We all know Isaac Newton is responsible for some pretty important laws, all of them being scientific. What if, however, I told you he was just as good at laying down the law as he was at proving it? A little known occupation of our famed physicist was the warden, and master, of the Royal Mint of Britain.
How did our scientific Sherlock come to the position? I mean, no offense to him but you don’t usually see head scientists moonlighting as what was basically a secret service agent. Well, as it turns out, Britain was in the process of reworking their minting process, and who better to enforce the chemical purity of copper and gold than the most renowned scientist in the world?
Mr. Newton accepted the position and, by all accounts, was pretty good at it. He took an active role in all his tasks, limiting how much he delegated to his deputies and rejected some pretty high profile bribes. Don’t let the mundane job description fool you though, Isaac Newton cracked one of the most prolific counterfeiters of the time.
William Chaloner—a name that would draw the ire of all British treasurers. During his career, an estimated 10 percent of all British coinage in circulation was forged by his hands. A true rags-to-riches story, he began as a beggar and, soon after finding success as a criminal counterfeiter, adopted the habits of the rich. He left his family behind to pursue affairs with his female counterparts, basically living it up like a 17th century Wolf of Wall Street.
Let’s cut back to Mr. Newton, who was in the middle of his undertaking to basically redo all currency in the nation. He knew of Chaloner, in fact hunting him down was one of the biggest bullet points in his job description. One fateful day, Chaloner took a big misstep and landed in Newgate Prison. Surely this was it, Newton had his man in custody—hook, line and sinker. There was just one little detail.
Newton’s case hinged on one witness, Thomas Holloway. From inside the prison, Chanoler was able to bribe Holloway with 20 pounds to disappear into Scotland. When the day of the trial came, Newton had no witness and no case. Chanoler was released less than two months later.
Now Isaac was mad and his investigation took top priority in his mind. He formed an extensive network of spies and snitches. Chanoler’s prior business associates cracked easily and Newton took Chanoler back to trial, this time with eight witnesses in tow. In one final, desperate, attempt to get out of a noose-necklace Chanoler pretended to go insane. The jury needed only a few minutes to make their decision. Chanoler’s fate was sealed.
Chanoler did not die gracefully, he pleaded to anyone who would listen, begging for another chance in a letter written the night before his death. The morning of March 22, 1699, William Chanoler was hanged. Isaac Newton had not granted him the mercy he begged for.
So ends our tale of coins, conniving and chemistry. Isaac went on to serve many years as Master of the Mint, making sure all coins, and corruption, were kept in line.
*Note: This article ran April 4
