A sampling inspection scheme bearing striking similarities to modern procedures has been in more or less continuous operation at the Royal Mint in London for about eight centuries. The history of this scheme is reviewed, and a defect in the manner in which the critical levels were set is noted. The possibility that Master of the Mint, Isaac Newton might have grasped the nature of the defect is discussed. Finally, we review the situation at the United States Mint, where similar trials have long been held, but where steps to correct the defect were taken early in the nineteenth century.