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In 1719 The Wrought Plate Act (full title: An Act For Laying A Duty Upon Wrought Plate, 1719. - 6 - Geo. I. c.11) was passed by Parliament. The Act, that was to bring a return of the old Sterling standard as from 1st June 1720, was also the first Act that imposed a duty to be paid on silver at 6d per ounce. Whilst many in the trade generally welcomed the return of the old standard they were also outraged by this new form of taxation, fearing such a burden would result in a slump in the demand for the finished product.

Below is pamphlet published in 1720 and penned by an unknown silversmith that outlines the anxieties felt within the trade.





Trev.

Setting aside the usual long winded and to modern minds almost incomprehensible rhetoric, one very interesting fact comes out. He asserts that the workmanship cost on an admittedly fairly simple article like a trencher plate was only six pence per ounce.