The Exchequer bills were a key component in Britain's financial revolution of the 1690s. Using a range of archival sources not examined in previous work, this article argues that closer study of how these bills were given credit and circulation between 1696 and 1698 can offer a more nuanced reading of the mechanisms which helped to create credible commitment in this period. Though proper institutional design did help to give the bills credit, it was only one part of a wider series of informal measures used by the Treasury to secure subscribers for the fund for circulating the bills and to manage the emission of bills to prevent high discounts. This reflects the fact that credit and confidence in this period were influenced by a wide range of factors, including commercial advantage, patriotism and the example offered by other investors, all of which could be manipulated by the Treasury to promote the credibility of the Exchequer bills. Proper institutional and financial incentives were therefore not the only factors which could create credible commitment in Britain's financial revolution.

中文翻译：

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早期金融革命中的信用、信心和国库券流通

国库券是 1690 年代英国金融革命的关键组成部分。本文使用以前工作中未检查过的一系列档案资料，认为对这些钞票在 1696 年至 1698 年间如何获得信用和流通进行更深入的研究，可以对有助于在此期间建立可信承诺的机制提供更细致入微的解读。尽管适当的制度设计确实有助于为票据提供信用，但这只是财政部为确保基金认购者获得流通票据和管理票据发行以防止高贴现而采取的一系列更广泛的非正式措施的一部分。这反映了这一时期的信用和信心受到多种因素的影响，包括商业优势、爱国主义和其他投资者提供的榜样，所有这些都可以被财政部操纵，以提高国库券的可信度。因此，适当的制度和财政激励措施并不是在英国金融革命中产生可信承诺的唯一因素。