and ensure they were accepted as legal tender. However, by 1672 most of the orders were in the hands of a handful of such bankers, and so ended up increasing their power. Further reading (1676) The mystery of the new-fashioned goldsmiths or bankers; reprinted in The Quarterly Journal of Economics 2(2) 251-262 (1888) Also available at Early English Books Online Stephen Francis Quinn (1994), Banking before the Bank: London's Unregulated Goldsmith-Bankers, 1660-1694, PhD Thesis, University of Illinois. References 17th century in London Banking occupations History of banking