How Sir Isaac Newton became Master of the Royal Mint and profited from it Financially

Isaac Newton is best known as the leading scientist of the 17th century. His work on motion and gravity changed the way we looked at our universe. However, after Newton had released his best-known book, Principia, which he had worked countless hours on, he became sick. To this day it is not known what happened to him, but most likely the work overcame him and he had some sort of nervous breakdown. Between 1693 and 1696, Newton had abandoned almost all of his scientific work, and he would later call this period "The Black Years."

With his friends' words of encouragement doing little for him, his recovery wouldn't begin until he received an invitation from the Royal Mint of Great Britain to take the job as warden. This invitation had all been the work of Newton's old friend Charles Montague, who had promised Newton a good job in London as soon as Montague had enough connections in the political system. Despite the Warden of the Royal Mint technically being second-in-command, it paid very well and Newton accepted it.

Newton not only standardized Britain's coinage, but he also profited from it nicely. As Master of the Mint he was paid a six hundred pounds a year. However, this was the time of expansion for England's economy, as merchants began trading all over the world. More coins were needed to keep up with the demand for trade. Newton received additional payment for each bag of silver or gold coins produced by the Mint, adding up to one thousand pounds a year to his salary.

Soon, Isaac Newton would return to his scientific endeavors. At the Royal Society in London, the premier scientific organization, Robert Hooke, a longtime rival and leader of the Society had died leaving the Society a bit disorganized. So, in 1703, they called upon Newton to be their new President. Although Newton was very talented as Master of the Mint, he could never pass up the chance to be in charge of one of the most prestigious societies in the world. He remained active at the Mint into his eighties when his failing health made it necessary to hand over his duties to his deputy, John Conduitt.