arca, tantum habet et fidei.
    or in saxon
    A mans word of honor is worth as much as the cash he has in his strongbox.

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