Of this amount 382,684,841 marks were delivered to the Mint for coinage into the new imperial silver coins. The remaining 696,797,069 marks were melted into silver and produced 7,474,644 pounds of fine silver. Of this quantity 7,102,862 were sold up to May 1879. The balance of unsold silver still in the hands of the Imperial Government is 339,353 pounds of fine silver. England. Charles II. began his regulation of the currency by the proclamation of 29th January 1661, fixing the coins to be current and their tariff. This proclamation was followed by another, of 10th June 1661, against the export of gold or silver, and against buying or selling the metals at higher rates than were given at the Mint, a practice to which the proclamation attributed the scarcity of money. This edict proved of no avail, for, in spite of it, the gold coins were exported in such quantities that they were current more abundantly in foreign parts than in England. As the result of deliberation of the Privy Council, assisted by the Commissioners of Trade and officers of the Mint, who all attributed the export to the higher price of gold abroad, it was determined to raise the price of the gold coins to or near the value which they had on the Continent at the moment. Accordingly, by proclamation of the 26th August 1661, the value of the gold _unite_ was raised from 22s. to 23s. 6d., and other gold coins in proportion, the silver currency being left unaltered. In referring to the Act for the free trade in gold and silver (_supra_, p. 162), mention has already been made of the motive of the legislator, namely, to increase the importation of the metals to the Mint. Exactly similar was the intention, as expressed in the preamble of the succeeding Act of 1666 (8 Charles II. c. 5), which abolished the right of seigniorage, thereby establishing free and gratuitous coinage in England--the principle of minting still in force in this country.[17] [Sidenote: ENGLAND: CHARLES II] The testimony of both Act and declaration as to the scarcity of money is confirmed by actual record. In the following year, 1667, there was a great scarcity of money, and _dollars_ and _pieces of eight_ were bought up by the goldsmiths and bankers for 4s. 3d. each, and instead of being brought to the Mint were at once exported to France for 4s. 10d. and to Ireland and Scotland for 5s.