John Sharp - Ralph Thoresby - 1698-12-14

John Sharp I

John Sharp - Ralph Thoresby - 1698-12-14

FINA IDUnique ID of the page ^ᵖ	16326
InstitutionName of Institution.
InventoryInventory number.
AuthorAuthor of the document.	John Sharp I
RecipientRecipient of the correspondence.	Ralph Thoresby
Correspondence dateDate when the correspondence was written: day - month - year .	December 14, 1698
PlacePlace of publication of the book, composition of the document or institution.
Associated personsNames of Persons who are mentioned in the annotation.	William Nicolson
LiteratureReference to literature.	Nicolson 16991, Hunter 1832, vol. 1, pp. 342-32, Burnett 2020b, pp. 866-7, 8943
KeywordNumismatic Keywords ^ᵖ	English , British Coins
LanguageLanguage of the correspondence	English
External LinkLink to external information, e.g. Wikpedia ^ᵖ	https://archive.org/details/lettersofeminent01thor/page/342/mode/2up

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Grand documentOriginal passage from the "Grand document".

'I take the opportunity to send you these papers, which contain my observations and conjectures about the silver coins of England. I had not thought them worthy of your sight, but that heretofore having read some of them to you, out of my short-hand, you was then pleased to express your desire that they might be written at length, and that you might have the perusal of them. This intimation of your’s stuck with me, though it did not then prevail with me to do what you desired, because, in truth, (as I told you,) I did not know how to justify the spending time in such trifles. But, since that, Mr. Archdeacon Nicolson was pleased to send me his Discourse about the English Coins (which is to make a chapter in the last part of his Historical Library), and to desire my thoughts and corrections of it. Here now what you had desired came into my mind, and I presently thought, why may not I, with one labour, pay my respects to Mr. Archdeacon and gratify Mr. Thoresby, that is, in the Yorkshire proverb, “kill two birds with one stone?” Upon this, instead of making any remarks upon what he had writ upon the silver coins (though I did upon the gold ones), I set myself to get transcribed my notes (that I had by me) of the Silver Coins, to which I made additions and improvements; which being done, I sent them to him, telling him that when he had done with them, I desired I might have them again to send them to you; and accordingly he has sent them back, and I now desire you to accept them as a small testimony of my respects to you.
Upon reviewing of them, I am sensible of one mistake, viz. where I have said that I had a brass coin of Queen Elizabeth, which, as I took it, went for half a farthing. When I writ this, I remembered I had a small brass coin of that Queen’s which I could not think to go for more than half of her silver farthing; but afterwards, when I came to look at it, I found by the harp that it was an Irish, and not an English one. I think I had it from you.'

(Hunter 1832, vol. 1, pp. 342-3; Burnett 2020b, pp. 866-7, 894)

References

^ Nicolson, William (1699) The English Historical Library, Vol. 3, London.
^ Hunter, J. (ed.)(1832) Letters of Eminent Men addressed to Ralph Thoresby, FRS, London.
^ Burnett, Andrew M. (2020), The Hidden Treasures of this Happy Land. A History of Numismatics in Britain from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment, BNS Special Publ. No 14 = RNS Special Publ. No 58, London, Spink & Son.