Review of "Newton and the Counterfeiter: The Unknown Detective Career of the World's Greatest Scientist" on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
In middle age, Newton left Cambridge to take a real, paying job, managing the royal mint, which included the duty to run down and prosecute counterfeiters. The book focused on the legal dual between Newton and one of these, and on the gathering of enough evidence to gain a conviction. But I think what really won the conviction was an earlier stay in Newgate, without coming to trial, that impoverished him, leaving him too poor to bribe the judge. The story wasn't all that interesting. The best bits were in the background, about the nascent monetary policies. England accidentally switched from silver-based currency to gold-based, because their silver coins were over-valued and got shipped overseas to be melted down for their content. And the first stirrings of paper currency and of modern lending were being tried out at this time.
