When medieval and early modern England was threatened by currency crisis, the possibility of transmutation became a matter of state. From the fourteenth century, English monarchs and their ministers cracked down on counterfeiting while simultaneously turning to alchemists to help resolve bullion shortages and restore confidence in English coin. A paradox ensued. On the one hand, transmutation—if attainable—offered a solution to England’s currency woes. On the other, false “multiplication” of metal threatened to debase the coinage further. This tension was reflected not only in official responses to alchemy, but in the language adopted by alchemists themselves, who sought to distinguish alchemically-produced gold from the debased metal confected not only by multipliers, but also, increasingly, by the English mint.
In this paper, I trace some of the consequence of English courtly interest in alchemy, particularly during a relatively understudied period: the reign of Henry VIII. At this time, transmutation was technically illegal in England. Yet, contrary to what we might expect, claims of alchemical expertise did not always land practitioners in trouble—on the contrary, they could offer a lifeline for alchemists being investigated for other crimes. During the 1530s and 40s, men like William Blomfild and Richard Jones emphasized their alchemical skill in petitions to kings and royal councillors, hoping to ameliorate charges of fraud, conjuring, and even treason. I shall argue that such offers resonated among mint officials and royal councillors who sought both to increase private wealth and to stabilize the currency.
