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THE 
 
 HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 

 RISON AND GIBE, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH. 
 
THE 
 
 HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 1252 TO 1894 
 
 Being an Account of the Gold and Silver 
 Monies and Monetary Standards of Europe 
 and America, together with an Examination 
 of the effects of Currency and Exchange 
 Phenomena on Commercial and National 
 Progress and Well-being 
 
 By W a. SHAW, M.A. 
 
 LATE BERKELEY FELLOW OF THE OWENS COLLEGE 
 FELLOW OF THE ROYAL HISTORICAL AND ROYAL STATISTICAL SOCIETIES 
 
 WILSONS & MILNE 
 
 London: 29 Paternoster Row, E.C. 
 
 s 
 

 A-^o^'1H 
 
 
RICHARD COPLEY CHRISTIE 
 
 THIS BOOK IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED 
 
 IN MEMORY OF A FRIENDSHIP 
 
 OF PECULIAR GRACE AND INSPIRATION 
 
PREFACE 
 
 The purpose of this book is twofold — first and fore- 
 most, to illustrate a question of principle by the aid 
 of historic test and application ; secondly, to furnish 
 for the use of historical students an elementary 
 handbook of the currencies of the more important 
 European states from the thirteenth century down- 
 wards. 
 
 Little need be said as to this latter purpose. 
 The total omission of the historic, reasoned, and 
 consecutive study of currency history — the most 
 important domain of practical economics — from the 
 curriculum of every university in the land is matter 
 for surprise and regret, and can only be attributed to 
 the lack of an initiative and of a handbook. 
 
 As to the former purpose, there is no field of 
 history so strewn with scientific {i.e. comparative and 
 prophetic) possibilities as economic history ; and in 
 economic history there is no department in which the 
 study of the experience of other times and nations is 
 more necessary and resultful, lesson-full, wisdom-full, 
 than the domain of currency. The verdict of history 
 
Vlll PREFACE 
 
 on the great problem of the nineteenth century — 
 bimetallism — is clear and crushing and final, and 
 against the evidence of history no gainsaying of 
 theory ought for a moment to stand. 
 
 Throughout mediaeval Europe and up to the close 
 of the eighteenth century the currency of Europe was 
 practically bimetallic — practically, because actually so 
 without the prescription of a law of tender, and 
 without the allowance of any theoretic grasp or 
 conception of the practice as distinctively what 
 nowadays we understand as bimetallic. 
 
 The conception of a law of tender is quite 
 modern. And the evolution of the. idea of such a 
 law has gone hand in hand with the evolution of a 
 conception of monetary theory on the part of the 
 legislator — that is, with the bitter experience which 
 for want of such a conception Europe endured for 
 centuries. In all systems of jurisprudence money 
 and minting appertains to the kingly office, and the 
 development of the law of tender is to be traced 
 in royal proclamations of the King in Council for 
 long before it became the subject of parliamentary 
 legislation. For centuries, such proclamations were 
 issued, referring to a prohibition of export of the 
 precious metals, banishing foreign coins from the 
 land, or, again, permitting their circulation, and, in 
 that case, prescribing the rough tariff or rate 
 according to which (foreign) coin for (native) coin 
 they should be current. In such proclamations there 
 is. no idea of separating the two metals, gold and 
 
PREFACE IX 
 
 silver ; there is no idea of a law of tender ; there is 
 no intention to declare a ratio ; there is no conception 
 of bullion apart from coin. The two metals had 
 grown to be the circulating and exchange medium ; 
 they were actually there, and all that had to be done 
 was to keep them there. The advantage which was 
 to be derived from a trade in bullion, and from an 
 understanding of the effects of differently-prevailing 
 ratios in different countries, was known only to the 
 Jew and the Italian. They plied their trade in secret, 
 and the legislator was only apprised of the result by 
 suddenly finding a slipping away and dearth of 
 coinage. Then the legislator altered the tariff, and 
 gradually rose to the conception of the ratio as 
 underlying this process of seduction. Then, as a 
 further defence of a particular class of coins, he 
 imposed a limitation on the tender of such, so as to 
 prevent bullion operations on it. This limitation was 
 the first development of a law of tender. Throughout, 
 from the thirteenth to the eighteenth century, both 
 gold and silver had been actually employed in 
 European commerce without any idea either of 
 declaring or of restricting the tender, whether of the 
 one or the other. 
 
 The final outcome of the application of the law of 
 tender was the development of the modern mono- 
 metallic system — a system in which alone lay the 
 safeguard against the operation of the bullionist. It 
 was only at the close of the eighteenth century that 
 England evolved this system and flung away the 
 
X PREFACE 
 
 last remains of that mediaeval ignorance which had 
 brought with it such a dower of mishap. France has 
 taken almost a century of further experience before 
 arriving at the same point of development, 
 
 Another point. At the time that England was 
 shaking off the mediaeval system France, too, was 
 accomplishing a reform of her money system. It 
 stopped half-way. The old kingly prerogative of 
 altering the coinage was taken away, the unit of the 
 currency was declared definite and unchangeable, and 
 the seigniorage on minting was abolished. So much 
 was accomplished by her law of 1803. But no 
 further application was made of the law of tender 
 than to throw the sanction of legal enactment over 
 that mediaeval system which had been th'e bane of 
 France since first two metals found circulation in 
 her bounds. As far as tender is concerned, there is 
 no difference between the practice of the French 
 monetary system in 1726 and that of 1803. The 
 system was bimetallic in both cases — in the first case, 
 legally by recognition and as resting on the royal 
 jurisdiction ; in the second case, legally by direct 
 legislative or parliamentary enactment. The idea that 
 the law of 1803 created a new system and a new 
 heaven for France is doubly absurd. It was a 
 continuation of a very old and a very danger-fraught 
 system, with its roots deep in mediaival ignorance 
 and practice. 
 
 In addition to this^ — and quite as demonstrably — 
 there was no conception of a theory of bimetallism in 
 
PREFACE XI 
 
 1803, nor any conception of a bimetallic function to 
 be performed for the good of the human race by 
 bimetallic France. This is a conception of the 
 schools, and bred of later needs and hopes and fears. 
 The modern theory of bimetallism is almost the only 
 instance in history of a theory growing not out of 
 practice, but of the failure of practice ; resting not on 
 data verified, but on data falsified and censure- 
 marked. No words can be too strong of condemna- 
 tion for the theorising of the bimetallist who, by 
 sheer imaginings, tries to justify theoretically what 
 has failed in five centuries of history, and to expound 
 theoretically what has proved itself incapable of 
 solution save by cutting and casting away. 
 
 Such a verdict as this of history, negative as it is, 
 must strike many a serious mind with dismay. The 
 following of bimetallism would not be what it is were 
 it not for the despair of any other remedy for the 
 situation at the moment. We are thereby left 
 apparently hopeless and remediless. But the first 
 step to the discovery of a true and possible remedy, 
 if any exists, can only be the casting away of the 
 false and impossible. 
 
 The difference between the monetary problem of 
 the seventeenth century and that of to-day lies in 
 this, that while there has been continuity of history 
 and development there has been a change of needs 
 and circumstance. The danger of arbitrage trans- 
 actions to the medieval legislator lay in the fact that 
 they stripped the country, which suffered from them, 
 
Xll PREFACE 
 
 not, or not merely, of a bullion reserve, but of her 
 actual currency, and rendered even internal trade 
 impossible. He accordingly tried to arrest the drain 
 by threatening imprisonment and death. 
 
 To-day the safety and supply of the internal 
 currency of the various states is provided for by a 
 monometallic system or by note issue, while, con- 
 versely, trade in the precious metals has become free, 
 and bullion flows automatically from land to land in 
 accordance with the dictates of a now rightly- 
 conceived theory of international trade. Just so far 
 the monetary problem has changed — becoming a 
 question of the evolution of a stable international 
 exchange system. The theoretic pretensions of 
 bimetallism have correspondingly widened, but on any 
 ground, wide or narrow, the only material for the 
 study, comprehension, and judgment of such preten- 
 sions lies in the actual experience of Europe during 
 the past five centuries. 
 
 A few words of more particular explanation are 
 necessary. 
 
 I. To the student of money and monetary 
 standards the perpetually recurring phenomena of 
 reductions of the unit and standard weights and 
 contents of coins will present no difficulty. Three 
 causes underlay the process — (i) the practice of 
 alloying, (2) the competitive and dishonest action of 
 governments, (3) the ideal nature of the unit itself, 
 which permitted, literally, anything in the way of 
 arbitrary manipulation (compare, e.g., the very 
 
PREFACE Xlll 
 
 different depreciations of the English shilling and 
 the French sou, being both descendants of the 
 solidus ; or again, of the French livre and the Italian 
 lire, being both descendants of the libra). 
 
 2. A second and much greater difficulty is 
 presented by the confusion of nomenclature. It is 
 often difficult to determine what particular piece is 
 meant by a given name, or, if the identity of the 
 piece can be fixed, its period may still be uncertain. 
 In French numismatic history, for instance, the term 
 florin d'or or denier d'or is used in documents quite 
 generically for the more specific florins d'or a I'agnel, 
 a I'^cu, aux fleurs de lis, a la masse, moutons d'or, 
 etc. This quite indeterminate use of the word 
 "florin" ( = denier =" piece, " or generally, "coin") 
 may possibly explain the crux to be found on pages 
 3 and 9 of the text (infra), where florins d'or are 
 mentioned in French history more than seventy years 
 before the first authentic minting of the gold florin at 
 Florence. 
 
 3. With regard to the figures of the ratios there 
 is great difference and divergence among the various 
 authorities. The declared ratio may be of a double 
 nature — (i) mercantile, as calculated on the purchase 
 price of gold and silver in the open market ; (2) legal, 
 as settled by law in the terms prescribed for Mint 
 purchase and issue. The former is comparatively 
 simple, but it is not until a quite recent date, the 
 opening of the eighteenth century, that it is statis- 
 tically determinable. The table of the commercial 
 
XIV PREFACE 
 
 ratio (pp. 157-9 infra) is taken from Soetbeer, and 
 was by him calculated on the Hamburg exchange and 
 London market rates. The competing figures of the 
 commercial ratio drawn up by Ingham in his Report 
 to the Senate of the United States (4th May 1830), 
 and by John White, of the same date (see United 
 States Report of the International Monetary Con- 
 ference of 1878, pp. 583, 647), I regard as 
 comparatively untrustworthy. 
 
 With regard to the legal or Mint ratio (see infra, 
 tables, pp. 40, 69-70, 157) there is the greatest 
 discrepancy, and I print the figures with much 
 trepidation and every mental reserve. The differences 
 in the results arrived at by the various authorities 
 are due to the difference in method of calculation, 
 according as the issue price or the purchase price at 
 the Mint is taken {i.e. with or without allowance of 
 seigniorage and remedy), or according as the pure or 
 gross content of the piece is calculated from {i.e. with 
 or without allowance for alloy). As a matter of fact, 
 hardly any two authorities or sets of calculations 
 agree. See, for instance, duplicate sets of figures 
 for Holland in Appendix i. to Schimmel's Geschied- 
 kimdig oversicht ; or again, compare Soetbeer's figures 
 with those deduced by Kohler in his Grundliche 
 Nachricht ; or by Dr. Arnold Luschin, in the 
 Proceedings of the Congrds International de Numis- 
 matique, t88o, p. 443 ; or with those deducible from 
 Le Blanc's tables {infra, Appendix vi.). It is to 
 this difference that must be attributed the discrepancy 
 
PREFACE XV 
 
 in the statement of the ratio by the French Mint 
 authorities in 1640 (see text, infra, p. 92 and note, 
 ibid.). The difificulty of calculating the European 
 Mint ratio at any moment can be judged from the 
 experience and statements of persons so widely apart 
 as Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Isaac Newton in 
 England, Mirabeau and Calonne in France, and 
 Morris and Hamilton in the United States (see 
 infra, pp. 135, 172-3, 229-30, and 251). 
 
 With regard to the scope of the present work, it 
 is confined entirely to the history of metallic currency 
 and standard. There is no reference to the paper- 
 money experience of any country, not even America 
 or Austria. Such a subject must form matter for a 
 separate treatment. The account of Austrian money 
 is, therefore, to be found in Appendix v., under 
 Germany, and on the effects of the latest Austrian 
 reform (as also of the latest development in India and 
 the United States) no opinion whatever is expressed. 
 I content myself with the simple statement of fact 
 and event. 
 
 In appending a list of the authorities used, it is 
 
 difficult to overcome the feeling of humiliation which 
 
 has come to me from the contrast of the ephemeral, 
 
 slight, and unworthy treatment of monetary history 
 
 to-day, with the grand, solid, scholarly works which 
 
 the eighteenth century produced. With the exception 
 
 of Soetbeer's magnificent labours, without which the 
 
 present work would have been simply impossible as 
 
 far as the statements of production and relativity of 
 b 
 
XVI PREFACE 
 
 the precious metals are concerned, and of the similar 
 historic work of M. Ottomar Haupt, the Hterature of 
 this subject to-day is light and polemic and transitory 
 to a nauseating degree. 
 
 GENERAL 
 
 Authorities. 
 
 J. D. KoHLER, . . . Grundliche Nachricht von dem 
 
 Miinzwesen insgemein. Helm- 
 stadt, 1739 and 1741. Third 
 edition (Leipzig, 1781), en- 
 larged and attributed to Von 
 Praun. 
 
 BuDELius . . ... De monetis et re numaria (with 
 
 twenty - four other treatises). 
 Coloniae Agrippinae, 1591. 
 
 Melchior Goldast . . Catholicon rei monetariae sive 
 
 leges monarchichse generales de 
 rebus numariis, etc. Frank- 
 fort, 1620. 
 
 Almanach des Monnaies. Paris, 1784. 
 
 Miinze und Miinzwissenschaft (Oec. Techn. Encyc. xcvii.). 
 
 Nicole Oresme .... Traits de la premiere invention 
 
 des monnaies, and — 
 
 Copernicus .... Traits de la monnaie, both re- 
 
 edited by Wolowski. Paris, 
 1864. 
 
 Jean Bodin Descours sur le rehaussement et 
 
 diminution tant d'or que 
 d'argent et le moyen d'y 
 remedier [en reponse] aux 
 paradoxes du sieur de Ma,les- 
 troict (appended to Bodin's Six 
 Livres de la Republique. 
 Lyons, 1593). 
 
PREFACE XVU 
 
 A uthoritics. 
 
 H. C. DiTTMER .... Geschichte der ersten Gold- 
 
 Ausmiinzungen zu Liibeck 
 im 14 Jahrhundert (Zeit- 
 schrift der Vereins fiir Liibeck- 
 ische Geschichte), Heft. i. 
 885. 
 
 J. G. Hall . . . On European Mediaeval Gold 
 
 Coins (Numismatic Chronicle). 
 Third Series, vol. ii. pp. 
 212-226. 
 
 P. Joseph Historisch-kritische Beschreibung 
 
 des Bretzheimer Goldgulden- 
 fundes vergraben um 1390, 
 nebst einem verzeichniss der 
 bisher bekannten Goldgulden 
 vom Florentiner Geprage. 
 Mainz, 1883. 
 
 K. T. Eheberg . . . tJber das altere deutsche 
 
 Miinzwesen und die Haus- 
 genossenschaften. Leipzig, 
 
 1879. 
 
 Neueste Miinzkunde. Leipzig, 1853. 
 
 A. H. Smith . . . Encyclopeedia of Gold and Silver 
 
 Coins of the World. Phila- 
 delphia, 1886. 
 
 A. SoETBEER . . . Edelmetall Produktion und 
 
 Werthverhaltniss zwischen 
 
 Gold und Silber, seit der 
 Entdeckung Amerika's bis zur 
 Gegenwart. Gotha, 1879. 
 
 ,, Materialien zur Erklarung und 
 
 Beurtheilung der wirthschaft- 
 lichen Edelmetallverhaltnisse 
 und der wahrungsfrage. 
 Berlin. 
 
xvm 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 Authorities. 
 " A. SOETBEER . . 
 
 F. Alt^s . . 
 
 G. K. Chelins 
 Gerhardt . 
 doederlein . 
 
 C. C. SCHMIEDE 
 
 J. Leitzmann . 
 
 Litteraturnachweis uber Geld — 
 und Miinzwesen. Berlin, 
 
 1892. 
 
 Trait6 comparatif des monnaies, 
 poids et m^sures. 1832. 
 
 Mass and Gewichtsbuch. 1830. 
 
 Tafeln, etc. Berlin, 1818. 
 
 Commentatio Historica de Nura- 
 mis. 1729. 
 
 Handworterbuch der Miinzkunde. 
 1811. 
 
 Abriss einer Geschichte der gesam- 
 mten Miinzkunde . . . aller 
 volker Fursten und Stadte der 
 altern, Mittlern, und neuern 
 Zeit. Erfurt, 1828. 
 
 J. P. LUDEWIG 
 
 J. F. Klotzsch . . 
 D. E. Beyschlag 
 
 C. Binder .... 
 
 C. P. C. SCHONEMANN 
 J. D. KOHLER . . 
 
 GERMANY 
 
 Einleitung zu dem teutschen 
 
 miintwesen mittler Zeiten, etc. 
 
 1709. 
 Versuch einer Chur Sachischen 
 
 Miinzgeschichte. 1779. 
 Versuch einer Miinzgeschichte 
 
 Augsburgs in dem Mittelalter. 
 
 1835- 
 Wurttembergische Miinz und 
 
 Medaillenkunde. 1848. 
 Zur vaterlandischen Miinzkunde 
 
 vom 12-15 Jahrhundert. 
 
 1852. 
 Historische Miinz Belustigungen, 
 
 22 vols. 1729-65. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 XIX 
 
 Authorities, 
 
 H. Paul: . . . 
 
 J. G. HiRSCH . 
 
 J. Leitzmann 
 
 EULER .... 
 
 E. L. Jager 
 
 J. F. Hauschild 
 
 A. Soetbeer 
 
 H. P. Cappe 
 
 C. P. C. SCHOENEMANN 
 
 J. P. Graumann 
 
 Tableaux des monnaies de I'Alle- 
 magne, etc. Frankfort, 1846. 
 
 Das teutschen Reichs Miinz 
 Archiv, etc. , 9 vols, folio. 
 1750-68 (absolutely unequalled 
 and indispensable). 
 
 Wegweiser auf dem Gebiete den 
 deutschen Miinzkunde. Weis- 
 sensen, 1869. 
 
 Verzeichniss und Beschreibung der 
 frankfurter Goldmiinzen mit 
 einer geschichtlichen Einleitung 
 etc. (Archiv fur Frankfurts 
 Geschichte und Kunst), Heft iv. 
 1847. 
 
 Das Geld nebst einer kurzem 
 Geschichte des deutschen 
 Geldes. Stuttgart, 1877. 
 
 Geschichtliche Darstellung des 
 alten und neuen teutschen 
 Miinzwesens. Weimar, 1817. 
 
 Zur Geschichte des deutschen 
 mass und Miinzwesens. Frank- 
 fort, 1861. 
 
 Denkschrift iiber Hamburgs 
 Miinzverhaltnisse. Hamburg, 
 1846. 
 
 Dei Munzen der deutschen Kaiser 
 und Konige das Mettelalters. 
 1850. 
 
 Zur vaterlandischen Miinzkunde. 
 1852. 
 
 Gesammelte Briefe vom dem 
 Gelde, von dem Wechsel, etc. 
 1762. 
 
XX 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 Authorities. 
 
 J. G. Hoffmann . 
 J. Albrecht . 
 
 Grote and Holzermann 
 
 E. J. Bergius 
 
 A. Von Berstett . 
 
 D. Braun . 
 
 E. Bahrfeldt 
 
 KOHNE 
 
 F. H. Grautoff . 
 C. F. Eheberg . 
 J. Newald 
 
 Max Wirth 
 
 Die Lehre von Gelde. 1838. 
 . Die Zeichen der Zeit. 1841. 
 
 Munzgeschichte der Hauses 
 Hohenlohe, vom 13-19 Jahr- 
 hundert. 
 Lippische Geld und Miinzgesch- 
 ichte, 1867. (Nachtrage by 
 Weingaertner. 1890). 
 Das Geld und Bank wesen in 
 
 Preussen. 1846. 
 Munzgeschichte des zahringen 
 badischen Fiirstenhauses. 
 
 1846. 
 Bericht von Pohlnisch und 
 Preussischen Miinzwesen. 1722. 
 Das Miinzvi^esen der Mark Brand- 
 enburg bis zum Anfange der 
 Hohenzollern. 1889. 
 Das Miinzwesen der Stadt 
 
 Berlin, 1837. 
 Historische Schriften, 3 vols. 
 
 1836 (for Lubeck Mint). 
 Tiber das altere deutsche Miinz- 
 wesen. 1879. 
 Beitrag zur Geschichte des Oster- 
 reichischen Miinzwesen im 
 ersten Viertel des 18 Jahr- 
 hunderts. Vienna, 1881. 
 Geschichte der Handelskrisen. 
 
 Frankfort, 1890. 
 Das Geld, Geschichte der Um- 
 laufmittel von der altesten Zeit 
 bis an die Gegenwart. Leip- 
 zig, 1884. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 XXI 
 
 Authorities, 
 
 F. De Saulcy 
 
 Le Blanc 
 
 Du Cange . 
 
 J. Adrien Blanchet 
 
 Hubert de Martigny 
 
 H. COSTES 
 
 Hippolyte Berry 
 
 FRANCE 
 
 Recueil de Documents relatifs k 
 I'histoire des monnaies frapp^es 
 par les rois de France depuis 
 Philippe II., jusqu' k Francois 
 I., 4 vols. 4to. Paris, 1879. 
 (The unique value of this 
 work is sadly impaired by 
 the cutting out of the preambles 
 of the various proclamations, 
 etc.). 
 
 Trait6 historique des monnaies de 
 France. Paris, 1690. 
 
 Glossarium mediae et infimse 
 Latinitatis (Art. Moneta). 
 
 Documents pour servir k I'histoire 
 mon^taire de la Navarre et du 
 B^arn, de 1562-1629. Macon, 
 1887. 
 
 De la Disparition de la monnaie 
 d'argent et de son remplace- 
 ment par la monnaie d'or (ou 
 Situation Monetaire de la 
 France en 1859). Paris, 1859. 
 
 Les institutions mondtaires de la 
 France avant et depuis, 1789. 
 Paris, 1885. 
 
 Notes et Tableaux pour servir k 
 r^tude de la question monetaire. 
 Paris, 1884. 
 
 Etudes et recherches historiques 
 sur les Monnaies de France. 
 i8,S3- 
 
XXll 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 A iithorities. 
 
 Natalis de Wailly 
 
 C. BOUTEROUE 
 
 L. Faucher 
 
 M^moire sur les variations de la 
 livre tournois depuis S. Louis k 
 la monnaie decimale. 
 
 Recherches curieuses des mon- 
 nayes de France depuis le 
 commencement de la Monarchie. 
 Paris, 1666. 
 
 Recherches sur I'or and I'argent. 
 1843. 
 
 Ignazio Orsini . 
 
 Zanetti 
 
 CUSTODI 
 
 f. schweizer 
 Ph. Argelatus 
 
 A. CiNAGLI . 
 
 [Fr. Vettori] 
 Menizzi 
 
 Vincenzo Padovan . 
 
 P^R. Ed. Ercole Gnecchi 
 
 ITALY 
 
 Storia delle monete della repub- 
 
 blica fiorentina. Firenze, 1760. 
 Storia delle monete de' Granduchi 
 
 di Toscana. Firenze, 1766. 
 Nuova raccotta delle monete e 
 
 zecche d'ltalia, 5 vols, folio. 
 
 1785-89. 
 Scrittori Italian! d'economia 
 
 politica, vol. xiv. 
 Serie delle monete Aquileia. 181 8. 
 Di monetls Italise varior. illustr. 
 
 virorum dissertationes, 5 vols. 
 
 1750-9- 
 Le monete de' Pape, folio. 1848. 
 II fiorino d'oro antico illustrato. 
 
 1738. 
 Delle monete de' Veneziani dal 
 
 principio al fine della loro 
 
 repubblica. Venezia, 1818. 
 La numografia Veneziana som- 
 
 mario documentato. Venezia, 
 
 1882. 
 Le Monete di Milano. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 XXIU 
 
 NicoLO Papadopoli . 
 
 A uthontics. 
 
 Catalog einer Sammlung' italienischer Munzen aller Zeiten. 
 Munich, 1882. 
 
 Sulle origini della Veneta zecca, 
 etc. Venezia, 1882. 
 
 Sul valore della moneta Veneziana. 
 Venezia, 1885. 
 
 Monete inedite della zecca Venez- 
 iana. Venezia, 1881. 
 
 Delle monete e dell' instituzione 
 delle zecche d'ltalia. L'Aja, 4 
 vols. 1754. 
 
 G. Carli-Rubbi 
 
 NETHERLANDS 
 
 W. F. SCHIMMEL . 
 
 [Warin] 
 
 p. O. VAN DER ChIJS 
 
 Geschiedkundig overzicht van het 
 muntwezen in Nederland. 
 Amsterdam, 1882. 
 
 [Groebe] Handleiding tot de kennis der 
 
 nederlandsche munten. Ams- 
 terdam, 1850. 
 Bijdragen tot de kennis van het 
 muntwezen ('S. Gravenhage). 
 1843. 
 Beknopte verhandeling over het 
 nut der beoefening van de alge- 
 meene, dat is oude, meddeleeu- 
 wsche en heden daagsche munt 
 en penningkunde. Leiden, 
 1829. 
 
 V. Gaillard Recherches sur les Monnaies de 
 
 Flandres. 1857. 
 
 Groot Plakkaat Boek (Can & Schelten). 
 
 MiERis Beschrijving der Munten van 
 
 Utrecht. 1726. 
 
XXIV 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 An/Jwritie.^. 
 
 A. Vrolik . 
 
 L. Deschaiips de Pas 
 
 F. HiSnaux 
 
 W. C. Mees 
 
 KORNELIS VAN AlKEMADE . 
 W. J. DE VOOGT 
 
 R. Serrure 
 F. Verachter 
 
 Verslag van al het verrigte tot 
 
 herstel van het Nederlandsche 
 
 Muntwezen van 1842-51. 
 Essai sur I'histoire mon^taire des 
 
 Comtes de Flandres de la 
 
 maison de Bourgogne. 1863. 
 Essai sur I'histoire mon^taire du 
 
 pays de Liege. 1845. 
 Proeve eener geschiedenis van 
 
 het Bankwezen en Nederland. 
 
 Rotterdam, 1838. 
 De goude en zilvere gangbaare 
 
 penningen der Graaven en 
 
 Gravinnen van Holland. Delft, 
 
 1700. 
 Bijdragen tot de numismatiek van 
 
 Gelderland. Arnhem, 1869. 
 Elements de I'histoire monetaire 
 
 de Flandres. Gand, 1879. 
 Documents pour servir a I'histoire 
 
 monetaire des Pays - Bas. 
 
 Anvers, 1845. 
 Histoire monetaire de la ville de 
 
 Bois le Due. Anvers, 1845. 
 
 Revue numismatique Beige. 
 D. Groebe . 
 
 Beantwoording der Prijswerk over 
 
 de Munten en hetgeen daartoe 
 
 betrekking — 1 500-1621 (Konin- 
 
 klijke Akademie van Weten- 
 
 schappen. 1835). 
 
 Inleiding tot de heedendaagsche penningkunde ofte ver- 
 
 handeling van dSr Oorsprong van't geld, etc. Amsterdam, 
 
 1717. 
 
 Fr. van Mieris . . Beschrijving van der Bisschop- 
 
 lijke munten en zegelen 
 
PREFACE 
 
 XXV 
 
 A uthorities. 
 
 Fr. van Houwelingen , 
 
 J. ACKERSDIJCK . 
 GHESQUlfeRE 
 
 F. Den Duyts 
 R. H. Chalon 
 
 P. O. VAN DER ChIJS 
 
 van Utrecht, etc. Leyden, 
 1726. 
 Penninck-boeck enhondende alle 
 figuren van Silbere und Goude 
 penningen gheslaghen bij de 
 Graven van Hollandt. Leyden, 
 
 1591- 
 Nederlands Muntwezen, etc. 
 
 Utrecht, 1845. 
 Memoire sur trois points interess- 
 
 ant de I'histoire mon^taire des 
 
 Pays Bas, etc. Bruxelles, 1786. 
 Notice sur les anciennes monnaies 
 
 des Comtes de Flandres, etc. 
 
 1847. 
 Recherches sur les monnaies des 
 
 Comtes de Hainault. 1843. 
 De munten derVoormalige Hertog- 
 
 dommen Braband en Limburg 
 
 (in vol. XX vi. of Tayler's tweede 
 
 Genootschap. Haarlem. 1851). 
 
 SPAIN 
 
 Breve Reseiia historico-critica de la moneda Espanola y 
 
 reduccion de sus valores a los del sistema metrico vigente 
 
 (a Government Report of 1862). 
 
 Juan de Dios de la Rada Bibliografia numismatica Espa- 
 
 Y Delgado fiola. Madrid, 1886. (A work 
 
 of unequalled merit.) 
 Vicente Arguello . . . Memoria Sobre el valor de las 
 
 monedas de D'Alfonso el Sabio 
 (memorias de la Real Academia 
 de la Historia). 
 
XXVI 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 AutJwrities. 
 
 Edward Clarke . 
 
 J. Salat 
 
 Andrea Merim . 
 Cascales . 
 A. Heiss . 
 
 LiciNiANO Saez . 
 Dr. Clemencin . 
 
 Letters concerning the Spanish 
 Nation. London, 1773. 
 
 Tratado de las monedas de Cata- 
 lunia. Barcelona, 1818. 
 
 Escuela Paleographica, folio. 
 1780. 
 
 Discursos historicos de Murcia, 
 folio. 1 62 1. 
 
 Descripcion general de las monedas 
 Hispano-Cristianas, 1865-9. 3 
 vols. (A model work of im- 
 mense labour.) 
 
 Demostracion historica del verda- 
 dero valor de las monedas, etc. 
 1805 (Real Acad, de la historia). 
 
 On the Ratio in Spain (in 
 Memorias de la Real Academia 
 de la Historia, vol. vi. p. 525). 
 
 ENGLAND AND AMERICA 
 
 R. RuDiNG ... . . Annals of the Coinage of Britain. 
 
 Hawkins Silver Coins of England. 
 
 Kenyon Gold Coins of England. 
 
 Numismatic Chronicle. 
 
 Lord Liverpool . . . Treatise on the Coins of the 
 
 Realm. 
 
 Sir James Stewart . . . Works. 
 
 S. M. Leake A Historical Account of English 
 
 Money. 
 
 H. N. Sealey Coins, Currency, and Banking. 
 
 Macpherson Anderson's History of Commerce. 
 
 Bishop Fleetwood . . Chronicon Preciosum, or an Ac- 
 
 count of English Money, etc. 
 etc. London, 1707 
 

 PREFACE XX vr 
 
 Aitthoriliis. 
 
 
 BiSHOl' NiCOLSON . . 
 
 . English, Scotch, and Irish His 
 
 
 torical Libraries. 
 
 V V Thorold Rogers . . 
 
 History of Prices. 
 
 » V'TOOKE AND NeWMARCH 
 
 History of Prices. 
 
 Sir Dudley North . . 
 
 . Discourses upon Trade. i6gi. 
 
 * ' Sir Walter Raleigh . 
 
 . Works (Oxford Edition). 
 
 Sir Robert Cotton 
 
 . Posthuma. 
 
 State Papers Foreign (Record Office). 
 (Absolutely invaluable.) 
 
 State Papers Domestic (Record Office). 
 
 Treasury Papers (Record Office). 
 
 Reports of the Deputy-Master of 
 
 the Mint, 1870-94. 
 United States Reports of the 
 International Monetary Confer- 
 ence. 1878. (Embodying an 
 invaluable series of reprints.) 
 
 J. Laurence Laughlin . . The History of Bimetallism in the 
 
 United States. New York, 
 1894. 
 
 Dunbar Laws of the United States on 
 
 Currency and Banking, etc. 
 
 Of the almost endless series of Government Reports, a full 
 bibliography will be found in Soetbeer's Litteraturnachweis. 
 
 The American Mint Reports, and the Austrian Statistische 
 Tahellen zur Wahrungs-Frage der Osterreichisch-ungarischen 
 Monarchie (Vienna, 1892), deserve separate and special mention 
 for their unequalled usefulness. 
 
 The Index of Coins at the end of the present volume is 
 intended mainly for the purposes of historical research. It 
 has been compiled entirely by my sister. Miss Edna Shaw, to 
 whom, my warmest thanks are due. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 From the Commencement of Gold Coinages to the 
 Discovery of America, 1252-1492 
 
 Recommencement of gold coinages in Europe, i ; in Italy, 3 ; Germany, 
 6 ; France, 9 ; Flanders, 10 ; Holland , Spain, and England, 1 1 ; 
 characteristics of the first perio'3, 13 ; general depreciation of the 
 standard, 15; monetary experience of Italy, 17; the Florentine 
 troubles, 18 ; monetary experience of Spain, 23 ; the Cortes of 
 Valladolid, 24 ; monetary experience of Gennany, 25 ; the Mint 
 conventions, 26 ; tables of the groschen and gulden, 30, 31 ; monetary 
 experience of France, 31 ; arbitrary debasements, 32 ; course of the 
 monies under Philippe de Valois, 35 ; the States-General of France, 
 1420, 37 ; Charles vii.,'38 ; Louis xi. and Charles vill., 39 ; gfeneral 
 statement of the ratio, 40 ; monetary experience of England, 41 ; 
 Edward Ill.'s issues of gold, 42 ; the measures of, 1353, 45 ; complaints 
 of 1 38 1, and the monetary investigation, 50 ; recoinage of 14 14, 55 ; 
 recoinage of Henry VI., 58. 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 From the Discovery of America to the End of the First 
 
 Cycle of the Influence of the Metals of the New 
 
 World on European Currencies, 1493-1660 
 
 General characteristics : Eirat^ movem.e nt of meta.ls fr om the _jje\v 
 World , 61; mercantile importance of the Netherlands. 6^ ; stat- 
 istics" of the production of the precious metals, 65 ; statement 
 of the Mint ratio, 69 ; operati on of Lt he Netherlands p lakkaats. 
 7 1 ; list of ditto, 76 ; tables of ditto, 79 ; monetary experience 
 of France, 83 ; course of the monies under Henry II. and 
 Charles IX., 84 ; the States-General of 1575, 87 ; Henry lU.'s reform 
 of 1577, 88 ; checked by Henry iv., 1602, 89 ; the monetai-y ex- 
 perience of 1614, and reform of 1615, 90; recoinage of 1640, 91 ; 
 Florence, 93 ; Germany, 95 ; table of the groschen and gulden, 97 ; 
 Imperial Mint Ordinances of 1524, 1551, and 1559, 98, 99; Mint 
 disorders, 100 ; Kipper ttnd Wipper Zeit, 102 ; Imperial basis of 
 
XXX CONTENTS 
 
 1623, 106 ; Spain, 107 ; her function as a distributor, 108 ; England 
 113 ; tables of gold and silver coins, 113 ; recoinage of 1527, n8 ; 
 export of 1537, 119; measures of 1544, 121; the Tudor debase- 
 ment, 123; Elizabeth's recoinage, 1559, 129; the mistake of 1600, 
 remedied by James I., 132; export of 1607 and 161 1, Sir Walter 
 Raleigh's opinions, 134 ; crisis of 1620^22, 139 ; the State prosecu- 
 tions of 1638, 148 ; the troubles of 1649 and 1652, 151. 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 From the End of the First Cycle of American Influences 
 TO THE Present Day, 1660-1894 
 
 Statistics of the production of the precious metals, i_54 ; statement of 
 the ratio, 157 ; development of theory of international trade, l^ ; 
 free trade in the precious metals, 163 ; place of discount and interest 
 rates in the modern system, jdg j monetary experience of France, 
 167 ; recoinages of 1689, 1726, and 1785, 168 ; Calonne's ratio, 172 ; 
 monetary action of Republican France, 173 ; the law of 1803, 176 ; 
 bimetallic experiences, 1803-76, 179 ; movements and mintings of 
 the metals, 183 ; measures of 1835, 187 ; French monetary com- 
 missions, 188 ; formation of the Latin Union, 190 ; its history, 193 ; 
 Germany, 197 ; Zinnaische standard, 199 ; Leipzig standard, 1690, 
 200 ; Austrian or Convention standard, 201 ; South German 
 standard, 202 ; Prussian standard, 203 ; Conference of Munich, 
 1837, 204 ; Mint conventions of Dresden, 1838, and of Vienna, 1857, 
 205-212 ; agitation of 1857-70, 213 ; new Imperial system, 215 ; 
 England, 219; recoinage of, 1696, 222 ;. Newton's report, 1717, 229; 
 recoinage of 1774, 233 ; silver legislation, 237 ; Bank Restriction 
 and the Act of 1816, 240 ; movements and mintings of the metals, 
 244 ; United States, 246 ; beginnings of a national system, 247 : 
 reports of Morris and Hamilton, 249-251 ; Act of 1792, 253 ; gold 
 export and the law of 1834, 255 ; silver export and the law of 1853 
 and 1873, 259 ; Acts of 1878, 1890, and 1893, 262 ; movements and 
 mintings of the metals, 265 ; Netherlands, 268 ; Portugal, 272 ; the 
 international conferences, 274 ; Paris confer^ces of 1867, 1878, and 
 1881, 275-280; Brussels Conference of 1892, 285 ; India, 293; her 
 historic function, 293 ; movements and mintings of the metals, 299. 
 
 APPENDICES 
 
 I'AGE 
 
 Appendix I. The Monetary System of Florence, 1272-1530 301 
 
 „ II. „ „ Venice, 1284-1790 . 310 
 
 „ III. „ „ Spain, 1250-1894 319 
 „ IV. „ „ the Netherlands, 1250- 
 
 1894 . . .345 
 
 „ V. „ „ Germany, Austria, and 
 
 Prussia, 1250-1894 360 
 
 „ VI. „ „ France, 1140-1894 . 396 
 
THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 From the Commencement of Gold Coinages to 
 THE Discovery of America, 125 2-1492 
 
 The monetary history of Europe begins in the 
 thirteenth century, and in the ItaHan peninsula. Its 
 starting-point is the era of the reintroduction of gold 
 into the coinages of the Western nations, and is 
 definitely marked for us by the minting of the gold 
 florin of Florence in 1252. For all practical purposes 
 gold had gone out of use since the seventh century, 
 and after the submersion of the Roman Empire ; and 
 the currencies of the nations of mediaeval Europe 
 rested on a silver basis entirely. There are limita- 
 tions to the truth of this statement, but they are of 
 such a nature as not materially to affect it. In Spain, 
 for instance, the Moors kept up a tradition of gold 
 coinage similar to that of Rome, from the eighth to 
 the middle of the thirteenth century. But its in- 
 fluence, on the monetary system of Christian Spain is 
 
2 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 not even a matter of question. At the other extrem- 
 ity of the Mediterranean, at Byzantium, seat of the 
 Eastern Empire, the best traditions of the coinage 
 system of Rome were preserved for centuries after 
 the imperial city had fallen before the invasions of 
 the northern barbarians. Indeed, the monetary 
 system of the Eastern empire, by becoming, as it did, 
 the model which Charlemagne copied in his currency 
 enactments, became the basis of all the modern 
 European systems. Further than this, the presence 
 of gold Byzants can be traced here and there, at 
 isolated points and dates, all over the darkness of 
 those early centuries of the Middle Ages, when all 
 coining art seemed forgotten among the races of 
 Central Europe. 
 
 Notwithstanding such limitations, however, it still 
 remains true that the monetary history of the modern 
 world dates from the thirteenth and not the seventh 
 century, and from the little commercial states of Italy 
 rather than from Byzantium. Previous to the minting 
 of the gold florin of Florence there is no trace of any 
 independent minting of gold coins on a commercial 
 scale by any state of mediaeval central Europe. The 
 currency system of England, for instance, from the 
 time of the Saxons to the days of Henry in. was 
 based entirely on silver. In endless variety and under 
 a diversity of names the silver penny was the unit coin 
 current of the realm. Its equivalent in the Prankish 
 Empire was the silver denarius, which Charlemagne 
 had made the unit of his system, and which so con- 
 
THE GOLD FLORIN OF FLORENCE 3 
 
 tinued for both the kingdom of France and the Holy- 
 Roman Empire till the fourteenth century. Finally, 
 among the numerous states of Italy, with each their 
 little independent Mint, there is no trace of the coinage 
 of gold until the days of the commercial greatness of 
 Florence and Venice. For eight centuries or more 
 those races of Europe, which were to turn the course 
 of the modern world and build its civilisation anew, 
 were ignorant of the commercial use of what has been 
 through all history the most potent factor in civilisa- 
 tion — gold. 
 
 The explanation of the reintroduction and re- 
 coinage of gold is to be found in the history of the 
 Crusades and of the commercial growth of the petty 
 independent states which sprang from the political 
 confusion of Italy. No sooner had they achieved 
 each their little autonomous existence than they 
 threw themselves with feverish energy into the 
 development of the trade with the East. Florence 
 and Venice, Pisa and Genoa, led the way and reaped 
 the fruits ; and it was in her most flourishing time, 
 when she had conquered her rivals, Pisa and Siena, 
 and was enjoying a prosperous peace and active trade, 
 that Florence, at the instance of the chief of her 
 merchants, resolved 9n the coining of the gold florin 
 
 The mere idea of such a gold coinage could only 
 
 ^ This is the date accepted by the numismatic authorities. It is adopted by 
 Orsini [Storia delle Monete della Repubblica Fiorentina, p. xxiv, where he states 
 the authority for it). It is nevertheless open to serious doubt. See in De 
 Saulcy, Documents I. pp. 1 15-13 1, references to florins d'or from 1180 onwards. 
 
4 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 be derived from the East — from Byzantium. But it 
 is a curious fact that the importation of it should be 
 due in the first place to the Crusades. Frederick ii. 
 of Sicily was elected Emperor of the Holy Roman 
 Empire in 12 12. Sixteen years later he headed the 
 Fifth Crusade, and the gold coin {Augustale) which 
 he issued some time between his return from that 
 crusade and his death, probably commemorates his 
 wish to rival the appearance of opulence of the 
 Eastern court. This Sicilian coin is the direct 
 ancestor of the florin of Florence, and to it would fitly 
 belong the honour of leading in a new era, were it 
 not that the superior beauty of the Florentine coin 
 gave it universal currency and reputation, and extin- 
 guished the memory of its predecessor. 
 
 The gold coin of Genoa (Genovivd) is supposed 
 to have issued in the same year as the florin (1252). 
 Five years later (1257) Henry iii. of England 
 imitated the florin in his gold pennies, and more than 
 thirty years (31st October 1284) later Venice followed 
 the lead of Florence and instituted a coinage of gold 
 zecchinos, under the dogeship of Giovanni Dandolo. 
 
 Two conditions were essential to the bringing 
 about so momentous a revolution as this, however 
 little the mind of contemporaries may have kciown it 
 as such. In the first place, the foreign trade of the 
 Italian republics must have become so extensive^ as 
 to demand a currency medium of higher denomina- 
 tion than silver ; and, secondly, that trade must have 
 developed in such directions as to tap gold-using or 
 
THE TRADE OF VENICE 5 
 
 gold-bearing regions in order to the supply of the 
 Italian mints. It is a curious fact that both these 
 conditions were realised through the instrumentality 
 of the Crusades. The quickening effect of these vast 
 movements on the trade of the Mediterranean is well 
 known, but their influence in the second direction has 
 not hitherto been pointed out. In the Fourth Crusade 
 Venice lent the force which captured Byzantium 
 (1203), and when, by her arms, Baldwin, Count of 
 Flanders, had been seated on the Eastern throne, 
 Venice reaped her reward in three-eighths of the 
 territories of the Eastern Empire. She received 
 Peloponnesus and a chain of islands in the ^gean, and 
 by the hold she had on Constantinople secured the 
 virtual control of the Black Sea. In its turn the 
 control of the Black Sea brought with it the mono- 
 poly of the overland trade with India. 
 
 At one and the same moment, therefore, Venice 
 acquired possession of a huge treasure of gold 
 wrested from the conquered city, and of the then only 
 gold-yielding districts — the Crimea — and of an inter- 
 colonial trade, demanding a more enhanced currency 
 medium. The result of such a combination of circum- 
 stances was irresistible. During the continuance of 
 the " Latin Empire " at Byzantium, Venice and her 
 sister state were practically the only merchants of 
 Europe. 
 
 The institution of a gold coinage among the 
 Italian republics, therefore, marks for us an era of 
 commercial expansion which is only fitly to be 
 
6 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 compared with that of Holland in the seventeenth 
 century, or of our own country in modern times. 
 
 We are not concerned with tracing the effects of 
 this extraordinary movement further than a,s they 
 bore in their train the dower of a currency of gold. 
 
 In the European system, Venice was the inter- 
 mediary between the spice-laden east and the wool- 
 bearing north. England, the wool-growing country 
 of fourteenth-century Europe; Flanders, the home 
 of the weaving industry ; the Hanse Towns of Ger- 
 many and the gradually forming kingdom of France 
 were successively brought face to face with the new 
 medium of currency ; and if the story of the gradual 
 adoption of that new medium could be written, it 
 would form one of the most instructive of all chapters 
 of currency and commercial history. 
 
 As it is, we have only uncertain and scattered data. 
 
 In the case of Germany — of chief importance in 
 the process by reason of her geographical position 
 midway between the Mediterranean and the north — 
 the first minting of gold in imitation of the Italian 
 states fell in the second quarter of the fourteenth 
 century. Of the two types of gold monies issued by 
 the Emperor Louis iv., surnamed " Bavarian," the 
 first, struck some short time before 1328, was in 
 direct imitation of the florin of Florence. The second, 
 struck some little time later, was a copy of the dcu d'or 
 of Philip VI. of France. 
 
 In 1337 our own King Edward was made vicar- 
 general and lieutenant to the Emperor, with powers 
 
BEGINNINGS OF A GOLD COINAGE IN GERMANY 7 
 
 to coin monies of gold and silver. He accordingly- 
 kept his winter at the Castle of Louvain, and caused 
 great sums of money both of gold and silver to be 
 coined at Antwerp. Two years later, this same 
 Emperor Louis, the Bavarian, granted to the Duke 
 Rainhold of Gueldres the right to mint gold coins, 
 "after the valuation of the gold monies of the Arch- 
 bishop of Cologne the Duke of Brabant, and the 
 Counts of Hainault and Holland." In the following 
 year he granted to the free state of Liibeck a similar 
 right — the patent expressly stipulating that their gold 
 coins should not exceed in weight or value the gold 
 florin of Florence. 
 
 Sixteen years later (1356) the general liberty of 
 coining gold was conceded to the seven Electoral 
 Princes by the Golden Bull of the Emperor Charles 
 IV., and subsequently state after state and free town 
 after free town purchased or were granted the right. 
 Even as late as 1372, in the patent granting to 
 Frederick of Nurnberg this so eagerly solicited liberty, 
 the stipulation is made that the gold gulden to be 
 coined should be of as good gold and weight as "the 
 gulden or florin of Florence." 
 
 In the case of Liibeck direct documentary evi- 
 dence of transactions relating to the introduction of a 
 gold coinage has survived among the archives of that 
 state. The privilege of a Mint and of coining (of 
 silver) was first granted to Liibeck by Frederick 11. in 
 1226. But it was not until a century and more later 
 that Louis the Bavarian, by his bull of 28th November 
 
8 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 1340, conceded the right of coining gold "in pieces 
 which were to be neither heavier nor of higher worth 
 than the florin of Florence." On the 8th September 
 in the following year the Liibeck Mint made its first 
 purchase of gold from a certain Jacob Grell of 
 Zlitphen in Holland. The purchase consisted of 
 4 marks i loth 8 pfen. weight of gold (Liibeck weight), 
 and the price paid was 24 solidi the carat. In other 
 parcels, up to Michaelmas of 1341, the authorities 
 remitted to the Mint a total weight of metal of 
 50 marks 2 oz. 3^ aug., varying in fineness from 15 to 
 23 carats. The consignment yielded in the pot 46 
 marks i oz. 7 ang. of pure metal, and was coined into 
 3199 pieces of a total weight of 47 marks 5 oz. 10 ang., 
 being 67.08 gold pieces to the Liibeck mark. The 
 coins were issued on the i8th February 1342, and 
 bore on the one side the lily of Florence and on the 
 other the figure of John the Baptist — all in, direct 
 imitation of the fibrin. The total issues made in 
 the immediately succeeding years from the Liibeck 
 Mint were : — 
 
 1342 
 
 24,783 florins 
 
 67.26 to the mark, 
 
 )J 
 
 5,483 „ 
 
 67.11 „ „ 
 
 1343 
 
 30.436 „ 
 
 )) J> )) 
 
 1344 
 
 32,590 „ 
 
 j» a J) 
 
 With more or less irregularity the earliest German 
 guldens imitated the florin, and maintained something- 
 like a steady and uniform denomination quite up to 
 the beginning of the last quarter of the fourteenth 
 century 
 
GOLD COINAGE IN FRANCE 9 
 
 In France, as in Germany, the first coming of gold 
 can only be dated approximately, but for all practical 
 purposes quite safely. The generally accepted view 
 is that the French series of gold coins was initiated in 
 1 254 by Louis ix., " St. Louis," and that the issue was 
 connected with the Sixth Crusade which he had 
 headed five years before. There is documentary 
 evidence extant to disprove this. Florins d'or appeles 
 Florences are mentioned as early as 1 1 80, not vaguely 
 but quite definitely with an exact statement of weight 
 standard and equivalence. Unless the record of the 
 first minting of the gold florin at Florence is untrust- 
 worthy the coin here referred to can only be an 
 imitation in gold of the silver florin of Florence. The 
 same document which contains this reference (De 
 Saulcy, i. 115) also specifies petits royaux d'or as 
 minted not only in 1 1 80 by Philip Augustus, but also 
 in the days of his father, Louis vii. Similar mention 
 of at least two gold coins of Louis ix. occurs as early 
 as 1226, one evidently of the florin type, the other a 
 pavilion d'or. It is quite safe to assert, however, 
 that these coins were for show merely, due to an 
 emulation of Byzantine and Italian opulence, and 
 indicate no wide or commercial employment of gold. 
 Of the gold florins of 1226, for instance, thirteen 
 pieces were struck, twelve for twelve peers of France 
 as a gift, the thirteenth for the King himself, " and 
 know you that this is the most beautiful money that 
 can be found, and the finest and best engraved." The 
 interest of such issues is entirely numismatic and not 
 
10 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 commercial or monetary.' It is not until late in the 
 reign of St. Louis — until 1265 or thereabouts — that 
 there is mention in France of any such gold coinage 
 as could have this commercial rather than merely 
 numismatic importance. For the purposes of metallic 
 or currency history proper the real starting-point for 
 France is marked rather by \}ae.gros royauxd'or, coined 
 in 1295 by Philip le Bel, than by the more meagre 
 coinage of St. Louis and his predecessors. The gros 
 royaux of Philip were double the value of the pettts 
 royaux of St. Louis, of which latter Philip le Bel speaks 
 thus in his proclamation. " We have commanded to 
 be made in our name money of gold after the petits 
 royaux d'or, which shall be 70 to the Paris mark and 
 cut as th&petiis royaux have been used to be, being 
 issued at an equivalence of 1 1 sols Parisi." From 
 this date (1295) onward the gold coinage of the 
 French Mint became one of the most important 
 factors in the monetary history of Europe. 
 
 In Flanders the first gold coins were struck in 
 1357, under the rule of Count Louis 11.^ Both 
 the coins issued by him are copied directly from 
 French types — his real au lion from the French 
 Scu of Philip IV., and his mouton d'or from the 
 French coin of the same name. And it was the same 
 
 ^ Est a notter que le Roi en fit forger aulcune quantity (some slight quantity) 
 d'or du poids de 12 den. 16 gr. chacune pifece laguelle auvrage il dedia seuUement 
 pour sou aulmosne aux pauvres ausquels souvent il lavait les piedz par humilite. 
 Et en fut jamais inventee ladite piece d'or pour aultre cause que dessus et non 
 pour monnaie uzuelle et publicque " (De Saulcy, Documents, i. 115, 122, 125). 
 
 ^ See, however, in De Saulcy, i. 31, a mention of manteletz iTor de Flandre 
 in 1265. 
 
GOLD COINAGE IN SPAIN AND ENGLAND ii 
 
 French original which furnished the types to WiUiam v., 
 Count of Holland (1356-77), when he followed 
 the fashion and coined gold. Of the six types minted 
 by Count William during his reign, two are an imita- 
 tion of the French mouion, and the last is derived 
 from the universally prevailing type, the florin. 
 
 In Spain the first coining of gold by the Christian 
 powers fell in the same epoch and derived from the 
 same source. Alfonso xi. (1312-50), surnamed the 
 " Noble," was the first King of Castille who coined 
 the oro gran modulo {doblas de oro), while in Aragon 
 Pedro IV. (1336-87), "the Ceremonious," in his oro 
 florines directly imitated the Florentine type, though 
 his later pieces are more original in design. 
 
 Finally, with regard to England, — to whose 
 monetary history a central importance attaches, — 
 the course of events was most evidently controlled by 
 the revolution in the continental currencies. It is, 
 at the same time, comparatively easy to ascertain. 
 The first of our kings to issue gold coins was Henry 
 III., who in 1257 coined a penny of fine gold, of the 
 weight of two silver pennies of the time, and ordered 
 it to be current for twenty pence. 
 
 There can be no doubt that the idea of such a 
 coinage was derived from that of St. Louis of 
 France ; and, just as in France, the issue seems 
 to have been premature. Probably neither in 
 the one country nor the other did there exist a 
 sufficient store of the precious metal itself, nor 
 sufficient activity of trade to attract such a store, or 
 
12 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 indeed to make a gold coinage at all a matter of 
 mercantile advantage. It is only a developed and 
 active or considerable trade that demands so 
 enhanced a medium of exchange. Accordingly, just 
 as in France, there is a noticeable gap between the 
 first actual minting of gold by the predecessors of St. 
 Louis, and the minting of it in such quantities as to 
 make a factor in commercial and monetary history, in 
 the days of Philip le Bel (1295) ; so, in England, the 
 first issue of Henry iii. was followed by an interval 
 of nearly ninety years, during which no coinage of 
 gold by our kings took place. The real introducer of 
 this metal into English currency and commerce was 
 Edward iii., and the first practical issue of it is to be 
 dated in 1344, rather than 1257. It will be seen at 
 a glance what this statement implies. The issue of 
 Henry iii. in 1257 had been premature — an act of 
 kingly rivalry and show, rather than of commercial 
 necessity. But the succeeding century saw a rapid 
 development in the commerce of Northern Europe, 
 and a gold coinage had gradually become both a 
 possibility and a necessity. One after the other — 
 in the order of time j'ust detailed — the various 
 commercial states with which England had inter- 
 course had adopted it and profited by it. That 
 England should follow in the movement scarcely 
 more than sixteen years later than Germany, and 
 a year or two before Flanders, is some evidence of 
 the organisation of her trade, as well as of the 
 intimacy of inter commercial relationships. So 
 
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FIRST PERIOD 13 
 
 purely a matter of trade and natural growth was 
 this vast movement of the adoption of a gold coinage 
 — a revolution indeed as it proved, though yet un- 
 written, more momentous in its influence on European 
 civilisation than either the Renaissance or the Re- 
 formation. 
 
 Approximately, therefore, the fourteenth century 
 may be taken as the starting - point for a history 
 of European bimetallism. The first period of that 
 history embraces all the movements of the previous 
 metals, from such starting-point up to the discovery 
 of America in 1492 — z. matter of two centuries, 
 roughly speaking. 
 
 The characteristics of this period, are perfectly 
 well defined, and repeat themselves with almost 
 faithful and exact similarity of recurrence in the 
 several states comprising the Europe of that date. 
 In brief, such characteristics were those of — (i) a 
 period of commercial expanse, necessitating an in- 
 creasing currency and advancing prices ; (2) a period 
 of stationary production of the precious metals, 
 necessitating a struggle among the various states for 
 the possession of those metals ; {3) a period of endless 
 change in the ratio between gold and silver, necessi- 
 tating continual revision of the rate of exchange. 
 Broadly speaking, those characteristics fall into two 
 classes, accordingly as they relate to — ( i ) the natural 
 movement of prices i.e. having regard merely to the 
 supply of the precious metals ; (2) to the unnatural 
 struggle for the metals themselves — for the material 
 
14 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 for currency — due to international rivalry and bad 
 or crafty legislation. 
 
 With regard to the former of these, the period 
 was distinctly one of insufficient and relatively dimin- 
 ishing production of the metals. During these two 
 centuries, 1 300-1 500, the main sources of the deriva- 
 tion of gold were the Eastern trade and the finds on 
 the eastern shores and northern interior of Africa. 
 The chief supply of silver came from the mines in 
 Germany. These latter — in Hungary, Transylvania, 
 Saxony, and Bohemia — were of such importance and 
 activity, in the fifteenth century and towards the 
 time of the discovery of America, as partially to keep 
 pace with the general trade expanse of the time, 
 thereby helping to arrest a fall of prices that would 
 have been absolutely disastrous to the civilisation of 
 Europe. The combined production during this 
 period cannot even be conjectured. At the close of 
 it — during the reign of Henry vii. — the total coinage 
 of England, both silver and gold, did not probably 
 exceed ;^3, 000,000, while the total stock of both 
 metals in Europe in 1492 has been estimated at 
 no more than ;^33,400,ooo. These figures stand 
 alone, for we have no idea of the extent of the 
 commerce which was worked on so small a mone- 
 tary basis, and very little idea of the amount of 
 aid which was extended to metallic money by 
 such expedients as bills of exchange. To estimate, 
 therefore, whether the period was one of depre- 
 ciating, stationary, or appreciating currency, we are 
 
COURSE OF MONETARY DEPRECIATION 15 
 
 reduced to the testimony of prices and the Mint 
 records. 
 
 In France, at the beginning of the period (in 
 1308), the mark of gold was coined into 44 Hvres, 
 and the mark of silver into 2 livres 19 sols. At the 
 close of the period, or towards it, in 1475, the mark 
 of gold was coined into 118 livres 10 sols, and that 
 of silver into 10 livres. 
 
 In Germany the mark of gold was coined into 
 66 gulden of 23 carats in 1386, and into ']\\ gulden 
 of 18^ carats in 1495— =-a depreciation of 34.36 per 
 cent. In Spain the mark of silver was coined into 
 130 maravedis in the year 1312, and into 2210 mara- 
 vedis in 1474. This latter case is, however, so 
 inextricably complicated with considerations of mere, 
 i.e. arbitrary, debasement, as to render it useless for 
 any estimation of the natural appreciation of the 
 metals. In England our earliest gold coin weighed 
 1281^ grains, and was tariffed at 6s. 8d. In 1489, 
 80 grains of gold were equivalent to the same, 
 6s. 8d. — a reduction of 37.94 per cent. Within the 
 same period the weight of the silver penny sank 
 from 22 to 12 troy grains, a reduction of 45.45 per 
 cent. Eliminating cases of arbitrary debasement, a 
 rough average for the period might fairly give 40 per 
 cent, of depreciation through the two centuries. 
 
 The case need hardly be laboured statistically, for 
 the legislative history of all the countries forming the 
 circle of commercial Europe in the fourteenth and 
 fifteenth centuries witnesses this general downward 
 
i6 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 movement — this appreciation and restriction of cur- 
 rency — in grim and unmistakable manner ; and it is 
 the expression of this general movement in their legis- 
 lations that gives the test and measure of the earHest 
 bimetallic troubles of Europe. In many ways the 
 problem before the various Governments was a more 
 difficult one than that which besets the modern world. 
 There was, for instance, nothing like an equal and 
 generally recognised ratio of value between gold and 
 silver prevailing at any one single point of time. At 
 one and the same date a ratio of 7 or 8 to i prevailed 
 in the Moorish parts of Spain, and 12 to i in the 
 Christian parts (the kingdom of Castile). Similarly, 
 at a later period, in 1474, the ratio in England was 
 1 1. 1 5, in Germany 11. 12, and in France 11.00, in 
 Italy 10.58, and in Spain 9.82. 
 
 The natural result of such a state of chaos, if it 
 had been permitted to work itself out unhindered, 
 would have been arbitrage transactions of Such a 
 nature — a flux and reflux of the European currencies 
 so perpetual — as would have induced a yearly 
 and universal bankruptcy. In spite of frantic efforts 
 on the part of ruler after ruler, such results did 
 partially come about, and they sufficiently account 
 both for the distraction of Governments and the 
 hatred universally visited upon the Jew in the Middle 
 Ages. The measures which were adopted by the 
 various States to counteract this invisible, insidious, 
 and wasting process, partake of the roughness and 
 unscientific character of the age. The export of gold 
 
ITALY 17 
 
 and silver was forbidden on pain of death ; and it 
 was no mere paper threat, for prominent London 
 merchants were drawn and quartered for the offence. 
 The rates of exchange of foreign coins were fixed by 
 proclamation, and the office of exchanger limited to 
 a particular place. When all this proved ineffectual, 
 the coins were cried down, and violent and sudden 
 changes in the ratio enacted. What made the jerk 
 and friction of such a process worse was that such 
 measures were not merely defensive, but intentionally 
 offensive. The wish of the fourteenth and fifteenth 
 century ruler was not merely to defend his own stock 
 of precious metals from depletion, but — having gained 
 the conviction of the insufficiency of the production 
 of those metals for the needs of Europe — to attract 
 to himself the stock of his neighbours by whatever 
 craft. There was a general struggle for the coverlid 
 of gold, and the methods of that struggle were 
 almost barbaric in their rudeness, violence, craft, and 
 dishonourableness. 
 
 Italy. 
 
 On account of their knowledge and practice of 
 the science of exchanges and finance, the metallic 
 history of the Italian states is of chief importance for 
 this earliest period. At a time when the northern 
 nations show signs of an infancy of commerce merely, 
 Italy was advanced in the art and practice of a most 
 highly developed commercial and financial state. It 
 is to her that we owe our system of book-keeping and 
 
i8 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 the use of bills of exchange, not to speak of the 
 pawnbroking and funding systems ; and it is permis- 
 sible to conjecture that Italy, keeping her finger as 
 she did on the monetary pulsations of Europe, reaped 
 her harvest, and far the largest harvest, from the 
 bimetallic fluctuations of the fourteenth and fifteenth 
 centuries. In their turn those fluctuations acted on 
 herself, and occasionally disastrously. On account of 
 their pre-eminence as the commercial states of the 
 peninsula, Florence and Venice are chosen to illus- 
 trate in brief the monetary history of Italy. The 
 account of the general course of depreciation in both 
 these states, and of the fluctuations of Mint rates is 
 given in the Appendix (Nos. I. and II.). As regards 
 the bimetallic influence of these changes of rates, there 
 is one telling record in the history of Florence. 
 
 The second quarter of the fourteenth century 
 witnessed a decided rise in the value of silver as 
 against gold. It told immediately upon Florence, on 
 account of her Mint rates. By the regulation of 
 1324 the ratio in Florence was 13.62, whereas in 
 France the ratio was approximately 12.6, and twenty 
 years later, 1 344, hardly more than 1 1 in both France 
 and England. The result on Florence was immediate, 
 and silver disappeared from circulation. In 1345, 
 says her historian, Villani, there was great scarcity. 
 There was no silver money with the exception of the 
 quattrini. It was all melted down and transported. 
 Silver of the alloy of 1 1-^ oz. fine was worth in other 
 parts out of Florence more than 1 2 lire a fiorino, 
 
THE FLORENTINE TROUBLES OF 1345 ig 
 
 whence arose great discontent to the woollen 
 merchants, who feared that the gold florin, in which 
 they received their foreign payments, should fall 
 too much. Being a powerful factor in the little 
 state, they agitated, and the recoinage of 1345 
 was the result. The precedent evil and the 
 remedy applied by this recoinage may be thus 
 illustrated : — 
 By law — 
 
 Fiorino d'oro . = 29 soldi. 
 
 20 of these soldi . = la lira a fiorino. 
 
 Therefore 1 2 lire a fiorino 
 (the price of the libbra 
 of silver as above, pur- 
 chased abroad) = 8 fiorini 8 soldi. 
 
 = 26 lire 8 soldi di piccioli. 
 One fiorino d'oro being 
 
 then current for about 3 lire 2 soldi piccioli. 
 The silver species current in Florence in 1345 were 
 quattrini and Guelfi del fiore. These coins were 
 of the same standard as above (n^ oz.), were 
 coined at a tale" of 167 to the libbra, and issued at 
 an equivalence of 30 piccioli. The libbra of this 
 silver, therefore, by Florentine Mint rate was valued 
 at 20 lire 1 7 soldi 6 denari di piccioli. Abroad, 
 therefore, the price of silver was a matter of slightly 
 more than 5 lire higher than in Florence. 
 
 The same result could be got by taking the billon 
 money of Florence and calculating from its silver 
 contents. 
 
20 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 The natural result was a disappearance of silver. 
 The only remedy was a recoinage, and this was 
 applied by the law of 19th August 1345. By this 
 law the standard of 1 1^ oz. was retained, the tale of 
 the Grossi was increased to 1 34 pieces to the libbra 
 (132 being rendered to the merchant, and 2 retained 
 for Mint expenses), and each piece issued at an equiv- 
 alence of 4 soldi. 
 
 4 X 132 = 528 soldi. 
 ( = 26 lire 8 soldi di piccioli.) 
 It will be seen at a glance that this equalised the 
 internal and external price of silver. 
 
 Rather strangely this enactment of the 19th of 
 August was followed by another no more than four 
 days later (23rd August 1345), by which a slight 
 reactionary change was made in favour of silver. The 
 tale was decreased from 134 to 132 pieces, to be struck 
 from the libbra of the same standard, and issuable at 
 the same equivalence. 
 
 Slight as the backward change was, it was 
 sufficient to leave the monetary system exposed to the 
 same influence of differential exchanging, and within 
 two months it had to be repealed by the law of October 
 1345. Under the name of Nuovi Guelfi a fresh coin 
 was thereby instituted of the same standard and 
 equivalence as above, but at a tale of 142 per libbra 
 (140 being rendered back to the merchant, and 2 
 retained for expenses of coinage). 
 
 1 40 X 4 = 560 piccioli. 
 ( = 28 lire di piccioli.) 
 
FLORENCE IN 1345 21 
 
 This established a considerable advantage, and turned 
 the flow of silver back again to Florence. 
 
 The process might in many respects be compared 
 to our raising of the bank rate, were it not that the 
 two operations represent quite different and separated 
 financial epochs. It is noteworthy, too, because the 
 process will be found immediately imitated in both 
 France and England, that these laws of 1345 repre- 
 sent preponderatingly the sense of the class of 
 exchangers of Florence, — i.e. the financiers professed, 
 — men who would profit individually in their exchange 
 operations as much as the state would in its restored 
 currency of silver. "The above lords," says the 
 preamble to the first -cited Act, "considering the 
 numerous petitions made to them by many artificers, 
 merchants, and honourable citizens, of the incredible 
 lack of silver money in the state of Florence, on 
 account of which the citizens of the said state suffer 
 many inconveniences and wants, have determined to 
 have and have had counsel of the twenty-one guilds 
 of the city, who have [by a roundabout method] 
 chosen eight men, skilled and prudent in the aforesaid, 
 who have had counsel with the officers of our Mint 
 and with certain others of the trade of exchangers," 
 etc., with such result as above. 
 
 Yet even so, the effort was only temporarily 
 successful. Before two years was out the price of 
 silver abroad, outside of Florence, had advanced to 
 12 lire 15 soldi a fiorino = 1"] lire 14 soldi di piccioli, 
 whereas the price fixed by a fresh Mint law of 1 345 had 
 
Missing Page 
 
Missing Page 
 
24 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 1406-54. In the case of this country the troubles in 
 the fourteenth century arose from the proximity of 
 France, the circulation of lower-rated French coins, 
 and the consequent depletion of the treasure of the 
 kingdom. In Aragon, for instance, the charter of 
 Peter iv. in 1 346 had ordered the coining of gold after 
 the same weight and fineness as of the florin of 
 Florence. It was found too high, and three years 
 later he was obliged to cancel it by another proclama- 
 tion, ordering his own gold coins to be made of the 
 same weight and fineness as the icus of the French 
 kings. The close of his reign and the early part of 
 that of his successor witnessed acute crisis and dis- 
 tress, which led to Henry 11. 's celebrated reduction of 
 the coinage at the Cortes of Medina del Campo in 
 
 1371- 
 
 In 1391-93 another general proclamation was 
 issued, ordering a reduction of the value of the 
 monies and fixing new rules of exchange, and this was 
 followed by one in 1398, prohibiting the circulation of 
 foreign coins in Spain, except at bullion value. This 
 latter was a common device, as will be seen in the case 
 of our own country. It proved ineffectual to prevent 
 the outflow of the metals, and when re-enacted in 
 1 41 3 was found to be of as little avail. The Cortes 
 of 1442 (Valladolid) complained bitterly, in a petition, 
 of the money drawn away from the realm by foreign 
 merchants, and in the same year a fresh ordinance was 
 issued to readjust the values of the native monies to the 
 foreign coins. In this schedule, doblas de la Banda 
 
GERMANY 25 
 
 were rated at 100 maravedis, and the florin d'oro 
 d'Aragon at 65 maravedis. In 1473, only thirty or so 
 years later, by the charter of Henry iv., issued at 
 Segovia, these coins were rated at 300 and 200 
 maravedis respectively. It was only with the advent 
 of the Catholic sovereigns that the internal disorder 
 and want of unity of the Spanish system was effectu- 
 ally remedied, in the very hour of that discovery of a 
 new world which was to put upon Spain the vital 
 function of distributing the new stores of precious 
 metals (see account of Spanish monies, Appendix III.). 
 
 Germany. 
 
 The movements of the precious metals in 
 Germany — which, as far as the ratio of the two 
 metals is concerned, may be held to include the 
 Netherlands up to 1552, when Flanders withdrew 
 from the monetary system of the Holy Roman 
 Empire — is a record of exactly the same process of 
 natural and gradual appreciation of the metal {i.e. 
 depreciation of the weight and fineness of the coin) 
 as in Spain, France, and England. In the ac- 
 companying tables the movement of silver is illus- 
 trated by means of the groschen, and that of gold 
 by the Rhenish gulden. These coins, it nefed hardly 
 be said, were not unit coins, nor sole prevailing. 
 They are chosen from the bewildering variety with 
 which the numerous independent Mints of Germany 
 have succeeded in perplexing posterity, as being of 
 relatively greater repute and wider acceptance, and 
 
26 7'HE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 because it is a simply impossible task to combine all 
 the denominations of these coins, in order to deduce 
 an average. 
 
 Up to 1375 the German gold coin was minted in 
 close imitation of the Florentine florin. The weight 
 '^'^^ 53 g'l's., as was that of the Florentine piece ; 
 and the lily and St. John, the guardian saint of 
 Florence, were both employed in the two coins, the 
 German piece being indeed issued at first under the 
 denomination, Florin d'or. 
 
 From the above-named date, however, and on- 
 wards, each succeeding and various power altered 
 type, weight, or alloy, with more or less arbitrariness, 
 but always to the increasing of the confusion of the 
 system as a whole. And it was to remedy this 
 confusion, or to reduce it somewhat, that the 
 monetary union of the four electoral princes of the 
 Rhine was established (8th June 1386), under the 
 lead of the three towns, Frankfort, Speyer, and 
 Worms ; under which the four princes, Frederick, 
 Archbishop of Cologne, Carl, Archbishop of Treves, 
 Adolf, Archbishop of Mainz, and Rupert, Count 
 Palatine of the Rhine, agreed upon a common minting 
 of gold gulden. According to the treaty, 66 such 
 gulden were to be minted from the Cologne mark of 
 gold, each of the alloy of 22 carats 6 grs. gold, 
 and I carat 6 grs. silver. In 1402 this coinage was 
 confirmed at Mainz by the Mint edict of Rupert 11.^ 
 
 ' Soetbeer considers the standard in 1386 as 23 fine, and asserts that, by the 
 Mint edict of 1402, it was lowered to 22J carats. 
 
GERMANY 27 
 
 Seven years later, 1409, the three spiritual 
 electors, Frederick, Archbishop of Cologne, John, 
 Archbishop of Mainz, and Werner, Archbishop of 
 Treves, made a new and slightly different treaty, for 
 the purpose of again reducing the alloy of the gulden 
 from 2 2-^ to 22 carats. 
 
 At this rate the system was, in the same year, at 
 Speyer, formally accepted for themselves by the 
 Netherlands, and at Cologne also, in 1409, by the 
 Empire generally. 
 
 The detailed and various changes which the 
 independent princes and powers of Germany sub- 
 sequently made, it is out of the question to follow. 
 To instance only in brief. In 14 19 Frederick of 
 Brandenburg ordered the coining of gulden for his 
 own states, at the rate of 64^ to the Cologne mark, 
 and of the fineness of 19 carats — a very considerable 
 reduction in the metal value of the coin. In 1422, 
 only three years later, Sigismund was coining gulden 
 66^ to the mark and 22 carats 6 grs. fine — a value 
 somewhat higher than that accepted for the empire in 
 1409. In 1428-29, accordingly, the Emperor Sigis- 
 mund issued an imperial order, which was formally 
 adopted by the Reichstag meeting at Eger (1437) and 
 Nurnberg (1438), by which the Cologne mark was to 
 be coined into 68 gulden and the fineness reduced to 
 19 carats. Four years later, 1442, the Emperor 
 Frederick iv. projected a further reform and reduc- 
 tion, proposing to coin 72 pieces of 19 carats fine, but 
 this was not carried into effect, probably as exaggerat- 
 
28 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 ing the average depreciation of the content of the coin 
 (or appreciation of the metal). The rate, therefore, 
 established by Sigismund practically remained in force 
 for a matter of sixty years. 
 
 In the diet of 1495-97 (at Worms), however, a 
 further slight reduction in weight and fineness took 
 place, 695 pieces being struck out of the Cologne 
 mark, and the fineness lowered to 18 carats 10 grs. 
 
 On the whole, therefore, the movement of gold 
 during these two centuries is remarkably sluggish in 
 Germany, putting aside, i.e., the internal variations 
 between state and state ; and remarkably correspond- 
 ing to, and confirmatory of, that in England. And in 
 all probability the mean of the quantities in the two 
 countries would aptly measure the perfectly natural or 
 normal appreciation of gold (depreciation of the 
 content of fine metal in the current gold coin) 
 throughout the period. 
 
 The movement of silver during the same two 
 hundred years, 1 300-1 500, is much more excited, but 
 shows an average or mean appreciation that tallies 
 remarkably with that of gold just described, as 
 also with that of silver in England. The various 
 denominations of silver coins which arose in Germany, 
 in those years, make it a work of extreme difficulty 
 even to attempt averages. In the accompanying 
 tables, therefore, the groschen is taken as most 
 fairly averaging and widely current in the empire. 
 In its first form, the Gros Tournois, struck at Tours, 
 in France, this coin contained SSy"^ parts of a 
 
GERMANY 29 
 
 Cologne mark, and was of the fineness of 15 loth 
 6 grs. In 1296, when it was first adopted in 
 Germany (in Bohemia, and Meissen), 63^ pieces were 
 struck from the mark, and the fineness had been 
 reduced to 15 loth. Its subsequent variations, up to 
 the time of the discovery of America, are detailed in 
 the accompanying table and in Appendix No. V., the 
 principal points 'in which are marked by the years 
 1341, 1378 (a notable attempt at reformation by 
 Charles iv. and Wenceslaus), 1390, 141 2, and 1444 
 (marking also an attempt at reformation by treaty 
 between the Duke of Saxony and the Margrave of 
 Meissen). 
 
 [Table. 
 
3° 
 
 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 MOVEMENTS OF SILVER IN GERMANY, 1300-1500, 
 AS ILLUSTRATED BY THE GROSCHEN, 
 
 Date. 
 
 The Cologne 
 
 Mark 
 coined into 
 
 Of Alloy. 
 
 Equivalent Value 
 
 (as expressed in the 20- 
 
 Fiorin Standard). 
 
 Pieces. 
 
 Loth. Qr. 
 
 ICreutzers. 
 
 Pfennige. 
 
 1226 ■ 
 (Gros Tournois of France) 
 1296 
 
 5Sife 
 634 
 
 IS 6 
 IS 
 
 21 
 17 
 
 
 1309 
 
 63i 
 
 14 
 
 16 
 
 2M 
 
 1324 
 
 (Meissen) 
 
 1 341 
 
 HI 
 78 
 
 IS 
 10 
 
 17 
 9 
 
 m 
 
 2A 
 
 1350 
 
 91 
 
 14 
 
 II 
 
 2M 
 
 1364 
 
 744 
 
 9 
 
 9 
 
 om 
 
 1378 
 
 70 
 
 14 I 
 
 IS 
 
 ItV 
 
 1380 
 
 72 
 
 13 
 
 13 
 
 24 
 
 (Meissen) 
 1390 
 
 91 
 85 
 
 II 
 10 
 
 9 
 
 8 
 
 off 
 3A 
 
 (Meissen) 
 1407 
 
 90 
 72tVt 
 
 9 
 8 
 
 7 
 8 
 
 2 
 
 1412 
 
 82 
 
 4 
 
 3 
 
 2H 
 
 1444 
 
 88 
 
 7 13 
 
 6 
 
 2A%. 
 
 — 
 
 160 
 
 16 
 
 7 
 
 2 
 
 1459 
 
 lOI 
 
 S 9 
 
 4 
 
 0t5T 
 
 1470 
 
 loos^V 
 
 S 
 
 3 
 
 2iH 
 
 1490 
 
 103 
 
 S 
 
 3 
 
 , 2^»j 
 

 is-- 
 
 \ 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 § 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 c3 S. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 O 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 to 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 > 
 
 1 ^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 UJ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 ' ' 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 cj 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 LJJ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Si ^-- 
 
 
 
 "=> i-- 
 
 
 " 
 
 "^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 
 L 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^ ^ 
 
 
 1 
 
 CD 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 n 
 
 
 
 
 
 LU 
 
 LU g 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 > V-- 
 
 
 
 
 - 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 UJ 1 
 
 a: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 LU ^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 _l 1" 
 
 DO 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 R 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 r 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 ~ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 —\ — 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 ? 
 
 ii 
 
 B 1? P (P S 
 
FRANCE 
 
 31 
 
 THE MOVEMENT OF GOLD IN GERMANY, 1300-1500, ILLUS- 
 TRATED BY THE MOVEMENT OF THE GOLD GULDEN 
 (RHEINISCHE GULDEN). 
 
 Date. 
 
 Cologne 
 
 Mark 
 
 coined into 
 
 Alloy. 
 
 Equivalent Value 
 
 (as expressed in the 20- 
 
 Florin Standard). 
 
 Pieces. 
 
 Carats. 
 
 Grains. 
 
 Florins. 
 
 Kreutzers 
 
 Pfennige, 
 
 1252 
 
 44l 
 
 24 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 22 
 
 34Vft: 
 
 (Florentine 
 Florin). 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I371 
 
 66 
 
 23 
 
 I 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 2|M 
 
 1386 
 
 66 
 
 22 
 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 I 
 
 ^,¥r 
 
 1409 
 
 66 
 
 22 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 55 
 
 3m 
 
 1419 
 
 64* 
 
 19 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 28 
 
 nm 
 
 1428 
 
 68 
 
 19 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 17 
 
 iTkhr 
 
 1442 
 
 72 
 
 19 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 6 
 
 3A% 
 
 1477 
 
 69J 
 
 18 
 
 10 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 « 810 + 
 
 
 France. 
 
 In France during this same period the ratio of 
 gold to silver was changed in a single century more 
 than a hundred and fifty times, and with a roughness 
 that is quite inconceivable to the modern mind. To 
 take a period of ten years for example : — 
 
 In 1303 the ratio was 10.26 
 
 „ I30S 
 
 15.90 
 
 „ 1308 
 
 14.46 
 
 ,, I3I0 , 
 
 15.64 
 
 „ 1311 .. 19-55 
 
 ,. I3I3 
 
 14-37 
 
32 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 France presents the utmost difficulty to the student 
 of metallic money during this earliest period, by 
 reason of these violent and arbitrary alterations of the 
 coinage. The extreme diversity of the coins, and the 
 perpetual changing of the composition or alloy, make 
 it almost impossible to estimate the fluctuations in 
 the value of money in relation to goods, or gold in 
 relation to silver. Apart from the international 
 struggle for the precious metals, France was torn and 
 ruined by the English invasions, and debasement 
 after debasement of the coinage was resorted to as a 
 means of raising money to continue the struggle. 
 Such debasements mark the reign of Philip le Bel, 
 1285-1314, and of each succeeding king, from his 
 days to the final ejection of the English invaders, and 
 after. A single instance will serve to show their 
 nature. In 1342 the mark of gold, which in a 
 normal time just preceding was valued at 41 livres 
 1 3 sols, was proclaimed equal to 117 livres, and in 
 1360 the mark of silver, valued normally at 5 livres, 
 rose to 102 livres. It stands to reason that such 
 abnormal movements must be neglected in any 
 attempt to determine the course of such fluctuations 
 in value of the metals, and the ratio of gold and silver, 
 as arose naturally from the metallic and currency 
 history of the time. Eliminating, therefore, this 
 element of forced and accidental debasements, due to 
 political circumstance, the natural history, if it may 
 be so styled, of the French coinage displays the 
 same tendency to an appreciation of money metal 
 
FRANCE 
 
 33 
 
 which marks the history of the other European 
 countries. 
 
 TABLE OF THE MOVEMENTS OF THE COINAGE OF 
 FRANCE, 1 300-1 500. 
 
 Date. 
 
 The Mark of Silver 
 coined into 
 
 The Mark of Gold 
 coined into 
 
 Livres 
 (Tournois). 
 
 Sols. 
 
 Livres 
 (Tournois). 
 
 Sols. 
 
 Deniers. 
 
 1309 
 (Philp le Bel.) 
 131S 
 1343 
 1350 
 1361 
 1381 
 1422 
 1427 
 1429 
 1446 
 1456 
 1473 
 1475 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 3 
 
 5 
 S 
 5 
 
 7 
 
 \ 
 10 
 10 
 
 19 
 
 14 
 4 
 5 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 10 
 10 
 
 
 
 44 
 
 45 
 43 
 S3 
 60 
 60 
 76 
 72 
 
 77 
 
 88 
 
 100 
 
 no 
 
 u8 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 18 
 
 
 10 
 
 5 
 
 
 10 
 2 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 In this table each of the points or dates taken 
 marks a period of return to good money after a 
 period of debasement, and in the mind of the 
 legislator such return to good money (monnaie 
 forte) can only be construed as based on an esti- 
 mated general or normal rate of monetary values, 
 for each particular succeeding point of time. At 
 every return to good money a proclamation was issued, 
 expressing the determination of the administration to 
 adhere to good money, as in the halcyon days of St. 
 Louis, etc. etc., and fixing the rate at which the 
 monies should be coined and current. By taking 
 3 
 
34 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 these points or dates of return to good money, 
 therefore, we eUminate the arbitrary action of the 
 Government in periods of debasement, and arrive at 
 a net resuh showing the natural movement of the 
 metals. 
 
 The general trend of the table — or of the metals 
 whose movements it portrays — is perceptible at a 
 glance, and will, moreover, be found exactly similar to 
 that of the cases of England and Germany below. 
 On account of the arbitrary debasements by the 
 Kings and of the numerous feudal coinages struck 
 independently by the bishop and subsidiary lords, 
 the question of the friction with which this process 
 of metallic appreciation worked itself out cannot 
 be so well illustrated in the case of France as 
 in that of England. But so much as this may be 
 briefly indicated. In 1294 the scarcity of silver 
 coinage was so great that a proclamation was put 
 forth ordering silver to be brought to the Mint, and 
 forbidding the export of the metals. In consequence 
 of the futility of this ordinance, a further proclamation 
 was issued in 1309, forbidding the circulation in 
 France of English silver sterlings and gold florins of 
 Florence, and crying down the exchange denomina- 
 tion of all other foreign coins. Similar proclama- 
 tions were issued again and again — notably in 1328. 
 But the complaints as to the depletion of the coin of 
 the realm became much more serious in France after 
 Edward iii. had instituted his gold coin in 1344. 
 There was henceforth a process of double friction — ( i ) 
 
ALTERATION IN SILVER RATE 35 
 
 as arising from the difference of the declared value of 
 the French King's coin, as compared with foreign 
 tariffs of coins ; (2) as arising from the difference 
 between the ratio of gold to silver in France and that 
 prevailing in other countries. 
 
 In 1336 Philippe de Valois had fixed the rate at 
 1:12, " the cause which moved us to this being that 
 so our people who were in great privations and straits 
 for money may more abundantly and quickly be filled 
 again with money new and current." This was re- 
 enacted in 1339, but proved quite inoperative to rule 
 the market rate, and in 1346 Philippe found himself 
 obliged to tolerate the advance which had been put 
 upon the good monies in the market, by allowing 
 provisionally the chaise d'or to be current for 30 sols 
 Tournois. Four years later the silver rate was 
 altered by a proclamation conceived in these terms : 
 "As the changers and merchants who are accustomed 
 to bring bullion to our Mint have ceased, and do daily 
 cease to do so, so that the working of our Mint is 
 greatly impeded, to the great prejudice of our people 
 if no remedy is applied, we therefore order that for 
 each mark of silver brought to the Mint there shall 
 be delivered out by the Mint another 8 sols Tournois 
 in addition to the 112 sols Tournois fixed by law." 
 The immediate consequence was a hoarding and 
 disappearance of the gold coins, and in the following 
 year, 1351, the tale of the denier d'or aux fleurs de lis 
 was altered from 50 to 54 to the mark. 
 
 There is here no question of an arbitrary debase- 
 
36 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 ment. It was simply an attempt to preserve the 
 currency from the action of a changing market ratio, 
 which led to the withdrawal now of the one, now of 
 the other coins, and to the circulation meanwhile of 
 foreign coins at a rate apparently disproportioned to 
 the metallic content. In 1361 evidence was given 
 before the Mint authorities that " in payments the 
 people do by abuse give foreign monies at a higher 
 rate than they are worth, viz. the moutons of Flanders 
 and Brabant at a higher rate than the franc d'or, of 
 which said moutons the best specimens are worth 18 
 denars less than the said franc d'or ; a silver piece 
 called chartain for 1 6 and even 1 8 denars, which is 
 worth no more than 10," and so on. Two years 
 later it was declared that the Mint at Tournay was on 
 the point of stopping work, " the people having been 
 accustomed for a long time to give a higher price for 
 the mark of gold than in the case of other monies of 
 this kingdom, and this by reason of the foreign 
 merchants." Towards the close of his reign 
 Charles v., finding his kingdom filled with depreciated 
 imported specie, while all the good native pieces had 
 been drawn out of the land, sought and obtained 
 from the Pope, 1372, a Bull of Excommunication 
 against neighbour powers who should counterfeit his 
 monies. It was not until 1391 that the proper 
 defensive measure of a change of ratio was resorted 
 to, and by that time the conditions of the Mint rates 
 in surrounding nations had so altered as to render 
 the change partially inoperative. In 1393, accordingly, 
 
ACTION OF THE STATES-GENERAL IN 1420 37 
 
 there was a great lack of the smaller silver coin, which 
 led to a proclamation by Charles vi. on the 2nd April 
 of that year for encouraging the minting of petiz 
 deniers Tournois. The same complaint was, how- 
 ever, re-echoed in 1395 and 1396, but, as it appears, 
 quite futilely, for nine years after another proclamation 
 had to be issued against the currency of foreign coins 
 of Scotland, Navarre, the Rhenish and Netherland 
 provinces, etc., " which have course in our kingdom 
 for a greater value than they are worth, by which 
 means our monies are arrested in their course and 
 greatly withdrawn ; the gold and silver deniers a 
 V^cu which we have minted having been melted 
 down." 
 
 When the States-General met at Paris in 1420 the 
 depreciated state of the coinage was laid before the 
 assembly as of prime concernment, and it was by its 
 advice that the proclamation of the following year 
 was issued fixing the dcu d'or at a tale of 66 to the 
 mark and of the gros d'argent at 86^, " it being 
 come to our knowledge that for some time past the 
 money in our kingdom is so diminished and enfeebled 
 that by this means the gold and silver which abounded 
 is in very great measure drawn away and transported, 
 and the traffic of strangers here almost ceased, and 
 all necessaries of life put at a great height," etc. 
 The result of this reformation of 142 1 was that during 
 some portion of the succeeding years of Charles vii.'s 
 reign silver came from all parts in great abundance, 
 although in 1436 complaints were again heard that 
 
38 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 money was not being coined and did not suffice for 
 the public needs. At this point, however, the com- 
 plaints apparently ceased, and it was not till twenty 
 years later that the step was again taken of decrying 
 and forbidding the circulation of foreign specie. 
 
 The ceasing of the disorders in the French money 
 is attributed to the expulsion of the English invaders, 
 but there can be little doubt that much more simple 
 and natural laws were at work. From the reign of 
 Louis XI. onwards these natural laws had freer play 
 as against the disturbing influence of mere arbitrary 
 debasements, and it is easier to analyse their in- 
 fluence. 
 
 From his accession in 1461 onwards the monetary 
 history of France displays many analogies with that 
 of the Netherlands (see Chapter II.). Thus in 1470, 
 finding the market rate of foreign coins driven above 
 the home Mint rate by the licence of the people 
 {i.e. by normal market action), Louis issued a tariff to 
 regulate the exchange rate in which the prevailing- 
 prices of the foreign specie were tolerated as an 
 interim for a period of three months. At the end of 
 that time it was manifestly impossible to secure a 
 permanent reduction, and in order to prevent the 
 transport of specie it was found necessary, 4th Janu- 
 ary 1473, to raise the value of the home coin both 
 gold and silver (see account of French monies in 
 Appendix No. VI.). Still the export continued, and 
 in 1475 the process of enhancement had to be 
 repeated as a measure of defence for the gold specie. 
 
FRANCE IN 1488 39 
 
 9 
 
 Thirteen years later similar precautions were taken 
 for the silver specie by Charles viii.'s proclamation of 
 24th April 1488. 
 
 This is the last defensive measure of the first 
 period of the monetary history of France, and no 
 further act is on record previous to the great change 
 in the relative values of the precious metals which 
 ensued upon the discovery of the New World. 
 
 [Table. 
 
THE RATIO BETWEEN GOLD AND SILVER IN EUROPE, 1300-1500. 
 
 
 
 Italy. 
 
 
 <i3 
 
 q 
 
 Germany. 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 Date. 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 c 
 
 
 Spain. 
 
 § 
 
 Date. 
 
 Florence. 
 
 Venice. 
 
 Milan. 
 
 A. 
 
 B. 
 
 1252 
 
 10.75 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1252 
 
 "257 
 
 
 
 
 
 9.29 
 
 
 
 
 
 1257 
 
 1284 
 
 
 10.84 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1284 
 
 1296 
 
 1 1. 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1296 
 
 1303 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12.1 
 
 1303 
 
 1305 
 
 10.88 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I3°5 
 
 1308 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1308 
 
 131S 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1315 
 
 1324 
 
 13.62 
 
 13-99 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1324 
 
 1338 
 
 
 
 
 12.61 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1338 
 
 1343 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1343 
 
 1344 
 
 
 
 
 
 12.59 
 
 
 
 
 
 1344 
 
 1344 
 
 
 
 
 
 11.04 
 
 
 
 
 
 1344 
 
 1345 
 
 11.04 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 134s 
 
 1346 
 
 
 
 
 II. 11 
 
 xi-57 
 
 11-33 
 
 
 
 
 1346 
 
 1347 
 
 10.91 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1347 
 
 1348 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ■• 
 
 
 
 12. 1 
 
 1348 
 
 1350 
 
 
 14.44 
 
 10.59 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1350 
 
 1351 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12.3 
 (Liibeck) 
 
 
 
 1351 
 
 "353 
 
 
 
 
 
 11.15 
 
 
 
 
 
 1353 
 
 1361 
 
 
 
 
 X2.0 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1361 
 
 13SS 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 "•37 
 
 
 
 
 1365 
 
 1375 
 
 10.77 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12.4 
 {Lubeck) 
 
 
 
 1375 
 
 1379 
 
 
 13.17 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1379 
 
 1380 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1380 
 
 1386 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 10.76 
 (Rhine Provinces) 
 
 
 
 1386 
 
 1391 
 
 
 
 
 10.74 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1391 
 
 1399 
 
 
 11.69 
 
 
 
 
 
 II. 16 
 (Rhine Provinces) 
 
 
 
 1399 
 
 1400 
 
 
 
 11.630 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1400 
 
 1402 
 
 10.58 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1402 
 
 1406 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 . 10.66 
 (Rhine Provinces) 
 
 
 
 1406 
 
 1411 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12.0 
 (Liibeck) 
 
 
 
 1411 
 
 1412 
 
 
 
 
 
 IO-33 
 
 
 
 
 
 1412 
 
 1417 
 
 
 12.56 
 
 
 10.67 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1417 
 
 1421 
 
 
 
 
 10.29 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1421 
 
 1422 
 
 10.16 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1422 
 
 1427 
 
 
 
 
 9.00 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1427 
 
 1429 
 
 
 11.04 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1429 
 
 1432 
 
 
 
 
 10.87 
 
 
 
 
 5.822 
 
 
 1432 
 
 1435 
 
 
 
 
 12.32 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1435 
 
 1441 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 11.12 
 
 
 
 
 1441 
 
 1443 
 
 
 12.1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1443 
 
 1446 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1446 
 
 1447 
 
 
 
 
 11.44 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1447 
 
 1450 
 
 
 
 10.965 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1450 
 
 I4SS 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12.2 
 (Lifbeck) 
 
 
 
 1455 
 
 1456 
 
 
 
 
 11.77 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1456 
 
 1460 
 
 9-33 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1460 
 
 1462 
 
 9-37 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1462 
 
 1464 
 
 11.42 
 
 
 
 
 II. 15 
 
 
 
 9.824 
 
 
 1464 
 
 1471 
 
 10.58 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1471 
 
 1472 
 
 
 11.13 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1472 
 
 1474 
 
 
 10.97 
 
 
 11.00 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1474 
 
 147s 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 10.41* 
 
 
 1475 
 
 1480 
 
 10.83 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 10.87 
 
 
 1480 
 
 '■•«l 
 
 10.46 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1485 
 
 i486 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 10.98 
 
 
 i486 
 
 1488 
 
 
 
 
 11.83 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1488 
 
 149s 
 
 10.46 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 149s 
 
 1497 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 10.01 
 
 
 "497 
 
 1500 
 
 
 
 10.97s 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1500 
 
 1506 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 10.262 
 
 
 1506 
 
 Germany— .nl , as determined by the purchase prices of the two metals in the Lubeck Mint. 
 £, as determined by the Mint ordinances. 
 
england: coinage of 1344 41 
 
 England. 
 
 Even before the adoption of a gold coinage by- 
 Edward III., England had felt the effect of loss by- 
 exchange, owing to the introduction of gold florins by 
 means of the Flemish trade. In the Parliament of 
 1339, at Westminster, complaint was made of the 
 want of coinage. It was proposed as a remedy — (i) 
 that every merchant should bring in 40s. or more for 
 every sack of wool that he should import, and (2) that 
 it should be considered by the King and his council 
 whether it might not be advantageous to permit 
 florins de dcu (of France), and florins of Florence 
 (i.e. gold), and other good florins to be current with 
 the esterlings (i.e. the silver penny), "but only 
 esterlings to be compulsory for under 40s. value." 
 In less than four years good money was being carried 
 out of the realm, and false money brought in at such a 
 rate that Parliament was seriously perplexed. In its 
 debate on the matter at Westminster, 1 343, the result 
 is thus stated: "All orders of persons in the realm 
 had loss for a long time, on account of the florins 
 which were delivered in payment in Flanders, bearing 
 so high a value there as to occasion a loss of one-third 
 on all merchandise imported thence." Certain gold- 
 smiths of London were therefore ordered to be called 
 in to advise and to refine one or two of each kind of 
 florin, so as to rate the fine gold in them according to 
 the true value. And it was proposed that of this 
 fine gold one kind of money should be made in 
 
42 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 England and Flanders, provided the Flemings were 
 willing, to be current in both countries at such an alloy 
 and value as should be determined by the King and 
 Council, and all other gold money to be taken at 
 bullion value, and all silver money to be reckoned 
 thereby ("other sufficient money to be received 
 according to the value of the fine gold "). 
 
 The result was the first practical issue of English 
 gold. In 1344 an indenture was made between the 
 King on the one part and George Kirkyn and Lotte 
 Nicholyn of Florence, goldmasters and workers, on 
 the other, for the coining of three monies of gold, one 
 to be current at 6s., and to be equal in weight to 2 
 petits florins of Florence of good weight, 50 of these 
 being coined out of the pound Tower of London. 
 
 In this indenture Edward copied the ratio pre- 
 vailing in the French kingdom, viz. that of 12.61 to i 
 between gold and silver. That ratio was considerably 
 too high, and he quickly experienced the same effects 
 which were felt by the French King from it. During 
 his reign (1327-50) Philip of Valois coined more 
 species of new money than all his predecessors put 
 together, but owing to the adoption of this too high 
 a ratio the country was gradually depleted of good 
 money. In order to induce people to bring bullion to 
 the Mint he offered to coin free of cost, but found 
 nothing of avail until he followed the example of 
 England and altered the ratio. 
 
 In our own country the same truth had been quickly 
 grasped. It was found that the new gold money was 
 
GOLD NOBLES COINED 43 
 
 rated too high, i.e. overvalued in relation to silver, 
 and was therefore refused. By a proclamation of the 
 same year, therefore, 9th July, it was withdrawn and 
 ordered to be taken only as bullion, and a new 
 indenture was made for the coining of gold nobles-^ 
 39J out of the pound Tower, and at the value of 
 6s. 8d. The nobles were at once made current and 
 tenderable along with silver, by proclamation ; gold 
 being ordered to be received in payment of 20s. and 
 upwards. 
 
 By this indenture the ratio was at once dropped 
 from 12.59 : I to 11.04: i. This attempt to determine 
 the rate of exchange is a common feature in the 
 legislation of France and Spain as well as of England. 
 It stands to sense, and is apparent on every page of 
 the monetary history of the period, that it was 
 absolutely imperative. The friction which accom- 
 panied the process can now only faintly be imagined, 
 but that is a secondary consideration. The essential 
 point was, that such changes were normal and inevit- 
 able, forced by sheer necessity upon Governments, 
 such an one even as our own, which has always been 
 most jealously conservative in matters of coinage. 
 
44 
 
 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 TABLE OF THE VARIATIONS OF THE GOLD AND SILVER 
 COINS OF ENGLAND, 1300-1500. 
 
 Silver. 
 
 Gold. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Weight of 
 
 the Silver 
 
 Penny in 
 
 Troy Grains. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Coin. 
 
 Weight 
 
 in 
 Grains. 
 
 Value 
 Declared. 
 
 Price in Pence 
 
 per 
 Grain of Gold. 
 
 1300 
 1344 
 1346 
 1351 
 1412 
 1464 
 
 22 
 20J 
 20 
 18 
 
 IS 
 12 
 
 1344 
 1344 
 1346 
 1353 
 1414 
 1460 
 1470 
 
 Florin 
 Noble 
 
 Angel 
 
 108 
 
 138A 
 
 I28f 
 
 120 
 
 108 
 
 120 
 
 80 
 
 s. d. 
 6 
 6 8 
 6 8 
 6 8 
 6 8 
 8 4 
 6 8 
 
 0.6666 
 O.S777 
 0.6222 
 0.6666 
 0.7407 
 0.7500 
 I.oooo 
 
 In the first issue of Edward iil the Troy grain of 
 gold had been valued at .6666 of a penny. At such 
 rate it was overvalued and refused, and in the second 
 issue of the same year the value was dropped to .5777 
 of a penny. Gradually, as the ratio on the Continent 
 changed, and came to bear on the English rate, this 
 was in its turn found an under-valuation, and only two 
 years later, 1346, the value was raised to .6222, 
 making a ratio of 11. 57 to i. The change was made 
 in consequence of loud and serious complaints of the 
 scarcity of coin, good money being carried out and 
 false " Lusshebournes " (Luxembourgs), worth only 8s. 
 in the pound, being brought in. The grievance was so 
 great that Parliament petitioned Edward most urgently 
 to interfere, instancing in special the Lombards, 
 
o 
 o 
 
 C3 
 (L3 
 
 LU 
 
 CO 
 o 
 
 CO 
 
 LU 
 
 >- 
 CD 
 
 5^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,._- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 — 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 f ^^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 :> t 
 
 s 
 
 5 
 
 S 
 
 g S 
 
 5 18 S 
 
 S! 5 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 g 
 ^ 
 
 I 
 
 ■|CS 
 
 
EDWARD III.'S CHANGES OF RATIO 45 
 
 "that they purchased English florins at a lower rate 
 than that which was appointed," and praying "that 
 such persons should not buy or sell the said money, nor 
 make any agreement, in the sale of their merchandise, 
 what money they would receive in rejection of English 
 money." To this it was answered, that it should be com- 
 manded throughout England that all persons should 
 receive for their merchandise gold, according to the 
 currency ordained, without any agreement to be made, 
 under pain of imprisonment and heavy ransom, and 
 when any agreement had been made it should be at 
 the will of the purchaser to pay money of gold or 
 silver as he should think fit. At the same time, an 
 ordinance was issued forbidding any person to carry 
 out the King's good money or to bring in counterfeit. 
 The effect of Edward's change of ratio — from 
 12.59 (the same as the French rate) in 1344 to 11.04 
 in 1346 — told immediately on the French currency, 
 and at the first return to good money in the first year 
 of King John (1350-64) the ratio in that country was 
 changed at a stroke from 12.61 to 11. 11. This in its 
 turn acted upon precious metals in England, and for 
 three years the English King found himself futilely 
 struggling against an outflow of silver, by such 
 measures as the hanging and drawing of merchants, 
 before he discovered that it was due to an over- 
 valuation of gold. In 1353, accordingly, he lowered 
 the weight of the gold nobles from i2 8f grs. to 120. 
 At the same time, the contents of the silver penny 
 were reduced in a greater proportion (from 20 grs. 
 
46 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 to 1 8). By this means the ratio of 11.04, which 
 had prevailed since 1346, was lowered to 11. 15. 
 
 That this ratio achieved its purpose, as far as 
 England was concerned, is apparent from the simple 
 fact that it remained unaltered for over sixty years 
 until 1414 ; that it acted adversely upon and drained 
 France of her gold is apparent from the change of the 
 ratio there at her first immediately succeeding return 
 to good money. Two periods of debasement had 
 marked the short reign of John of France (1350-64), 
 and the effect of these and of the influence of the 
 English ratio was such that in 1360 there was no 
 gold in his kingdom. Towards the end of that year, 
 and in the beginning of 1361, John promulgated a 
 reformation of the coinage — a return to good or 
 "forte" money, and in this reformation he adopted a 
 ratio which would act on the English stock of precious 
 metals. 
 
 In England, Edward's action in 1353 in lowering 
 the contents of both silver and gold coins, and alter- 
 ing the ratio, had given rise to great discontent, to 
 an extent which proved how wiser and truer to the 
 nation's interest was the King than his people. This 
 diminution of the value of these coins, says the 
 Chronicle, made all things dearer, so that the work- 
 men and servants became assuming and demanded 
 greater wages. 
 
 There is as little foundation for such an innuendo 
 as there is for the view which regards this deprecia- 
 tion as an issue of base money. It was simply a 
 
ENLAND AND FRANCE IN 1360 47 
 
 measure of precaution, as stopping an invisible and 
 insidious outflow of the currency. 
 
 Looked at historically, and not at all controver- 
 sially, such results as, have been just described can 
 only be attributed to the European monetary system 
 of the time. Apart altogether from the arbitrary 
 debasement of the coin, as, e.g., in France — apart 
 even from changes of the ratio enacted with the mere 
 crafty design of inducing a flow of gold, the monetary 
 system of the time was so rough, so unscientific ; the 
 tariffing of the coins of different nations against each 
 other was so inexact, so much a matter of rule-of- 
 thumb, of hasty average, that it was simply impossible 
 to issue such general tables of equivalents of coins 
 and such a ratio as would have given stability to the 
 various coinages of Europe. If the currency system 
 of England had been of silver alone, a single enact- 
 ment lessening the content of the unit coin, or crying 
 up its denomination, would have stopped any outflow 
 caused by under-valuation as compared with foreign 
 money value. The same if it had been only gold. 
 But being combined of the two, being, as it was, both 
 gold and silver, it was necessary, in the case of such 
 outflow, not merely to call down one or both of them 
 below the value of foreign gold or silver, but also 
 and at the same to establish such a ratio between 
 the two metals for internal circulation as would give 
 no advantage to exchangers acquainted with a dif- 
 ferent ratio prevailing in some particular part of the 
 Continent. And just the same for the other European 
 
48 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 money systems. If, for instance, the English sterHng 
 had been called down to a value which would of itself 
 have forbidden export to the Continent, but at the 
 same time such a ratio had been left standing between 
 these sterlings and the gold nobles (say 12 : i) as 
 was so far in excess of the ratio prevailing in some 
 parts of Europe (say 11 : i) as to overlap the amount 
 by which the sterling had been called down, then the 
 result could, and doubtless would, be an outflow of 
 silver, in face and spite of the apparent higher tariff 
 of the English sterling, as against the continental 
 silver coins. This is the historic, patent, undeniable 
 defect and weakness in the bimetallic system of the 
 Europe of that day. It must be borne well in mind 
 how different the problem then was from that which 
 now besets the monetary world. To-day the flow 
 of the precious metals is natural, the indicator, facili- 
 tator, and safety-valve of international trade. Such 
 a conception was an utter impossibility to the four- 
 teenth century. The rulers of that age had only one 
 idea,* the maintenance or increase of the treasure of 
 the realm, first for military purposes, and then for 
 trade ; and their mental horizon was limited by the 
 boundaries of each their little dominion. They could 
 not grasp the idea of Europe as a monetary whole, 
 each fought for his own head or land, and each found 
 a ready weapon to hand in the monetary confusion of 
 the time. In any system so rough and so non-uniform 
 as that of Europe in the fourteenth century, any varia- 
 tion of one metal served as a vantage-point against 
 
ENGLAND IN 1378 49 
 
 the Other, as a lever to press upon and force it out. 
 One metal would have been safe (so long as no par- 
 tial depreciation was allowed), two metals served 
 simply as fulcra to each other's oscillations, to the 
 undoing of both. The mediaeval legislator could not 
 grasp that there was a double train of principle and 
 event transafcting itself under his very eyes — the one, 
 changes of denomination of coins ; the other, changes 
 of ratio. In less than thirty years after Edward iii. 
 had cried down the English coins to below the com- 
 peting denominations of the Continent, the changes 
 of the European ratio had produced their effect, and 
 Richard 11. found the realm denuded of its treasure 
 and currency. 
 
 From 1360 the ratio on the Continent gradually 
 sank from 12 : i till towards the end of the first 
 quarter of the fifth century, when it stood in France 
 as low as 9 : I. 
 
 That France experienced the process, which must 
 have been perfectly natural and due simply to rela- 
 tively diminishing production of silver in those years, 
 1360-1425, is seen in her alteration of the ratio from 
 12 to 10.74 ii^ 1380 and to 10.29 ii^ 1422. 
 
 In England the same train of events made itself 
 felt at almost the same moment. In 1378 great com- 
 plaints were made of the export of gold and silver, 
 and of the enfeebled state of the money which remained 
 in the realm, "so that if a remedy be not speedily 
 applied, the King will receive no more than 4s. where 
 he should receive 5s." 
 
 4 
 
50 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 Three years later — one year after the French King 
 had lowered his ratio from 12. i to 10.74 — the Com- 
 mons presented a petition to the King during the 
 sitting of Parliament, 1381, complaining of the 
 wretched want of the kingdom, which was devoid of 
 treasure, monies of gold and silver being carried out 
 of the realm, and those remaining being clipped to 
 one-third their nominal value. No money at all was 
 being minted in the Tower, and a heavy export of 
 our metals to Scotland and Ireland was taking place. 
 Simultaneously the officers of the Mint presented a 
 petition to the King and his Council in Parliament, 
 complaining that no money was being coined. The 
 causes of this, in their opinion, were — 
 
 1. That the monies of gold and silver beyond the 
 seas were more feeble than the monies of England, 
 on which account the merchants could not bring 
 bullion into England for their profit nor for the King's 
 advantage. But if any manner of bullion of gold were 
 brought into the kingdom, by persons travelling, it was 
 sold to those who conveyed it out of England, to their 
 great gain and to the injury of the whole realm. 
 
 2. That the silver of England which \i.e. when it] 
 was found to be good and heavy, was taken into Scot- 
 land, because the money of that country was so light. 
 
 3. That the gold of England being so good and 
 heavy, and that beyond sea so light, the nobles which 
 came from Calais were gone into Flanders, and the 
 English nobles were carried beyond the sea, to the 
 great profit of those who exported them, etc. etc. 
 
THE MONETARY INQUIRY OF 1381 51 
 
 4. That the money of gold and silver of England 
 was commonly clipped, so that they who thought they 
 should have ^100 would have no more than £<^o, 
 unless a remedy were speedily applied. 
 
 The officers of the Mint were accordingly ordered 
 to be called before the Lords of the Parliament for 
 examination, and they were succeeded by others, 
 private persons but mostly goldsmiths, who were 
 called upon as experts. In the case of these latter 
 the various statements of opinion are preserved for 
 us in the Rolls of Parliament, and they possess ■ a 
 peculiar interest. 
 
 Richard Leye thought that the reason why no 
 gold or silver was brought into England, but, on 
 the contrary, that which had been in the kingdom 
 was exported, was this, that the realm expended too 
 much on merchandise, such as grocery, mercery, furs, 
 etc. He therefore proposed that every merchant who 
 imported goods into England should export an equal 
 quantity of the produce of the realm, and that no one 
 should take out gold or silver, contrary to the statutes. 
 
 As to the gold not agreeing with the silver (which 
 was Article IV. of the inquiry), he thought that could 
 not be remedied, unless the money were changed, and 
 to change it in any manner would be productive of 
 universal injury to Lords, Commons, etc. 
 
 To Article V. he advised that, whereas new money 
 had been made in Flanders and in Scotland, procla- 
 mation be made that all manner of coins of Flanders, 
 Scotland, and of all other places beyond the seas. 
 
52 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 should be no longer current in England, and that no 
 one should receive them in payment except as bullion 
 to be carried to the King's Mint. 
 
 Lincoln, a goldsmith, gave his opinion similarly 
 against the permission to export gold and silver, and 
 proposed that the gold noble should remain of the 
 same weight as it had been, but at a greater value. 
 
 To the First Article Cranten said, that no more in 
 value of foreign merchandise should be consumed 
 within the realm than should be exported of commo- 
 dities, the growth of England ; and then, whether the 
 money were enhanced or debased, it would hereafter 
 remain within the realm. Also, that exchanges or 
 other payments by letters should not be made out of 
 Flanders, or other parts beyond the seas, to pay in 
 England for any merchandise. 
 
 John Hoo advised a proclamation against the 
 carrying out of gold or silver, and that the money 
 should be received by weight. 
 
 The statement of opinion of the succeeding and 
 last witness is extremely valuable and interesting. 
 Richard Aylesbury opined that, provided the mer- 
 chandise exported from England was properly regu- 
 lated, — that is, if no more of foreign commodities 
 were allowed to be imported than the value of the 
 native products which should be taken out, — the 
 money then in England would remain, and great 
 plenty would come from beyond the seas. 
 
 He also conceived it to be expedient that the 
 Pope's collector [of Peter's Pence] should be an 
 
THE MONETARY INQUIRY OF 1381 53 
 
 Englishman, and that the Pope's money should be 
 sent to him in merchandise and not in coin, and that 
 the journeys of clerks should be entirely forbidden, on 
 pain, etc. 
 
 For the feebleness of the gold, which was occa- 
 sioned by clipping, he conceived there was no other 
 remedy but that it should be universally weighed by 
 those who received it, and that the proclamation 
 should be made accordingly. 
 
 The agreement of the gold with the silver he 
 believed could not be effected unless the money were 
 changed, but that he dared not to propose on account of 
 the general damage which would ensue. 
 
 On account of the new money which had been 
 made in Flanders and Scotland, he advised that all 
 Scottish monies should be forbidden by proclamation, 
 and also all other monies from beyond the sea, so that 
 they should have no currency in England ; and that 
 no one should take them in payment, except at their 
 value as bullion and for the King's coinage ; that no 
 one should export gold or silver, according to the 
 statute in tha,t case made, etc. 
 
 And, further, he suggested, by way of informa- 
 tion, that the pound of gold which was there made 
 into the sum of 45 nobles (but which pound, by 
 reason of clipping and otherwise' impairing, was 
 then valued at \i\ nobles) should be made into 48 
 nobles, to be current at the same value as before. 
 
 This last proposition would have reduced the 
 ratio to a fraction over 1 1 : i — something higher 
 
54 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 than the ratio prevalent in France. Instead of 
 acting on evidence such as this, however, and so 
 changing the ratio, Richard's Government contented 
 itself with the perfectly useless prohibition of export 
 of gold or silver (statute 5 Rich. 11. cap. i). Four 
 years later, accordingly, the matter was again pressed 
 upon the attention of Parliament, and even by the 
 Chancellor of the realm, Michael de la Pole himself, 
 in his opening speech. The English money, he 
 said, was in greater estimation and of higher value in 
 all other places than in England. It was therefore 
 sought out and craftily withdrawn, and the chief or 
 greatest remedy was to increase the value or price of 
 the said money. 
 
 In spite of such recommendation as this the 
 measure was not adopted, and Richard fell back on 
 his previous expedients, crying down by proclama- 
 tion the value of the Scotch coins, 1387, and of the 
 gold coins of Flanders and Brabant, 1393, and 
 ordaining by enactment that exporters of goods 
 should bring in i oz. of gold for every sack of wool 
 which they sold. 
 
 Such an ordinance as this last is of the commonest 
 and most frequent occurrence in the enactments of 
 fifteenth-century England, but always unworkable as 
 warring against the most elementary principles of 
 international trade. 
 
 On his accession, therefore, Henry iv. found 
 himself heir to an accumulation of monetary evil, 
 through the impolicy and want of courage of Richard. 
 
THE RE COINAGE OF X414 55 
 
 He was obliged, at the request of the mayors and 
 merchants of the staple of Calais, to abolish the last 
 unworkable ordinance just referred to, and attempted 
 at the same time to provide a positive remedy by 
 reviving a proclamation against the currency of silver 
 halfpennies brought from Venice, of which three or 
 four only were equal to one sterling in value. In 
 1 40 1 the Commons complained in Parliament that 
 nobles of Flanders were so common in England that 
 a man could not receive a sum of 100 shillings 
 without taking three or four such nobles, each of 
 them more feeble than the English noble by two- 
 pence. 
 
 A statute was accordingly passed, enacting that all 
 money of gold and silver of the coin of Flanders and 
 all other lands, and of Scotland, should be voided out 
 of the land, or put to coin to the bullion. 
 
 It was all in vain. Two years later, 1403, the 
 Commons again complained of the depletion of gold, 
 and again a statute was passed, and so on. This 
 futile process actually reproduces itself yearly up to 
 141 1, when at last the question of a recoinage was 
 fairly faced. By the ordinance for, and regulation of, 
 the money of the realm, of that year, it was provided 
 that, " because of the great scarcity of money at the 
 time," the Master of the Mint should make of every 
 pound of gold 50 nobles, and of silver 30 shillings of 
 esterlings of old alloy. 
 
 This recoinage was carried out and finished in 
 the third year of Henry v., 1414. Under it the 
 
56 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 contents of the silver penny sank from i8 to 15 grs., 
 and of the gold noble from 120 to 108 grs., the 
 consequent change in the ratio being from 11.15, 
 which had prevailed since 1353 to 10.33. 
 
 At this latter rate the monetary system of Eng- 
 land remained for almost fifty years, viz. up to 1460. 
 But, though the rate endured so long, it is not for 
 a moment to be supposed that the ensuing period was 
 one of repose. Within eight years of the accomplish- 
 ment of the reform in the English coinage, the ratio 
 in France was lowered to a point somewhat below the 
 established rate in England, and with considerable - 
 variation remained lower through all the years In 
 question, 14 14-1460. In 142 1 it was changed to 
 10.29, in 1427 to 9, in 1432 to 10.87, ^.nd in 1447 
 to 11.44. 
 
 The effect on England, as recorded in the com- 
 . plaints in Parliament, was almost parallel with that in 
 the days of Richard. In 14 14 complaints were made 
 against the circulation of galley halfpence by the 
 merchants of Venice. Three years later proclama- 
 tion was made against the circulation of the gold 
 monies of Flanders, called Burgundy nobles, which 
 were of less value than the English nobles. In 1419 
 it was found that money was being exported "more 
 largely, and in many other manners, than had been 
 accustomed, to the great mischief and impoverish- 
 ment of the whole realm." And in the following 
 year the usual statute was enacted, on the petition 
 of the Commons, commanding foreign money to 
 
THE MONETARY TROUBLES OF HENRY VI 57 
 
 be taken as bullion. Again, two years later, 1422, 
 the enfeebled and depreciated state of the coinage 
 was so apparent that the collectors of the subsidy 
 granted in that year by Parliament were instructed 
 to accept nobles as of the denominational value of 
 6s. 8d. {i.e. the full value), "provided they stretched 
 verily to the value of 55. 8d. by weight." At 
 the same time silver money was so scarce that 
 "though \i.e. even if] a noble were so good of gold 
 and weight as 6s. 8d., yet men could get no white 
 money for it." In 1423 the Commons complained of 
 the want of silver coins in the realni, " to the great 
 unease and harm of the poorer people of this land," 
 " because [says the statute, which was accordingly 
 enacted], that silver is bought and sold uncoined at 
 32s. the pound of Troy, whereas the same pound is 
 no more of value at the coin than 32s., with an 
 abatement of 12 dens, for the coinage." 
 
 From the twenty-fourth chapter of the statute of 
 1429 it appears, quite consonantly, "that the mer- 
 chant aliens had of late introduced a custom of 
 refusing to take silver, as they were wont, for their 
 merchandises, and of taking only gold nobles, half- 
 nobles, and farthings, which, from time to time, they 
 carried out of the realm into other foreign countries, 
 where they were changed to their increase and forged 
 into other coins, so that they gained in the alloy of 
 every noble twenty pence, against the tenor of the 
 statutes, etc., and to the prejudice of the King and 
 realm. Therefore the King, willing to provide a 
 
58 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 remedy, ordained that no merchant aHen should 
 constrain nor bind any of his liege people by promise 
 covenant or liege, to make him payment in gold for 
 any manner of debt due to him, nor refuse to receive 
 payment in silver for any manner of such duty or 
 debt, upon the pain of the double value of the same." 
 
 In 1439 provision was again ordered to prevent' 
 exportation of money by merchant aliens. It was 
 renewed in 1448, and five years later the Commons 
 petitioned that the silver mines of Devon and Corn- 
 wall, which had not been worked for a long time, 
 might be again opened, on account of the great 
 scarcity of money. 
 
 The confusion of the Wars of the Roses, however, 
 renders it slightly problematical how far the two 
 successive lowerings of the coinage, which took place 
 in 1460 and 1465 or 1470, are to be attributed to 
 arbitrary action or to a natural process. By the re- 
 coinage of 1460 the noble was increased in weight 
 from 108 grs. to 120 grs., and the value from 6s. 8d. 
 to 8s. 4d., being a real appreciation of the grain of 
 gold from .7407 to .7500 of a penny. At approxi- 
 mately the same date, 1464, the weight of the silver 
 penny was lowered from 15 to 12 grs. In the 
 succeeding recoinage of 1465 and 1470 these rates 
 were again altered. A new gold coin, the angel, was 
 instituted, weighing 80 grs., and valued at 6s. 8d., 
 while the weight of the silver penny was left un- 
 altered. The ratio was accordingly changed to 1 1.15. 
 
 This was the last change of the coinage made in 
 
CONCLUSION OF THE FIRST PERIOD 59 
 
 England before the era of the discovery of America. 
 The internal effects which the changes had on the 
 commerce of the time are hidden from us by the 
 disturbing influences of the Wars of the Roses. 
 
 But it is, probably, in connection with this 
 change of the English ratio — or with some wider, 
 general movement, acting on both countries alike — 
 that the last monetary ordinances of Louis xi. of 
 France, referred to above, are to be understood. 
 
 These acts of conflicting policies mark the con- 
 clusion of the first period of European metallic mone- 
 tary history, for no further changes were enacted 
 previous to the close of the century and the discovery 
 of America. As far as England was concerned, the 
 monetary system remained comparatively unchanged 
 till the days of Henry vii. 
 
 On a review of the whole period two simple facts 
 emerge with unmistakable plainness and import. 
 
 1. It was a period in which the commercial 
 expanse outstripped the reinforcing supply of the 
 precious metals, and therefore in which a real decline 
 of prices ^ prevails. 
 
 2. The evil effects of such decline were enormously 
 increased by shortsighted, crafty manipulation of the 
 currency by the European rulers, and by the rough, 
 unscientific system of the prevailing coinage and 
 exchange rates, and by the inability of the age to 
 
 ^ By prices here, and subsequently throughout this volume, is meant the 
 price or tariff and Mint rate of the coins. There is no reference whatever to 
 general prices. 
 
6o THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 understand, or even to perceive, the hidden working 
 of two metals see-sawing against each other — acting 
 as levers against each other — cutting each other's 
 throats. The discovery of America corrected the fall 
 of prices and saved Europe, but it left her rulers as 
 deadly ignorant as before of the workings of bimetal- 
 lism — to give a name to what they had not even 
 perceived as a phenomenon, much less as a system. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 From the Discovery of America to the end 
 OF THE First Cycle of the Influence of 
 THE Metals of the New World on European 
 Currencies, 1493- 1660 
 
 The last decade of the fifteenth century witnessed 
 the discovery of America, and therein the monetary 
 salvation and resurrection of the Old World. The end 
 of the second quarter of the seventeenth century in 
 its turn witnessed the end of the first phase, and the 
 most important, of the New World upon the destinies 
 of Europe. Practically and historically the century 
 and a half intervening between 1493 and 1660 may 
 be treated as a single cycle with a single aspect. It 
 was a time of unexampled increase in the imports 
 of the precious metals, of equally unexampled rise 
 of prices, and at the same time of feverish insta- 
 bility and want of equilibrium in the monetary 
 systems of Europe. Two general statements may 
 be premised. 
 
 I. Broadly speaking — of prices, i.e. — no move- 
 ment of any note is perceptible, or records itself in 
 legislative enactment until about 1520, so gradual 
 
62 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 and at first unimportant was the flow of metal from 
 America. What did come at first was not silver so 
 much as gold, and represents the puny and blood- 
 stained plunder of ornaments from the natives. If 
 this import tended to turn the balance in any way, 
 it was in the direction of depreciation of gold as 
 compared with silver. But during this first quarter 
 of the sixteenth century, possibly more influence on 
 the maintaining of equilibrium is to be attributed to 
 the largely increased home production of silver. The 
 silver mining in the Saxon Harz, in Bohemia, and 
 the Tyrol, had received a strong impulse towards 
 the close of the fifteenth century, while gold was 
 obtained during the same period in appreciably greater 
 quantities in the archbishopric of Salzburg, and in 
 Hungary, as well as from Africa. 
 
 2. In this second period of European bimetallic 
 history, the centre of European monetary exchanges 
 passes from Italy to the Netherlands. Antwerp 
 takes the place of Venice and Florence. There is a 
 double and deep significance in the fact. It is not 
 merely that the trade route had changed in such a 
 way as to lay the fou'ndation for that development of 
 European commerce, of which England is the highest 
 expression in our own days ; it is that by the change 
 was provided a more effective safeguard against 
 precipitate and overwhelming depreciation. The 
 centre of European exchanges — Antwerp in the 
 sixteenth, as London to-day — has always performed 
 one supremest function — that of regulating the flow 
 
GENERAL STATEMENT 63 
 
 of metals from the New World by means of exporting 
 the overplus to the East. The drain of silver to 
 the East, discernible from the very birth of European 
 commerce, has been the salvation of Europe, and in 
 providing for it Antwerp acted as the safety-valve 
 of the sixteenth - century system, as London has 
 done since. The importance of the change of the 
 centre of gravity and exchange from Venice to 
 Antwerp lies therefore in this fact. Under the old 
 system of overland and limited trade, Venice could 
 only provide for such puny exchange and flow as 
 the mediaeval system of Europe demanded. She 
 would have been unable to cope with such a flood of 
 inflowing metal as the sixteenth century witnessed, 
 and Europe would have been overwhelmed. But 
 the foundations of the commerce of the Netherlands 
 were laid wider. Together with Portugal she opened 
 an extensive empire along the coasts of Africa and 
 in the Indian East ; and the very time which gave 
 birth to the revolution in the production of the 
 precious metals in America saw provision made for 
 the regulation of its outflow through the commerce 
 and exchanges of Antwerp to India. In the modern 
 system this would be a theoretically perfect world- 
 mechanism, and its working would be normal and 
 healthy, and the safest indicator of commerce. That 
 it was not so to seventeenth-century Europe was 
 simply due to the existence of a disordered, un- 
 derstood bimetallic system, and the crisis to which 
 the working of this mechanism brought her has 
 
64 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 perhaps not been since equalled at any point of 
 time. 
 
 The underlying causes of this crisis have been 
 already described. The currencies of the trading 
 nations of Europe were all unconsciously bimetallic. 
 Throughout, there was in existence one class who 
 grasped the fact without any knowledge of the 
 theory, and profited by it — the merchant exchangers. 
 There was constant oscillation — change of ratio, and 
 the least alteration of the condition of one metal 
 made it a lever for operations upon the other. These 
 operations were arbitrage merely. They had no 
 relation to the ebb and flow of commerce as modern 
 arbitrage transactions have. It was a financier's 
 opportunity of private gain, and for private gain the 
 system was worked. The ebb and flow of European 
 currencies, which the sixteenth and seventeenth cen- 
 turies witnessed, were as unnecessary {i.e. for the 
 purposes of her commerce) as they were disastrous. 
 
 It is sufficient to indicate the tendency of this 
 argument, and to leave the illustration of it to the 
 following pages. 
 
 To return to the- yield of precious metals during 
 the years under discussion. Any estimate must be 
 conjectural, in the absence of the accounts of the 
 Spanish Mints.^ This understood, it may be thus 
 tabularly represented. 
 
 1 The only accounts accessible are in Cabrera (see Philippson's "Estimate of 
 the Revenues of Spain," in his Henrich IV. and Philipp in., vol. ii. p. 44), and 
 relate only to the years 1599-1610. The amounts given are not the total yield 
 of the American mines, which is out of the question, but the amount of metal 
 
PRODUCTION OF THE PRECIOUS METALS 
 
 65 
 
 Date. 
 
 Annual 
 
 Average 
 
 Production 
 
 of Gold. 
 
 Annual 
 
 Average 
 
 Production 
 
 of Silver. 
 
 Proportion of 
 Gold in Total. 
 
 Proportion of 
 Silver in Total. 
 
 1493-1520 
 
 ;f 800, 000 
 
 ;if6oo,ooo 
 
 57% 
 
 43% 
 
 1521-45 
 
 1,000,000 
 
 1, 100,000 
 
 47% 
 
 53% 
 
 1545-60 
 
 1,200,000 
 
 3,850,000 
 
 23.6 
 
 76.4 
 
 1560-80 
 
 855,000 
 
 3,640,000 
 
 20.8 
 
 79.2 
 
 1581-1600 
 
 1,030,000 
 
 4,945,000 
 
 17.2 
 
 82.8 
 
 1601-20 
 
 1,190,000 
 
 4,820,000 
 
 19.8 
 
 80.2 
 
 1621-40 
 
 1,157,850 
 
 3,916,300 
 
 22.8 
 
 77.2 
 
 1641-60 
 
 1,223,400 
 
 3,516,500 
 
 25.8 
 
 74.2 
 
 The general tendency of the first years of this 
 period (1493-1520), if discernible at all, seems rather 
 in favour of silver, and to the depreciation of gold. 
 The average ratio was 10.75, speaking very generally, 
 and with every mental reservation as to its applica- 
 bility at any particular time and place. An equally 
 rough average for the preceding time (see Chapter I.) 
 would give a ratio of 11.28, showing apparently a 
 movement in favour of silver owing to the increased 
 production of gold. 
 
 The succeeding quarter of a century, 1521--45, 
 
 The amounts (without distinc- 
 
 9,000,000 Ducats. 
 
 4,500,000 „ 
 12,200,000 Pesos. 
 
 9,000,000 Ducats. 
 10,600,000 ,, 
 10,000,000 ,, 
 
 brought yearly 
 
 to Spain by the Silver Fleet. 
 
 tion of the 
 
 metals) were as follow : — 
 
 
 1599 • 
 
 
 8,000,000 Ducats. 
 
 1606 
 
 1600 . 
 
 
 
 9,926,192 „ 
 
 1606 
 
 1600 . 
 
 
 
 10,000,000 ,, 
 
 1607 
 
 1 601 . 
 
 
 
 1,000,000 ,, 
 
 1608 
 
 1602 . 
 
 
 
 10,000,000 ,, 
 
 1609 
 
 1603 . 
 
 
 
 7,000,000 ,, 
 
 1610 
 
 1604 . 
 
 
 
 14,500,000 „ 
 
 
66 
 
 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 covers the time from the conquest of Mexico to the 
 commencement of the exploitation of the silver mines 
 of Potosi. Looked, at from the point of view of prices 
 in Europe, — as evidenced most circumstantially in 
 the Plakkaats of the Netherlands, to which reference 
 will be immediately made, — these years display 
 stability — i.e. a. steady maintaining of the advance 
 gradually and already made between the years 1493 
 and 1520, and chronicled for us in the prices of 1521 
 — rather than any further great and readily percep- 
 tible rise. For example in brief In the Flemish 
 Plakkaats the French crown is quoted at an equivalent 
 of I florin 15^ stivers in 1499, and of i florin 19 
 stivers in 1522, when an attempt was made to reduce 
 it to I florin 15^ stivers again. From 1522 to 1548 
 no further advance, but retrogression rather is quoted 
 thus : — 
 
 Date. 
 
 
 Florin. 
 
 Stivers. 
 
 1519 
 
 French Crown quoted at 
 
 
 
 i5i 
 
 1522 
 
 
 
 
 
 19 
 
 1526 
 
 
 ' 
 
 [• (Real) 
 
 . (Attempted) 
 
 
 19 
 IS4 
 
 1539 
 
 
 : : \ 
 
 r (Real) 
 
 I (Attempted) 
 
 
 17 
 IS 
 
 1548 
 
 
 
 
 
 17 
 
 1552 
 
 
 
 
 
 19 
 
 This general conclusion will be found, quite 
 
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PERIOD, 1493-1548 67 
 
 invariably illustrated in the tables of Netherland coins 
 (below). 
 
 With regard to the annual average production of 
 the metal, there is perceptible a slight movement 
 towards the depreciation of silver or in favour of gold. 
 This might naturally be expected to express itself in 
 a somewhat higher ratio. But the differentiation is so 
 slight as hardly thus to indicate itself, and certainly not 
 consistently, so far as the ratio is capable of ascertain- 
 ment. 
 
 In France the ratio in 
 In the Netherlands the ratio in 
 In England ,, 
 
 In Germany ,, 
 
 I 
 
 519 was 11.76 
 
 (1520 ,, 10.68 
 
 (1540 ,, 10.62 
 
 j:S27 ,, H.23 
 
 J 1552 „ II. I 
 
 (1524 ., 11.38 
 
 liSSi „ 11.38 
 
 Broadly speaking, therefore, there is a certain 
 homogeneity about the first two periods, 1493-1520 
 and 1520-48, of the new era. These fifty-five years 
 mark a time of general advance on prices achieved by 
 1520 and maintained unequally up to 1548, but an 
 advance which was steadily and almost fairly level on 
 the two lines of gold and silver, so that the perfectly 
 well-established advance of prices generally is accom- 
 panied with no great disturbance of the ratio in 
 itself 
 
 In contrast with this all the succeeding periods 
 have, up to 1660, a distinct character and statistical 
 bearing. An enormous and ever-increasing advance 
 
68 
 
 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 in general prices occurs, but it is no longer, as before, 
 on level lines of the two metals equally. The propor- 
 tion of the production of the two metals changes, so 
 rich was the yield of the silver mines of Potosi. From 
 being the same with that of gold, the value of silver 
 produced suddenly rises to three times and then to 
 four times that of its rival ; and at once the ratio 
 changes, bringing with it all its accompaniment of 
 feverish instability and flux. 
 
 The average result in the ratio was as follows : — 
 
 1545-60 
 
 11.30 
 
 1561-80 
 
 11.50 
 
 I58I-I600 
 
 11.80 
 
 1601-20 
 
 12-25 
 
 1621-40 
 
 14.00 
 
 1641-60 
 
 14.50 
 
 I66I 
 
 1 . • 
 
 15.0 
 
 1.1 1 
 
 As far as can be ascertained the detailed state- 
 ment of the ratio during the whole period, 1500- 1660, 
 is as follows : — 
 
STATEMENT OF THE RATIO, 1500-1660 
 
 69 
 
 
 
 •0 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 •a 
 
 S 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Date. 
 
 1 
 
 1? 
 
 France. 
 
 Spain. 
 
 Germany (Imperial 
 System). 
 
 
 Venice. 
 
 Date. 
 
 1474 
 
 
 
 
 9.824 
 
 ... 
 
 ... 
 
 
 1474 
 
 1475 
 
 
 ... 
 
 
 10.985 
 
 
 
 
 1475 
 
 1480 
 
 
 
 
 "•555 
 
 
 
 
 1480 
 
 1483 
 
 
 
 
 11.675 
 
 
 
 
 1483 
 
 1484 
 
 
 
 
 
 11-37 
 
 
 
 1484 
 
 1489 
 
 
 10. 5 
 
 
 
 11.2 
 
 
 
 1489 
 
 1497 
 
 
 
 11.83 
 
 10.755 
 
 
 
 
 1497 
 
 1506 
 
 
 
 
 10.262 
 
 
 
 
 1506 
 
 IS" 
 
 
 
 _ 
 
 
 
 
 
 IS" 
 
 I5I7 
 
 
 
 
 
 io.3i'(Erfflrt) 
 
 
 11.32 
 
 I5I7 
 
 I5I9 
 
 
 10.15 
 
 11.76 
 
 
 
 
 12.04 
 
 I5I9 
 
 1524 
 
 
 
 
 
 11.38 
 
 
 
 1524 
 
 1527 
 
 12.23 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 10.03 
 
 1527 
 
 1529 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 11.07 
 
 1529 
 
 1537 
 
 
 
 
 10.760 
 
 
 
 
 1537 
 
 1539 
 
 
 
 11.68 
 
 
 
 
 
 1539 
 
 1540 
 
 
 10.62 
 
 11.82 
 
 
 
 
 
 1540 
 
 1542 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 11.27 
 
 
 1542 
 
 1548 
 
 
 II. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1548 
 
 1549 
 
 
 
 11.86 
 
 ... 
 
 
 
 
 1549 
 
 1550 
 
 .... 
 
 
 12.07 
 
 
 
 
 
 1550 
 
 I55I 
 
 
 
 11.47 
 
 
 10.83 
 
 
 
 I55I 
 
 1552 
 
 II. I 
 
 
 
 
 (Imperial Edict) 
 
 
 ... 
 
 1552 
 
 1553 
 
 11.05 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1553 
 
 1554 
 
 
 10.70 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1554 
 
 1559 
 
 11.79 
 
 
 
 
 11.44 
 
 "•55 
 
 
 1559 
 
 1560 
 
 ... 
 
 
 11.77 
 
 ... 
 
 (Imperial Edict) 
 
 
 
 1560 
 
 1561 
 
 
 
 ... 
 
 ... 
 
 
 
 10.81 
 
 1561 
 
 1562 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 11.01 
 
 "•53 
 
 1562 
 
 1566 
 
 
 
 
 12.294 
 
 "■55 
 
 
 
 1566 
 
 1572 
 
 
 12.42 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1572 
 
 1573 
 
 
 
 11.76 
 
 
 
 
 12.33 
 
 1573 
 
 1575 
 
 ... 
 
 
 11.68 
 
 
 
 II. 11 
 
 
 1575 
 
 1576 
 
 
 12.67 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1576 
 
 1578 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 10.61 
 
 1578 
 
 1579 
 
 
 10.62 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1579 
 
 1582 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 11.40 
 
 
 1582 
 
 1583 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 10.93 
 
 
 1583 
 
 1585 
 
 
 
 ... 
 
 
 11.63 
 
 
 
 ^^\\ 
 
 1586 
 
 
 10.66 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1586 
 
 1587 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12.03 
 
 
 1587 
 
 1589 
 
 
 11.21 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1589 
 
 1590 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ii;86 
 
 
 1590 
 
 1590 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 11.32 
 
 
 1590 
 
 1591 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 10.95 
 
 
 1591 
 
 1593 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 11.18 
 
 
 1593 
 
 1594 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 11.70 
 
 12.34 
 
 1594 
 
 1596 
 
 
 10.90 
 
 
 ... 
 
 11.50 
 
 
 
 1596 
 
 1597 
 
 
 
 
 
 ... 
 
 11^78 
 
 
 1597 
 
 1597 
 
 .... 
 
 
 
 
 
 12, l6 
 
 " 
 
 1597 
 
^o 
 
 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 t-»^'-^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 " t/j I-" 
 
 
 
 
 
 13 
 
 
 
 
 5 - d 
 
 
 
 Date. 
 
 
 1 
 
 France. 
 
 Spain. 
 
 Germany (Imperial 
 System). 
 
 
 Venice. 
 
 Date. 
 
 
 
 0) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 "1" 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1598 
 
 
 11.29 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1598 
 
 1 599 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 11.05 
 
 
 1599 
 
 1601 
 
 IC 
 
 .90 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 11.86 
 
 
 1601 
 
 1602 
 
 
 
 
 1 1. 88 
 
 
 
 
 
 12.22 
 
 
 1602 
 
 1603 
 
 
 
 11.64 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12.24 
 
 
 1603 
 
 1605 
 
 12 
 
 ■ 15 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12.01 
 
 
 1605 
 
 1 60s 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12.49 
 
 
 1605 
 
 1606 
 
 
 
 11.92 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ... 
 
 1606 
 
 1607 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12.61 
 
 
 1607 
 
 1608 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12.16 
 
 11.04 
 
 1608 
 
 1608 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12.46 
 
 
 1608 
 
 1610 
 
 
 
 12.54 
 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 1610 
 
 1611 
 
 i; 
 
 ■32 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12.08 
 
 
 1611 
 
 1612 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 3-52 
 
 
 
 12.30 
 
 
 1612 
 
 1613 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12.35 
 
 
 1613 
 
 1613 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12.29 
 
 
 1613 
 
 161S 
 
 
 
 12.03 
 
 13.90 
 
 
 
 
 
 12.31 
 
 
 1615 
 
 1617 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12.58 
 
 
 1617 
 
 1618 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12.11 
 
 
 1618 
 
 1619 
 
 
 
 12.10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1619 
 
 1620 
 
 i: 
 
 ■34 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1620 
 
 1621 
 
 
 
 12.5 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1621 
 
 1622 
 
 
 
 12.65 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1622 
 
 1623 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 11 
 
 64 
 
 11.74 
 
 
 1623 
 
 1624 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 13-42 
 
 
 1624 
 
 1624 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12.58 
 
 
 1624 
 
 1626 
 
 
 
 12.65 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1626 
 
 1630 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 10.31 
 
 1630 
 
 1631 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 13-42 
 
 ..: 
 
 163I 
 
 1633 
 
 
 
 12.65 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ... 
 
 1633 
 
 1634 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 15.10 
 
 
 1634 
 
 163s 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 14.80 
 
 
 1635 
 
 1636 
 
 
 
 
 15-36 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1636 
 
 1637 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 15.10 
 
 
 1637 
 
 1638 
 
 
 
 I3.39 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 14-38 
 
 1638 
 
 1640 
 
 
 
 
 14.49 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1640 
 
 1643 
 
 
 
 
 13-5 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 15-37 
 
 1643 
 
 1645 
 
 
 
 14-13 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1645 
 
 1648 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,, 
 
 
 
 1648 
 
 1651 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1651 
 
 1652 
 
 
 
 14-13 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1652 
 
 1653 
 
 
 
 14-13 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1653 
 
 1656 
 
 
 
 
 14.71 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1656 
 
 1660 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1660 
 
 1663 
 
 
 
 14-43 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1663 
 
 1665 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 5-47 
 
 
 
 
 
 1439 
 
 1665 
 
 1667 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 88 
 
 
 
 
 1667 
 
 1669 
 
 14.48 
 
 
 
 
 
 15 
 
 13 
 
 
 
 
 1669 
 
 1679 
 
 
 
 14.91 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1679 
 
 ; 1690 
 
 
 ... 
 
 
 
 i-S 
 
 13 
 
 
 
 ... 
 
 1690 
 
THE NETHERLANDS IN SIXTEENTH CENTURY 71 
 To treat of these countries in detail. 
 
 Netherlands. 
 
 During the period under consideration, the seven- 
 teenth century especially, the monetary history of the 
 Netherlands supplies the key to that of the surround- 
 ing nations. The history of her monetary exchanges 
 has yet to be written, and of her Mint ordinances 
 very little is accessible, as compared, e.g., with France. 
 But this is more than compensated by the numerous 
 " plakkaats ' or proclamations of the tariff of coins, 
 which are to us practical indicators of the rates of 
 exchange. The Netherlands, as has been already 
 said, were the centre of European commerce in the 
 sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, as the Italian 
 States had been in the fourteenth and fifteenth ; and 
 every change in the precious metals or in the coins 
 showed itself in the Antwerp Bourse as surely and 
 swiftly as to-day in London. As prompt to take 
 knowledge of these changes as Florence had been 
 two centuries earlier, the authorities tabulated the 
 various coinages which were current in the Low 
 Countries, — and practically that meant the coinage of 
 commercial Europe, — tariffed them against their own 
 by proclamation, and instantly accommodated them- 
 selves to each new change or variation of value by a 
 new proclamation and a new tariff These proclama- 
 tions, therefore, give us the measure, and course of the 
 monetary movements of the time in fullest and most 
 welcome details. 
 
72 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 It has been already shown that this action of the 
 government of the Netherlands has a twofold aspect. 
 From one side it expresses and regulates the natural 
 flow and ebb of commerce, just as exchange rates 
 and bullion remittances do to-day. And in this sense 
 it was perfectly normal, healthy, and sound, more 
 especially in so far as it provided for the gradual 
 drawing away overplus metal to the East. But the 
 Governments of Europe were yet under the spell 
 of the delusion as to a balance of trade payable in 
 gold — that delusion which was, later, dignified in 
 history by the name of the mercantile theory. Nor 
 had they yet lost the traces of that mediaeval craft 
 and lawlessness which rose from, and prompted to, 
 the mere desire of robbing or pilfering their neigh- 
 bour's store of precious metal as the first act of self- 
 defence. Further than this the monetary system 
 of Europe — unconsciously bimetallic and with an 
 appalling variety of ratio prevalent at the same 
 moment in different places — lay open, helpless and 
 defenceless, and inviting to the buUionist, financier, 
 or arbitragist. In so far as this element of national 
 greed and dishonesty, or private and unprincipled 
 gain, entered into the legislative enactments of the 
 Netherlands, it condemns them as mercenary, and the 
 monetary straits or tightness, not to say crisis and 
 panic which ensued, as unnecessary and therefore in 
 the highest degree lamentable. 
 
 In a blind way the age saw what was going on 
 behind the financier's screen, however little it under- 
 
SIXTEENTH-CENTURY ARBITRAGE 73 
 
 Stood the theory of it. In many a sixteenth-century 
 document, preserved among the State papers in the 
 Record Office at London, abuse is piled on the 
 Netherlands for their practices in enticing away the 
 coin of the realm. One of the correspondents of the 
 Privy Council in the days of Elizabeth, 1575, writes 
 thus from the Netherlands : " The Low Country 
 merchants return great stores of money hither by 
 exchanges, and by the proceeds, as the exchange may 
 serve for their purposes, they send away her majesty's 
 coin and bullion into the Low Countries in great 
 quantities, and the rather by reason of the Hollanders 
 trading with the East, by which means the realm will 
 be secretly robbed, if it be not prevented." Twenty 
 years later the whole subject was again gone into, for 
 the fiftieth time, for the advice of the English Privy 
 Council, and it was shown how "foreign exchangers 
 contrived, by arranging a rise or fall in particular 
 monies, to undervalue English monies, and draw them 
 out of the kingdom. Prevention has been vainly 
 attempted by Acts of Parliament, by sending over Sir 
 Thomas Gresham to the Low Countries to complain, 
 and by establishing the office of exchanger, which was 
 discontinued as injurious to the State. A bank was 
 proposed, but the Queen had not to spare the ;^ 100, 000 
 needed to start it. It is now proposed to settle the 
 exchange at 10 or 12 per cent, to be fixed yearly, 
 according to the state of affairs, 20 per cent, or more 
 being sometimes paid now." 
 
 The naivetd and helplessness of the suggestions 
 
74 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 contained in these concluding words need not blind 
 us to the real and pressing gravity of the monetary 
 situation to which they relate, and which periodically 
 beset each and every European Government through- 
 out the centuries under consideration. 
 
 Such, therefore, is the aspect of these monetary 
 ordinances or plakkaats of the Netherlands in the six- 
 teenth and seventeenth centuries. 
 
 To speak of them in detail. 
 
 The first of the Low Country proclamations, con- 
 taining an evaluatie, or tariff, is dated 2nd January 
 1 5 16, and it marks the commencement of the influ- 
 ence of the American discoveries. (See table below.) 
 By the succeeding proclamation of 4th February 
 1520, golden reals were substituted for the golden 
 florin. Its provisions remained nominally in force 
 for twenty years or so, but almost immediately 
 the movement towards higher prices made itself 
 felt, and it was in consequence of this, and after 
 fruitless negotiations with the merchants of Antwerp, 
 that Charles v. issued a series of four closely 
 consecutive proclamations (1521, March 1522, 19th 
 June 1524, 25th November 1525). The first three 
 concern gold, the last only bears witness to the 
 rise of silver by attempting to check it and call it 
 down. Similarly, in his ordinance of loth December 
 1526, he enacted that the price ruling on the 4th 
 February 1520 should be again used, and should be 
 reached at two drops or intervals, so as to create the 
 less disturbance between debtor and creditor. The 
 
THE NETHERLAND PLAKKAATS 75 
 
 ordinance proved fruitless, and was twice renewed, in 
 1 53 1 and 1539. In spite of them all, the rise in prices 
 against which the authorities tried to fight, continued 
 and had to be recognised. By the ordinance of nth 
 July 1548 a higher limit of values was permitted. 
 Then, for a dozen years or so, attempts were made, by 
 the proclamations of 23rd March 1552 and 24th Octo- 
 ber 1559, to make those prices of 1548 the basis, and 
 to compel a return to it in the future, while recognising 
 temporarily the higher prices ruling at the moment. 
 And so the process repeats itself continually — a 
 further rise of prices, complaints of the disorder in 
 the currency and exchanges, and a new evaluatie 
 issued, regulating the exchanges at the higher rate 
 for the moment, and providing for the reduction of 
 prices to previous limits, from and after such and 
 such a date. 
 
 In the accompanying table wherever two figures 
 
 are coupled together thus, ^ \ the higher figure 
 
 represents the price ruling at the date of the ordin- 
 ance, the lower figure is the price to which return was 
 to be made from and after some date fixed thereby. 
 A simple glance at the tables will show how futile 
 and foredoomed was every such attempt to rule and 
 compel the exchanges. For the explanation of these 
 tables it will be sufficient to give the dates of the 
 Netherlands ordinances, premising that up to 1586 the 
 series was applicable to the whole Netherlands, but 
 that from that date there is a separate series for the 
 
76 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 Seven United Provinces, and for the Spanish Nether- 
 lands. 
 
 Netherlands Plakkaats. 
 
 27th July 1572. 
 
 7th February 1573. 
 
 22nd June 1574 (countenances the rise of prices over 
 those of 1572 only until the end of the year). 
 
 3rd December 1575. 
 
 19th April 1576 (for Holland and Zealand, and to 
 continue for only six months, when, by the 
 ordinance of 25th October of the same year, a 
 considerably lower limit was prescribed). 
 
 1579. In this year no less than four plakkaats were 
 issued, with the object of enforcing a reduction 
 of prices, but in vain, and the last of the four, 
 issued on the 19th December, was obliged to 
 recognise some portion of the rise of prices 
 which it was attempted to counteract. 
 
 9th October 1581. In less than a year the effect 
 of the strenuous attempt in 1579 had been 
 completely swept away, and a further advance 
 had to be recognised. 
 
 From 1586 the series of proclamations divides into 
 two, as has been said, owing to the revolt and 
 • establishment of the United Netherlands. 
 
 The one set, relating to the Spanish Netherlands, 
 includes proclamations of 
 
 30th April 1590, again recognising provisionally a 
 further advance, and renewed on 
 
THE PLAKKAATS OF THE UNITED PROVINCES 77 
 
 15th December 1593, 
 
 2 1 St October 1594, 
 
 1 6th November 1599, 
 
 23rd June 1602 (with some sHght akerations), 
 
 30th December 1605, attempting to restrain a farther 
 
 advance, 
 30th June 1607, 
 13th May 1609, 
 30th September 16 10, 
 
 22nd March 161 1, again recognising the inevitable 
 advance. 
 The last named remained in force until 2 1 st May 
 1618, with the exception of not being applic- 
 able in Volkenburg, Dalen, and Limburg, 
 where the abnormal height to which monies 
 had risen- necessitated a special ordinance (4th 
 March 161 6), lowering the price to the limit 
 of 22nd March 161 1, by five separate three- 
 monthly steps or intervals. 
 The second and separate series of monetary ordin- 
 ances issuing from their High Mightinesses, the States- 
 General of the United Provinces, is remarkably 
 parallel to the above. It begins with the ordinance 
 of 2nd September 1594 : " In view of the rising price 
 of gold and silver," it says, a "lessening of that price 
 to the limit of 1586 is ordered at three intervals, 
 15th September 1594, loth November, loth January 
 
 1595-;' 
 
 Like the contemporary enactment of the Spanish 
 
 Netherlands, it proved ineffectual, and a further rise 
 
78 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 had to be recognised in the ordinance of 2nd March 
 1596, and again of 2nd April 1603. The preambles 
 of these ordinances, which are preserved in the 
 huge collections of Can and Scheltus, generally 
 recite their purpose of providing against the dis- 
 orders in the coinage, caused by the daily rise in 
 price, by the greed and licence of the times, and by 
 the inrush of the silver coins of other states. Such is 
 specially the tenor of that of 21st March 1606, one 
 of the most famous of these ordinances. Two years 
 later an attempt was made to reduce prices to the 
 limit of 1606. It proved ineffectual, and by the pro- 
 clamations of ist July 1 6 10, 26th September 161 5, and 
 13th February 161 9, further advances were recorded. 
 By the last-named, renewed on 5th June 162 1, an 
 attempt was made to re-establish the prices of 16 10. 
 
 So much for the ordinances themselves. It is only 
 necessary to add, for their general elucidation, that they 
 generally contain and prescribe in detail the value of 
 each separate coin circulating in the Low Countries at 
 the particular time, coupled with an engraving of the 
 coin, as an assistance to the people in recognising 
 them. Indeed, some of the ordinances, that of 1606 
 for instance, contain engravings of upwards of 1000 
 different pieces — a significant witness to the inter- 
 national welter of coins in the Netherlands exchange. 
 Dissected in detail, with regard to only a few of these 
 coins, the tabular result is as follows : — 
 
THE NETHERLAND PLAKKAATS 
 
 79 
 
 German Gold Guldens. 
 
 Spanish Ducats. 
 
 (75 to a Mark of Gold, l8 Carats 
 
 (70 to a Mark of Gold, 23 Carats 
 
 4 Grs. Fine.) 
 
 74 Grs. Fine.) 
 
 
 Declared Value 
 
 
 Declared Value 
 
 
 in Netherlands 
 
 
 in Netherlands 
 
 Date. 
 
 Currency as by the 
 Plakkaats. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Currency as by the 
 Plakkaats. 
 
 Florins. 
 
 Stivers. 
 
 Florins. 
 
 Stivers. | 
 
 1499 
 
 
 8 
 
 1499 
 
 I 
 
 19 
 
 1522 
 
 
 10 
 
 1522 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 1526 { 
 
 
 12 
 8 
 
 1526 I 
 
 2 
 I 
 
 4 
 19 
 
 1539 { 
 
 
 9 
 8 
 
 1539 { 
 
 2 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 19 
 
 1548 
 
 
 10 
 
 1548 
 
 2 
 
 I 
 
 1552 
 
 
 II 
 
 1552 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 1559 
 
 
 12 
 
 1559 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 1572 
 
 
 15 
 
 1572 
 
 2 
 
 7 
 
 1573 
 
 
 19 
 
 1573 
 
 2 
 
 15 
 
 1574 
 
 
 16 
 
 1574 
 
 2 
 
 13 
 
 1575 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 1575 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 1576 { 
 
 2 
 
 I 
 
 
 17 
 
 1576 { 
 
 3 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 12 
 
 IS77 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 1577 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 ( 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 r 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 1579 ] 
 
 2 
 2 
 
 4 
 2 
 
 1579 \ 
 
 3 
 2 
 
 
 18 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 I 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 1591 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 1581 
 
 3 
 
 6 
 
 1590 
 
 2 
 
 9 
 
 1590 
 
 3 
 
 10 
 
 1605 
 
 2 
 
 10 
 
 1599 
 
 3 
 
 15 
 
 1607 
 
 2 
 
 12 
 
 1609 
 
 3 
 
 19 
 
 1609 
 
 2 
 
 15 
 
 164 
 
 I7i 
 
 1618 
 
 4 
 
 I 
 
 161 1 
 1618 
 
 2 
 2 
 
 United Netherlands. 
 
 
 1586 
 
 3 
 
 8 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 3 
 
 12 
 
 
 1594 
 
 3 
 
 10 
 
 United Netherlands. 
 
 
 3 
 
 8 
 
 
 1596 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 
 1586 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 f 
 
 3 
 
 16 
 
 f 
 
 2 
 
 12 
 
 1603 J 
 
 3 
 
 154 
 
 1594 \ 
 
 2 
 
 10 
 
 I 
 
 3 
 
 IS 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 1606 
 
 3 
 
 16 
 
 1596 
 
 2 
 
 10 
 
 ( 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 1603 
 
 2 
 
 14 
 
 1608 J 
 
 3 
 
 18 
 
 1606 
 
 2 
 
 15 
 
 I 
 
 3 
 
 16 
 
 f 
 
 2 
 
 17 
 
 1610 
 
 4 ■ 
 
 
 
 1608 \ 
 
 2 
 
 16 
 
 1615 
 
 4 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 15 
 
 1619 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 1610 & onwards 
 
 2 
 
 18 
 
 1621 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
8o 
 
 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 Spanish Pistoles. 
 
 French Crowns. 
 
 (36 to a Ma 
 
 rk of Gold, 21 Carats 
 
 (Old, 2.^. not' 
 
 'of the Sun," 72 to a Mark 
 
 10 
 
 Grs. Fine.) 
 
 of Gold, 22 Carats 4iGrs. Fine.) 
 
 
 
 Declared Value 
 
 
 
 Declared Value 
 
 
 
 in Netherlands 
 
 
 
 in Netherlands 
 
 Date. 
 
 
 Currency as by the 
 
 Date. 
 
 
 Currency as by the 
 
 
 Plakkaats. 
 
 
 Plakkaats. 
 
 Florins. 
 
 Stivers. 
 
 Florins. 
 
 Stivers. 
 
 1548 
 
 
 3 
 
 12 
 
 1499 
 
 
 I 
 
 154 
 
 1552 
 
 
 3 
 
 18 
 
 1522 
 
 
 I 
 
 19 
 
 1559 
 1572 ■ 
 
 
 4 
 4 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 1526 
 
 { 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 19 
 154 
 
 1573 
 1574 
 
 
 4 
 4 
 
 16 
 10 
 
 1539 
 
 { 
 
 I 
 I 
 
 17 
 15 
 
 1575 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 1548 
 
 
 I 
 
 17 
 
 1576 
 
 ■ 
 
 5 
 4 
 
 4 
 13 
 
 1552 
 1559 
 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 19 
 
 
 1577 
 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 1572 
 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 
 f 
 
 5 
 
 10 
 
 1573 
 
 
 2 
 
 9 
 
 1579 
 
 J 
 
 5 
 
 10 
 
 1574 
 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 1 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 1575 
 
 
 2 
 
 12 
 
 
 I 
 
 5 
 
 8 
 
 1576 
 
 
 2 
 
 13 
 
 1581 
 
 
 5 
 
 18 
 
 1577 
 
 
 2 
 
 12 
 
 1590 
 
 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 
 ( 
 
 2 
 
 15 
 
 1605 
 
 
 6 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 15 
 
 1607 
 
 
 6 
 
 12 
 
 1579 
 
 . 
 
 2 
 
 I2i 
 
 1609 
 
 
 7 
 
 
 . 
 
 2 
 
 14 
 
 1611 
 
 
 7 
 
 2 
 
 1581 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 1618 
 
 
 7 
 
 5 
 
 1590 
 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 1605 
 
 
 3 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 1607 
 
 
 3 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 1609 
 
 
 3 
 
 12 
 
 United 
 
 Netherlands. 
 
 1611 
 1618 
 
 
 3 
 3 
 
 124 
 14 
 
 1586 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 United Netherlands. | 
 
 
 / 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 1586 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 1594 
 
 1 
 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 
 r 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 
 I 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 1594 
 
 \ 
 
 3 
 
 I 
 
 1596 
 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 
 \ 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 1603 
 
 
 6 
 
 15 
 
 1603 
 
 
 3 
 
 8 
 
 1606 
 
 
 6 
 
 17 
 
 1606 
 
 
 3 
 
 10 
 
 
 / 
 
 7 
 
 I 
 
 
 c 
 
 3 
 
 14 
 
 1608 
 
 i 
 
 6 
 
 19 
 
 1608 
 
 \ 
 
 3 
 
 12 
 
 
 I 
 
 i 6 
 
 17 
 
 
 I 
 
 3 
 
 ID 
 
 1610 
 
 
 7 
 
 4 
 
 1610 
 
 
 3 
 
 14 
 
 1615 
 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 1615 
 
 
 3 
 
 15 
 
 1619 
 
 ■ 
 
 7 
 7 
 
 12 
 6 
 
 1619 
 
 { 
 
 3 
 3 
 
 16 
 15 
 
 1621 
 
 
 7 
 
 12 
 
 1621 
 
 
 3 
 
 18 
 
NETHERLAND PLAKKAATS 
 
 8t 
 
 English Rose Nobles. 
 
 English Sovereigns. 
 
 (32 to a Mark of Gold, 23 Carats 
 
 
 SJGrs. Fine.) 
 
 (40 to a Mark of Gold.) 
 
 
 Declared Value 
 
 
 Declared Value 
 
 
 in Netherlands 
 
 
 in Netherlands 
 
 Date. 
 
 Currency as by the 
 Plakkaats. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Currency as by the 
 Plakkaats. 
 
 Florins. 
 
 Stivers. 
 
 Florins. 
 
 Stivers. 
 
 1499 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 1520 
 1522 
 
 4 
 4 
 
 5i ■ 
 
 lOi 
 
 1548 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 1526 1 
 
 4 
 4 
 
 I7i 
 54 
 
 1552 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 1539 { 
 
 4 
 4 
 
 10 
 
 5i 
 
 1554 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 1548 
 1552 
 
 ■4 
 4 
 
 10 
 16 
 
 1575 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 ISS9 
 1572 
 
 S 
 5 
 
 
 3 
 
 1576 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 1573 
 1574 
 
 6 
 6 
 
 10 
 6 
 
 1579 
 
 4 
 
 8 
 
 1575 
 
 7 
 
 5 
 
 ' 
 
 1576 
 
 7 
 
 10 
 
 
 1577 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 
 r 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 7 
 
 10 
 
 
 1579 
 
 6 
 
 8 
 
 
 I 
 
 6 
 
 14 
 
 United Netherlands, 
 
 1581 
 
 7 
 
 4 
 
 
 1590 
 
 7 
 
 9 
 
 
 1607 
 
 8 
 
 2 
 
 1586 
 
 5 
 
 I 
 
 1609 
 
 8 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 1611 
 
 8 
 
 13 
 
 ■" 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 1618 
 
 8 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 
 
 1594 
 
 5 
 
 3 
 
 United Netherlands. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 I 
 
 1586 
 
 7 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 1594 
 
 8 
 7 
 
 
 16 
 
 1596 
 
 5 
 
 2 
 
 7 
 
 12 
 
 1603 
 
 5 
 
 9 
 
 1596 
 
 7 
 
 13 
 
 
 
 
 1603 1 
 
 8 
 
 8 
 
 1606 
 
 s 
 
 12 
 
 8 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 6 
 
 r 
 
 5 
 
 16 
 
 1606 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 
 1608 1 
 
 8 
 
 16 
 
 1608 
 
 5 
 
 14 
 
 8 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 
 5 
 
 12 
 
 1610 
 
 8 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 
 1619 j 
 
 9 
 8 
 
 
 16 
 
 161O 
 
 5 
 
 18 
 
 1621 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 
 
 
82 
 
 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 
 
 BURGUNDIAN GULDEN (or 
 
 PHILIPPUS RlJDER. 
 
 Gulden Andries). 
 
 (67i and subsequently 70 to a Mark 
 
 (72 to a Mark of Gold, 19 Carats 
 
 of Gold, 23 
 
 Carats 84 Grs. Fine.) 
 
 Fine, from 1456 to 1567 ; later, 75 
 to a Mark, 18 Carats 6 Grs. Fine.) 
 
 
 
 Declared Value 
 
 
 Declared Value 
 
 
 
 in Netherlands 
 
 
 in Netherlands 
 
 
 
 Currency as by the 
 
 
 Currency as by the 
 
 Date. 
 
 
 Plakkaats. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Plakkaats. 
 
 Florins. 
 
 Stivers. 
 
 Florins. 
 
 Stivers. 
 
 1499 
 
 
 I 
 
 19 
 
 1499 
 
 I 
 
 9 
 
 1522 
 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 1522 
 
 I 
 
 12 
 
 1526 
 
 { 
 
 2 
 I 
 
 4 
 19 
 
 1526 { 
 
 I 
 I 
 
 13 
 9 
 
 1539 
 
 { 
 
 2 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 19 
 
 1539 { 
 
 I 
 I 
 
 10 
 9 
 
 1548 
 
 
 2 
 
 I 
 
 1548 
 
 I 
 
 II 
 
 1552 
 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 1552 
 
 I 
 
 12 
 
 ISS9 
 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 1559 
 
 I 
 
 13 
 
 1572 
 
 
 2 
 
 7 
 
 1572 
 
 I 
 
 154 
 
 IS73 
 
 
 2 
 
 IS 
 
 1573 
 
 I 
 
 19 
 
 IS7S 
 
 
 2 
 
 18 
 
 1574 
 
 I 
 
 16 
 
 1576 
 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 1575 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 1577 
 
 c 
 
 3 
 3 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 1576 { 
 
 2 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 184 
 
 1579 
 
 
 3 
 2 
 
 
 
 184 
 
 1577 
 
 2 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 1581 
 
 I 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 
 6 
 
 1579 
 
 I 
 2 
 
 5 
 34 
 
 1590 
 
 
 3 
 
 !* 
 
 V 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 1610 
 
 
 3 
 
 18 
 
 I58I 
 
 2 
 
 9 
 
 1611 
 
 
 3 
 
 19 
 
 1590 
 
 2 
 
 II 
 
 
 
 1607 
 
 2 
 
 14 
 
 
 
 1609 
 
 2 
 
 17 
 
 
 
 I6II 
 
 2 
 
 18 
 
 Unitee 
 
 Netherlands. 
 
 United Netherlands. 
 
 1586 
 
 
 3 
 
 8 
 
 1586 
 
 2 
 
 9 
 
 
 - 
 
 3 
 
 10 
 
 r 
 
 2 
 
 13 
 
 1594 
 
 ■ 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 
 1594 \ 
 
 2 
 
 11 
 
 
 _ 
 
 3 
 
 8 
 
 \ 
 
 2 
 
 9 
 
 1596 
 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 
 1596 
 
 2 
 
 II 
 
 1603 
 
 
 3 
 
 14 
 
 1603 
 
 ^ 
 
 15 
 
 1606 
 
 
 3 
 
 15 
 
 1606 
 
 2 
 
 16 
 
 
 r 
 
 3 
 
 17 
 
 [ 
 
 2 
 
 18 
 
 1608 
 
 \ 
 
 3 
 
 16 
 
 1608 \ 
 
 2 
 
 17 
 
 
 I 
 
 3 
 
 15 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 16 
 
 1610 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 1610 
 
 2 
 
 19 
 
FRANCE 
 
 83 
 
 German Thaler 
 
 Netherlanl 
 
 Ritksdaalder 
 
 
 (Silver). 
 
 (Silver). 
 
 
 
 Declared Value 
 
 
 Declared Value 
 
 
 
 in Netherlands 
 
 
 in Netherlands 
 
 
 
 Currency as by the 
 
 
 Currency as by the 
 
 Date. 
 
 
 Plakkaats. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Plakkaats. 
 
 Florins. 
 
 Stivers. 
 
 Florins. 
 
 Stivers. 
 
 1539 
 
 { 
 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 1583 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 1548 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 1586 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 1552 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 
 1559 
 
 
 J 
 
 10 
 
 r 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 1571 
 
 
 , I 
 
 II 
 
 1594 i 
 
 
 
 , 1572 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 1573 
 
 { 
 
 
 16 
 
 14 
 
 1603 
 
 2 
 
 7 
 
 1577 
 
 
 
 18 
 
 
 
 
 1579 
 
 
 2 
 
 I 
 
 f 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 1581 
 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 1608 \ 
 
 
 
 1611 
 
 
 2 
 
 II 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 7 
 
 United Netherlands. 
 
 
 
 1586 
 1594 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 2 
 2 
 
 1 
 S 
 
 United Netherlands. 
 
 1603 
 
 
 2 
 
 7 
 
 1610 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 1608 
 
 { 
 
 2 
 2 
 
 8 
 7 
 
 1619 
 
 2 
 
 10 
 
 1610 
 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 
 1619 
 
 
 2 
 
 10 
 
 1621 
 
 2 
 
 12 
 
 1621 
 
 
 2 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 France. 
 
 In France the result of the American influx of 
 metals did not make itself felt until the time of 
 Francis i. During his reign the value of the mark of 
 gold increased 33 livres 4 sols. 2 dens., and that of 
 silver i livre 10 sols. 
 
 The main reduction took place at two periods, 
 1 5 19 and 1540, and with a consequent change in the 
 
84 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 ratio slightly in favour of silver. The earliest find in 
 America was gold, and at first this metal shows a 
 tendency to depreciate. Concurrently silver, as the 
 overvalued metal, commenced to disappear from 
 circulation. It was to prevent this export that in 
 15 19 the dcu au soleil was advanced to 40 sols., 
 and again in 1532 to 45 sols. — an advance of 12^ per 
 cent. The silver testoon was advanced at the same 
 time from lo sols, to 10 sols. 6 dens., an advance of 
 5 per cent. Even so equilibrium was not produced, 
 and disorders in the currency continued, along with 
 the prevalence of lower-rated coins. The town of 
 Marseilles complained of it in a petition to the King 
 {8th May 1539), and the important edict of Blois, 
 1540, which left the dcus au soleil untouched at 
 45 sols., while advancing the testoon to 10 sols. 
 8 dens., was professedly and purposely issued " to 
 more equalise I the silver with the value of the 
 gold, and consequently to make the value of our 
 monies, both red and white, corresponding." Two 
 years later the States-General when they met 
 complained of the lack of currency, and demanded 
 the opening of the Mint at Aix. The request was 
 granted, but without visible result. 
 
 The same process of advance, unequally main- 
 tained, continued under Henry 11. and Charles ix. 
 (see accompanying tables). 
 
 In the case of the latter monarch it is expressly 
 stated that the change, which was effected in 1573, 
 when the ratio was established at 11.77, had been 
 
as 
 
 CD 
 
 I 
 en 
 
 
 cc 
 
 CO 
 
 ILi 
 
 LU 
 
 <c 
 
 
 
 is » ft 3 i: 
 
 g g O Q Q 
 
 II 
 
 1 
 
 5 
 
 I 
 
 ft^ 
 
 ( P/OO Joj- ) S 3y Afl 
 
 & ? s ? 
 
FRANCE : THE MINT INQUIRY OF 1573 
 
 85 
 
 preceded by a period during which "the people " had 
 of themselves augmented the value of the ^cu d'or 
 
 TABLE OF THE MOVEMENT OF GOLD AND SILVER IN 
 FRANCE, 1500-1660. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Price of the Mark of Gold. 
 
 Price of the Mark of Silver. 
 
 Livres. 
 
 Sols. 
 
 Dens. 
 
 Livres. 
 
 Sols. 
 
 Dens. 
 
 1488 
 1519 
 1540 
 1549 
 1561 
 
 1573 
 
 1602 
 1615 
 1636 
 
 8th May 
 
 1636 
 
 22nd Sept. 
 
 1 641 
 
 1662 
 
 130 
 147 
 165 
 172 
 185 
 200 
 222 
 240 
 278 
 320 
 
 384 
 423 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 
 10 
 6 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 II 
 
 II 
 12 
 14 
 15 
 15 
 17 
 19 
 20 
 
 23 
 25 
 26 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 to 54 sols. At this limit the Government was obliged 
 to fix it, but by the year 1577 it had risen successively 
 to 58, 60, and 65 sols. The evil, as it was thought to 
 be, of the advance of the monies was attributed to the 
 caprice and unscrupulousness of "the people," and 
 the King called several councils of experts to discuss 
 the matter. Still the process continued unabated, 
 and on the 19th December 1575, Henry iii. 
 assembled the States-General. The cour des mon- 
 naies — the officials of the Mint — at once approached 
 him with a petition. Their representation is of 
 peculiar significance :■ — 
 
 "In spite of the bad police prevailing, we draw in 
 
86 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 times of peace twice as much silver from abroad as 
 the foreigners draw from us. If the reform we 
 advocate were adopted we should double this net 
 gain. . . . Between us and the Netherlands and 
 Germany, where we generally trade, there is this 
 difference, that 6 ^cus, at the price at which they 
 are exposed here, only come to 5 in the said places, 
 which has induced a sudden and enormous dearness 
 in the merchandise which we export from there, and 
 besides has caused us a great disorder — to wit, that 
 the merchants have transported all our douzains and 
 other billon money, to save themselves from the loss 
 they would have had to incur in settling in dcus or in 
 any foreign species of gold or silver on which, at the 
 price they are current at by the caprice of the people, 
 there would be a loss in settlement of 15, 20, and 25 
 per cent. ... The cause of the enhancement of 
 prices proceeds from the malice of several who turn 
 into bullion the best of your coins in order to fill the 
 kingdom with others of less goodness, enriching 
 themselves thus with the blood and misery of the 
 people. . . . 
 
 " The remedy is to lower the rate of the monies. 
 . . . The Scus ought to come down to 50 sols., but 
 for the present we would consent to it being put at 
 60, awaiting a further reduction. The currency of 
 all foreign coins ought to be prohibited as the chief 
 cause of these evils. For although by all your 
 ordinances they have been valued according to the 
 price of the dcu, yet the people have always increased 
 
FRANCE: THE REFORM OF 1577 87 
 
 them more than they have your own monies, so that 
 the dcu at this moment, to be in accordance, ought 
 to pass for 78 sols. This arises from the craft of the 
 foreigner, and the only exceptions of importance are 
 the reals and pistoles of Spain, which are of known 
 goodness and profit to the melter. They have never 
 brought us harm, but, on the other hand, they are 
 being melted down all over France, and at the present 
 rate the foreigner gets a profit of about 7 livres on 
 the mark of them, so that we advise prohibition of 
 their circulation. Finally, we advise to do away with 
 the old reckoning by livres and sols, and substitute 
 for it the reckoning by dcus." 
 
 The States-General, adopting in part the weakest 
 suggestion of this remarkable paper, fixed the dcus at 
 65 sols. The Mint officials at once represented that 
 this only increased the evil. Henry accordingly 
 assembled at Pontoise a conference of experts, and 
 as the outcome of their deliberations decided on the 
 adoption of the chief recommendation of the Mint 
 officials' representation. By his proclamation of 1 3th 
 November 1577, the reckoning by livres was 
 abolished and that of gold dcus substituted, values of 
 under i ^cu or 60 sols, to be settled in divisional 
 coinage, and circulation of all foreign coins prohibited, 
 with the exception of Spanish and Portugese gold 
 ducats. It was forbidden to constrain payment of 
 any sum above 100 sols, in billon money, and in sums 
 below that amount to present more than the third of 
 the total sum in such billon money. 
 
88 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 This extraordinary and, on the whole, admirably 
 planned reformation merits so much detail because of 
 the intense importance of its bearing. It in effect 
 anticipated the reformation which was only accom- 
 plished in England in our own century. So far as it 
 was actually put in practice it made France mono- 
 metallic. The instinct of the time had found its way 
 to a comprehension of the evil before it, and of the 
 remedy. The evil was due to a badly-regulated, 
 weltering, bimetallic system ; the remedy was a mono- 
 metallic system. It matters little that such terms 
 were not in use and that the theory of the matter was 
 not enunciated. The essential point was that the_/af^, 
 the situation, was grasped in practice for a moment, 
 dimly it may be, yet sufficiently to illustrate the whole 
 antecedent and succeeding event. As a matter of 
 fact the ordinance remained practically in great part a 
 dead letter. That it did so — that it did not accom- 
 plish its purpose — has been attributed to the malheur, 
 the unhappiness, of the time. It was due to no such 
 thing. It was due to the simple fact that in the 
 ordinance two quite distinct, and one of them impos- 
 sible, reforms were projected. The attempt to tie 
 down the dcu to 60 sols, was foredoomed to failure, and 
 as the eye of contemporaries was fixed more entirely 
 on prices rather , than on method of tender, the most 
 significant part of the ordinance passed out of mind ; 
 already by the time of the death of Henry iii., "the 
 people," it is again said, had increased the Scu to 
 64 sols. On the 30th March 1594 a proclamation 
 
FRANCE : FAILURE OF THE REFORM OF 1577 89 
 
 was issued to call it down to the value prescribed by 
 the celebrated declaration of 1577, i.e 60 sols, but, 
 finding it impossible, the whole system created by 
 that declaration was abolished (September 1602); the 
 reckoning by dcus was done away with, and the old 
 system of reckoning by livres returned to ; the gold 4cu 
 was tariffed at 65 sols., and the circulation of foreign 
 monies was again permitted. Henry iv., in his pro- 
 clamation abolishing the almost invulnerable system 
 established by Henry m., attributes to the attempts at 
 working that system "the present dearness of every- 
 thing." It is almost impossible fully to represent 
 the unwisdom of this counter-reformation. To the 
 eye of the then legislator there was only one evil 
 — the rising of prices. If levelly effected it was, as 
 a matter of fact, no evil at all — far the reverse indeed, 
 and he did not need to concern himself about it at all. 
 Besides, it was irresistible. The evil that escaped his 
 eye, or to which he was blind, was that unceasing 
 process of flux which was caused by the different 
 ratios prevailing in different parts of Europe. The 
 scheme of Henry iii. would have proved effective, 
 where no other measure or scheme of the time was or 
 could be, and its abrogation in 1602 by Henry iv. 
 removed a bulwark and a barrier, and made way for 
 catastrophe. 
 
 Le Blanc considers that this repeal of the system 
 established in 1577, itself failed of its purpose, because 
 the increase of prices still continued. "In the seven 
 years of peace which followed the ordinance of 1602, 
 
go THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 the depreciation of the gold ^cu was as much as it 
 had been in the preceding sixty-five years of war and 
 trouble." The simple truth was, that it was much 
 more likely to increase in time of peace and trade 
 activity than in time of war. The point to notice was 
 not at all how much the dcu did depreciate, but the 
 relativity of such its depreciation with that of the 
 standard currency of other countries, and the 
 monetary disorder which the inequality of ratio and 
 of rate of depreciation induced. 
 
 Alarmed beyond measure at the evident failure 
 of his plans, Henry iv. summoned monetary con- 
 ferences of his wisest and best, and they were not 
 even suspended by his assassination. The complaint 
 again was, that the permission to circulate foreign 
 monies had led to the transport of all the good 
 coinage, to the ruin of commerce and great general 
 disorder. Assemblies were held all over France in 
 the trading towns, and the result of the advice of their 
 delegates was the proclamation of 5th December 
 
 1 6 14 (issued early in 1615). By this proclamation 
 silver monies were left untouched, the tariff of the 
 gold icu was increased from 65 to 75 sols., and the 
 value of the mark of gold proportionally increased. 
 The ratio was thereby altered from 12.01 to 13.90. 
 It is hardly too much to say that this step and 
 alteration in the ratio saved France from the 
 catastrophe which befell England and Germany in 
 1622 and 1623. The arrangement established in 
 
 16 1 5 endured unaltered until 1636, when a slight 
 
FRANCE . THE REFORM OF 1640 91 
 
 reduction in the ratio was made to 13.61 (on the 
 8th May). Two months later it was found that so 
 serious an export of good coinage . was ensuing that 
 "our kingdom would be entirely stripped of good 
 currency, to our great damage, etc." A proclamation 
 was accordingly issued (28th June 1636) attempting 
 to regulate the course of exchange. The effort was 
 vain, and on the following 22 nd September the ratio 
 was suddenly and violently altered to 15.36. 
 
 A glance at the ratio prevalent in other countries 
 will show how masterful was this act of France, but 
 it carried with it the seeds of its own punishment. 
 Such is the nature of the bimetallic law that any 
 overshooting of the ratio, on no matter which side, — 
 in favour of silver or in favour of gold, — establishes a 
 differentiation, and the differentiation at once gives 
 to the one metal a fulcrum or lever point — a purchas- 
 ing power — against the other, and the undervalued 
 metal, whichever it is, at once tends to disappear. 
 Four years after this autocratic measure of France, it 
 was found that her currency was in so depreciated a 
 state, through exchange, that the only pieces current 
 were lacking one-third of their full weight. 
 
 The recoinage established by her proclamation 
 of 31st March 1640, which established the new 
 louis d'or, was intended as a complete and permanent 
 remedy, and it may reasonably claim the praise of 
 having effected so much. The alteration of the 
 ratio established in 1640-41 by this recoinage (from 
 15.36 to 14.49) was only made after most serious 
 
92 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 deliberation. Monetary conferences of experts were 
 held at Paris ; and it was found, after careful assays of 
 all the monies of the surrounding nations, that the pre- 
 vailing ratios ( 1 640-1 ) were at one and the same time — 
 
 Germany . . . . 12 . i 
 
 Milan 12 : i 
 
 Flanders and Netherlands .. 12.5 : i 
 
 England 13.33 
 
 It was therefore decided to adopt a higher ratio 
 than all these, viz. 13.5.^ 
 
 The history of the few years succeeding this 
 measure is most instructive. The depreciation of 
 monies continued, and on the 4th April 1652 a 
 proclamation was issued, forbidding the currency of 
 certain old monies of France, and again attempting to 
 restrain the course of the exchanges ; and three years 
 later, 1655, under pretext that false moneyers were 
 imitating the louis dor and the silver dcus, the mint- 
 ing of lis d'argejti (lilies of gold and silver) was re- 
 solved upon. "But," says Le Blanc, "everybody 
 knows that the true motive was the same as when 
 a little later they resolved on the minting of 4-sol. 
 pieces. Under the above pretext, the ratio basis of 
 1 64 1 was broken. Remonstrances were vain until 
 experience proved their weight, and the minting of 
 the lis dor had to be discontinued. The pieces 
 already minted received a value of 7 livres, and to 
 
 ^ Such is the statement of the proclamation itself. The difference between 
 the ratios as there proclaimed and the ratios given in the table, pp. 40 and 69, is 
 presumably due to the calculation being made on the mark of pure metal. For 
 the character of these figures of ratios see the Preface. 
 
FLORENCE 93 
 
 correspond the louis dor was increased to 1 1 livres, 
 by proclamation 15th March 1656." As silver was 
 left untouched, the resulting alteration of the ratio 
 was from 13^ to 14?^. 
 
 Florence. 
 
 With the advance of Antwerp as the centre of 
 European exchanges in the fifteenth century, the mer- 
 cantile pre-eminence of Florence and Venice decayed, 
 and their monetary history loses its former prime im- 
 portance. But they by no means thereby lose their 
 interest for us. Instead of profiting as of yore by 
 every veer in the winds of exchanges, they are at the 
 mercy of them, as was every other country outside the 
 charmed circle of the Netherlands. The influence of 
 the changed conditions in the production of the 
 precious metals, due to the discovery of America, does 
 not show itself in Florence before 1531, when (4th 
 August) the price was by law advanced. Three 
 years later, 5th March 1534, it was found that the 
 state was receiving damage from the foreign monies 
 circulating, and that the only native coin circulating 
 was in a worn and depreciated state. A recoinage 
 was accordingly ordered, circulation of all foreign 
 monies of silver was forbidden, and all payments and 
 contracts were commanded to be made in gold scudi 
 of the state. In order to inform the commercial 
 element, the Mint masters were further ordered to 
 make trial every fifteen days of the value of any 
 foreign scudi, and to publish the result. 
 
94 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 There is a wonderful simplicity about this enact- 
 ment. In order to defend themselves from a flood of 
 cheap and cheapening silver, the Florentine authorities 
 adopted a virtual gold monometallism. That the enact- 
 ment was not permanently regarded and kept can only 
 be attributed to the strength of commercial custom, 
 and to a true perception in the mercantile community 
 at large of the essential difficulty of the problem and 
 its remedy. The Florentines were simply obliged to 
 circulate all coins, gold as well as silver, because such 
 was the universal custom of mediaeval Europe. By 
 1552 silver foreign monies were again current in 
 Florence, in such quantities and with such effects on 
 the native gold currency, that they had to be again 
 prohibited and banished (by law of i8th May 1552) ; 
 renewed three years later (28th February 1555), and 
 again in 1557 (29th April). Indeed, within the period 
 here treated of, up to, i.e., 1660, there is a series of 
 thirteen or fourteen separate re-enactments of the pro- 
 hibition relating to these monies and the depreciated 
 Florentine billon money {" quattrini neri"). If, 
 during this period, Florence had occupied the com- 
 manding position that Antwerp did, quite unique 
 interest would attach to the record of this monetary 
 policy or experiment. But not being in that position, 
 and being, too, quite apparently unable to enforce her 
 own enactments in her own territory, even this merely 
 depressive policy was partially broken down. In so 
 far as it was broken down she lay at the mercy of the 
 monetary changes around her, and of the Netherland 
 
GERMANY 95 
 
 financiers, as did every other country of Europe. By 
 the law of 5th April 1630, all species of foreign 
 ducatoons were prohibited, "in consideration that, 
 within the short time they have been introduced, so 
 great a quantity, and of such differing standards, has 
 been imported from the various foreign Mints." Five 
 years later the gold coin was in so depreciated a state 
 as to call for legislative interference (9th February 
 1635, renewed on 5th February 1645) ; and again in 
 1 66 1 (3rd February) it was found necessary to 
 prohibit the circulation of the silver reals of Peru and 
 every other kind of Spanish silver, except at bullion 
 value. These are only a few from a long list of 
 similar enactrnents, but they serve adequately to show 
 the trend of events on small as well as large fields of 
 operations. What an amount of commercial disturb- 
 ance and disaster lies behind the dry details of these 
 legal enactments, the case of England will serve to 
 show. 
 
 Germany. 
 
 The monetary history of Germany is one of 
 extreme confusion and intricacy. The lack of 
 coercive power in the central authority — in the 
 Emperor himself — was as conspicuously displayed in 
 the monetary ordinances of the empire as in the 
 political sphere. The imperial edicts were disregarded, 
 and each separate circle of the empire, or each 
 separate prince or union of princes, left to shift or act 
 for themselves. Amid all the confusion of such a dis- 
 
96 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 organised and reeling system sufficient is perceptible 
 to indicate the broad tendency of events, and to show 
 how closely analogous was her experience to that of 
 Europe generally within the same period. 
 
 In Germany, as in the Netherlands, France, and 
 England, the influence of the discovery of America 
 only begins to express itself about 1520, and in the 
 usual way — influx, movements and disorders in the 
 currency and ratio, and general complaints. In 1520 
 a monetary convention was summoned to meet at 
 Forchheim. This was followed by the debate in the 
 Reichstag at Nurnberg (1522), where great complaints 
 were made of the unusable, false, and depreciated 
 coinage, " due to the stealing away and exchanging 
 abroad of the gold gulden and silver coins." It was 
 in consequence of the representations of this Reichstag 
 that the first of the series of three imperial Mint 
 ordinances was issued by Charles v. (at Esslingen, 
 1524). The main details of this ordinance will be 
 found in the accompanying tables and in Appendix V. 
 
 The effect of the first imperial ordinance was to 
 change the ratio from something between 10 and 1 1 
 to 11.38. The gulden was raised from 17s. 4 pf to 
 17s. 6 pf All foreign gold was to be taken at 
 equivalent rates, and whoever gave more for foreign 
 coins of gold was to suffer a heavy penalty. Further, 
 the export of gold and silver was forbidden, on pain 
 of life and goods. 
 
 The ordinance remained a dead letter, and the 
 monetary disorder of the country only increased. 
 
GERMANY 
 
 97 
 
 THE MOVEMENT OF SILVER IN GERMANY, 1459-1621, ILLUS- 
 TRATED BY THE MOVEMENT OF THE SILVER GROSCHEN, 
 ACCORDING TO IMPERIAL AND OTHER MINT REGULA- 
 TIONS. {See preceding Table on p. 30.) 
 
 Date. 
 
 Cologne 
 Mark 
 coined 
 
 into 
 Pieces. 
 
 Alloy. 
 
 Equivalent Value 
 
 in Convention ■ 
 
 Money. 
 
 Treaty 
 or Ordinance. 
 
 Loths. 
 
 Grs. 
 
 Krtzrs. 
 
 Pfnge. 
 
 1501 
 
 126 
 
 6 
 
 I 
 
 3 
 
 2n 
 
 Treaty of Dukes Henry 
 and Erick of Bruns- 
 wick and Bishop Bar- 
 thold of Hildesheim, 
 with the States of 
 Brunswick, Hildes- 
 heim, Hanover, Lii- 
 beck, and Gottingen. 
 
 1510 
 
 160 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 3i 
 
 Gottingen. 
 
 1524 
 
 136 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 1 \ 
 (4 Gioat) 
 
 2A \ 
 
 ItV / 
 
 First imperial Mint 
 edict of Charles v. at 
 Esslingen. 
 
 1533 
 
 123 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 if 
 
 Augsburg Mint edict. 
 
 1535 
 1551 
 
 9ItVt 
 
 f 944 
 \ 100 
 
 8 
 
 7 
 7 
 
 
 
 5 
 6 
 
 ■ 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 5 
 
 2iH 
 
 Mint treaty between 
 Ferdinand and the 
 Counts Palatine of the 
 Rhine and the States 
 of Augsburg and Ulm. 
 
 Second imperial Mint 
 edict of Charles v. at 
 Augsburg. (Remained 
 inoperative like that of 
 1524, supra.) 
 
 1558 
 
 88 
 
 6 
 
 9 
 
 5 
 
 2A 
 
 Saxony Mint ordinances. 
 
 1559 
 
 1084 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 2AV 
 
 Mint ordinance of Ferdi- 
 nand I. 
 
 1572 
 
 )> 
 
 J) 
 
 
 
 )) 
 
 )3 
 
 Edict of the Lower 
 Saxony Circle. 
 
 1610 
 
 234 
 
 14 
 
 4 
 
 .4 
 
 23Vr 
 
 Edict of the Lower 
 Saxony Circle. 
 
 1617 
 
 144 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 of 
 
 Edict of the Lowet 
 Saxony Circle. 
 
 1622 
 
 1084 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 2^rV, 
 
 Edict of the Upper and 
 Lower Saxony Circle. 
 
 1 
 
98 
 
 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 THE MOVEMENT OF GOLD IN GERMANY, 1495-1621, ILLUS^ 
 TRATED BY THE MOVEMENT OF THE GOLD GULDEN 
 (RHENISCHE GULDEN), ACCORDING TO IMPERIAL AND 
 OTHER MINT REGULATIONS. (See preceding Table on p. j,\.) 
 
 Date. 
 
 1506 
 
 1509 
 1524 
 
 1551 
 ISS9 
 
 Cologne 
 Mark 
 coined 
 
 into 
 Pieces. 
 
 Alloy. 
 
 Equivalent Value 
 in Convention Money. 
 
 Treaty 
 or Ordinance. 
 
 24 
 Crts. 
 
 12 
 Grains. 
 
 Flrns. 
 3 
 
 3 
 2 
 
 3 
 3 
 
 Krtzs. 
 
 Pfnge. 
 
 71^ 
 
 7ii 
 89 
 
 72 
 
 {1 
 
 22 
 
 {1 
 {1 
 
 6 gold 1 
 6 silver/ 
 
 6 gold \ 
 silver/ 
 
 6 gold \ 
 8 silver/ 
 
 6 gold \ 
 8 silver/ 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 54 
 
 6 
 4 
 
 O7W7 
 
 ^m 
 
 Treaty between 
 Bamberg, WUrz- 
 burg, and Bran- 
 denburg. 
 
 Frankfort Mint 
 ordinance. 
 
 Imperial Mint edict 
 of Charles v. at 
 , Esslingen. 
 
 Imperial Mint edict 
 of Charles v. at 
 Augsburg. 
 
 Imperial Mint or- 
 dinance of Ferdi- 
 nand I. 
 
 In 1530 the Reichstag of Augsburg demanded the 
 holding of a council, in order to enforce the late edict, 
 and for a due consideration of the monetary situation. 
 Several attempts were made with this object, but fruit- 
 lessly, and the princes of the empire fell back on the 
 only feasible but fatal plan of smaller Mint conventions 
 between contiguous states. There is an endless series 
 of these, and they render the history of German 
 currency a perfect jungle of intricacies. Nine years 
 later (1539), a monetary convention was summoned to 
 
GERMANY: THE THREE IMPERIAL EDICTS 99 
 
 meet at Augsburg by Ferdinand, heir to the empire. 
 It proved fruitless. Again, in 1548, after the expiry 
 of a similar period, the Reichstag at Augsburg declared 
 for another monetary convention to relieve the disorder. 
 The opinions of certain deputies to this convention, 
 which met on the 8th October 1550, were as follows r 
 " For fifty or even eighty years and more the ratio 
 between gold and silver has been between 1 2 and 
 13. But in a gulden of those days there was an 
 equivalence of more silver than in seventy-six of our 
 kreutzers. Since then we apprise the Rhenish gold 
 gulden and kreutzers less than foreign nations. There- 
 fore France and England seek them." ' 
 
 A thorough inquest into the subject, or evalua- 
 tion, was therefore ordered, and it was in accord- 
 ance with the advice of the convention and with 
 the report of the evaluation that the second imperial 
 Mint edict was issued at Augsburg, 1551. This 
 edict was drawn up on a ratio of 10.83 as a basis, 
 and, as might be reasonably expected from the dif- 
 ferent ratios ruling abroad at the time, it proved as- 
 inoperative as its predecessor. The succeeding ten 
 years witnessed a rise in the relative value of gold, or 
 depreciation in that of silver, and the third and last of 
 these imperial Mint edicts, that of the Emperor Fer- 
 dinand, issued at Augsburg, 19th August 1559, fixed 
 a higher ratio, viz. 11.44. The Rhenish gulden 
 was raised from 72 to 75 kreutzers. The increasing 
 production of silver indicated by this change is still 
 
 1 See Hirsch, i. 318. 
 
TOO THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 more clearly marked in the resumption of the coining 
 of the imperial thalers, at the instigation of the Reich- 
 stag at Augsburg, 30th May 1566. The advice of 
 this Reichstag was the outcome of the monetary con- 
 vention held at Nordlingen two years earlier, at which 
 strong complaints were appointed to be made before 
 the Reichstag of the weak state of the coin, and of its 
 under-valuation. 
 
 In matter of fact, the Mint edict of 1 559 remained a 
 dead letter ; nominally, however, it continued in force 
 up to 1600, although no less than seven attempts were 
 made at succeeding diets, from 1566 to 1596, to enforce 
 it and bring it up to date. In the Reichstag of Speyer, 
 1 570, complaints were made of the universal loss arising 
 from the non-observance of the edict. In place of an 
 imperial coinage, nothing circulated but foreign and 
 counterfeit coins, and the necessaries. of life had risen 
 to a prohibitive height. Similar were the complaints 
 a.t the succeeding diets at Frankfort, 1571, and at 
 Regensburg, 12th October 1576, at which last Fer- 
 dinand's edict was again re-enacted, with a command 
 that the Burgundian circle and the Swiss should con- 
 form themselves to it. Bitter complaints were made 
 of the bad state of the gold and silver coinage, and of 
 the enrichment of the exchangers on the Rhine. The 
 circulation of Dutch and Swiss thalers was forbidden 
 because of the loss by exchange, and the export of all 
 gold and silver again forbidden. As an instance of 
 the depreciation prevalent in the coinage, it was 
 noted that the silver albus had lost one-third of its 
 
GERMANY : DISORDERS OF 1580 loi 
 
 weight, so that thirty-six were needed to purchase 
 one gold gulden, whereas formerly twenty-six were 
 equivalent. 
 
 Four years later, 1580, Ferdinand, as Archduke of 
 Austria, issued a fresh tariff, with the object of checking 
 exports, and in 1582 the states, having consulted as to 
 the condition of the coinage, strongly advised a renewal 
 of the prohibition of the export of coin, especially by 
 the Italians. This advice was adopted in the Reich- 
 stag of Augsburg, which met seventeen days later, 
 20th September 1582. The preamble of the Act then 
 and there passed speaks of the export of a good por- 
 tion of the native currency, and of the unmeasured 
 rise of prices, coupled with the circulation of forbidden 
 foreign specie, large and small. 
 
 This resolution of the Reichstag was followed by 
 the enacting of the Mint edict of loth December 1582. 
 It proved as futile as any of the others ; and two years 
 'later, July 1584, the deputies of the three circles of 
 Franconia, Swabia, and Bavaria complained that within 
 the four years immediately preceding several millions 
 had left the country by way of the Rhine provinces 
 for the Netherlands, very little going to Italy by 
 comparison. 
 
 On this representation another useless edict was 
 issued by the Emperor Rudolph 11., and in the follow- 
 ing year the merchants at Frankfort Fair found them- 
 selves obliged to agree upon a tariff of ducats and 
 Reichs-thalers. The Philipps -thaler was put at 
 eighty-two kreutzers, and the Reichs-thaler, which, by 
 
102 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 the Imperial Mint edict still nominally in force, should 
 have been at sixty-eight kreutzers, was put at seventy- 
 four. This arrangement of the merchants established 
 a ratio between gold and silver of 1 1.4. 
 
 Certain of these same merchants, examined as to 
 their opinion of the method of the export in January 
 1586, explained that it went by way of Niirnberg, 
 and that the arbitrage was attended with 9 or 10 per 
 cent, profit. 
 
 Nominally, however — or in theory — the arrange- 
 ment of 1559 continued the unenforced law of the 
 land up to 1 600, underneath all these attempts at revi- 
 sion and underneath the different regulations of the 
 various monetary unions of contiguous circles or states. 
 With the latter date commences that extraordinary 
 movement of monetary depreciation and panic which 
 is known as the '' Kipper und Wipper" period. In 
 great part the extraordinary acuteness of the panic 
 which ensued was due to internal monetary confusion 
 of Germany, but that internal confusion simply minis- 
 tered to the export of all good specie and metal, and 
 in the end it became simply a money corner. The 
 movement began by a coining of the lower denomina- 
 tions of monies on a different and depreciated footing 
 or basis. The specie thaler began to part company 
 from the current thaler, and to rise to more than the 
 24 silver groschen or 36 Marien groschen, to which by 
 the Mint edict of 1 559 it was declared equivalent. By 
 16 1 8 it had risen to 1 thaler 6 silver groschen (=48 
 Marien groschen), by 1620 to 2 current thaler, by 
 
GERMANY: THE KIPPER UND WIPPER ZEIT 103 
 
 162 1 to between 7 and 8 current thaler, while the 
 ducat had risen to 13 florins 30 kreutzers. 
 
 Tabularly the statement of the movement of the 
 Reichs-thaler is this : — 
 
 Date. 
 
 Florin. 
 
 Krtzers. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Florin. 
 
 Krlzers. 
 
 1582 
 
 
 8 
 
 1621 Tan. 
 
 2 
 
 20 
 
 1587 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 "Feb. 
 
 
 2 
 
 24 
 
 1590 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 March 
 
 
 2 
 
 30 
 
 1 594 
 
 
 
 II 
 
 April 
 
 
 2 
 
 36 
 
 1596 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 May 25 
 
 
 2 
 
 48 
 
 1603 
 
 
 
 14 
 
 May 31 
 
 
 3 
 
 15 
 
 1604 
 
 
 
 .14 
 
 June 
 
 
 3 
 
 6 
 
 1605 
 
 
 
 15 
 
 July 
 
 
 3 
 
 15 
 
 1607 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 Aug. 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 1608 
 
 
 
 20 
 
 Aug. 10 
 
 
 3 
 
 15' 
 
 1609 June 15 . 
 
 
 22 
 
 Sept. 
 
 
 4 
 
 30' 
 
 July 7 ■) 
 
 Dec. 19 J 
 
 
 24 
 
 Oct. 
 
 
 5' 
 
 oi 
 
 I 
 
 Nov. 
 
 
 5 
 
 30' 
 
 1610 
 
 
 24 
 
 Dec. 
 
 
 6 
 
 30I 
 
 1613 Sept. 
 
 
 26 
 
 Dec. 20 
 
 
 3 
 
 IS, 
 
 1614 Aug. 
 
 
 28 
 
 1622 Jan. 18 
 
 
 7 
 
 30^ 
 
 1615 March . 
 
 
 28 
 
 Jan. 27 
 
 
 4 
 
 30 
 
 Nov. I . 
 
 
 24 
 
 Feb. 10 
 
 
 10 
 
 & 
 
 Nov. 17 . 
 
 
 30 
 
 Mar. 
 
 
 10 
 
 & 
 
 1616 
 
 
 30 
 
 Mar. 12 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 1617 
 
 
 30 
 
 June 16 
 
 
 3 
 
 '5' 
 
 1618 
 
 
 32 
 
 Oct. 
 
 
 5 
 
 02 
 
 1619 Oct. 
 
 
 48 
 
 Nov. 
 
 
 6 
 
 o2 
 
 Dec. 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 1623 April 
 
 
 I 
 
 30 
 
 1620 June 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 And at this last figure 
 
 Standing 
 
 Nov. 9 . 
 
 2 
 
 20 
 
 up to 1669. 
 
 
 ^ Nurnberg. 
 
 Augsburg. 
 
 Vienna. 
 
 The course of the gold gulden which could be 
 •given is exactly parallel. 
 
 This table speaks volumes. It marks the acute- 
 ness of the monetary panic and crisis of 1621-22 — the 
 central time of the commercial ruin induced by the 
 ■disorder of the Kipper und Wipper Zeit. The pam- 
 phleteer and polemic literature of this crisis is as 
 
I04 
 
 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 rich and instructive as any which has accompanied the 
 bimetallic agitation and silver question of our later 
 days. 
 
 At Hamburg the thaler, which had gradually risen 
 from an equivalence of 24 schillingen to 33 schillingen 
 in 1609, had a correspondingly excited course during 
 these years. 
 
 
 Schillingen. 
 
 Pfennige. 
 
 
 Schillingen. 
 
 Pfennige. 
 
 Oct. 1609 
 
 36; 
 
 
 
 July 1618 
 
 42 
 
 6 
 
 1610-13 
 
 37, 
 
 
 
 Sept. 
 
 43 
 
 
 
 Dec. 1614 
 
 37. 
 
 6 
 
 Nov. 
 
 44 
 
 
 
 Aug. 1615 
 
 38 
 
 9 
 
 Sept. 1619 
 
 46 
 
 6 
 
 Jan. 1616 
 
 40 
 
 
 
 Oct. 
 
 48 
 
 
 
 Aug. 
 
 41, 
 
 
 
 Aug. 1620 
 
 52 
 
 
 
 April 1617 
 
 40 
 
 6 
 
 Feb. 1 62 1 
 
 53 
 
 
 
 Aug. 
 
 41 
 
 
 
 Mar. 
 
 54. 
 
 6 
 
 Sept. 
 
 41 
 
 6 
 
 Mav 
 
 54. 
 
 
 
 Nov. 
 
 42 
 
 
 
 May 1622 
 
 48 
 
 
 
 It was in anticipation of the approaching disorder 
 that on the 3rd of March 1609 a Mint treaty had 
 been made between Mecklenburg, Schleswig-Hol- 
 stein, Liibeck, and Hamburg, "for protection against 
 the Mint disorder, which is most disastrous to land 
 and people, and to take precaution against the 
 advance of the larger silver specie." Seven years- 
 later, on the loth January 161 6, the merchants and 
 financiers of Hamburg drew up a petition complaining 
 that, through the monetary disorder, trade and ex- 
 change was being driven from the city, as within a 
 short period the exchange with Frankfort had fallen 
 from 74 kreutzer ( = 32 schillingen Liibeck) to 62 
 
GERMANY : HAMBURG IN 1619 105 
 
 kreutzer ( = 32 schillingen Llibeck), and the exchange 
 with Amsterdam from 46 stivers ( = 32 schillingen 
 Liibeck) to 39 stivers. To the Senate's proposal for 
 the erection of an exchange bank, the merchants 
 would, however, have nothing to say, considering it 
 unnecessary and dangerous, and called for the 
 suppression of the notes which the merchants had 
 brought into use to facilitate their settlements. 
 
 Three years later, however, the Senate declared 
 more strongly for the establishment of a bank, pre- 
 mising in the preamble of their resolution that "it is 
 many ways known and plain how disastrous a dis- 
 order has hitherto been in the currency, both from the 
 rise of the larger silver species and from the excessive 
 importation of smaller depreciated specie, whereby 
 not only private individuals but also common interests, 
 as churches, hospitals, widows, and orphans are 
 greatly pinched in their incomes." 
 
 It was as the outcome of this resolution that the 
 celebrated Hamburg bank was instituted in 16 19, the 
 later life of which was to become of so much import- 
 ance for the monetary and commercial history of 
 North Germany. 
 
 The curious point to observe is the short time — a 
 few months merely — by which the crisis in Germany 
 preceded that in England, and the analogy of some 
 of the manifestations, although there were no such 
 Mint and coinage disorders in England as had aggra- 
 vated and in the first place partly induced the move- 
 ment in Germany. 
 
lo6 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 In 1623 a great Mint deputation from all the 
 circles was held, and in accordance with its representa- 
 tions the new imperial basis was established, which 
 remained in force until the conclusion of the period of 
 which we here treat. By that basis the mark of silver 
 was coined into 9 Reichs thalers 2 groschen. The thaler 
 was fixed at 90 kreutzers, the gold gulden at i florin 
 44 kreutzers, and the ducat at 2 florins 20 kreutzers. 
 This disposition remained the Mint law over all the 
 weary, disastrous period of the Thirty Years' War, 
 which is practically a blank for the monetary history 
 of Germany. It is not until 1665 — the opening 
 of a fresh period — that complaints of the state of the 
 lower denominations of the coinage are again heard. 
 But how far this quiescence is to be attributed to the 
 economic wisdom of the settlement of 1623, or to the 
 mute, dumb, inarticulate agony of Germany during that 
 strife when her commerce, much more even than her 
 national life, was suspended, is hidden from us in 
 almost complete darkness. 
 
 Spain. 
 
 During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries 
 the function of Spain was a very simple one in the 
 European system. She was the receiver and dis- 
 tributor of the metallic wealth and finds of the New 
 World, and accomplished her task perfectly naturally 
 and efficiently. But it was at the cost of her political 
 and commercial future and greatness. If Spain had 
 been a commercially independent nation, growing for 
 
SPAIN : FUNCTION IN SEVENTEENTH CENTURY 107 
 
 herself and supplying herself with her own manu- 
 factures, the metallic wealth of the New World would 
 have stayed much longer in her lap, and Europe 
 would have starved. But she was not. She pro- 
 duced little, and manufactured less, and the ill-gotten, 
 blood-stained gain, which flowed to her shores from 
 America, served only to feed an impractical vanity 
 and to further unfit the nation for manufacturing and 
 commercial life. The, to her, disastrous influence of 
 Spain's shortlived empire endure to-day, for she is 
 still as unfitted as ever by temperament and natural 
 training for mercantile life. Such is the penalty her 
 dower of New World gold and silver brought her. 
 Finding she could purchase anything and everything 
 with this gold and silver, she threw herself into her 
 work of conquest, and let commerce go. Her manu- 
 factures came to her from England and the Nether- 
 lands — countries she sought to conquer and enslave ; 
 and thither her gold went in exchange, and before 
 the century was out those countries had risen exulting 
 over her. But the point to notice is this. Assuming 
 this distributing function as her own and proper one, 
 the only condition essential to its proper fulfilment 
 was the maintaining of an absolutely unimpeachable 
 coinage. The rapidity with which the precious 
 metals left her possession was simply due to the fact 
 that Spain did so maintain her coinage and for a 
 sufficiently lengthened period. The goodness of her 
 coins exalted them above the prevailing rates in 
 France and the Netherlands, and they were eagerly 
 
io8 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 sought in consequence. The monies that did not, and 
 could not, normally leave her possession by ordinary 
 way of trade left her by means of arbitrages working 
 on the system of bimetallism, which existed un- 
 acknowledged.' It was this commanding quality 
 of the Spanish coins that led to the adoption of their 
 system by France in 1641. That in the case of 
 Spain we hear no complaints of depletion of coinage 
 and commercial disturbance resulting therefrom, 
 such as mark the history of the other countries of 
 Europe, is simply due to the fact that her stock of 
 metals was continually being replenished, and that she 
 had no commerce to be disturbed. The gold and 
 silver of America came to her in a steady stream 
 and left her for the Netherlands and elsewhere 
 in a stream as steady ; and so long as that flow 
 was turned through her dominion, so long as the 
 main sources of precious metal-mining were American, 
 and the product a monopoly-possession of Spain, she 
 
 ' "The second (cause for the decay of the trade of Spain) is the residence of 
 many Genoa merchants amongst them, who are found in good numbers to abide 
 in every good city, especially on the sea coasts, whose skill and acuteness in 
 trade far surpassing the native Spaniards and Portuguese, and who, by means of 
 their wealth and continual practice of exchanges, are found to devour that bread 
 which the inhabitants might otherwise be sufficiently fed with ; and by reason 
 that the King of Spain is ever engaged to their commonwealth for great and 
 vast sums at interest, he is their debtor, not only for their moneys, but also for 
 their favour, which by many immunities throughout his kingdom he is found 
 continually to requite them, and amongst the rest it is observed that there is no 
 Genoa merchant resident in Spain, or any part, but has a particular licence to 
 transport the rials and plate of this kingdom to a certain round sum yearly, 
 which they seldom use really to do, but sell the same to other nations that are 
 constrained to make their returns in plate for want of other more beneficial 
 commodities, which, for the certain profit it is found ever to yield in other 
 countries, is often preferred before all the other commodities of the kingdom. " — 
 Lewis Robert's Map of Commerce, p. 165, 
 
SPAIN : FUNCTION IN SEVENTEENTH CENTURY 109 
 
 Stood above, and felt no immediate harm from, the 
 bimetallic law which insatiably sucked away her 
 wealth. Until the time came, therefore, when she 
 lost her monopolist position in this matter the 
 monetary history of Spain is free from those features 
 of disturbance, commercial agitation, monetary con- 
 ferences and edicts, which are common to the rest of 
 Europe, and consist merely of a record of Mint 
 ordinances regulating the fineness of her coins and 
 slowly adjusting them to the general movements of 
 the century. Only in the case of the first of these — 
 the edict of Juan and Don Carlos, 1537, by which 
 the standard of coronas and escudos was fixed at 
 22 quilates, "which is the standard of the greater 
 escudos of France and Italy" — has the enactment 
 any comparative or international bearing. 
 
 For sixty-one years after the settlement of 1497 
 there had been no alteration of the monetary system. 
 In 1523 the Cortes of Valladolid had petitioned the 
 King, Charles i., to lower the standard and content of 
 the gold coin, ' ' so that in weight and value they may 
 pass equal with the crowns of the stm which are 
 made in France, so that by these means they will no 
 longer draw our gold from the kingdom." In its 
 ignorance this Cortes also demanded that the silver 
 monies should be reduced and issued oh a relatively 
 depreciated footing. It was a matter of thirteen 
 years before Charles yielded and adopted the measure 
 suggested, in the edict of 1537, already referred to, 
 and it may be safely said that by the time of its 
 
no THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 adoption the need for the measure had passed away. 
 Any disturbance and loss of her stock of precious 
 metals caused by the general movement which marks 
 itself in European history about 1519-20, and which 
 shows itself in Spain in the petition of the Cortes of 
 1523, was quickly redressed by the inrush of metals 
 from America. Finding gold and silver come to her 
 easily, Spain cared little how they went. After the 
 edict of 1537 there is only one complaint of the 
 export of coin recorded in the legislative enactments 
 of the country, viz. in 1552, when it was decided to 
 alter the alloy of the billon money in order to avoid 
 its exportation, "as we are given to understand that 
 its intrinsic value is greater in other countries than 
 here." 
 
 The Mint edicts of Spain during the years 1500- 
 1660 simply follow in the wake of the general 
 movements of prices in Europe generally. The 
 authorities were perfectly passive to the export of the 
 precious metals, and no attempt was made to 
 manipulate the ratio in such a way as to arrest the 
 outflow. The conduct of Philip 11., in 1566, in still 
 further raising the denomination of the gold coins by 
 one-seventh has the same passive aspect, although it has 
 been attributed to a mere base desire on the part of 
 Philip to fill his depleted treasury by a partial 
 debasement. A comparison of the movements of 
 metals and prices in France and Spain will show that 
 the advance was only normal and general, and the 
 further changes which were made in 1609 ^i^d 161 2 
 
SPAIN: PASSIVE ATTITUDE iir 
 
 have this same normal character, and call for no 
 comment. At the points enumerated it is quite 
 evident that Spain merely and mechanically followed 
 the general trend of the precious metals and prices 
 through the century. There is no expression of 
 aggrievement, either slight or acute, at the precious 
 metals leaving her. While every other country 
 was occupied seriously, sometimes desperately, 
 with the question of how to guard their stocks of 
 them, the eyes of the Spanish Government and 
 the nation's mind were fixed only on conquest 
 and imperial growth. The cost of her empire was- 
 such that at the accession of Philip in., 1598, the 
 national debt was over a hundred million ducats, an 
 absolutely unparalleled sum for the time. When, 
 therefore, the Spanish Government began the 
 enormous issues of base billon money which mark the 
 reign of Philip iv., it is to be looked upon as a 
 financial, or treasury, or budget expedient, and 
 totally unconnected with any currency movement,, 
 pure and simple. These issues were so great that, in 
 1625, the premium on gold and silver, as compared 
 with billon monies, was fixed at 10 per cent.; in 1636, 
 at 25 and 28 per cent.; and, in September 1641, at 
 50 per cent. (See account of Spanish monies,. 
 Appendix III.) 
 
 Such base monies always tend to become the only 
 visible currency of a land. But, save as thereby facili- 
 tating the denudation of Spain's store of precious 
 metals, this matter of the depreciation of her billon 
 
112 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 money has practically little or no relation to the general 
 movements of the two precious metals which we are 
 investigating. It has more resemblance to an over- 
 issued and depreciated paper currency. 
 
 Of that ebb and flow, that oscillation and instability 
 in the metals, which make the study of the other 
 currency histories of Europe during this period so 
 instructive an object-lesson of the effect and influence 
 of a bimetallic law and system, Spain shows not a 
 trace. She received the metals in a steady stream, and 
 emitted them in a steady stream. They poured through 
 her. Her function was that of distributor, and she 
 performed it. When the time came that her monopoly 
 of the metals ceased, her remedy against the ruin of a 
 bimetallic law was removed, and she became as signal 
 an instance of its malignant operation as any — France, 
 England, or Germany. Until that time came she had 
 her remedy against immediate ruin in her yearly 
 argosy, with its blood- and toil-stained tribute, 
 
 England. 
 
 To come to England. 
 
 The following tables give a succinct synopsis of 
 the general course of her gold and silver coinage 
 during this period : — 
 
ENGLAND, 1500-1660 
 TABLE OF ENGLISH SILVER COINS, 1500-1660. 
 
 "3 
 
 Date. 
 
 Denomination. 
 
 Weight in 
 Troy Grains. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Denomination. 
 
 Weight in 
 Troy Grains. 
 
 1504 
 1527 
 
 1543 
 1 549 
 
 f Penny, 
 \ Giroat, 
 [Shilling, 
 /Penny, 
 \ Groat, 
 ("Penny, 
 \ Groat, 
 [Shilling; . 
 Shilling, . 
 
 12 
 
 48 
 144 
 104 
 
 42^ 
 
 10 
 
 40 
 
 120 
 
 80 
 
 1552 
 1553 
 1560 
 1601 
 
 /Penny, 
 \ Shilling, 
 ( Penny, 
 \ Groat, 
 [ Shilling, . 
 /Penny, 
 \ Groat, 
 /Penny, 
 \Shilling, . 
 
 8 
 96 
 
 8 
 32 
 96 
 
 8 
 32 
 7S 
 923 
 
 TABLE OF THE ENGLISH GOLD COINS, 1500-1660. 
 
 
 
 
 Weight 
 
 Fineness. 
 
 Equiv- 
 alents. 
 
 Date. 
 
 
 Denomination. 
 
 in Troy 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Grains. 
 
 Carats. 
 
 Grains. 
 
 Henry VII., 1489 
 
 
 Sovereign, 
 
 240 
 
 23 
 
 3i 
 
 ;^i 
 
 Henry vni., 1527 
 
 / 
 
 Rose Nobel\ 
 or Rial, / 
 
 120 
 
 23 
 
 34 
 
 II 3 
 
 
 Sovereign, . 
 
 240 
 
 23 
 
 3i 
 
 I 2 6 
 
 
 ( 
 
 Angel, . . 
 
 80 
 
 22 
 
 
 
 080 
 
 1544 
 
 \ 
 
 Crown, . . 
 
 S7lf 
 
 22 
 
 
 
 050 
 
 
 1 
 
 Pound, . . 
 
 200 
 
 ' 22 
 
 
 
 100 
 
 
 / 
 
 Crown, . . 
 
 48 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 050 
 
 .. IS45 
 
 \ 
 
 Pound, . . 
 
 192 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 100 
 
 Edward VI., 1549 
 
 
 Pound, . . 
 
 1691V 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 1550 
 
 J 
 
 Angel, . . 
 
 80 
 
 23 
 
 34 
 
 080 
 
 Sovereign, . 
 
 240 
 
 23 
 
 34 
 
 I 4 
 
 1551 
 
 
 Pound, . . 
 
 I78A- 
 
 22 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Mary, 1553 . 
 
 
 Angel, . 
 
 80 
 
 23 
 
 34 
 
 068 
 
 
 V 
 
 Angel, . 
 
 80 
 
 23 
 
 34 
 
 10 
 
 Elizabeth, 1558 
 
 ] 
 
 Sovereign, . 
 
 240 
 
 23 
 
 34 
 
 I 10 
 
 
 [ 
 
 Pound, . . 
 
 1 74* 
 
 22 
 
 
 
 100 
 
 ,, 1601 
 
 f 
 
 Angel, . . 
 
 7m 
 
 22 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 y 
 
 Pound, . . 
 
 mu 
 
 22 
 
 
 
 100 
 
 James 1., 1603 . 
 
 ( 
 
 Pound, . . 
 
 Unit and its\ 
 fractions, 
 the Double 1 
 
 I7III 
 
 22 
 
 
 
 I 10 
 
 1604 . 
 
 1 
 
 Cr., Brit-) 
 ish Crown, 
 and Thistle 
 Crown, / 
 
 I54'l 
 
 22 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 160S . 
 
 
 Angel, . . 
 
 7H 
 
 23 
 
 34 
 
 10 
 
 1610 . 
 
 V 
 
 Angel, . . 
 
 71-5 
 
 23 
 
 34 
 
 II 
 
 Gold raised 10 p. ct 
 
 ./ 
 
 Unit, . 
 
 i54*f 
 
 22 
 
 
 
 I 2 
 
 1619 . 
 
 
 Angel, . . 
 
 64« 
 
 23 
 
 34 
 
 11 
 
 Charles 1. 1625 
 
 ■{ 
 
 Angel, 
 Unit, . . . 
 
 64H 
 i4oi* 
 
 23 
 22 
 
 34 
 
 
 10 
 
 1 
 
114 
 
 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 TABLE OF THE VALUE IN PENCE OF THE GRAIN OF GOLD 
 (23 c. 3J GR. Fine) IN THE VARIOUS GOLD COINAGES OF 
 ENGLAND, 1500-1660. 
 
 
 Pence 
 
 
 Pence 
 
 Date. 
 
 per 
 
 Date. 
 
 per 
 
 
 Grain. 
 
 
 Grain. 
 
 1527 . 
 
 1. 125 
 
 1601 .... 
 
 1.626 
 
 1544 (22 carats) 
 
 1. 281 
 
 1603 (22 carats) 
 
 2.236 
 
 IS45 (20 „ ) 
 
 1.470 
 
 1604 .... 
 
 1-655 
 
 1549(22 „ ) . 
 
 1.518 
 
 1605 .... 
 
 1.27 
 
 1550 .... 
 
 1.2 
 
 1610 .... 
 
 1.856 
 
 1551 (22 carats) 
 
 1.425 
 
 1619 .... 
 
 2.052 
 
 1553 ■ 
 
 I.O 
 
 1625 
 
 1.851 
 
 1558 
 
 1-5 
 
 1625 (22 carats) 
 
 1.838 
 
 1558 (22 carats) 
 
 1-425 
 
 
 
 The testimony of these tables is perfectly general. 
 They establish, roughly speaking, just such an 
 advance of price as befell the whole of Europe. 
 They do not witness the oscillation in the coinage, 
 and the commercial disaster due to the action of 
 bimetallic law. For the evidence of this latter, how- 
 ever, there is ample store of material in the State 
 papers of England throughout the period. 
 
 The moment prices began to rise on the Continent 
 good English gold tended to disappear and flow 
 away, being replaced by continental coins of lower 
 contents (or higher denomination). The stress of 
 this practical diminution of the currency was made all 
 the greater by the simple fact that the increasing 
 trade which accompanied such rise of prices demanded 
 an expanding rather than a contracting currency. 
 
 The very year, therefore, 15 19, which marks the 
 
a 
 
 s 
 
 00 
 
 1 
 
 CO 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 ?> 
 
 o 
 
 "1. 
 
 o 
 
 ' 
 
 IT) 
 
 
 
 
 
 if 
 
 a 
 
 1 
 
 z 
 
 
 <t 
 
 
 _i 
 
 <!> 
 
 i3 
 
 
 z 
 
 ' 
 
 IXI 
 
 
 
 c^ 
 
 z 
 
 N. 
 
 "— 
 
 • 
 
 Qi 
 
 
 LU 
 
 Cl 
 
 >; 
 
 
 — 1 
 
 
 
 
 00 
 
 5- 
 
 
 
 o^ 
 
 io- 
 
 Q 
 
 
 >J 
 
 P) 
 
 C3 
 
 tj. 
 
 CD 
 
 ' 
 
 U, 
 
 
 a 
 
 ^ 
 
 > 
 o 
 
 C3 
 
 CO 
 
 to 
 
 4ii '3wds eqap 
 
 1ti 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 I 
 pq 
 
WOLSEY'S ADMINISTRATION OF THE MINT iij 
 
 commencement of the rise for the Continent generally, 
 marks the commencement also of agitation in 
 England with regard to the supply of the precious 
 metals. There is preserved among the State papers 
 at the English Record Office a paper of advice from 
 a German of the name of Herman King to Wolsey, 
 dating in June 15 19, " How to provide bullion from 
 Germany for this realm with the greatest profit." 
 He advises contracting for a fixed supply of metal at 
 a certain price, which he puts down, and adds : "If 
 Wolsey will appoint a person to receive the money, I 
 will engage to deliver 2000 or 4000 marks weight 
 yearly at this price, but it must be secretly, as, if the 
 purveyor were discovered, he would be in great 
 danger, and the (German) princes would not suffer 
 any silver to depart because of their own Mints." 
 
 F"our years later the effects of the exchange had 
 made themselves so felt that Henry was obliged 
 to make a treaty with the Emperor, Charles v., 
 "for the reformation of old and new money," 1523. 
 An attempt was made to tie down the chief coins 
 in exchange — the gold real of Flanders, the gold 
 carolus and the double carolus of Spain — and it 
 was further agreed (Article iv.) that no new money 
 of Germany, Italy, Spain, France, or elsewhere, 
 should be given in payment to English merchants, 
 unless it had a fixed value in sterling money by 
 consent of both princes. 
 
 In December of the following year Wolsey was 
 meditating sending commissioners to the Low Countries 
 
ii6 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 to require that all monies valued too high should be 
 reduced to their normal rate, but he was informed by 
 Knight, resident at Mechlyn, that, "having spoken 
 with several who hear daily the council's opinion, 
 they think it is not likely to be done while the war 
 continues, as the chief merchandise now is finances ; 
 and, besides, as their ' goldes ' are highly esteemed in 
 France, if they lower them they will all be carried 
 thither." 
 
 Any such method of procedure as this of Wolsey's 
 was bound to be futile, and Henry's Government fell 
 back on the much wiser plan of altering the 
 denomination of the coins. On the 24th July 1526, a 
 commission was issued to Wolsey "for increasing the 
 sterling value of the coinage to an equality with the 
 rates of foreign currency." The reciting information 
 contained in the commission itself is perfectly succinct 
 and clear in its bearing — " one pound weight of angel 
 gold {i.e. 23 carats 3^ grs. fine) is worth, in current 
 money, £2'] ; by alloy of iV it is worth £21^, 6s., of 
 which IIS. is allowed the Mint master for coining. 
 In return he gives the merchants 108 crowns of the 
 rose, at 5 s., really worth but 4s. lo^d., which makes 
 £26, 6s. 8d. So that there is a clear gain of 48s. 4d." 
 
 The investigations of the commission were followed 
 by a proclamation on the 22nd August 1526, fixing 
 an altered tariff of exchange. Crowns of the sun 
 were put at 4s. 6d., which only four years before had 
 been at 4s. 4d., while the ducat was raised from 
 4s. 6d. to 4s. 8d. 
 
WOLSEY'S ADMINISTRATION OF THE MINT 117 
 
 Finding the enhancing of the gold and the export 
 of specie still continue, an inquest was held, on the 
 30th October 1526, into the fineness and value of the 
 coins. As a result of the verdict of the jury, a 
 second proclamation was issued in the same year, 
 dated November 5th, " to check the exportation of 
 specie arising from the increased value of currency on 
 the Continent." The sovereign was put at 22s. 6d. 
 (having previously been rated at 20s. 6d.), and 
 other gold coins in proportion. Silver coinage was 
 to pass at previous rates, but a new issue was 
 to be made, in which the ounce Troy was to be 
 coined into 3s. gd. Finally, foreign ducats were to 
 be taken as bullion, no rate of exchange being even 
 fixed. 
 
 At the same time Wolsey was attempting to 
 negotiate for a supply of gold from Antwerp to 
 replenish the currency. On this subject there exists 
 a curious letter from his agent in Antwerp, dated 
 2ist November 1526. "These two days," says 
 Hacket, " I have been trying to agree with the 
 principal merchants about the exchange, but none 
 would make any bargain, as you (Wolsey) have 
 limited me to 4s. 6d. for the ducat, and as a ducat of 
 such gold as they would be bound to pay would be 
 worth 4s. lod. in the Mint. They must ^receive 
 either ducats, or a crown of the sun and a groat, for 
 every ducat, or the same in angellets. The best 
 thing would be for one or two of their factors to see 
 you (Wolsey). The gold can be kept at home for 
 
ii8 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 2 or 3 more per cent., for they would be glad to give 
 that to take it out of the realm." 
 
 The new coinage of 1527 was in complete 
 accordance with the proclamation of the preceding 
 November. As far as the tariff or absolute exchange 
 was concerned, it served to redress the balance, 
 and thus to bring the English coin abreast of the 
 continental. In the matter of the ratio, however, 
 hardly any change was made. In the coins of the 
 old standard {i.e. 23 carats 3^ grs.) the ratio remained 
 as before, i : i \\%\ ; in those of the new standard 
 {i.e. 22 carats) it was raised slightly (to i : 11^25)- 
 Neither in the appointment of the exchange, however, 
 nor in the matter of the ratio, could the measure be 
 more than temporarily successful under the conditions. 
 The necessity remained as constantly as ever to 
 watch the changing continental tariff, and to ac- 
 commodate the English system to it. One State 
 paper, dating apparently in 1529, thus pictures the 
 situation at the time : — 
 
 " Disputes in London between English, Italian, 
 Flemish, and Spanish merchants, as to the exchange, 
 because of the last edict about gold. The writer 
 knows of the importation of 100,000 crowns and 
 ^10,000 in gold, which will be exported again unless 
 care is taken. In Flanders, directly after this 
 proclamation, gold was publicly put at a higher price 
 than before — a noble at 2 \ groats" and so on. The 
 writer, therefore, recommends that the searchers at 
 the various ports should be warned to attend to their 
 
ENGLAND AND THE NETHERLANDS IN 1537 119 
 
 duty and see that no gold was carried away from the 
 realm, a 
 
 No recoinage, however, or change in the Mint 
 rates, occurred for some years, and it must be taken 
 as priioici facie evidence that the basis of 1527 
 continued for some years efficient, and witnessed a 
 steady growth in the circulation, accompanying a 
 steady expanse of trade and prices. In 1535, 
 however, complaints were again heard of the convey- 
 ance of coins out of the realm, and on the 15th July 
 a proclamation was issued against it. This movement 
 is perfectly well authenticated. On the loth of May 
 1537, Hutton, writing from Brussels to Thomas 
 Cromwell, says : " Gold was formerly carried out of 
 the realm \i.e. of England] for gain ; now great sums 
 are sent hither \i.e. to the Netherlands] in sterling 
 groats \i.e. in silver]. This will both diminish the 
 coin at home \i.e. in England] and injure the sale of 
 cloth, for here are but three sorts of money current 
 —crowns of the sun, sterling groats, and ' Riders 
 Gelderus' coined in Guelderland. " On the 6th of 
 August the same hand writes, again from Brussels : 
 " Exchange is stopped, and much money like to be 
 conveyed over [i.e. hither], though all coins should be 
 called down here. . . The act made for money will 
 stop the [English] trade in kerseys, and great sums 
 will be conveyed out of the realm [of England to the 
 Netherlands]." 
 
 That the flow-out of gold in 1526 should change 
 into a flow-out of silver in 1539 was simply due to the 
 
I20 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 alteration of the continental ratio. The relatively 
 great depreciation of silver only begins in 1550. Up 
 to that time the general trend of the two metals 
 was on level lines, but with occasional traces or 
 evidence of an appreciation of silver or relative 
 depreciation of gold. At such a moment the lower- 
 rated, i.e. cheaper, English silver inevitably tended to 
 flow out in the very teeth of searchers and legislators. 
 At almost the same time — and as showing at once 
 how international this trade in money or " finances " 
 was, and how confused, and conflicting the monetary 
 system of Europe was, with a flow-out in one direction 
 and a flow-in from another — the English merchants 
 at their Calais Fair reported great gain of the precious 
 metals. " We have very good sale of clothes," writes 
 a merchant to the King on the 27th August 1538 ; 
 "here is great plenty of money, which causes all wares 
 to be dear. Your subjects will bring back above ^3000 
 sterling in angels and ducats. We seek all the angels 
 here and give a penny in the piece to have them to 
 carry home, so that I trust there will be few left here 
 in a short time." 
 
 The threatened rise of monetary denomination on 
 the part of the Netherlands was accomplished by their 
 ordinance of 15th April 1539, and almost immediately 
 Henry found himself necessitated to change the basis 
 of his currency from that established in 1527. In 
 1542 the silver penny was reduced from 10^ to 10 
 grains, and shortly after 1544 the angel was advanced 
 from 7s. 6d. to 8s. The proclamation which enforced 
 
THE CURRENCY MEASURES OF 1544 121 
 
 the change is dated i6th May 1544. Gold was 
 raised from 45s. to 48s. the oz., and silver from 3s. 
 gd. to 4s. In the purchase price of the two metals, 
 therefore, there was no change in the ratio, but 
 calculating on the basis of the issue price, i.e. the 
 pieces issued from the Mint, the alteration of ratio 
 was from ii^^'a^o to 102^. In the proclamation the 
 change was attributed to " the enhancement of the 
 prices of these metals beyond the sea, as well in 
 Flanders as in France, which would have drawn all 
 the coins out of the realm if a remedy had not been 
 applied. And although the customers of the ports of 
 the kingdom had been ordered to put in execution the 
 statutes for the conservation of the coins, yet for the 
 great gain they were still secretly carried abroad." 
 
 The coinage measures, therefore, of the year 1 544, 
 when justly considered, do not possess the aspect 
 which has been generally attributed to them. It is 
 incorrect to look upon them as the tentative begin- 
 ning of that debasement of the coinage which dis- 
 graced the later years of the reign of Henry viii. and 
 the days of his son Edward vi. The measures of 
 1544 were simply acts of justifiable self-defence and 
 currency safeguard. The real debasement began 
 two years later, in 1545-46, when, by indenture, the 
 silver coins {testoons) were reduced from 10 oz. to 
 4 oz. fine silver, the 2 oz. of alloy in the former case 
 being increased to 8 oz. in the latter. In 1550 the 
 content of fine silver in the testoon was further 
 reduced to 3 oz. 
 
122 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 The plan of this history makes it incumbent to 
 treat questions of debasement as standing apart from 
 the subject-matter of the book, which is restricted to 
 the natural and normal ebb and flow of the precious 
 metals, due to the action of bimetallic law. The 
 operation of debasing a coinage — of lowering it, 
 that is, so far and so arbitrarily as to remove it at 
 once from the action of natural law of prices ruling 
 around — means an arrestation of natural economic 
 processes and laws, and the events which follow 
 thereupon stand apart from such laws and ought to 
 be treated as so separate. In reality, debasements 
 always favoured the action of this malignant bi- 
 metallic law, and the fact might possibly lead one to 
 attribute to the normal action of a natural law what 
 is in three-fourths of it due to arbitrary action of 
 government. 
 
 It would be, therefore, unfair to treat of debase- 
 ments in a history of bimetallism. 
 
 Given, however, the above standpoint, and mental 
 reservation of deduction and innuendo, it is permissible 
 to treat of this debasement as showing how or in what 
 way a debasement does achtally facilitate the malig- 
 nant action of bimetallic law.^ Further, the present 
 
 ' By the action of bimetallic law is meant any action of bad money on 
 good — of worn money on new — of higher rated (or lower valuable) money on 
 lower rated (or higher valuable) money. It does not at all matter, especially 
 in cases of debasement, whether there are two metals in the process or only 
 one or even three. If a currency is silver, and part of it is debased and part 
 left good there is bimetallic action, and the good disappears. Of course, the 
 case is argumentatively and for deduction's sake much clearer if a currency is 
 truly bimetallic in the ordinary sense. 
 
THE TUDOR DEBASEMENT 123 
 
 instance of debasement is the only one on record 
 in English currency history, and the testimonies 
 regarding it are of extreme interest. 
 
 For the purpose of external or foreign trade, a 
 debasement of currency is fatuous and pernicious. 
 The coins are estimated at their content of pure 
 metal, and the international exchange is so rated. 
 The consequence is an apparent rise of foreign prices 
 proportioned to the extent of the debasement. This 
 at once unsettles internal or home trade prices, and 
 they rise to the same level, but with such inequality 
 of motion as may happen to follow from friction, 
 local ignorance, want of communication, or from the 
 intricacies of trade. The inequality of exchange- 
 coinage rates which results from this is the bullionist's 
 or the financier's opportunity, and swiftly and invisibly 
 the good species — or any, bad or good, upon which 
 any differential profit can be had — disappear from 
 circulation. The consequence is that the rising prices 
 which instituted the process are no longer accompanied 
 by an expanding or increasing volume of currency, 
 but, on the contrary, with an enormous decrease in 
 the total of acceptable or efficient currency. Hence 
 come decay of trade, and ruin of town and country. 
 
 This is no paper, a priori argument. It is the 
 patent unmistakable statement of history and fact. 
 
 The staple trade of England in the sixteenth and 
 seventeenth centuries was woollen. Coventry was 
 one of the considerable seats of the industry, and 
 known as a flourishing and wealthy town. In the 
 
124 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 third year of Edward vi. — the time when this 
 debasement of our coinage reached the lowest point 
 — its trade was gone, and its population had sunk 
 to 3000, "whereas within memory there had been 
 15,000." 
 
 In the extraordinary "Dialogue concerning the 
 common weal of this realm of England" the scene of 
 which was probably laid in this very decayed town of 
 Coventry, the advance of prices, and the general 
 tendency of the above argument, is more than amply 
 borne out. " I have well experience thereof," says 
 the "cappe" or hat manufacturer, "for I am fain to 
 give my journeymen 2d. a day more than I was wont 
 to do, and yet they say they cannot sufficiently live 
 thereon. The city which was heretofore well in- 
 habited and wealthy (as ye know every one of you) is 
 fallen for lack of occupiers to great desolation and 
 poverty." 
 
 "So the most part of all the towns of England," 
 quoth the merchant, " London excepted ; and not 
 only the good towns are decayed sore in their houses, 
 streets, and other buildings, but also the country in 
 their highways and bridges ; for such poverty reigneth 
 everywhere that few men have so much to spare as 
 they may give anything to the reparation of such ways, 
 bridges, and common easements. There is such a 
 general dearth of all things as I never knew the like, 
 not only of things growing within this realm, but also 
 of all other merchandise that we bye beyond the seas, 
 as silks, wines, oils, etc. I wot well all these do cost 
 
THE TUDOR DEBASEMENT 125 
 
 me more now by the third part well than they did but 
 seven years ago." 
 
 " Such of us," says the knight, "as do abide in the 
 country still can not with ^200 a year keep that 
 house that we might have done with 200 marks but 
 sixteen years ago." 
 
 The course of the enhancement of foreign prices 
 is thus argued between the merchant and the doctor. 
 
 Merchant. — "We that be merchants pay dearer 
 for everything that cometh over the sea, even by the 
 third part well. And because they of beyond the sea 
 will not receive our money for their wares, as they were 
 glad in past times to do, we are fain to buy English 
 wares for them, and that doth cost us dearer by the 
 third part, yea almost the one-half, dearer than they 
 did before time, for we pay 8s. for a yard of cloth 
 that within these ten years we might have bought for 
 4s. 8d. When we have thus dear bought outlandish 
 ware, then we have not so good vent of them again as 
 we have had before time, by reason there be not so 
 many buyers, for lack of power, though indeed in such 
 things as we sell we consider the price we bought 
 them at." 
 
 Doctor. — " I doubt not if any men have licked 
 themselves whole \i.e. recovered the loss] you be the 
 same, for what odds soever there happen to be in 
 exchange of things, you that be merchants can espy it 
 anon. Ye lurched some of the coin as soon as ever ye 
 perceived the price of that to be enhanced. Ye, by and 
 by perceiving what was to be won thereon beyond 
 
126 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 the sea, raked all the old coin for the most part in this 
 realm and found the means to have it carried over, so 
 as little was left behind within this realm- of such old 
 coin [i.e., good undebased coin\, at this day, which in 
 ■my opinion is a great cause of this dearth that we 
 have now of all things." "Thereby'' he adds again, 
 speaking of this "basing or rather corrupting of 
 our coin and treasure, we have devised a way 
 for the strangers, not only to buy our gold and 
 silver for brass, and not only to exhaust this realm of 
 treasure, but also to buy our chief commodities in 
 manner for nothing. It was thought it should have 
 been a means not only to bring our treasure hom.e, btd 
 to bring much of others, but the experience hath so 
 plainly declared the contrary, so as it were a very 
 dullards part to be in doubt thereof, . . . Do 
 you not see that our coin is discredited already 
 among strangers, which evermore desired to serve us 
 before all other nations at all our needs for the good- 
 ness of our coins ; and now they let us have nothing 
 from them, but only for our commodities, as wool, felt, 
 tallow, butter, cheese, tin, and lead. And whereas 
 before time they were wont to bring us for the same 
 either good gold or silver, or else equally necessary 
 commodities again, now they send us other trifles as I 
 spake of before, as glasses, gelly pots, tennis balls, 
 papers, girdles, brooches, etc. . . . As I told you 
 in your ear before, they send us brass for our treasure 
 of gold and silver, and for our said commodities I 
 warrant you you see neither gold nor silver brought 
 
THE TUDOR DEBASEMENT 127 
 
 over unto us as it was here before used, and no 
 marvel. To what purpose should they bring silver 
 or gold hither, where the same is not esteemed. 
 Therefore I have heard say of a truth, and I believe 
 it the rather to be true, because it is likely that since 
 our coin hath been debased and altered, strangers 
 have counterfeited our coin, and found the means to 
 have great masses transported hither, and here uttered 
 it as well for our gold and silver as for our chief 
 commodity ; which thing I report me to you what 
 inconvenience it may bring the King's highness, and 
 this realm, if it be suffered, and that in brief time. 
 . . . And besides this, have you not made pro- 
 clamations that our old coin specially of gold, that it 
 should not be current here above such a price ? Is 
 not that the readiest way to drive away our gold from 
 us, as everything will go where it is most esteemed ? 
 And therefore our treasure goeth over in ships. 
 ... I hear say that in France and Flanders, there 
 goeth abroad such [brass and billon] coin at these 
 days, but that doth not exile all other good coin, 
 but they be current withal, and plenty thereof, how- 
 soever they use it. Therefore I think it wisdom, we 
 did learn of them how we might use the one and the 
 other keeping either of them of like rate as they do so, 
 that they should never desire any of our coin for any 
 greater value than they be esteemed at with them nor 
 we theirs for any greater estimate with us than with 
 them., and then we should be sure to keep our treasure 
 at a stay. And as for recovering of old treasure that 
 
128 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 is already gone, there might be order that some 
 commodity of ours were so restrained from them that 
 it should not be sold but for silver or gold, or for the 
 third-part or half in such coins as is universally 
 current, and thus chiefly our treasure' might be 
 recovered by the use of means." 
 
 When pressed by the knight to show how this 
 merchandise in coins was actually initiated and worked 
 the doctor thus replies : " Well, then, when gold- 
 smiths, merchants, and other skilled persons in metal, 
 perceived that the one groat is better than the other, 
 and yet that he shall have as much for the worse groat 
 as for the better, will not he lap up the better groat 
 always and turn it to some other use, and put forth the 
 worse, being like current abroad ? Yea, no doubt, even 
 as they have done of late with the new gold. For they 
 apperceiving the new coin of gold to be better than the 
 netv coin of silver that was made to counter value it, 
 picked out all the gold as fast as it came forth of the 
 Mint and laid that aside for other uses, so that now ye 
 have but a little m,ore than the old current, and so both 
 the Kings highness is deceived of his treasures, and the 
 thing intended never the more brottght to pass, and all 
 is because there is no due proportion kept between the 
 coins, while the one is better than the other in his 
 degree." 
 
 "But how," asks the knight, "do they do in 
 France and Flanders, where they have both brass 
 coin, mixed coin, pure silver, and pure gold current 
 together?" "I warrant you," is the doctor's reply. 
 
ELIZABETH'S RECOINAGE 129 
 
 ' ' by keeping of due proportion every metal towards 
 other, as of brass towards silver 100 to i, of silver 
 towards gold 12 to i. For the proportion of silver 
 towards gold, I think, cannot be altered by the 
 authority of any prince, for if it might have been, it 
 should have been ere this, by some one needy prince 
 or other within 2000 years." 
 
 So much in brief for this depreciation of Henry 
 VIII., and for this extraordinary dialogue. The 
 doctor's remedy was a recoinage, such a,g was later 
 effected. The extent of the knowledge of economic 
 laws displayed by this figure throughout the dialogue 
 is astonishing. The divine was the better merchant, 
 and if he had lived — for Miss Lamond's masterly 
 identification of this character with Latimer hardly 
 admits of question — and ruled in later counsels, he 
 might have shown himself the better legislator. 
 
 The recoinage which he advocated was not 
 effectually completed till the second year of Elizabeth's 
 reign, 1559. The basis on which it was then accom- 
 plished was that of a ratio of 11.79, 3-s nearly as 
 possible that adopted in the same or the following 
 year, 1560, by France, and slightly higher than that 
 which was established in Germany by the imperial 
 edict of 1559. The coincidence in these rates is 
 remarkable, and it is quite apparent that the action of 
 Elizabeth dictated that of France, as also that this her 
 action secured for England a steady supply of the 
 precious metals during a period in which France was 
 violently agitated by currency crises. 
 9 
 
I30 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 In the first year of her reign, ist May, EHzabeth 
 issued a proclamation against the export of bulHon. 
 This was followed by one in the second year, 27 th 
 September, against the melting of monies, and by two 
 others, of the 4th October and 23rd December of the 
 same year, " for the valuation of certain base monies 
 called testoons . . . finding that the ancient good gold 
 and silver is daily transported," etc. Finally, on the 
 15th November (3 Eliz.), a proclamation was issued 
 forbidding the circulation of French crowns and 
 Flemish or Burgundian crowns. This series of pro- ' 
 clamations is to be regarded as one measure with, 
 and as fortifying, the recoinage and the new ratio 
 established. And the efficiency of the system thus 
 instituted is to be judged by the fact that, with the 
 exception of two unimportant p oclamations of i6th 
 October (7 Eliz.), and ist December(8 Eliz.), no further 
 legislation or Privy Council proclamation was needed 
 for a matter of fifteen years. 
 
 From 1572-76, however, as ha§ been seen already, 
 the Netherlands issued a closely consecutive series of 
 plakkaats which altered the situation for the whole of 
 Europe, and England, equally with the rest, felt the 
 drain. Contemporary evidence as to this fact has 
 been already quoted (p. 73). Accordingly, on the 
 20th September (18 Eliz.), Elizabeth issued a procla- 
 mation "for the ordering the exchange of monies by 
 enactment, according to laws of the realm, . . . because 
 of disorders, . . . decay of merchandise, . . . and 
 value of monies." Again, in 1582, inquiries were 
 
ELIZABETH'S FINAL REVISION 131 
 
 made respecting the export of gold, and one of the 
 London aldermen wrote to Secretary Walsingham, 
 advising the appointment of four skilful merchants as 
 an advisory body. Finding the drain continue, on 
 the 1 2th October (29 Eliz.) the Queen issued a procla- 
 mation " for reforming of the deceits in diminishing the 
 value of coins of gold current in our dominion, and for 
 remedying the losses which might grow by receiving 
 thereof being diminished." According to the express 
 testimony of this proclamation the gold coins were 
 exported, diminished, and returned, and it accordingly 
 enacted that no coins- should be taken as current when 
 beneath such and such a weight, or lacking such and 
 such a remedy. 
 
 For a dozen years or so after this no further com- 
 plaints of a gold drainage are heard, but in 1597 they 
 recommence. "If good provision be not foreseen 
 the coins of gold and silver of England will flow over 
 to the Low Countries as fast as they can be coined," 
 is the testimony of a document of April in that year, 
 "for the angel and sovereign of England are current 
 in Holland and Zealand at i8s. the piece of Flemish 
 money, and our silver much after the same rate." 
 And the writer adds : " I see no harm to this realm, if 
 the French gold coin was permitted to be current for 
 6s. 2d., the Spanish gold pistole for 6s., and the silver 
 real of eight for 4s." 
 
 It was under the influence of this movement, of 
 which more complaints exist among the Domestic State 
 Papers, that the final Elizabethan revision of the Mint 
 
132 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 prices of the metals took place. On the i8th March 
 1600 she issued a proclamation "concerning coin, 
 plate, and bullion of gold and silver," reciting that 
 " bullion of gold and silver, etc., for these later years, 
 have been much more abundantly transported and 
 conveyed away than in any former times," and com- 
 manding the observance of the statutes against such 
 transport. 
 
 Finding her proclamation mere waste paper, Eliza- 
 beth resorted to the only safe and possible expedient, 
 a change in the issue rate of the coinage. But for 
 once her instinct, or the wisdom of her councillors, 
 failed her. Instead of raising the ratio of gold to 
 silver, she lowered it from r : iiiV to i : loffjf- 
 
 It is inconceivable that such a blunder should have 
 been committed at a time when the production of 
 silver had advanced and was advancing by leaps and 
 bounds beyond that of gold, and when the currency 
 of every European country of commercial note was 
 being accommodated to the depreciation of silver 
 with unerring instinct. But so it was, and the blunder 
 only served to accelerate and intensify the catastrophe 
 under James i. 
 
 In matters of currency history it is impossible to 
 separate the Tudor from the Stuart period, and this 
 last and sole blunder of Elizabeth's administration 
 only serves to show the continuity of principle or 
 event, and how little of moral censure attaches in this 
 matter to abused James any more than to lauded 
 Elizabeth. But it is instructive and curious to note 
 
ECONOMICS OF THE PURITAN REVOLUTION 133 
 
 that the currency history of England during all the 
 reign of Elizabeth shows such remarkable quiescence. 
 From 1558 to, the fatal blunder of 1601 there was no 
 change in her Mint rates. The complaints of exports 
 of coins, and the evidence of the action of bimetallic 
 law, appears only at three isolated and widely sepa- 
 rated periods. The inference can only be — and it 
 is more than an inference — that her reign, besides 
 being a period of currency expansion, was one in 
 which the ratio existing in England facilitated the 
 flow of metals from the Continent, and secured the 
 permanence of that currency expansion. On this 
 increased basis of currency was built that commercial 
 and national, yea even literary, growth and expansion, 
 which have made the Elizabethan age the glory of 
 our history. Similarly, the unrest and commercial 
 credit crises under James i. and Charles i., which 
 resulted from the same wide causes and principles, 
 underlay and played a vitally determining part in the 
 agitation and revolution-sowing of their reigns, and 
 that, too, in a manner which has never yet been 
 appreciated. The uprisal of England, which resulted 
 in the first dethronement of the Stuarts, was as widely 
 and vitally based upon economic causes as upon legal 
 or religious, — possibly, indeed, much more so, if we 
 only knew it. 
 
 At first James was determined to proceed with the 
 monies which were being wrought by Elizabeth's 
 warrant. But on the nth November, in the first 
 year of his reign, a new indenture was made for the 
 
134 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 coining of a new piece called the Unite, to commemo- 
 rate the union of the two crowns of England and 
 Scotland. While preserving the same, value as the 
 pound sovereign of Elizabeth's issue of 1601 (viz. 
 20s.), its weight was only i54lf grains, while that of 
 Elizabeth's was lyifj-. In the following year the 
 angel was reduced from 78|| grains to 71^. The 
 combined effect was to raise the ratio from 10.90 (as 
 in 1 601) to 12.15. Elizabeth's blunder was thereby 
 effectually remedied, but it was not before an outcry 
 had been made about the decay in shipping, and in 
 the export of English cloth. 
 
 Even this higher ratio did not remain permanently, 
 or for long, effective. In 1607 the transportation of 
 specie rose to such a height that a proclamation had 
 to be issued against it, 9th July, and there was again 
 talk of establishing "a true and perfect way to keep 
 the money within the kingdom by instituting a 
 register for all payments made by way of exchange." 
 Again, two years later (lOth August 1609 and i8th 
 May 161 1 ), the proclamation had to be twice renewed ; 
 no less a person than Sir Francis Bacon drafting the 
 clause in the first case. The anxiety which the subject 
 caused to the Privy Council is quite apparent in the 
 State papers, and much division of opinion prevailed 
 before the only possible remedy — a raising of the 
 denomination of the coinage— was adopted. Salisbury 
 was at first adverse to the measure, and it seems 
 more than likely that he is the "gentleman" whom 
 Sir Walter Raleigh singles out for retort in his 
 
RALEIGH ON CURRENCY 135 
 
 masterly " Select Observations relating to Trade, Com- 
 merce, and Coin." These observations were addressed 
 to King James, and quite apparently relate to the 
 crisis of 161 1. They show, too, the wonderful 
 swiftness of Raleigh's genius. " While the current 
 cash of this kingdom can be converted into bullion, 
 and so made a trading commodity, it will either be 
 conveyed to the best market or wrought into plate 
 at home. It is evident, notwithstanding those 
 great sums coined in the two last reigns, 'twas no 
 sooner made than converted into trading commodity, 
 which, if it happen again, the nation may be totally 
 drained of it. 
 
 "The goodness of the Spanish coin has not kept 
 it in Spain. . . . Raising the value of our coin is 
 the only certain means to keep it in the nation. . . . 
 Contrary to the policy of nations our standard coin is 
 of greater value in all places than at home, except 
 Spain. . . . The gentleman adds, that raising the 
 value or denomination of our coin will not bring one 
 grain of silver the more into England. This is 
 denying it's day when the sun shines ; and, begging the 
 gentleman's pardon, he might, with as much truth, 
 have said, and as easily been believed, that the advance 
 of guineas hath not brought one guinea more into 
 the kingdom than was here four years ago. " Raleigh 
 then gives a table of the values of the commonly 
 current coins, showing conclusively that at the 
 prevailing rates no coins, save Spanish, could be 
 brought to the English Mint except at a loss, and 
 
136 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 adds : " Before our milled money was made there was 
 great scarcity of silver in France, having little trade 
 with Spain, and their usual payments were then in a 
 worn specie. During the last thirty - five years 
 France has done more mischief to the confederates [of 
 the Low Countries] by exhausting them of gold and 
 silver than by her armies." 
 
 Salisbury pondered the question deeply, as his 
 notes still show, and on the 22nd November 161 1 he 
 consented to the issuing of a proclamation raising the 
 denominational value of all gold coins 10 per cent. This 
 proclamation was issued on the following- day, and the 
 ratio was thereby at a blow raised from 12.15 
 to 13.32. 
 
 Among the many alternative schemes proposed 
 before the adoption of this measure, had been one for 
 "raising ;^5oo,ooo on loan to the King, by coining 
 brass money to that amount, and compelling their 
 acceptance in certain proportions by the people, on 
 promise to repay within seven years in full value 
 silver." It was fondly asserted that this would 
 be a "means of preventing the export of coin and 
 bullion, caused by the rise and value of foreign 
 coin." 
 
 Another project brought forward was " for meeting 
 the increase of value laid upon the coins of the Low 
 Countries by issuing a copper coinage, corresponding 
 thereto, and by raising the value of English silver 
 and gold coins in order to prevent losses of merchants 
 in foreign trade, etc." 
 
ENGLAND: THE AGITATION OF 1611 137 
 
 A year later a third scheme was proposed to 
 remedy the under- valuation of English monies, "by 
 the coinage of small silver monies of coarser silver, so 
 as to raise the value of the larger money in proportion ; 
 the old standard to be observed in payments of rents, 
 the new in ordinary bargains." 
 
 The step actually and finally adopted, however, 
 by the proclamation of 161 1, did not equalise the 
 exchange for more than a twelvemonth. The rise on 
 the Continent continued, and the outflow recom- 
 menced. In 16 1 2 the Council took note of the 
 persons concerned in this trade of transporting, with a 
 view to proceeding against them, while on their side the 
 general commercial public, or such of them as did not 
 share the secret and the gain of bullion-broking, 
 demanded that the under-valuation of English monies 
 should be redeemed by further raising the value of 
 the coins one penny in the shilling. On the 14th 
 May 161 2 a proclamation was issued forbidding 
 merchants to exceed Mint prices in buying bullion. 
 A year later (4th July 16 13) we are told that the 
 Privy Council had sat twelve or thirteen hours on the 
 Sunday, and " have been forced to dismiss the gold 
 and silver business, and also that of the fishing, as 
 involving many points in the treaties with Burgundy 
 and. Holland." 
 
 The State papers of this year contain quite 
 numerous references to the subject : " Statement of the 
 Undervalue set upon English Money in Foreign 
 Countries, as proved by the last Placard of the Low 
 
138 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 Countries " ; " Notes of the Advantage arising to the 
 Crown of England from raising the Shilling to \i\ 
 Pence, and the Proportion of Gold from 12^ to 13 " ; 
 "Suggestions as to the Means of Preventing 
 Foreign Nations from taking Advantage of the English 
 in the Exchange of Monies, viz., raising English Coins 
 in Nominal Value," etc. 
 
 On the 23rd March 161 5 a further proclamation 
 was issued against the export of gold and silver coin, 
 and in the following year the exports of the East 
 India Company were limited to ;^6ooo in bullion or 
 specie. The Mint officials proposed a raising of the 
 denomination, and again the matter was hotly 
 debated in and out of the Council. But a different 
 race of men from Raleigh had succeeded, and, 
 on the 31st December 16 18, the Privy Council 
 determined that "silver shall not be raised in value 
 at present, and uniformity in the weight of the coin is 
 to be observed ; the melting of gold for braid or 
 plate forbidden, but further regulations postponed till 
 the committee for exchanges bring their report." 
 
 As it happened, owing to the necessity of replenish- 
 ing the King's finances, the question had become 
 complicated, and some of the measures proposed for 
 staying the coin had a more sinister bearing, as is 
 apparent in one of the schemes referred to {supra, p. 
 1 36), being, in short, cloaked proposals of debasement. 
 In setting its face against such proposals of debase- 
 ment the Council was right, but such proposals had 
 relation only to the King's finances, and not to the 
 
ENGLAND : THE MEASURES OF i6ig 139 
 
 currency crux, and In delaying the proper tariffing 
 of the English against the continental coins the 
 Council did wrong. By 1619 the evil had risen to 
 so great a height that the Council determined to 
 act upon its own proclamations. Eighteen merchants 
 were sentenced in the Star Chamber for exporting 
 gold (8th December 1619), five being acquitted. 
 The total of the fines imposed on the sentenced 
 men reached ^140,000, and it was stated that since 
 the beginning of the reign a matter of ;^7,ooo,ooo of 
 gold had been surreptitiously exported. On the 31st 
 July 16 1 9 proclamation was issued for a new coin- 
 age. The gold angel was reduced in weight from 
 71^ grs. to 64H, being equivalent to an increase 
 of an eleventh in its denominational value : and in 
 January 1620, following the convictions of the mer- 
 chants referred to, the Council busily debated "the 
 erecting an exchange for monies, to prevent the 
 export of silver by the goldsmiths who have been 
 the offenders." 
 
 All these steps were taken too late, and the 
 currency crisis which shook Germany ran its full 
 course, too, in England. 
 
 In 1620 there was a great scarcity of silver in the 
 country, and the trade of the Eastland merchant was 
 gone — a scarcity and decay which they attributed "to 
 the rise of foreign coin, especially that of Poland and 
 Holland, during the last four years in which the 
 Hollanders have farmed the King of Poland's Mint." 
 The export of cloth had sunk to one-third the output 
 
I40 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 of the previous year. By May 1621 the situation 
 had become pressing. The secret export of money 
 still continued, and it was again proposed to register 
 bills of exchange, and also to make Spanish and 
 French coins current in the country. In June the 
 Privy Council issued circulars to the East India, _ 
 Turkey, French, Eastland, and Spanish companies, 
 and the Company of Merchant-Adventurers — ^prac- 
 tically the whole mercantile corporation of London — 
 desiring them to choose experienced persons from 
 each of these companies, to consult upon the best 
 means of managing the exchange of monies, so as to 
 encourage the import of silver, and prevent its export. 
 Their statement on the 17th June was simply that 
 the export was due to the under-valuation of the 
 English monies. The Council considered their re- 
 port on the following day, and ordered it to be further 
 considered, "but the Lords think it best for some 
 agreement to be made with neighbouring states for 
 a due correspondence in the value of the coins now 
 used." 
 
 But while the Lords of the Council talked of 
 treaties the crisis came. By the end of the year 
 there was no money in the country, and trade was at 
 a standstill. In February 1622, Locke informs 
 Carleton "money is very scarce. In the clothing 
 counties the poor have assembled in troops of forty 
 or fifty, and gone to houses of the rich and demanded 
 meat and money, which has been given through fear. 
 The Lords ordered the clothiers to keep their people 
 
ENGLAND . THE CRISIS OF 1622 141 
 
 at work, but as they complained that they cannot sell 
 their cloth, usurers and monied men though not in 
 the trade are ordered to buy it." In March the 
 Justices write from Gloucestershire : " The people 
 begin to steal, and many are starving ; all trades 
 are decayed; money very scarce." Stocks of cloth 
 accumulated in the London "halls" or warehouses 
 of the various districts, and notes of them were 
 submitted to the Privy Council. 
 
 Pieces unsold. 
 Gloucester, Worcester, Reading, Somerset, and SufiFolk Hall, 
 
 and Blackwell Hall, ..... 433 
 
 Manchester Hall . . ... 853 
 
 ("Besides many in the country which are not sent off for want 
 of a market.") 
 Storehouse for Gloucester, Worcester, Kent, Somerset . 1 163 
 
 (Mostly belonging to Kent.) 
 Wiltshire Hall . . . . 560 
 
 Northern Hall . . . 5159 
 
 Leadenhall ...... 3057 
 
 (Cloths from Suffolk and Essex.) 
 Devonshire Kerseys .... . 423 
 
 The merchant-adventurers were appealed to to buy 
 up these stocks, but they were unable. The ordinary 
 taxes of the country could not be levied, or, when 
 levied, proved only a fraction of the estimated amount, 
 and invariably the commissioner attributed the defi- 
 ciency to the want of money and the general decay 
 of trade. "Wools and cloth are grown almost value- 
 less,'' write the justices of Somerset, on the 15th 
 of May 1622, "and the people desperate for want of 
 work." 
 
142 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 The expectations of outbreaks were great, and in 
 Nottingham musters were held, and the trained bands 
 ordered to be ready for instant service, to suppress 
 riots, if any occurred (July 1622). 
 
 Meanwhile the Council was busy conferring with 
 merchant delegates from every part of the country. 
 A new proclartiation against exporting coin was talked 
 of (15th June 1622), and a declaration issued (same 
 day), that the King purposed to establish a Royal Ex- 
 change, to regulate all exchanges. 
 
 "Treatises on Exchanges," "Statements of the 
 Disadvantages of a Low Exchange," and similar docu- 
 ments crowd the State papers ; and on the 28th July 
 a proclamation was issued ordering nothing to be 
 worn at funerals but English-made cloth, forbidding 
 the export of raw wool or yarn, and declaring the 
 establishing of a Standing Commission on matters of 
 trade. On the 30th of August the Goldsmiths' Com- 
 pany returned their answers to the Council's queries 
 with regard to the comparative weight and value of 
 Spanish reals and English shillings, and suggested 
 that the pound of silver should be cut into 65s. in- 
 stead of 62s. The officers of the Mint followed up 
 this advice by confirmatory testimony. " The busi- 
 ness is weighty," wrote Sir Robert Heath to Secretary 
 Calvert, in enclosing him the above reports. " For 
 we are drawn dry. Coin must be brought in from 
 elsewhere \i.e. abroad], which can only be by assurance 
 of gain to the merchants in equalling our coin to that 
 of other States." As a corollary it was proposed on 
 
ENGLAND : THE CRISIS OF 1622 143 
 
 the following day, August 31, to encourage the bring- 
 ing in of money by making the Spanish real pass 
 current at 4s. 8d., its true value in English coin. 
 " The merchants will bring them in at this profit, 
 though they can gain more for them in Holland, and 
 they press for an immediate reply, as the Spanish 
 fleet is coming in, and the money will be brought 
 hither if the merchant can make a reasonable profit. " 
 
 In September the clothworkers and dyers of Lon- 
 don complained in a petition of their want of employ- 
 ment, and that many thousands of them were in the 
 greatest distress. So great was the want in the 
 country districts that a proclamation was issued ordering 
 all persons of quality in London and Westminster to 
 go to the country, and reside on their estates, for the 
 relief of the poor in the dearth. In January 1623 fears 
 of disturbance in Essex were rife, "because of poor 
 clothworkers, the masters being unable to » employ 
 the men, and many who were thought the wealthiest 
 were likely to become bankrupt." On the 7th of Feb- 
 ruary the officers of the Mint reported to the Council 
 that they found the value of the Spanish real of eight 
 to be equal to 4s. 6^d., as compared with the new 
 shilling coin ; and on the 4th of March following a 
 proclamation was issued to make these Spanish reals 
 current at 4s. 6d., "in hopes of bringing some of that 
 coin to the Mint." 
 
 From this time onwards no further references, save 
 one laconic remark in May 1623, " the poor do not com- 
 plain much," occur in the State papers to this, one of 
 
144 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 the acutest currency crises in our history ; and we 
 are left to follow the process of recovery and the 
 dumb, inarticulate agony of the widespread ruin in 
 sympathy and imagination merely. The details here 
 given are taken entirely from the State papers, stolid 
 and ungarnished, but the tale they tell is momentous 
 and dire in its importance. 
 
 When consulted by the Privy Council, the various 
 committees and delegates of the merchants attributed 
 the crisis to the deceits practised in the manufacture 
 of cloth, to the embargo on its sale, and other such 
 causes, as well as to the scarcity of money, and the 
 loss in exchange. The first suggestion is hardly worth 
 a moment's consideration. Every testimony points 
 to the fact that the crisis was as purely a monetary or 
 currency crisis, as later crises have been distinguishedly 
 credit crises. Between 1613 and 1621 hardly any 
 silver monies were coined in the English Mint ; for 
 example, between 161 7 and 1620 the total silver 
 coinage was only ^1070, whereas in the four suc- 
 ceeding years the silver coinage at the Tower Mint 
 amounted to ^205,500. 
 
 " From the year 162 1," says one of the informers 
 of i6g8, to whose petition reference will be shortly 
 made, " many goldsmiths and cashiers of London 
 culled the weighty shillings and sixpences to make 
 into plate, silver wire, and to other manufactures ; 
 for most of that time, we having wars with Spain, 
 little or no silver came from thence ; so likewise hath 
 little or no silver from France in that time, and no 
 
ENGLAND : JAMES I. 145 
 
 silver could be brought out of Holland by reason it 
 went so high by the placard. For sterling silver 
 passed in Holland for 4d. per ounce higher than it was 
 made in our Mint, sterling being in Holland at 5s. 4d. 
 per ounce, so that no silver could be imported from 
 Holland to supply our Mint, which the goldsmiths 
 and others perceiving presently fell a-culling the silver 
 monies current, and the money being coined in the 
 Mint at 5s. 2d., the goldsmiths, finers, and wire-drawers 
 did raise it up to 5s. 3d. per ounce, and melted down 
 into the weight of shillings and sixpences, and left none 
 to pass betwixt man and man but light monies and 
 clipped, and did exceed the rate of the Mint by giving 
 for sterling 5s. 3d. per ounce, and 5s. 3-|d., and some- 
 times more ; by which means there was no silver 
 brought into the Mint for ten years to speak of but 
 the silver which came from Wales. This will appear 
 by the Mint books." 
 
 The testimony only confirms the previous infer- 
 ence. The whole reign of James i. was a period of 
 inefficient attempts to rate the English coinage to the 
 incessant rise in the continental coinages, of consequent 
 drain of specie to the Netherlands, and of practical 
 closing of the Mints at home. The cause, opportunity, 
 channel, or machinery of the drain was the inces- 
 santly shifting, badly tariffed, imperfectly understood 
 bimetallic system of the times ; and the crisis of 1622 
 was only the most patent expression of its malignant 
 action. It is doubtful whether the political effect of 
 that crisis has been properly estimated by the consti- 
 
146 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 tutional student of the popular revolution under the 
 Stuarts. Its commercial, currency, and economic and 
 theoretic influence has certainly, and much more, been 
 hitherto overlooked. 
 
 The reign of Charles i., and the period of the 
 Commonwealth, display similar characteristics to that 
 of James i., but in a more modified and less malignant 
 measure. Putting aside, after serious debate, the 
 various propositions for a debasement which were 
 made early in his reign, Charles made, throughout, no 
 change in the denomination or value of his coins, and 
 no change in the ratio. In 1627 the export of coin- 
 age became again perceptible, and a warrant was 
 issued for erecting a Royal Exchange between Eng- 
 land and Scotland, September 28, and for a procla- 
 mation forbidding all indirect practices of merchants, 
 and underhand buying of uncurrent coin and foreign 
 bullion. 
 
 In the following March, 1628, a committee was 
 appointed to advise his Majesty concerning the coins, 
 and to observe from time to time all accidents at home 
 and i^broad touching coins. Numerous schemes were 
 proposed for the arresting of the process of export. 
 They bear generally two characters — ( i ) as proposing 
 a change of the ratio ; (2) as proposing a differential 
 issue of the silver issue coinage, i.e. coining 4d., 3d., and 
 2d. silver pieces at a different and higher rate than the 
 larger silver pieces. Such schemes have no import- 
 ance at the present day, save as foreshadowing the 
 mechanism by which England finally evolved a mono- 
 
ENGLAND. CHARLES I. 147 
 
 metallic system which permitted of the fullest reten- 
 tion of silver. The flow of coinage which these 
 proposals were intended to meet was not now to the 
 Netherlands but to France, and it must be attributed 
 to the course of the French currency already indicated. 
 In 1630 the names of certain merchants engaged in 
 the transport of gold and silver were reported to the 
 Council, together with the names of the French mer- 
 chants who received the same in France. In June 
 1635 certain of these were arrested, and in 1638 not 
 less than thirty-seven of them were prosecuted in the 
 Star Chamber for this unlawful transportation. The 
 drain went steadily on during the whole of the decade. 
 On January 18, 1635-6, a proclamation was issued for 
 restraint of the consumption of coin and bullion. In 
 the following March an order of the King in Council 
 was issued against the exportation of English and 
 Scotch coin, and by gentlemen crossing the sea, and 
 forbidding the wearing of jewels, etc., "because of 
 the great quantity of money exported." Any such 
 enactments were doomed to be futile. The true 
 remedy, or - rather the keynote of the situation, was 
 contained in a proposition submitted to the Privy 
 Council for the making current of certain foreign coins. 
 " The forbidding of Spanish money in England," says 
 the author Barrett, " was to enrich the Mint, which 
 brought forth contrary effects, for the French, Dutch, 
 and other nations, by advancing Spanish coins, re- 
 ceived the greatest profit." He accordingly proposed 
 that the King should raise the Spanish money to be 
 
148 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 current in England by proclamation. The double 
 pistolets weighing i6s. to be raised to 15s. ; the piece 
 of eight weighing 5s. to be raised to 4s. 6d., " and when 
 there is store brought into the kingdom, then have a 
 new proclamation to call in these coins to be stamped 
 with a mark and apprised to the intrinsic value." The 
 step was not adopted, and by his Majesty's declara- 
 tion of 1639 in the Star Chamber, gold and silver 
 were to be considered commodities of merchandise. 
 " By 1640 there was not in the kingdom a million of 
 silver," says Sir Ralph Maddison in a memorial. 
 " Gold and silver," said Sir Thomas Roe in his speech 
 on trade in the Commons, " are very scarce, and 
 the kingdom is impoverished. Money has been 
 drawn away into other kingdoms, especially into 
 France and Holland, where it is worth more." One 
 of the informants, who had been employed by the 
 Government in the prosecutions of 1638, thus gave 
 his testimony in a petition which he subsequently 
 drew up : " Divers goldsmiths of London are be- 
 come exchangers of bullion of gold and silver, and 
 buy it of merchants and others, pretending to carry 
 it to the Mint. But indeed they are the greatest 
 instruments for transporting that are, and in a man- 
 ner they are only those who furnish transporters with 
 English and foreign gold, Spanish money, rixdollars, 
 pistolets, cardacues, etc. Some of the goldsmiths 
 make it their use and practice to buy light English 
 gold of shopkeepers and others, which, by the laws of 
 this kingdom, wanting beyond remedy, ought to be 
 
ENGLAND: THE SITUATION IN 1638 149 
 
 bought as bullion, and upon the sale ought to be 
 defaced and new-coined in the Mint. But they take 
 another way, for they sell all this gold to transport, 
 though it want four, five, or six grains above the 
 allowance, and that a 20s. -piece will not make 19s. to 
 be coined in the Mint. Yet the goldsmiths will not 
 abate above 2d. or 3d., and sometimes but id. in 
 the piece, let the gold want what it will, by which 
 means they outgive the Mint, and the gold which 
 the goldsmiths buy of the subjects, thinking it is to 
 carry to the Mint to be new-coined, to pass in current 
 payment, they put it into a dead sea, never to be 
 made coin of in our commonwealth. For, weekly, 
 French and English have bought up this gold, let it 
 be as light as it will, at 19s. 9d., 19s. lod., 19s. iid., 
 and so after that rate for all other gold, to the value of 
 many hundred thousand pounds. Many thousands of 
 dollars and Spanish . money they furnish yearly to 
 merchants that trade for Norway and Denmark, to 
 transport silver for those parts." 
 
 The drain of coinage to France he distinctly 
 attributes to the raising of the French coins. " At 
 this present in France the native merchants there 
 match us with such a point of policy that it would be 
 hard for our merchants to be master of . . . Since the 
 raising of our 20s. -piece to 26s. there . . . they have 
 advanced the price of their commodities according to 
 their advanced monies, to the full sum of 6s. in the 
 pound more than they were before." 
 
 During the Civil Wars there is a remarkable 
 
ISO THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 paucity of reference to the subject, doubtless owing 
 to the supreme importance of the war itself. On the 
 26th August 1643, and on the 24th February 1643-4, 
 the Long Parliament issued orders, on the petition of 
 merchant strangers who were prevented from import- 
 ing bullion by the rigours of the search of their vessels, 
 for their due encouragement. The petitions would 
 argue a tendency towards an importation of specie, but 
 in 1649 this was again changed, and a heavy export 
 became perceptible. There can be little doubt that 
 the initial impulse came from the new coinage which 
 was instituted by the Act of 17th July 1649, and by the 
 table of weights for the Commonwealth coins which 
 that Act adopted. For two years and more both 
 Council and Parliament were exercised in mind with 
 regard to this export of specie and the consequent 
 decay of trade, and draft Acts to prevent the export, as 
 well as many other propositions, were had xinder long 
 consideration. No measures were adopted, and an 
 Amsterdam correspondent of Sir Robert Stone, in May 
 1652, thus gave his opinion of the wisdom of the Mint 
 officials and the Government in this process of drift : 
 " Experience has taught me that when the State does 
 not keep extraordinary watch, and the laws are not 
 put into execution against culling and sorting out the 
 heaviest coins to be transported, and the light and 
 clipped left behind, it is a great debasing of the cur- 
 rent value of coin. All your silver money {i.e. in 
 England) is thus abused by goldsmiths and others. 
 And when the State does not employ such as can 
 
ENGLAND: SIR ROBERT STONE ON THE MINT 151 
 
 discover those offenders, but puts persons into the 
 Mint who have had no experience, great damage 
 must follow. For there are bankers and exchangers 
 in Holland who know the ignorance of all your 
 present Mint men that have any place of trust, and 
 laugh at them. They say when the Mint in the 
 Tower flourished, old Andrew Palmer, Mr. Rogers, 
 and one Coja'n were there, who were all subtle Mint 
 men, and held correspondence here {i.e. in Amster- 
 dam), and knew what to do to advance the Mint, 
 and would always find a way to bring grist to the 
 mill. But now your Mint comes to be neglected 
 and money adulterated. Many of our bankers here 
 have a great trade with your goldsmiths and mer 
 chants in London for English gold and heavy Eng- 
 lish silver. Your Mint will never go until this be 
 discovered, for these men are the sluices that drain 
 all your money. I believe there is at this day forty 
 times more gold and silver in the Low Countries than 
 in England. About twelve years since the French 
 were forced to call in all their money, it being so 
 clipped that their commerce ran into confusion, and 
 you have almost brought yourself to the same point, 
 the coin in Ireland being 20 per cent, less value since 
 the war. In England almost all your gold is trans- 
 ported, and the little that is left is in hucksters' hands, 
 that go to an exchange in Lombard Street, and you 
 must pay from £6 to ^10, and sometimes more, to 
 have .1^1 00 in gold for silver. For who will take gold 
 to the Tower to be coined, and lose 2s. in 20s. of what 
 
152 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 they can make by transporting it? We have more 
 English gold in Amsterdam than you have (in Eng- 
 land), all sent within those twenty years, and great 
 quantities of English silver have weekly come over in 
 pinks and Dutch men-of-war for years, to the value of 
 many hundred thousands of pounds, in return for coin. 
 I wondered at first how the merchants transported all 
 the weighty and culled English money into Holland, 
 until one of the bankers told me. I would have you 
 inquire it and prevent it, for it is a most pernicious 
 thing. It is the goldsmiths, especially those in Lom- 
 bard Street, which are the greatest merchants, and 
 London cashiers, and who will receive any man's money 
 for nothing, and pay it for them the same or next day, 
 and meantime keep people in their upper rooms to 
 cull and weigh all they receive, and melt down the 
 weighty, and transport it to foreign parts, sometimes 
 without melting, and keep banks for all the principal 
 coin in Christendom in their shops." 
 
 The succeeding years of the Commonwealth saw 
 little change in the situation. In 1659 and 1660 the 
 Council was still anxiously debating the question of 
 the transport of bullion and coin. But this chain of 
 phenomena refers to the third period in this history, 
 and are to be treated of in that connection. 
 
 In broadest and hastiest resume, and this by way 
 of justification of the length to which this chapter 
 has been drawn out, the influence of American gold 
 and silver makes itself perceptible in 1520. For 
 forty years a level and equal advance in each of the 
 
CLOSE OF THE SECOND PERIOD: RESUME 153 
 
 precious metals and in prices records itself, then the 
 relative and absolute production of silver increases 
 enormously over that of gold, and the ratio is dis- 
 turbed. The inequality of the rate at which this change 
 of ratio spreads to successive countries, and is adopted 
 in their various Mint regulations, is the bullionist's 
 or exchanger's opportunity, and the disastrous effect 
 of their activity results in the crisis of 1570 in France, 
 and 1622 in England and Germany. Properly speak- 
 ing there has been no subsequent crisis in European 
 history fitly comparable with the latter of these. If at 
 all, there is only one comparison possible, and that is 
 the currency situation in which the monetary world is 
 at this moment, or which has come upon it since 
 1850 — a period of bullion inflation in which silver has, 
 finally as yet, outweighed gold, to the violent disturb- 
 ance of the ratio. But, as will be seen, the other 
 conditions of the comparison are not reducible to, or 
 expressible in, similar terms, and so far the legitimate 
 deduction fails. None the less, the currency history 
 of Europe during the sixteenth and seventeenth cen- 
 turies has a vital didactic importance. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 From the End of the First Cycle of American 
 Influences to the Present Day, 1660-1894 
 
 Up to the close of the eighteenth century the produc- 
 tion of silver shows a remarkable steadiness and uni- 
 formity — the decrease on the yield of the Potosi 
 mines being compensated by the increased output of 
 Mexican silver. In the condition of the output of 
 gold, however, there is a perceptible alteration, due 
 to the increasing imports of that metal from Brazil. 
 The change in the relative production of the two 
 metals appears from the table on p. 155. 
 
 The effect on the ratio of this increased relative 
 and absolute amount of gold was, however, consider- 
 ably diminished by the increasing favour with which 
 gold came to be regarded for currency purposes, 
 from the end of the seventeenth century onwards. In 
 general terms this process or tendency in favour of 
 gold continued through the first sixty years of the 
 eighteenth century, at which time the proportion of 
 gold to the production of the two metals had risen as 
 high as 40 per cent., whereas in 1600 it had only 
 formed 17.2 per cent, of the total. 
 
 From 1760, however, such relative preponderance 
 
PRODUCTION OF THE PRECIOUS METALS, 1660-1893 155 
 
 of gold was not maintained. It gradually sank back 
 until, by the beginning of the present century, it had 
 come to form only a little over 23 per cent, of the 
 
 Period. 
 
 Annual Produc- 
 tion of Gold. 
 
 Annual Produc- 
 tion of Silver. 
 
 Percentage 
 
 of Gold to 
 
 Total. 
 
 Percentage 
 
 of Silver to 
 
 Total. 
 
 1661-1680 
 
 1,291,750 
 
 3.134,150 
 
 29.2 
 
 70.7 
 
 1681-1700 
 
 1,501,700 
 
 3,179,650 
 
 3I-I 
 
 67.9 
 
 1701-1720 
 
 1,788,400 
 
 3.253.750 
 
 35-5 
 
 64-5 
 
 I 72 I- I 740 
 
 2,661,650 
 
 3,988,600 
 
 40.0 
 
 60.0 
 
 1741-1760 
 
 3.433,100 
 
 5,038,200 
 
 40.5 
 
 5i-5 
 
 1761-1780 
 
 2,888,350 
 
 6,201,550 
 
 31-8 
 
 68.2 
 
 1781-1800 
 
 2,481,700 
 
 8,131,300 
 
 23-4 
 
 76.6 
 
 1801-1810 
 
 2,480,000 
 
 8,002,650 
 
 23-7 
 
 76.3 
 
 1811-1820 
 
 1,596,100 
 
 4.966,950 
 
 24.7 
 
 IH 
 
 1821-1830 
 
 1,983 150 
 
 4,075,950 
 
 32.4 
 
 67.6 
 
 1831-1840 
 
 2,830,300 
 
 5,278,600 
 
 34-5 
 
 65.5 
 
 1841-1850 
 
 7,638,800 
 
 6,867,650 
 
 52.1 
 
 47-9 
 
 1841-1850 
 
 27,815,400 
 
 8,019,350 
 
 77.6 
 
 22.4 
 
 1856-1860 
 
 28,149,950 
 
 8.235.950 
 
 77-4 
 
 22.6 
 
 1861-1865 
 
 25,816,300 
 
 9,965,400 
 
 72.1 
 
 27.9 
 
 1866-1870 
 
 27.256.950 
 
 11,984,800 
 
 69.4 
 
 30.6 
 
 1871-1875 
 
 24,250,000 
 
 17,250,000 
 
 58.5 
 
 41.5 
 
 1876 . . 
 
 23,150,000 
 
 18,250,000 
 
 55-9 
 
 44.1 
 
 1877 . . 
 
 25,050,000. 
 
 19,350,000 
 
 56.4 
 
 43-6 
 
 1878 . . 
 
 25.950,000 
 
 19.750,000 
 
 56.8 
 
 43-2 
 
 1879 ■ • 
 
 23,350,000 
 
 19,050,000 
 
 55-1 
 
 44-9 
 
 1880 . 
 
 22,800,000 
 
 19,100,000 
 
 54-4 
 
 45.6 
 
 1881 . . 
 
 22,450,000 
 
 19,800,000 
 
 53-1 
 
 46.9 
 
 1882 . . 
 
 21,450,000 
 
 20,900,000 
 
 50.7 
 
 49-3 
 
 1883 
 
 20,750,000 
 
 20,800,000 
 
 49-9 
 
 50.1 
 
 1884 . . 
 
 21,750,000 
 
 21,850,000 
 
 49-9 
 
 50.1 
 
 1885 . . 
 
 21,750,000 
 
 21,850,000 
 
 49-9 
 
 50.1 
 
 1886 . 
 
 22,450,000 
 
 20,300,000 
 
 52-5 
 
 47-5 
 
 1887 . 
 
 22,050,000 
 
 21,950,000 
 
 50.1 
 
 49-9 
 
 1888 . , 
 
 22,950,000 
 
 23,850,000 
 
 49.0 
 
 Si.o 
 
 1889 . . 
 
 24,600,000 
 
 26,750,000 
 
 47-9 
 
 52. 1 
 
 1890 . . 
 
 24,360,000 
 
 26,620,000 
 
 47.8 
 
 52.2 
 
 1891 
 
 29,000,000 
 
 36,567,629 
 
 42.4 
 
 57-6 
 
 1892 . . 
 
 30,164,536 
 
 40,668,247 
 
 42.5 
 
 57.5^ 
 
 1893 ■ ■ 
 
 32,066,591 
 
 42,963,027 
 
 42.7 
 
 57.3' 
 
 1 The figures for the last three years are taken from the Report of the 
 Hon. R. E. Preston, director of the United States Mint, 1893 {Report on the 
 Production of the Precious Metals, pp. 274-5). See ibid, for a most carefully 
 compiled tatle of the production of the precious metals from 1493 to 1893, 
 differing from the above in material details. 
 
156 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 total. From 1820 to 1840 a recovery took place, 
 but it was not until the Californian gold discoveries 
 that the second great disturbance in the relative 
 production of gold and silver took place ; such a 
 disturbance, i.e., as can be fitly compared with that 
 which the sixteenth century witnessed. 
 
 As far as this relative production is concerned, the 
 period, 1 660-1 840, is one of gradual and not abnor- 
 mal variation, neither small nor inconsiderable in 
 effect, but certainly not revolution-working, as had 
 been the case in the sixteenth century with American 
 silver, and as was to be in the nineteenth century with 
 Californian and Australian gold, and in our own days 
 with American silver for the second time. 
 
 With regard to the absolute production — gold 
 shows a rise up to 1760, then a steady decline to 
 1820, followed by a second rise up to 1840. In the 
 case of silver the decline in the absolute amount was 
 steady from 1600 to 1680, then ensued a steady and 
 strong rise to 1 800, followed by an abrupt drop in the 
 second decade of the present century, and then by a 
 strong and steady recovery, commencing from 1830 
 and continuing until the present. 
 
 The larger question of the relative distribution of 
 this mass of precious metals depends for its deter- 
 mination upon a full understanding of the law of 
 the various Mints. Speaking in large, during the 
 eighteenth century the Mint ratio was in favour of 
 silver in France, and her currency was almost entirely 
 silver throughout the century ; conversely the Mints 
 
WIDE EFFECT OF MINT LAWS 
 
 157 
 
 favoured gold in England and Spain, and gold was 
 almost the only constituent of the currency of either 
 country for the greater part of the century. There 
 can be little doubt that these simple facts had a great 
 influence in actually determining the great currency 
 legislation which closed the century and finally 
 decided England in favour of gold, and France and 
 the United States in favour of a bimetallism strongly 
 favouring silver. 
 
 The statement of the ratio is as follows : — 
 
 South- West Germany. 
 1657-80 15.10 
 
 England. 
 
 1663 . . . 14.48 
 1690 , . 15.39 
 
 1715 15.21 
 
 Netherlands. 
 1663 , . 14.43 
 
 France.- 
 
 1679 
 
 14.91 
 
 COMMERCIAL STATEMENT OF THE RATIO (FROM 1687-1832, 
 FROM THE HAMBURG EXCHANGE RATIO; FROM 1833 
 ONWARDS, FROM THE LONDON BULLION BROKERS' 
 RATIO). 
 
 1687-8 
 
 14.94 
 
 1704 
 
 15.22 
 
 1689-90 
 
 15.02 
 
 1705 
 
 I5.II 
 
 I69I 
 
 14.98 
 
 1706 
 
 15.27 
 
 1692 
 
 14.92 
 
 1707 
 
 15-44 
 
 1693 
 
 14.83 
 
 1708 
 
 15-41 
 
 1694 
 
 14.87 
 
 1709 
 
 15-31 
 
 1695 
 
 15.02 
 
 I7I0 
 
 15.22 
 
 1696 
 
 15.00 
 
 I7II 
 
 15.29 
 
 1697 
 
 15.20 
 
 I7I2 
 
 15-31 
 
 1698 
 
 15.07 
 
 I7I3 
 
 15-24 
 
 1699 
 
 14.94 
 
 I7I4 
 
 IS-I3 
 
 1700 
 
 14.81 
 
 I7I5 
 
 I5.II 
 
 I70I 
 
 15-07 
 
 I7I6 
 
 15.09 
 
 1702 
 
 15-52 
 
 I7I7 
 
 15-13 
 
 1703 
 
 15.47 
 
 I7I8 
 
 15- 1 1 
 
158 
 
 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 1719 
 
 15.09 
 
 1778 
 
 14.68 
 
 1720 
 
 15.04 
 
 1779 
 
 14.80 
 
 I72I 
 
 15-05 
 
 1780 
 
 14.72 
 
 1722 
 
 15.17 
 
 1781 
 
 14.78 
 
 1723 
 
 15.20 ~~ 
 
 1782 
 
 14.42 
 
 1724-25 
 
 15.11 
 
 1783 
 
 14.48 
 
 1726 
 
 15-15 
 
 1784 
 
 14.70 
 
 1727 
 
 15.24 __ 
 
 1785 
 
 14.92 
 
 1728 
 
 15.11 
 
 1786 
 
 14.96 
 
 1729 
 
 14.92 
 
 1787 
 
 14.92 
 
 1730 
 
 14.81 
 
 1788 
 
 14.65 
 
 I73I 
 
 14.94 
 
 1789 
 
 14-75 
 
 1732 
 
 15-09 
 
 1790 
 
 15.04 
 
 1733 
 
 15.18 
 
 1791 
 
 15-05 
 
 1734 
 
 15-39 - 
 
 1792 
 
 15.17 
 
 1735 
 
 15.41 - 
 
 1793 
 
 15.00 — 
 
 1736 
 
 15.18 
 
 1794 
 
 15-37 
 
 1737 
 
 15.02 
 
 1795 
 
 15-55 
 
 1738-9 
 
 14.91 
 
 1796 
 
 15-65 
 
 1740 
 
 14.94 
 
 1797 
 
 15.41 
 
 1 741 
 
 14.92 
 
 1798 
 
 15-59 
 
 1742-3 
 
 14.85 
 
 1799 
 
 15-74 
 
 1744 
 
 14.87 
 
 1800 
 
 15.68 
 
 174s 
 
 14.98 
 
 1801 
 
 15.46 
 
 1746 
 
 15-13 
 
 1802 
 
 15.26 
 
 1747 
 
 15.26 
 
 1803-4 
 
 15-41 
 
 1748 
 
 15.11 
 
 1805 
 
 15-79 
 
 1749 
 
 14.80 
 
 1806 
 
 15-52 
 
 1750 
 
 14.55 
 
 1807 
 
 15-43 
 
 I75I 
 
 14-39 
 
 1808 
 
 16.08 
 
 1752-3 
 
 14-54 
 
 1809 
 
 15.96 
 
 1 754 
 
 14.48 
 
 1810 
 
 15.77 
 
 1755 
 
 14.68 
 
 1811 
 
 15-53 
 
 1756 
 
 14.94 
 
 1812 
 
 16.11 
 
 1757 
 
 14.87 
 
 1813 
 
 16.25 
 
 1758 
 
 14-85 
 
 1814 
 
 15.04 
 
 1759 
 
 14-15 
 
 1815 
 
 15.26 
 
 1760 
 
 14.14 
 
 1816 
 
 15.28 
 
 1761 
 
 14-54 
 
 1817 
 
 15-11 
 
 1762 
 
 15.27- ■ 
 
 1818 
 
 15-35 
 
 1763 
 
 14.99 
 
 1819 
 
 1 5-, S3 
 
 1764 
 
 14.70 
 
 1820 
 
 15.62 
 
 1765 
 
 14.83 
 
 1821 
 
 15-95 
 
 1766 
 
 14.80 
 
 1822 
 
 15.80 
 
 1767 
 
 14.85 
 
 1823 
 
 15-84 
 
 1768 
 
 14.80 
 
 1824 
 
 15.82 
 
 1769 
 
 14.72 
 
 1825 
 
 15-70 
 
 1770 
 
 14.62 
 
 1826 
 
 15-76 
 
 1771 
 
 14.66 
 
 1827 
 
 15-74 
 
 1772 
 
 14.52 
 
 1828-9 
 
 iS-78 
 
 1773-4 
 
 14.62 
 
 1830 
 
 15.82 
 
 1775 
 
 14-72 
 
 1831 
 
 15.72 
 
 1776 
 
 14-55 
 
 1832 
 
 15-73 
 
 1777 
 
 14.54 
 
 
 
STATEMENT OF THE RATIO, 1660-1893 
 
 159 
 
 
 Price of 
 
 
 
 Price of 
 
 
 Year. 
 
 Silver Pence 
 per Oz. 
 
 Ratio. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Silver Pence 
 per Oz. 
 
 Ratio. 
 
 1833 
 
 S9A 
 
 15-93 
 
 1864 
 
 eiji 
 
 15-37 
 
 1834 
 
 S9ii 
 
 15-73 
 
 1865 
 
 64 
 
 15.44 
 
 183s 
 
 S9H 
 
 15.80 
 
 1866 
 
 (>i% 
 
 15-43 
 
 1836 
 
 60 
 
 15.72 
 
 1867 
 
 60A 
 
 15-57 
 
 1837 
 
 S9A 
 
 15-83 
 
 1S68 
 
 604 
 
 15-59 
 
 1838 
 
 S9J 
 
 15.85 
 
 1869 
 
 60A 
 
 15.60 
 
 1839-40 
 
 60^ 
 
 15.62 
 
 1870 
 
 60A 
 
 '5-57 
 
 1841 
 
 60A 
 
 15.70 
 
 1 87 1 
 
 60A 
 
 15-57 
 
 1842 
 
 S9A 
 
 15-87 
 
 1872 
 
 60J 
 
 15-65 
 
 1843 
 
 S9A 
 
 15-93 
 
 1873 
 
 59i 
 
 15.92 
 
 1844 
 
 59i 
 
 15-85 
 
 1874 
 
 S8A 
 
 16.17 
 
 184s 
 
 59i 
 
 15-92 
 
 1875 
 
 S6J 
 
 16.62 
 
 1846 
 
 X S9i^ 
 
 15-90 
 
 1876 
 
 53A 
 
 17.77 
 
 1847 
 
 S9H 
 
 15.80 
 
 1877 
 
 54i 
 
 17.22 
 
 1848 
 
 594 
 
 15-85 
 
 1878 
 
 52i 
 
 17.92 
 
 1849 
 
 591 
 
 15-78 
 
 1879 
 
 5ii 
 
 18.39 
 
 1850 
 
 fiotV 
 
 15.70 
 
 1880 
 
 52i 
 
 18.04 
 
 1851 
 
 61 
 
 15.46 
 
 1881 
 
 ' 5ili 
 
 18.24 
 
 1852 
 
 6oi 
 
 15-59 
 
 1882 
 
 5if 
 
 18.25 
 
 1853 
 
 6i| 
 
 15-33 
 
 1883 
 
 SoA 
 
 18.65 
 
 1854 
 
 6i| 
 
 15-33 
 
 1884 
 
 501 
 
 18.63 
 
 18SS 
 
 6if5 
 
 iS-38 
 
 1885 
 
 48i 
 
 19-39 
 
 1856 
 
 61A 
 
 15-38 
 
 1886 
 
 45* 
 
 20.73 
 
 1857 
 
 6ii 
 
 15.27 
 
 1887 
 
 44i 
 
 21.13 
 
 1858 
 
 61A 
 
 15-38 
 
 1888 
 
 42J 
 
 21.99 
 
 i8s9 
 
 62A 
 
 15-19 
 
 1889 
 
 42H 
 
 22.09 
 
 i860 
 
 6itt 
 
 15.29 
 
 1890 
 
 47^ 
 
 19.17 
 
 1861 
 
 6oit 
 
 15.26 
 
 1891 
 
 45A 
 
 20.92 
 
 1862 
 
 61A 
 
 15-35 
 
 1892 
 
 39i 
 
 23.72 
 
 1863 
 
 61^ 
 
 15-37 
 
 1893 
 
 35A 
 
 26.49 
 
 Up to 1878 this table is derived from Soetbeer, Edelmetali-Produktion, pp. 130-2. 
 
 From 1878-iBgo I have calculated simply in accordance with Soetbeer's method. 
 
 The figures for 1891-3 are taken from the United States Mint Report, 1893, 
 
 already referred to, p. 251. Inthe table there printed the director of the Mint gives 
 
 slightly different figures for several years from 1872 onwards. 
 
 As far as the conditions of production of the precious 
 metals are concerned, and the connection between those 
 conditions and the ratio, there is historic and under- 
 standable continuity between the period already passed 
 in review and modern times. In the method of express- 
 ing that ratio, however, there is a remarkable difference. 
 
i6o THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 With the close of the seventeenth century the ad- 
 vantage of the process of altering the denomination of 
 the coinage, of diminishing the content and reducing the 
 standard of fineness, began to be impugned on theoretic 
 grounds, and in the course of the eighteenth century 
 that process itself fell into disuse. Since that time 
 no Mint or legislative change such as we have hitherto 
 described was made on the expressed value or content 
 of any European coinage. Bearing in mind the two- 
 fold importance which was attached to that process of 
 legislative guarding of the currency, this change must 
 be regarded as of vital import. The legislator, from 
 the middle of the fourteenth century, had attempted 
 two things by this mechanism — (i) to follow the gen- 
 eral rise of prices, and meet it by reducing the contents 
 of the coins in such proportion as he thought fit ; (2) to 
 prevent any disastrous outflow of the precious metals 
 by altering the ratio. The control of the Mint rates 
 of metal-purchase and metal-coinage was, therefore, 
 a matter of importance financially and politically to the 
 nation, and economically to international commerce. 
 In just such measure, therefore, was the entire ceasing 
 of this State control of the mechanism of international 
 exchange and currency a matter of almost incalculable 
 significance in the history of the European monetary 
 system. In the domain of finance it effected a revolu- 
 tion as signal as that produced in the relations of 
 labour to capital by the disuse of the old labour laws. 
 The ceasing of the artificial arbitrary Mint rates made 
 way for a naturally determined or commercial ratio. 
 
EVOLUTION OF THE MOt)ERN SYSTEM i6i 
 
 and the regulation of the international flow of the pre- 
 cious metals was left to the oscillation of trade balances, 
 and to the action of interest rates and discount. The 
 change is one from a mediaeval, State-bound, merely 
 legislative system to the modern system, in which the 
 flow of precious metals is determined by the perfectly 
 natural and automatic action of international trade — 
 is indeed the index and safety-valve of it, and of the 
 whole present commercial world-circle. 
 
 This was not merely a change of fact and practice, 
 it was a revolution of theory. 
 
 For before the old State belief in the necessity of 
 safeguarding the supply of precious metals at any 
 cost and consideration could go by the board, the whole 
 Mercantile Theory must have lost its force in men's 
 minds. 
 
 In the domain of theory the transition from the 
 Mercantile to the modern system was gradual, through 
 the various intermediate steps of Physiocratic and 
 Smithian economics, and the complete abandonment 
 of that system for our own can only be put very late, 
 if indeed its period can at all yet be written, far 
 modern Protectionist ideas are only a lusty survival 
 of it. In the domain of financial practice, however, 
 it — the mercantile system — ceased from the moment 
 that the Governments of Europe left their Mint rates 
 stationary, and gave the flow of the precious metals and 
 the declaration of the ratio to the free unhampered 
 natural action of international trade. The steps of 
 the completed process can hardly be detailed, for there 
 
i62 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 was much fear attending it, and the various Govern- 
 ments frequently retraced their steps in uncertainty. 
 The earHest direct enactment was made by England. 
 By the Act of 15 Charles 11., chap. 7, sect. 12 (1663), 
 the statutes forbidding the exportation of bullion were 
 removed at one blow of astounding boldness. " For- 
 asmuch," says this Act, "as several considerable and 
 advantageous trades cannot be conveniently driven 
 and carried on without the species of money or bullion, 
 ' and that it is found by experience that they are carried 
 in greatest abundance {as to a common market^ to such 
 places as give free liberty for exporting the same, and. 
 the better to keep in and increase the current coin of 
 this kingdom, be it enacted that from and after the 
 I St day of August 1663 it shall and may be lawful to 
 and for any person or persons whatsoever to export 
 out of any port of England and Wales in which there 
 is a customer or collector, or out of the town of Ber- 
 wick, all sOrts of foreign coin or bullion of gold or 
 silver, first making an entry thereof in such custom- 
 house respectively, without paying any duty, custom, 
 poundage, or fee for the same, any law, statute, or 
 usage to the contrary notwithstanding." 
 
 Standing so early and so almost completely alone 
 as it does, this Act evinces an unexampled prescience 
 and boldness. It doubtless reflects the commercial 
 traditions of Holland, but that it should have been at 
 a single stroke transferred to England at a time when 
 she was so economically different and distant from 
 Holland, needs make us pause in admiration. The 
 
■ FREE TRADE IN THE PRECIOUS METALS 163 
 
 only parallel to it, if any, would arise if France should 
 suddenly, and by a single enactment, adopt to the full 
 the Free Trade policy of England. As a matter of 
 fact this Act of 1663 proved itself for a long time, 
 and through many oscillations, impossible of execution, 
 and far into the eighteenth century the British Govern- 
 ment meddled, by legislation and proclamation, with 
 the export of the precious metals, and with the tariff 
 of the coins, as will be seen immediately. It was not 
 till 1780 that a similar Act was passed for Ireland. 
 
 In 1803 the Lords of the Treasury were by statute 
 authorised to grant licences for the exportation of 
 silver bullion without any such certificate or document 
 whatsoever as had been required by the statute of 
 6 and 7 Wm. iii. c. 17, sect. 5. 
 
 It was almost a century after this action of Eng- 
 land that France followed in the same path. By 
 a proclamation of 7th October 1755, permission was 
 given to the free commerce in precious metals and 
 in foreign monies. But in the case of France, as in 
 that of England, the enactment was not immediately 
 nor fully realisable. The exportation of the national 
 specie was still forbidden, and more than once the 
 State found itself obliged to return to the question of 
 the tariffing of its coinage. 
 
 It is this vacillation — a vacillation, however, which 
 must in every instance be attributed to sheer State 
 necessity — which makes it impossible to trace in detail 
 and point by point the fall of so much of the Mercan- 
 tile System as concerned the regulating of international 
 
i64 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 movements of metals. The practice of the commercial 
 world was doubtless in advance of the legislator's 
 standpoint, as indicated by such detached references, 
 and was effectual in completing the revolution silently 
 and under the surface, whether by the aid or in spite 
 of laws and proclamations. The same had been the 
 case, e.g., with the old usury laws. 
 
 When effected there are two highly important 
 results which stand as the outcome of this change in 
 the theory of international commerce. 
 
 I. The perception of a right theory of international 
 balances opened the way to the separation of finance or 
 currency phenomena pure and simple, and so prepared 
 the ground for a scientific conception and treatment 
 of them. In one direction this treatment resulted in 
 the evolution of a theory and practice of a monometallic 
 system — one, i.e., in which a single metal was made 
 the legal tender, and a second or third metal bound to 
 it in a hard-and-fast, subordinate relationship, so that 
 they could not by their oscillations injuriously affect 
 the tenderable metal. In another direction the same 
 scientific conception and treatment resulted in the 
 evolution (and after a time the practice) of a bimetallic 
 theory. Modern currency history hinges on the anta- 
 gonism of these two systems. 
 
 This statement of the case will serve to show the 
 enormous difference between nineteenth-century cur- 
 rency situations and problems and those of mediaeval 
 and seventeenth-century Europe. To-day the point 
 at issue is between definitely and scientifically con- 
 
FUNCTION OF DISCOUNTS IN MODERN SYSTEM 165 
 
 ceived rival theories, and the practical difficulty before 
 the world is how to provide, not so much a permanent 
 ratio, as a permanent rate of international settlement 
 between countries using different monetary systems, 
 between silver-using and gold-using countries. In 
 the seventeenth century there was no conception of 
 theory at all, and the practical difficulty was how to 
 frustrate the operations of the bullionist and arbitra- 
 gist and politicians, and the depletion of national 
 treasure due to their activity, and based on a differ- 
 ence of ratio prevailing in different countries. 
 
 2. The second practical outcome of the revolution 
 was the development of the modern system of control 
 of the flow of gold balances, viz. by means of the bank 
 rate and the arbitrage transactions depending thereon, 
 and on interest and discount rates generally. 
 
 The modern theory of international trade does not 
 say that between two particular countries, or at any 
 one particular point of time there is an equivalence of 
 exchange, but that between a circle of commercially 
 interconnected countries, and over a certain cycle of 
 time or operations, there is an equivalence of exchange 
 of goods and services. Movements of currency in the 
 most elementary form assist the process, as far as im- 
 mediate settlements are concerned ; bills of exchange 
 assist it when there is need of deferred payments, as, 
 for instance, when a country imports steadily all the 
 year round, but hAs only one export time, say after 
 harvest ; and, finally, bank and discount rates assist 
 the process by providing currency media at times and 
 
i66 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 places which would otherwise be unable to attract 
 a supply. Over the whole circle of completed opera- 
 tions there is equilibrium of exchange, and the 
 machinery by which that equilibrium is accomplished 
 is currency in the widest sense. The index or 
 indicator and safety-valve of the whole is the rate 
 of interest. On these bank rates are based the 
 operations of the modern bullion dealers or arbitra- 
 gists, which serve to equalise or economise the dis- 
 tribution of the precious metals all over the world. 
 
 It will be seen at a glance, therefore, that they 
 fulfil, in an automatic and perfectly natural manner, 
 all that was vainly attempted to be accomplished 
 by the repressive savage action of the State, and the 
 interfering unscientific handling of the Mint and coin- 
 age rates. It is in this feature that the great distinc- 
 tion between the modern and the seventeenth-century 
 world consists. Such a difference can only be based 
 upon, and have arisen from, a true theory of interna- 
 tional trade. But the process of development which 
 alone made it possible — the development of modern 
 banking, the invention of paper currency media, the 
 breaking down of international trade restrictions, all 
 the mechanical and scientific inventions which have 
 resulted in the binding of the world together in one 
 whole as far as commerce is concerned, — all this would 
 comprise in brief the essential features of the com- 
 plete commercial development of two centuries or 
 more, and how far they are related as cause or effect 
 it would be hard to say. 
 
FRANCE 167 
 
 In this secondary period, therefore, the separate 
 history of each individual state gradually loses its 
 distinct or isolated importance, as far as mere Mint 
 edicts are concerned. As a consequence the bimet- 
 allic action which we have hitherto sought in the 
 history of each individual currency must now increas- 
 ingly be sought in the wider field of the world cur- 
 rency, that congeries or completed whole of currency 
 of which each national system now forms only a 
 part, and that not an independent part. 
 
 France. 
 
 In this third period the first change which France 
 made in her silver monies was in 1674, when she for 
 a time coined 4-sol. pieces of a quality below that 
 of the dcus blancs by more than a fifth. A great 
 outcry was made by the Mint officers and mercantile 
 community against this money as implying a de- 
 basement. 
 
 In 1679 there was a noticeable quantity of Spanish 
 pistoles and large ^cus d'or in circulation, and as a 
 remedy it was ordered that they should be recoined 
 into louts d'or and louts d' argent, the King offering to 
 forego the seignorage as an inducement to bring 
 them to the' Mint. In 1686, however, the louis d'or 
 itself was raised from 10 livres to 11 livres 10 sols., 
 and the ratio thus changed to 15^. This being 
 found greatly in excess, in the following year it was 
 lowered to 11 livres 5 sols, (a ratio of 15^). In 
 1689 both silver and gold were again raised. 
 
1 68 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 the louts d'or to 1 1 livres 1 2 sols, and the louis 
 d' argent to 3 Hvres 2 sols., but almost immediately a 
 general recoinage was resolved upon. In this great 
 operation, effected towards the close of 1689, the 
 weight and standard of the previous coinage was 
 exactly retained, but the louis d'or was issued at 
 12 livres 10 sols, and the louis d'argent at 3 livres 
 b sols. Only two years later again the standard 
 had to be altered, and the value of 1693 somewhat 
 raised. It will give some slight idea of the sapping 
 of the coinage that the pieces which in 1691 were 
 minted at 12 livres 10 sols, were, in 1693, called in 
 at a valuation of 11 livres 14 sols. The new species 
 of 1693 were issued at 13 livres and 3 livres 8 sols, 
 respectively. 
 
 Ten years later a third recoinage was ordered, 
 the louis d'or being issued at 75 livres, and the louis 
 d'argent at 4 livres. By 1709 these species had 
 sunk in equivalence to 12 livres 15 sols, and 3 livres 
 8 sols, respectively. In that same year, however, 
 their issue value was raised to 20 livres and 5 livres. 
 This extraordinary and arbitrary action was greatly 
 to the detriment of French commerce, and the idea 
 was entertained of gradually reinducing the standard 
 of 14 livres and 3 livres 10 sols. This was ordered 
 by proclamation of 30th September 17 13, which was 
 to continue in force till 1715. In the latter year a 
 reformation of the coinage was again undertaken, the 
 reformed species rising to 20 livres and 5 livres, and 
 the worn species remaining at 16 livres and 4 sols. 
 
FRANCE : THE REFORM OF 1726 169 
 
 From this latter date up to 1721 the operations of 
 the financier John Law wrought great disasters in 
 the monies. At the time of the erection of the bank, 
 2nd May 17 16, there were four species of louis d'or 
 and three of louis d' argent. By 1720 the former had 
 grown to forty in number and the latter to ten. 
 (For the disorders of the period of John Law, see 
 the account of French monetary system, Appendix VI.) 
 It was to remedy this disorder that the great edict of 
 1726 was enacted. This edict, which formed the 
 basis of the French currency system almost up to 
 the days of the Revolution, prescribed the minting 
 of louis d'or at a tale of 30 to the mark, and issued at 
 a value of 20 livres ; and of silver ecus at 81% to the 
 mark and issued at 5 livres — divisional coins in pro- 
 portion. The legal ratio was therefore \\\. All 
 foreign coins and the ancient species of gold and 
 silver were decried, and ordered to be brought in for 
 reminting. All the prohibitive regulations of an old 
 regime against cutting and export, etc., were re-enacted 
 with severest penalties. But as the rate at which the 
 Mint was ordered to take in the old coinage did not 
 represent the commercial value at the moment, the 
 old coins were not brought in, and up to as late as 
 1749 the recoinage had not been accomplished, 
 although the Mint prices had been at different times 
 advanced on the whole a matter of 30 per cent, or 
 rnore. In 1759 the want of currency had become so 
 great that the King sent his plate to the Mint, and 
 numbers of private individuals followed his example, 
 
lyo THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 receiving in reimbursement part payment at the rate 
 of 86 1 livres 5 sols. 10 den. for the mark of fine gold, 
 and of 59 livres 5 sols. 10 den. for the mark of fine 
 silver. 
 
 This latter tariff underwent no change until 1771, 
 when, under the pretext of the changes which foreign 
 coinage tariffs had undergone, those terms were fixed 
 respectively at 709 livres and 48 livres 9 sols. 
 
 In this rdsum^ the mention of billon money has 
 been generally avoided, as unduly complicating the 
 subject. But in the legislative action of France in 
 the eighteenth century there is one act which neces- 
 sitates a momentary departure from this standpoint. 
 
 In 1738 the Government of the United Provinces 
 diminished the value of their sols, by one-half. The 
 French Government fearing that this diminution 
 would lead to an immense influx of such sols, decided 
 to follow suit. By a decree of August ist of the 
 same year, 1738, it was ordered that the Douzains 
 and pieces of thirty deniers should have course only 
 for eighteen deniers. • The important point to notice 
 in connection with this is that, in order to mitigate 
 the effect of this reduction, the same decree limited 
 the tender of such billon money. It was ordered that 
 in payments up to 400 livres not more than 10 livres 
 should be tenderable in billon, and for payments of 
 more than 400 livres not more than 4V of the total. 
 The restriction was ineffectual in preventing either 
 the import of foreign billon specie or the operations 
 of billonage or arbitrage, based on the differentiated 
 
FRANCE. THE REFORM OF 1785 171 
 
 value of the various kinds of billon circulating. This 
 is quite evident from the preamble of the edict of the 
 following October, 1738, which attempted the calling 
 in of the 30-denier pieces, in order to put a stop to 
 the process. 
 
 Such a failure is quite in keeping with all previous 
 experience as recorded in these pages, and deserves 
 no special reference. The point to note is rather the 
 gradual evolution and adoption of the idea of limiting 
 the tender of the lower species, so as to contract their 
 action on the main species of the currency. This 
 idea forms the complement of the idea of an agio, . 
 involved in the issue of fractional coins on a lower 
 standard or basis than that of the greater specie. 
 The one idea was — in long, over-long, periods i.e. — 
 impracticable without the other ; but together, when 
 finally evolved, thoroughly seized and put in practice, 
 they formed the main basis of the truest modern 
 currency system. 
 
 To return to the pure gold and silver species. 
 The basis of 1726 remained at law unaltered until 
 1785. The edict of the 30th October of that year 
 commanded a recoinage ; no change was made in the 
 silver coinage, which remained according to the tariff 
 of May 1773, namely, 52 livres 9 sols. 2 den. to the 
 mark fine. By the alteration of the tariff of gold, how- 
 ever, to 828 livres 12 sols, to the mark fine, the ratio 
 of i4f, which had nominally prevailed since 1726, was 
 altered to the memorable 15^. The reason was ex- 
 plicitly stated to be the increase in the value of gold 
 
172 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 during several preceding years — an increase which 
 had banishdd or detained gold from the French Mint 
 and even from France. 
 
 Writing in 1785, the minister, Calonne, who 
 proposed and executed the recoinage in that year, 
 spoke thus : — 
 
 "In 1726 the legal ratio was fixed in France at 
 14 marks 5 oz. of silver, to a mark of gold, and that 
 which proves with how much sagacity this point was 
 seized is the fact that during a long course of years 
 France retained in her circulating medium a suf- 
 ficiently large proportion of each metal. Nevertheless, 
 her gold gradually became less common, and for some 
 years this scarcity has rapidly increased, and this 
 precisely because its legal value has always remained 
 the same, while its metallic value has increased from 
 year to year." 
 
 He estimated the amount of livres in louis d'or 
 existing in the country at the time of the recoinage, 
 1785, as 650 million livres, which amounted to only 
 a half of the total coinage (1300 million livres) 
 of the period 1726-85. What seems to have 
 determined Calonne to adopt 15^ was the fact that 
 Spain had the legal ratio of 16, and that there was a 
 probability that, in future, gold would rise in value. 
 As for the market price, he admits that it was only 
 1 5.08-1 5. 1 2 in 1785. The recoinage, therefore, 
 brought a profit of 7,255,216 livres to the King's 
 purse, and a profit of 21,600,000 livres to the holders 
 of the old louis d'or. 
 
FRANCE : CALONNE'S POLICY IN 1785 173 
 
 His policy was severely criticised in a report 
 made in 1790 to the National Assembly, which pro- 
 posed a silver standard, with an authorised circulation 
 of gold coins at the ratio of 14I and the abolition of 
 seigniorage. It is well known that this was nearer to 
 the market rate. Calonne's ratio, therefore, must be 
 regarded as arbitrary and designing. Practically, the 
 latter recommendation of the committee's paper of 
 1790 had been conceded in the decree of 30th 
 October 1785, as the seigniorage was by it allowed to 
 be no more than the net cost of reminting. 
 
 By this celebrated edict of Calonne's, which also 
 enacted a recoinage, the right of seigniorage was 
 practically finally relinquished for France. Fixity was 
 given to silver as the principal money, and a definite 
 ratio was established at which gold was to circulate by 
 its side. In these, its chief points or characteristics, it 
 formed the exact model for the later Act of Republican 
 France, which is ignorantly looked upon as having 
 created the bimetallic system. The Act of 7 Germinal 
 an XI. did but re-enact and perpetuate the edict of 
 
 1785. 
 
 It is important to reaffirm and emphasise this 
 
 point, as quite wild and blind estimates have been 
 
 formed of the later action of Republican France. In 
 
 merest fact, that later action created no new order, it 
 
 instituted no new idea, it did not even promulgate its 
 
 own theory. 
 
 Republican France began her reform of the 
 
 currency in a very temporary and opportunist manner 
 
174 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 by issuing a mass of inferior monies of 15 and 30 
 sous pieces to form the basis of the assignats, and to 
 replace the gold and silver which had almost entirely 
 disappeared from circulation. In the decree of 16 
 Vend^niere an 11. (7th October 1793), however, the 
 question of standard was approached, and decided in 
 a remarkable manner. The monetary unit was 
 decreed to consist of the hundredth part of a 
 kilogram, named grave, represented (i) by a piece 
 of silver t®^ fine and weighing 10 grms., (2) by a 
 piece of gold of the same weight and standard, to be 
 current at 1 5 times the value of the silver piece. 
 
 This decree remained a dead letter, and two years 
 later x!a.& franc was definitively adopted as the base of 
 the French system. As determined by the two laws 
 of 28 Thermidor an iii. (15th August 1795), that 
 system was based upon the silver franc (weighing 
 5 grms. T^o fine). A gold coinage was ordained, 
 of the same fineness, in a piece of 10 grms. weight, 
 but the ratio of value of the gold to the unit franc 
 was not fixed. This was exactly the monetary 
 system which Mirabeau had counselled in his memoirs 
 to the Assembly in 1790. The silver yfranc pieces 
 prescribed under this system found acceptance, the 
 bronze pieces were refused and had to be withdrawn, 
 and as to the gold piece, its issue was not even 
 attempted. Two years later the " Directoire " pro- 
 nounced in favour of maintaining the lo-grm. piece of 
 gold, but demanded the fixation of its value, proposing 
 a ratio of 16 ; i. In opposition to this scheme, Prieur 
 
FRA NCR: C URRENC Y LEGISLA TION AT RE VOL UTION 1 7 5 
 
 submitted to the "Council of the Five Hundred" 
 a project adopting the silver and gold coinage, as 
 already determined as above, but leaving the value of 
 the gold piece to fluctuate according to the market, 
 its value being declared twice annually by public 
 announcement. After being materially altered in the 
 "Council of the Five Hundred," this scheme was 
 definitively rejected by the " Council of Senators," 
 and for several years the question of the monetary 
 system of the Republic was allowed to slumber. 
 When, in the year x., the consideration of the 
 subject was resumed, it was at the instigation of the 
 Consuls. At their desire the Minister of Finance, 
 Gaudin, laid before the Council of State a scheme in 
 which he proposed the issue of 20 and 40-franc gold 
 pieces, of a value based on the ratio enunciated in the 
 edict of 1785, namely, 15^^. He was, at the same time, 
 careful to explain that silver remained the basis of 
 the currency, and that the gold money could be 
 reissued if a different market compelled a change, in 
 the ratio. In his report to the Consuls, Gaudin admits 
 that the commercial ratio had for a long time been 
 under 15. The decisive point which led him to 
 maintain the ratio established in 1785 was, that to 
 change the status quo by the adoption of 15 as a 
 ratio would occasion great loss to the holder of gold 
 coins, and that there was no sufficient reason for so 
 great a change. 
 
 The Financial Committee of the Council of State 
 at first rejected the scheme, preferring that of Prieur, 
 
176 TH^ HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 already described, but on an inquest, ordered by the 
 First Consul, who insisted on pressing the matter to 
 a conclusion, M. Gaudin carried his propositions 
 through the Council of State, but with the important 
 difference that the reference to any future change in 
 the ratio of gold to the basis of silver was tacitly 
 dropped. These propositions became the foundation 
 of the law of 7-17 Germinal an xi. (28th March 1803), 
 on which the monetary system of Republican France 
 was finally built. 
 
 The exposd des motifs of this law speaks of the 
 gold coins in these words : — 
 
 "The gold pieces up to the present in circulation 
 are the pieces of 24 and 48 livres tournois. Article 
 6 of this law substitutes in their place pieces of 20 
 and 40 francs. The adoption of the decimal system 
 necessitates this change, which brings all parts of the 
 system into accord. It is on the same conideration 
 that the standard is fixed at 3%, like that of silver." 
 
 Not a word is said as to the ratio, and much more 
 stress is laid upon the suppression of billon money 
 and on the abolition of seigniorage, as of greater 
 importance and benefit to the nation's interests. By 
 this law of Germinal xi. the monetary unit of the 
 French system was declared to be the silver franc, 
 weighing 5 grms. of ^ standard. By the side of 
 this franc and its multiples, were to be issued gold 
 pieces of 20 and 40 francs, valued on a basis ratio of 
 15^ to the silver. 
 
 It will be seen at a glance from the course of this 
 
FRANCE : THE REFORM OF 1S03 177 
 
 previous history that this law instituted no new 
 principle, or theory, or system in French currency. 
 The decimal system was adopted in place of the old 
 system of livres tournois, seigniorage was abolished, 
 and fixation of value given to the unit money, and 
 billon money discontinued. But in matter of standard 
 and system there was not even innovation. The 
 system of Republican France, as established by this 
 law, was no more and no less bimetallic 'than in 1785, 
 or than in 16 10, or in the days of Francis i. 
 Theories as such did not occupy the mind of the 
 legislator, and of any conception of a bimetallic 
 theory or system such as we have learned to know 
 there is no trace. The First Consul found at hand 
 the two metals which had formed the currency of his 
 country for centuries. The problem of their regula- 
 tion was the same which had been faced by his 
 predecessors for centuries, and he settled it in the 
 same practical untheoretic way. 
 
 It was only gradually that in its totality of coins 
 the French monetary system was made to conform to 
 the metric system thus established. The old gold 
 coins of 12, 24, and 48 livres were not suppressed 
 until June 1829, the actual extinction of billon money 
 was only accomplished in 1 845, and the recoinage of 
 the inferior monies in 1852-56. But such are mere 
 matters of detail and apart from the subject. 
 
 The experience of France under this new regime 
 is, therefore, in no wise different in kind from such 
 experience as has been described for the preceding 
 
178 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 centuries. It is not until the broaching of a bimetallic 
 theory as such, and until the expression of that 
 theory, as a theory, in the formation of the Latin 
 Union, that anything like a special significance 
 attaches to the monetary system and experience of 
 France in the nineteenth century, any more, e.g., than 
 in the seventeenth. The main difference in the 
 situation was not that France had changed her 
 system, and that her experience was henceforth 
 different and of different signification, but that 
 England had changed hers, and that the brunt of the 
 fluctuations of the precious metals about a fixed ratio 
 was left to be borne by a smaller area. The influence 
 and the instance is, therefore, more telling in degree, 
 but in no way different in kind. 
 
 The second idea which is commonly entertained 
 with regard to the action of France during this later 
 period, viz. that her action secured for the world at 
 large a fixed and steady ratio, is equally — indeed, still 
 more — fallacious. At no point of time during the 
 present century has the actual market ratio, dependent 
 on the commercial value of silver, corresponded with 
 the French ratio of 15^, and at no point of time has 
 France been free from the disastrous influence of that 
 want of correspondence between the legal and the 
 commercial ratio. The opposite notion, which 
 prevails and finds expression in the ephemeral 
 bimetallic literature of to-day, is simply due to 
 ignorance. From 1815 England has been withdrawn 
 from this action of a bimetallic law, and the modern 
 
GRAPHIC REPRESENTATION OF THE BIMETALLIC EXPERIENCE OF FRANCE FROM 1803 1 
 
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 Red /ine is the moi^ement of Go/d. 
 
 Dotted l/ne is the movement of Siryer. 
 
FRANCE: COURSE OF THE RATIO 179 
 
 insular pamphleteer has before his eyes no sign of its 
 workings in his own country. He therefore assumes 
 an universality of such experience, and attributes it to 
 the French legislative ratio. It is in no polemic 
 spirit, but simply in the interest of science that this 
 particular misapplication of history to the squaring 
 of a theory is to be branded. The plainest facts of 
 history are thereby absolutely misrepresented, and the 
 assumption of cause and effect is so far from being 
 true that the repose of the English currency history 
 in the nineteenth century is to be attributed to the 
 absence of a bimetallic system ; to its despite rather 
 than its presence and influence. To instance only 
 by France for the moment. 
 
 The course of the actual or market ratio has been 
 already stated in the table {supra, pp. 157-59). In 
 the graphic representation of this {opposite) the legal 
 ratio of 15-^ is represented by the fixed Wnex.y., the 
 actual ratio by the fluctuating black line s. At no 
 point do these lines coincide. After three years of 
 fluctuations, 1803-06, now above and now below, the 
 ratio sinks persistently below for seven years, 
 1807-13, touching the lowest point (a ratio of 16.24) 
 in 1 813. For the succeeding five or six years, 
 1 81 3-19, the ratio was as consistently above the 
 legal rate, though with less violence and width of 
 divergence. From the latter year, 1819, up to 1850, 
 its course was undeviatingly below 15^, then from 
 1851-67 — the period, i.e., of the great gold outputs 
 of Australia and America — as undeviatingly above. 
 
l8o THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 From the last-named date until the close of the 
 bimetallic system in France, and, indeed, up to our 
 own days, the course of the commercial ratio has been 
 again unbrokenly below the 15^ ratio, and, as is too 
 well known, with an ever-increasing enormity of 
 divergence. 
 
 So much for the claim that the French law has 
 dowered the world with a steady ratio. 
 
 Secondly, what has been the influence of this 
 divergence of the commercial from the legal ratio 
 upon France's store of precious metals ? It has been 
 exactly similar in effect and force with that wielded 
 by similar trains of event and circumstance, in the 
 monetary history of France during the four preceding 
 centuries. The exact official figures of the import 
 and export of gold and silver are not obtainable 
 before 1822, and in a continuous stream not before 
 1830 (separably for the two metals, that is to say).^ 
 
 From the latter date, however, the testimony of 
 the figures is as explicit as it is forceful. From 1830 
 to 1850, while the ratio remained continually below 
 the legal 15^^, there was a profit on the import of 
 silver, and a persistent and heavy import took place. 
 In 1830 the (balance of the) silver imported 
 amounted to a matter of 6 millions sterling, in 1831 
 to ']\ millions, in 1834 to 4 millions, in 1837 to over 
 5-^ millions, in 1838 to nearly 5 millions, in 1841 to 
 nearly 5 millions, in 1843 over 4 millions, in 1848 
 
 ^ The returns for the years 1825-29 give no separate figures for gold and for 
 silver, but give only the total of the two together. 
 
FRANCE: BIMETALLIC EXPERIENCE, 1803-75 181 
 
 to over 8| millions, and in 1849 to nearly 10 millions. 
 There was not a single year that was not accompanied 
 by this import, and over the whole twenty-two years 
 the total of importations reached the enormous 
 figure of, approximately, 92 millions sterling. It 
 must be clearly understood that this sum represents 
 not the gross but the net importation or balance of 
 imports over exports, and that the money passed into 
 the currency of the country, taking its place as such 
 and displacing gold pari passu. The movement of 
 gold in the same time is represented by the red line 
 in the accompanying diagram. Within the limits of 
 very considerable exceptions, the correspondence of 
 its fluctuations with those of gold is clearly percept- 
 ible. The silver, on whose coinage a profit or 
 premium was offered by the existing French law to 
 individuals, could only be bought or paid for by the ex- 
 port of gold or services and goods. During these years, 
 1 830-50, it was quite apparently by the latter method, 
 namely, by remittance of goods, as on the whole 
 period there is a slight gain of gold, nearly 3 millions, 
 contrary to what bimetallic law would have led to 
 expect. The correspondence, however — a simultaniety 
 — of the two movements, of import of silver and 
 export of gold, is strongly marked in the years 
 1834-39 and 1841-48, and the failure of correspond- 
 ence of the totals is to be explained by the statistics 
 of French foreign trade balances during the years 
 named. 
 
 With the year 1852, the decisive change in the 
 
iS2 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 ratio sets in with the new gold influx. The ratio 
 rises above the 15.5 of the French law, and the profit 
 on the importation and coining of silver vanishes. Its 
 place is taken by a corresponding profit on the 
 importation and coinage of gold. The fourteen years 
 during which the ratio remained above the legal 15^ 
 witnessed the importation into France of a total net 
 (or balance) of gold to the amount of 135 millions 
 sterling, and a total net or balance of exportation of 
 silver of 66| millions sterling. The coincidence of 
 actual fluctuation will best be seen by the graphic 
 representation of it in the table. With 1865 the 
 final and, so far as the nineteenth century is con- 
 cerned, the fatal change of the commercial ratio sets 
 in. It sinks persistently and increasingly below the 
 legal 15^, in face and spite of the united mintings of 
 the Latin Union, and at ©nee the premium on the im- 
 portation and coinage of gold changes into one on 
 silver. From 1865 to 1875, one year before the 
 abandonment of the coinage of the 5 -franc piece and 
 the consequent relinquishment by France of the 
 bimetallic system, her net imports of silver amounted 
 to 56 millions sterling. 
 
 As far as these figures of import and export are 
 concerned, they show only the Jinal results of the 
 action of bimetallic law. The metal on whose 
 importation and minting a premium was obtainable 
 was imported, and in large quantities. That is the 
 single fact standing out in large. The reciprocal fact 
 —of a corresponding export of the metal over whose 
 
FRANCE: BIMETALLIC EXPERIENCE, 1803-75 183 
 
 head the premium offered — does not emerge so 
 distinctly, simply by reason of the complication of the 
 subject of exports of metals with the wider general 
 movement of trade balances. It also is, however, 
 distinctly perceptible and demonstrable. But this is 
 to speak only in large and of final results. What the 
 intermediate course of events — of see-saw and flux, 
 was, can only be adequately grasped from the records 
 of the mintings, conjoined with the records of net 
 import or export of the two metals. 
 
 TABLE OF THE NET IMPORTS OR EXPORTS OF GOLD IN 
 FRANCE UNDER THE BIMETALLIC LAW, 1822-75. 
 
 
 Net 
 
 Net 
 
 
 Net 
 
 Net 
 
 Year. 
 
 Import 
 
 Export 
 
 Year. 
 
 Import 
 
 Export 
 
 
 (Francs). 
 
 (Francs). 
 
 
 (Francs). 
 
 (Francs). 
 
 1822 
 
 4,ooo,cxx3 
 
 
 1852 
 
 17,000.000 
 
 
 1823 
 
 
 19,000,000 
 
 1853 
 
 289,000,000 
 
 
 1824 
 
 37,000,000 
 
 
 1854 
 
 416,000,000 
 
 
 1830 
 
 10,000,000 
 
 
 1855 
 
 218,000,000 
 
 
 1831 
 
 10,000,000 
 
 
 1856 
 
 375,000,000 
 
 
 1832 
 
 
 39,000,000 
 
 1857 
 
 446,000,000 
 
 
 1833 
 
 24,000,000 
 
 
 1858 
 
 488,000,000 
 
 
 1834 
 
 
 7,000,000 
 
 1859 
 
 539,000,000 
 
 
 1835 
 
 
 20,000,000 
 
 i860 
 
 311,000,000 
 
 
 1836 
 
 
 14,000,000 
 
 1861 
 
 
 24,000,000 
 
 1837 
 
 
 6,000,000 
 
 1862 
 
 165,000,000 
 
 
 1838 
 
 
 4,000,000 
 
 1863 
 
 12,000,000 
 
 
 1839 
 
 24,000,000 
 
 
 1864 
 
 125,000,000 
 
 
 1840 
 
 49,000,000 
 
 
 1865 
 
 150,000,000 
 
 
 1841 
 
 
 5,000,000 
 
 1866 
 
 465,000,000 
 
 
 1842 
 
 
 
 12,000,000 
 
 1867 
 
 409,000,000 
 
 
 1843 
 
 
 
 41 000,000 
 
 1868 
 
 212,000,000 
 
 
 1844 
 
 
 
 6,000,000 
 
 1869 
 
 275,000,000 
 
 
 184s 
 
 
 
 14,000,000 
 
 1870 
 
 119,000,000 
 
 
 1846 
 
 
 
 9,000,000 
 
 1871 
 
 
 214,000,000 
 
 1847 
 
 
 
 13,000,000 
 
 1872 
 
 
 53,000,000 
 
 1848 
 
 38,000,000 
 
 
 1873 
 
 
 108,000,000 
 
 1849 
 
 6,000,000 
 
 
 1874 
 
 431,000,000 
 
 
 1850 
 
 17,000,000 
 
 
 1875 
 
 454,000,000 
 
 
 1851 
 
 85,000,000 
 
 
 
 
 
1 84 
 
 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 TABLE OF THE MOVEMENT OF SILVER DURING THE 
 SAME PERIOD. 
 
 
 Net 
 
 Net 
 
 
 Net 
 
 Net 
 
 Year. 
 
 Import 
 
 Export 
 
 Year. 
 
 Import 
 
 Export 
 
 
 (Francs). 
 
 (Francs). 
 
 
 (Francs). 
 
 (Francs). 
 
 1822 
 
 125, OCX), 000 
 
 
 
 1852 
 
 
 
 3,000,000 
 
 1823 
 
 114,000,000 
 
 
 
 1853 
 
 
 
 117,000,000 
 
 1824 
 
 124,000,000 
 
 
 
 1854 
 
 
 
 164,000,000 
 
 1830 
 
 151,000,000 
 
 
 
 1855 
 
 
 
 197,000,000 
 
 1831 
 
 181,000,000 
 
 
 
 1856 
 
 
 
 284,000,000 
 
 1832 
 
 60,000,000 
 
 
 
 1857 
 
 
 
 360,000,000 
 
 1833 
 
 75,000,000 
 
 
 
 1858 
 
 
 . 
 
 15,000,000 
 
 1834 
 
 101,000,000 
 
 
 
 1859 
 
 
 
 171,000,000 
 
 183s 
 
 74,000,000 
 
 
 
 i860 
 
 
 
 157,000,000 
 
 1836 
 
 27,000,000 
 
 
 
 1861 
 
 
 
 62,000,000 
 
 1837 
 
 144,000,000 
 
 
 
 1862 
 
 
 
 86,000,000 
 
 1838 
 
 120,000,000 
 
 
 
 1863 
 
 
 
 68,000,000 
 
 1839 
 
 75,000,000 
 
 
 
 1864 
 
 
 
 42,000,000 
 
 1840 
 
 96,000,000 
 
 
 
 1865 
 
 72,000,000 
 
 
 
 1841 
 
 117,000,000 
 
 
 
 1866 
 
 45,000,000 
 
 
 
 1842 
 
 92,000,000 
 
 
 
 1867 
 
 189,000,000 
 
 
 
 1843 
 
 103,000,000 
 
 
 
 1868 
 
 109,000,000' 
 
 
 
 1844 
 
 82,000,000 
 
 
 
 1869 
 
 112,000,000 
 
 
 
 184s 
 
 90,000,000 
 
 
 
 1870 
 
 35,000,000 
 
 
 
 1846 
 
 47,000,000 
 
 
 
 1871 
 
 15,000,000 
 
 
 
 1847 
 
 53,000,000 
 
 
 
 1872 
 
 102,000,000 
 
 
 
 1848 
 
 214,000,000 
 
 
 
 1873 
 
 181,000,000 
 
 
 
 1849 
 
 244,000,000 
 
 
 
 1874 
 
 360,000,000 
 
 
 
 1850 
 
 73,000,000 
 
 
 
 1875 
 
 194,000,000 
 
 
 
 1851 
 
 78,000,000 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 TABLE OF THE COINAGE OF GOLD IN FRANCE, 1803-75, 
 DURING THE BIMETALLIC REGIME. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Gold 
 
 (Francs). 
 
 Silver. 
 (Francs). 
 
 Year. 
 
 Gold 
 (Francs). 
 
 Silver. 
 (Francs). 
 
 1803 
 1804 
 1805 
 1806 
 1807 
 1808 
 1809 
 
 io,209,.840 
 38,463,980 
 20,474,500 
 38,533,760 
 18,019,920 
 32,311,260 
 15,206,440 
 
 23,171,988 
 
 47.517,195 
 46,385,909 
 25,241,651 
 5,008,903 
 67,833,922 
 44,296,494 
 
 1810 
 1811 
 1812 
 1813 
 1814 
 1815 
 1816 
 
 46,070,600 
 132,135,740 
 97,717,880 
 62,659,680 
 64*544,720 
 55,379,840 
 15,151,280 
 
 57,170,216 
 256,399,040 
 160,786,409 
 
 134,900,313 
 61,244,121 
 37,673,806 
 34,917,526 
 
FRANCE: BIMETALLIC EXPERIENCE, 1803-73 185 
 
 TABLE OF THE COINAGE OF GOLD IN FRANCE, 1803-75, 
 DURING THE BIMETALLIC 'S±Q\WE^contimted. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Gold 
 
 Silver 
 
 Year. 
 
 Gold 
 
 Silver 
 
 (France). 
 
 (Francs). 
 
 (Francs). 
 
 (Francs). 
 
 1817 
 
 52,197,080 
 
 37,143,579 
 
 1847 
 
 7, 706,020 
 
 78,285,157 
 
 1818 
 
 95,410,460 
 
 12,406,076 
 
 1848 
 
 39,697,740 
 
 119,731,095 
 
 1819 
 
 52,410,660 
 
 21,235,077 
 
 1849 
 
 27,109,560 
 
 206,548,663 
 
 1820 
 
 28,781,080 
 
 18,436,620 
 
 1850 
 
 85,192,390 
 
 86,458,485 
 
 1821 
 
 404, 140 
 
 67,533,866 
 
 1851 
 
 269,709,570 
 
 59,327,308 
 
 1822 
 
 4,718,100 
 
 100,679,137 
 
 1852 
 
 27,028,270 
 
 71,918,445 
 
 1823 
 
 408, 180 
 
 82,911,680 
 
 1853 
 
 312,964,020 
 
 20,099,488 
 
 1824 
 
 7,071,700 
 
 114,476,007 
 
 1854 
 
 526,528,200 
 
 2,123,887 
 
 1825 
 
 45,616,360 
 
 75,203,291 
 
 1855 
 
 447,427,820 
 
 25,500,305 
 
 1826 
 
 925,540 
 
 90,835,623 
 
 1856 
 
 508,281,995 
 
 54,422,214 
 
 1827 
 
 3, 160,940 
 
 153,868,978 
 
 1857 
 
 572,561,225 
 
 3,809,611 
 
 1828 
 
 8,025 740 
 
 161,466,133 
 
 1858 
 
 488,689,635 
 
 8,663,568 
 
 1829 
 
 1,118,180 
 
 102,642,617 
 
 1859 
 
 702,697,790 
 
 8,401,813 
 
 1830 
 
 23,516,640 
 
 120,187,089 
 
 i860 
 
 428,452,425 
 
 8,034,198 
 
 1831 
 
 49,641,380 
 
 205,223,764 
 
 1861 
 
 98,216,400 
 
 2,518,049 
 
 1832 
 
 2,046,260 
 
 141,353,915 
 
 1862 
 
 214,241,990 
 
 2,519,397 
 
 1833 
 
 16,799,780 
 
 157,482,863 
 
 1863 
 
 210,230,640 
 
 329,610 
 
 1834 
 
 30,231,200 
 
 218,288,304 
 
 1864 
 
 273,843-765 
 
 7,296,609 
 
 183s 
 
 4,550,060 
 
 99,966,149 
 
 1865 
 
 161,886,835 
 
 9,222,394 
 
 1836 
 
 5,097,040 
 
 43,242,399 
 
 1866 
 
 365,082,925 
 
 44,821,409 
 
 1837 
 
 2,026,740 
 
 111,858,697 
 
 1867 
 
 198,579,510 
 
 113,758,539 
 
 1838 
 
 4^940, 140 
 
 88,489,324 
 
 i868 
 
 340,076,685 
 
 129,445,268 
 
 1839 
 
 20,670,000 
 
 73,637,742 
 
 1869 
 
 234,186,190 
 
 68,175,897 
 
 1840 
 
 40,998,240 
 
 63,795,527 
 
 1870 
 
 55,394,800 
 
 69,051,256 
 
 1841 
 
 12,375,060 
 
 77,517,941 
 
 1871 
 
 50,169,880 
 
 23,878,499 
 
 1842 
 
 1,852,720 
 
 68,391,170 
 
 1872 
 
 
 26,838,369 
 
 1843 
 
 2,826,600 
 
 74,148,998 
 
 1873 
 
 
 156,270,160 
 
 1844 
 
 2,742,260 
 
 69,134,980 
 
 1874 
 
 24,319,700 
 
 60,609,988 
 
 1845 
 
 119,140 
 
 89,967,609 
 
 1875 
 
 234,912,000 
 
 75,000,000 
 
 1846 
 
 2,086,420 
 
 47,886,145 
 
 
 
 
 During the years 1820-50, when the ratio re- 
 mained below the legal 15J and there was a profit 
 on the import of silver, the total silver coinage of the 
 French Mint amounted to ^127,458,322, while that 
 of gold reached only .1^19,333,854. In the succeed- 
 ing period, 1850-66, when the ratio changed and 
 remained for fifteen or sixteen years in favour of 
 
1 86 
 
 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 gold, the total gold coinage reached ;^292, 416,951, 
 while the total silver coinage was scarcely more than 
 \\ millions (/i, 315.532)- 
 
 At the beginning of this second period, 1851, 
 the Bank of France held in its reserves approximately 
 only 3^ millions sterling of gold, whereas its silver 
 amounted to more than 19 millions. At the close of 
 the period indicated, 1866, the bank was holding 23 
 millions sterling of gold against nearly 5g millions of 
 silver. In the former case the proportion of silver 
 formed 85 per cent, of the total, in the latter only 19 
 per cent. 
 
 TABLE OF THE RESERVES OF THE BANK OF FRANCE, 1851-76. 
 
 
 Gold 
 
 Silver 
 
 Percent. 
 
 
 Gold 
 
 Silver 
 
 Percent. 
 
 Year. 
 
 (Million 
 
 (Million 
 
 of Silver 
 
 Year. 
 
 (Million 
 
 (Million 
 
 of Silver 
 
 
 Francs). 
 
 f'rancs). 
 
 toTotal. 
 85 
 
 
 Francs). 
 
 Francs). 
 
 to Total. 
 
 1851 , 
 
 83 
 
 478 
 
 1864 
 
 273 
 
 94 
 
 27 
 
 1852 
 
 69 
 
 442 
 
 86 
 
 1865 
 
 238 
 
 208 
 
 44 
 
 1853 
 
 102 
 
 214 
 
 67 
 
 1866 
 
 576 
 
 136 
 
 19 
 
 '8S4 
 
 301 
 
 193 
 
 39 
 
 1867 
 
 697 
 
 3«8 
 
 31 
 
 1855 
 
 72 
 
 147 
 
 66 
 
 1868 
 
 662 
 
 474 
 
 42 
 
 1856 
 
 94 
 
 104 
 
 S3 
 
 1869 
 
 461 
 
 798 
 
 63 
 
 1857 
 
 no 
 
 126 
 
 S2 
 
 1870 
 
 429 
 
 69 
 
 498 
 
 1858 
 
 294 
 
 260 
 
 47 
 
 1871 
 
 554 
 
 80 
 
 13 
 
 1859 
 
 250 
 
 329 
 
 56 
 
 1872 
 
 656 
 
 134 
 
 17 
 
 i860 
 
 144 
 
 272 
 
 65 
 
 1873 
 
 611 
 
 148 
 
 19 
 
 1861 
 
 225 
 
 100 
 
 30 
 
 1874 
 
 1013 
 
 314 
 
 24 
 
 1862 
 
 187 
 
 108 
 
 36 
 
 1875 
 
 1 168 
 
 504 
 
 30 
 
 1863 
 
 119 
 
 72 
 
 37 
 
 1876 
 
 1349 
 
 540 
 
 28^ 
 
 The statistics of the Latin Union, up to the sus- 
 pension of the bimetallic system will be separately 
 dealt with. 
 
 Speaking only of the experience of France during 
 these years of bimetallic regime, the ebbing and 
 
FRANCE: BIMETALLIC EXPERIENCE, 1803-73 187 
 
 flowing experience which has throughout been in- 
 stanced as the chief characteristic of such regime is 
 most strongly marked. The legal ratio did not give 
 the market ratio, and so far was it from giving France 
 a stable currency, it was the one thing which unsettled 
 it and made a stable currency impossible. The 
 exposi des motifs of the law of 1876, which will be 
 referred to in another connection below, puts the 
 matter with official brevity. " The variations of the 
 commercial from legal 15^ ratio remained normal 
 during the years 1824-67. All the same they 
 sufficed to modify greatly the composition of the 
 French circulation. After the predominance of 
 silver, which became marked in 1847, the ratio from 
 1847-67 introduced gold in a large proportion, and 
 measures had to be taken to retain in France 
 the smaller silver coinage. Our silver monnaie 
 (T appoint of 1835 fine was created for this purpose." 
 
 To regard this question from a theoretic and 
 international point of view, to the exclusion of any 
 regard for the separate national interests of France, 
 is a sheer absurdity. It mattered little or nothing 
 to France that by unloading the stores of silver she 
 happened to possess at the time of the gold dis- 
 coveries of the Fifties she helped to steady the 
 ratio for the world at large. It did however matter, 
 and very much, that this process of exchange from 
 the one metal to the other was attended with public 
 loss, balanced only by illicit private gain, and with 
 a disturbance of trade in every town of France 
 
1 88 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 through the disappearance of the smaller silver specie. 
 Whether or not France or any other country is called 
 upon to sacrifice herself thus — not once but every 
 time the ratio fluctuates from below to above the 
 legal ratio or vice versa — for the sake of an ideal, 
 bimetallic, regulating, function, let common sense 
 decide. 
 
 The French monetary commission of 1867 speaks 
 thus of the situation — 
 
 " It is well known by all that this ratio [of 1803] 
 by the simple reason of its being fixed could not 
 remain correct. There was quickly a premium on 
 gold, and silver remained almost alone in circulation 
 until near 1850. The discovery of the mines of 
 California and Australia suddenly changed this situa- 
 tion by throwing into the European market a very 
 considerable quantity of gold. By the side of this 
 force, which tended to create a divergence from the 
 legal ratio by lowering gold, there was another which 
 occasioned a rise of silver. Under the influence of 
 various circumstances, too long to enumerate, the 
 needs of the extreme East had grown in unusual 
 proportions, and as silver is alone in favour there, it 
 was exported in enormous masses. There was a 
 premium on silver to the extent of 8 per mille, and it 
 disappeared almost completely from circulation, yield- 
 ing place to gold. 
 
 " Preoccupied by the situation the Government 
 charged a commission to study the measures to be 
 taken. Its labours are summed up in the report of 
 
FRANCE: BIMETALLIC EXPERIENCE, 1803-75 189 
 
 M. de Bosredon (1857). After examining the system 
 tending to preserve silver money intact by lowering 
 the value of gold money, and conversely the system 
 tending to the adoption of the gold standard by 
 reducing the silver money to the state of billon, the 
 commission did not decide between them. It con- 
 fined itself, in fact, to counselling the Government 
 to a transitory step — the raising of the export duties 
 on silver. . . . The exportation of silver, therefore, 
 continued ; and if the disappearance of 5 - franc 
 pieces was not remarked, because they were replaced 
 by gold, it was not the same with the scarcity 
 of pieces of a smaller value employed in petty 
 payments. 
 
 " Being informed of the obstruction to retail com- 
 merce by complaints carried before the Senate, and 
 instructed by the example of Switzerland, which had 
 in i860 reduced the standard of its divisional money, 
 the Minister of Finance appointed a commission, 1861, 
 to study the remedy to be applied to the evil. This 
 commission counselled the reduction of the standard 
 of pieces of less than 5-francs to "834 fine. It did 
 this in complete knowledge of the cause, fully re- 
 cognising that in so doing the monetary unity of 
 silver, characteristic of our system, would be thereby 
 broken, at anyrate for its circulating form ; for while 
 the franc no longer existed in law, the 5-franc was 
 disappearing in fact, so that the change was equiv- 
 alent to the establishment of a gold standard." 
 
 This advice of the commission was however, by 
 
igo THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 the law of 1864, applied only to pieces of 50 or 
 20 centimes. 
 
 The next step in the process was the formation of 
 the Latin Union in the year following. The above- 
 quoted commission speaks of the intentional aspect 
 of this Union in these words : " This convention 
 places in the front rank gold money, and reduces 
 the pieces of silver of 2 francs and less to the 
 role of token money. It therefore definitely deter- 
 mines [consacre] the ascendency of the gold francs, 
 and solves practical difficulties arising from the 
 double standard." 
 
 This was written in 1867, less than two years after 
 the formation of the Latin Union. It is not the view 
 which prevails among bimetallists to-day as to the pur- 
 pose and intentional bearing of that Union ; but it is 
 the historic truth none the less, and it was only the 
 complete revolution in the conditions of production of 
 the precious metals which made itself felt from 187 1, 
 which has given the Latin Union the aspect of a 
 theoretic concert for the maintenance of, rather than 
 as a defence against, a bimetallic system. If silver 
 had not fallen in 1871 the Latin Union would still 
 be the bulwark of defence of bimetallic France 
 against the action of bimetallic law. 
 
 The formation of the Latin Union, therefore, was a 
 measure of defence against the action of the bimetallic 
 system in those countries which had adopted the 
 monetary system of France, and lay exposed to all its 
 disastrous fluctuations. The first and moving factor 
 
THE LATIN UNION 191 
 
 in its formation was Belgium. So far as related to 
 silver, Belgium had adopted the French system by her 
 monetary law of 5th June 1832. By the first article 
 of this law the monetary unit was fixed at the silver 
 franc of 5 grms. weight, and 9 fineness. For 
 years Belgium endeavoured to maintain this law in 
 its integrity. Public opinion, however, demanded the 
 admission of French gold at its normal value, and 
 this was conceded and decreed by the law of 4th 
 June 1 86 1. From that moment she felt all the 
 oscillating movement which France was experiencing. 
 The declaration of Article i. of the law of 1832 
 became a dead letter ; the gold standard took the 
 place of the silver standard, and equally with France, 
 Italy, and Switzerland, Belgium had to witness the 
 disappearance of her small silver coins. To the 
 previous abundance there succeeded a penury of 
 small change, although the drain was not so immedi- 
 ately felt because of large reserve of silver 5-franc 
 pieces (amounting to 48 millions of francs) held by 
 the National Bank. In slightly over a year, ist June 
 1861 to 8th November 1662, this stock of 48,645,000 
 francs had sunk to 14,629,000 francs, and in alarm the 
 National Bank ceased, on the latter date, all payments 
 in 5-franc pieces. Concurrently with this drain of the 
 5-franc pieces, the reserve of silver coins of less value 
 began to be seriously affected by the sapping influ- 
 ence. During the two following years, 1861-63, there 
 was little commerce in the precious metals owing to 
 the American war. But in 1863 the movement of 
 
192 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 drain recommenced. The reserve of 5 -franc pieces 
 and the stock of divisional coins of lower denomina- 
 tion fell rapidly, to so low a point indeed as to 
 become quite insufficient for the ordinary trade and 
 small change demanded of the country. After a slight 
 recovery in September 1865, the same downward 
 course continued. The smaller coins, of i -franc 
 piece, and 50 centimes became so scarce that the 
 bank could not supply the demands of manufacturers 
 for the payment of wages, and the Government had to 
 have resort to the coinage of nickel for small divi- 
 sional money. The simultaneous experience of Swit- 
 zerland and Italy is not so capable of statement and 
 exact expression. But it was similar in kind. Previous 
 to 1865 a net balance of over 12 millions sterling (con- 
 sisting almost if not entirely of silver) had left Italy, 
 and it was known to be the danger of entirely losing 
 her silver which led Italy to the suspension of cash 
 payments on 30th April 1866, and to her acquiescence 
 in the Latin Union. It was not, however, Italy, but 
 Belgium who first raised the note of alarm. Con- 
 scious that her monetary community with France 
 made any independent efforts quite futile, the 
 Belgium Government proposed to France a monetary 
 union for all the countries which had adopted the 
 franc as the basis of their currency. Taking up the 
 proposition France invited Italy and Switzerland, 
 together with Belgium, to send delegates to a 
 monetary conference at Paris. At this conference 
 Belgium proposed the adoption of the single gold 
 
THE LATIN UNION 195 
 
 Standard — the silver pieces including the 5-franc 
 pieces to be lowered by an agio, and made divisional 
 money. Italy and Switzerland were of the same 
 opinion, but their scheme failed before the opposition 
 of France, and the final outcome of the conference 
 was the establishment of the convention of 23rd 
 December 1865. 
 
 This convention, which instituted the Latin Union, 
 came into force on the 17th of August 1869; and 
 under it one slight change was made in the internal 
 currency system of France. The hitherto full-valued 
 silver coinage from 2 francs downwards was changed 
 into token money (being reduced to .835 fine), the 
 5-franc piece remaining as full legal tender. 
 
 The union was to last for fifteen years. It estab- 
 lished an identity in the monetary system of the 
 four powers, as far as weight and standard were 
 concerned, and prescribed free coinage for any 
 individuals bringing metals to the Mints — of gold 
 into any form, and of silver into 5-franc pieces ; 
 and reciprocal acceptance of those pieces in any of 
 the States of the union. Finally the minting of each 
 State for national or currency purposes was limited 
 to 6 francs per head. 
 
 This limitation, together with the regulation 
 adopted, that the divisional coins should be issued 
 at a rate inferior to that of the monetary standard; 
 must be regarded as a measure of mutual defence 
 against the sapping of the small coinage which had 
 previously been experienced. According to this 
 '3 
 
194 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 clause the maximum of mintings for national or 
 currency purposes was presented thus — 
 
 Francs. 
 
 For Belgium 32,000,000 
 
 France 239,000,000 
 
 Italy 141,000,000 
 
 Switzerland 17,000,000 
 
 For a time everything bloomed, the minting went 
 merrily on, and private individuals (foreigners) 
 reaped a profit at the expense of France. With the 
 heavy fall in the ratio which made itself marked 
 in 1873, however, events became too strong even for 
 the Union, and Belgium took the initiative by pass- 
 ing a law enabling her Government to suspend or 
 limit the coinage of the 5-franc piece. This principle 
 was subsequently adopted by all the states of the 
 Latin Union. During the years, 1874-76, three 
 annual conferences of the Union were held at Paris, 
 with the result that the limitation of the coinage of 
 the 5-franc piece was fixed thus — 
 
 1874. 1875. 1876. 
 
 Belgium .... 12,000,000 15,000,000 10,800,000 
 
 France .... 60,000,000 75,000,000 54,000,000 
 
 Italy .... 60,000,000 50,000,000 36,000,000 
 
 Switzerland . . . 8,000,000 10,000,000 7,200,000 
 
 Greece (which had acceded to the Union in 1868) 12,000,000 
 
 Of these states Switzerland alone did not coin up 
 to^^her total, and at the conference in February 1876 
 her delegates pressed strongly for the entire cessation 
 of the coinage of the 5-franc piece, and for the 
 adoption of a gold standard. In this she was 
 
THE LATIN UNION 195 
 
 Strongly opposed by Italy. The latter state, on 
 account of the disappearance of her metallic currency 
 before the inconvertible paper, had no interest in the 
 limitation of the mintings of the Union. In the 
 conference of 1874 she even sought and was 
 authorised to coin beyond the quota accorded her, 
 by a sum of not less than ^800,000 in 5-franc pieces, 
 on condition that such amount should be deposited as 
 a metallic reserve of the Bank of Italy. 
 
 The force of circumstances, however, soon broke 
 down even this policy of limitation. In the course 
 of 1876 the fall of silver became more disastrously 
 pronounced. In addition, it was no secret that the 
 amounts accorded by the conferences of 1874-75-76 
 for the mintings of each state, had been assigned 
 as maximum, not minimum limits, under the Latin 
 Union.^ 
 
 The next Mint convention of November 1878 
 would determine the Latin Union on the 31st Decem- 
 ber 1885, if not prolonged by further treaty. As the 
 time approached the smaller states, such as Belgium, 
 which had committed themselves to a large minting 
 and thereby to the liability of having to liquidate or 
 take back its own mintings — -such 5-franc pieces as 
 happened to be beyond its frontiers — at full value, in 
 
 1 From 1865-1878— 
 
 France minted 625,466,380 francs. 
 
 Belgium ,, 350,497,720 ,, 
 
 Italy 359,059,820 „ 
 
 Switzerland „ 7,978,250 ,, 
 
 1,343,000,000 „ 
 
196 THE HISTORY OP CURRENCY 
 
 the face of a greatly fallen silver market, shrank from 
 the responsibility, and sought and obtained a pro- 
 longation of the status quo until the end of 1891, 
 and thenceforward by yearly agreement. 
 
 Finding that individuals treated the agreed 
 amounts of mintings as a minimum limit, the French 
 Government resolved to suspend the minting of the 
 5-franc pieces entirely. Accordingly, on the 21st 
 March 1876, M. Leon Say, Minister of Finance,, 
 submitted to the Senate a Bill to that effect. It was 
 followed, eight days later, by a proposition of a law 
 suspending the emission of " bons " for the coining of 
 silver money ^ fine. The expose des motifs of this 
 Act is most remarkable : — 
 
 " The events which have happened for some time 
 past in the relations of the precious metals have 
 brought to a head the monetary question amongst us, 
 although from 181 5 Great Britain has laid down 
 principles which have attracted round her an ever- 
 increasing circle of nations. 
 
 " The theory of the double standard, on which our 
 monetary law of the year xi. reposes, has been called 
 in question ever since its origin. 
 
 " It is, to our conception, less a theory than the 
 result of the primitive inability of the legislators ta 
 combine together the two precious metals otherwise 
 than by way of an unlimited concurrence — metals, 
 both of which are destined to enter into the monetary 
 system, but which recent legislators have learned to 
 co-ordinate by leaving the unlimited function to gold 
 
GERMANY 197 
 
 alone and reducing silver to tlie role of divisional 
 money. From 1857 the French Government has 
 studied the question, and it may be stated that since 
 that date the principle of the gold standard has won 
 increasing favour through our several administrations." 
 Then follows an account of the monetary history 
 of France during the period, as in brief r^sumd 
 already given. " If," the preamble continues, " from 
 1874, certain precautions had not been taken to arrest 
 the effects of that grave perturbation in the ratio, 
 France and her monetary allies would have seen 
 their monetary, circulation invaded by silver and 
 correspondingly drained of gold." Hence the con- 
 ventions of 1874-75-76, limiting the mintings of the 
 members of the Latin Union, although, "according 
 to us, the fall of silver in 1875 prescribed a complete 
 cessation even for that year rather than a simple 
 limitation." 
 
 Germany. 
 
 Until the unification of Germany in our own days, 
 and the adoption of the present imperial currency 
 system, German monetary history reproduces per^ 
 petually all the elements of that mediaeval system, 
 bimetallic in fact though not theoretically so con.- 
 ceived, which England flung away in 18 16, and from 
 the toils of which France has ,not as yet completely 
 emerged. 
 
 As safeguards against the evils, of that system 
 which she had felt with such bitter experience,, and 
 
igS THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 which had culminated in the crisis closing the Thirty 
 Years' War, Germany could only feebly employ the 
 mechanism of ineffectual Mint conventions. For a 
 century she persevered in the effort to establish a 
 common standard and Mint system, but in vain. 
 The attempt had to be abandoned, and the reeling 
 system left to its own process of disintegration ; and 
 when at last the events of 1871 came to give her 
 unity in her coinage, as well as political life, there 
 were not less than nine distinct and independent 
 coinage systems in existence. 
 
 Hardly had the crisis of the Thirty Years' War 
 passed out of mind before again the currency system 
 had begun to work its baneful effects. 
 
 In 1665 complaints were loudly made of the 
 corrupt and debased state of the coin, due to export 
 and culling. There is, indeed, quite a literature of 
 these same complaints. The language of the Reich- 
 stattisches conc/usum (Ka-tishon, 12th September 1666) 
 expressly attributes this export to the higher value 
 set upon the gold in foreign countries, especially 
 Venice. And the statement of the warden of the 
 Mint of the three corresponding circles — Franconia, 
 Bavaria, and Swabia — delivered in his Gtitachten of 
 the preceding May, was that the place of these good 
 German ducats had been taken by very depreciated 
 coins of Italy, France, England, and Holland. The 
 three higher circles, accordingly — Franconia, Bavaria, 
 and Suabia — met in conference and determined on a 
 thorough investigation. The advice submitted to 
 
GERMANY: THE ZINNAISCHE STANDARD 199 
 
 them was to raise the thaler from 90 to 96-kreutzer 
 (see account of German coinage, Appendix V.), imply- 
 ing a lowering of the ratio from 15 to 14-g-. This 
 proposed scheme was accepted, in comitia, in 1667, 
 the fifth article of the resolution specially mentioning 
 the infliction of numerous intruding base foreign 
 divisional money. From this scheme Brandenburg 
 and Saxony held off, maintaining that the ratio had 
 not been sufficiently lowered, considering the con- 
 dition of the production of gold ; and, in the same 
 year, by a Mint treaty between Frederick William 
 of Brandenburg and the Elector of Saxony, the 
 so-called Zinnaische standard was adopted for those 
 two states. According to this standard, the Reichs 
 thaler was raised to 105-kreutzer (i florin 45 kreutzers) 
 and a ratio of 1 3f was established. 
 
 The result of this action of Saxony and Branden- 
 burg was to strip the three higher circles of their 
 silver, and in two years (1669) they anxiously met 
 again to consider the question, not only of the foreign 
 base coin everywhere prevalent, but also of the 
 damaging exchange "and ceaseless melting down 
 and exchange of proper coin from the circles." 
 
 By a strenuous effort the three circles carried 
 through the Reichstag of 1680 their resolution to 
 reduce the Reichs thaler to 90 kreutzer (ratio I5:|:). 
 From this decision the Emperor stood apart, with 
 Bavaria and Salzburg, in putting the Reichs thaler at 
 96 kreutzer. 
 
 In view of such contrariety the impossibility of 
 
1200 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 any general regime for the empire became apparent, 
 and further attempts at it were practically abandoned. 
 It was the perception by the mercantile community, 
 as well' as by the various Governments, of the conse- 
 quences of such disorder, that led to the establish- 
 meint of the so-called Leipzig standard in 1690. 
 This standard was promoted by John George iii. of 
 Saxony, and established by treaty between Saxony, 
 Brandenburg, and Brunswick- Luneburg. According 
 to it the Reichs thaler was raised to 1 20 kreutzers, 
 or 2 florins, the mark being minted into 12 thalers or 
 ;i8 guldens. 
 
 The result of the introduction of this standard was 
 that in a few years the raising of the Reichs thaler to 
 120 kreutzers prevailed all over the empire. Sweden 
 accepted it in the same year, 1690, and three years 
 later the three upper circles acquiesced. At the same 
 time the gold gulden was advanced to 2 florins 56 
 kreutzers. The previous ratio of 15 was thereby 
 advanced to 15. i {}<,^if-^). 
 
 In 1738 the Reichstag determined on the adoption 
 of the Leipzig standard for the whole empire ; no 
 alteration was made in the Reichs thaler, which was 
 still retained at 2 florins and minted at 1 2 to the mark 
 fine ; but a graduated scale of agio was adopted for the 
 divisional coins, which were minted at an equivalence 
 of from 1 2f to 1 3I thalers \o the mark fine. The 
 difference (varying from | to if thalers) represented 
 the agio. 
 
 From the first, however, the Leipzig standard 
 
GERMANY: THE CONVENTION STANDARD 201 
 
 had no more real success than any of its pre- 
 decessors. Although theoretically accepted by all 
 North Germany, and adopted in the Reichstag in 
 1738, it could obtain no actual general adoption 
 through' the empire. Even from the moment of the 
 inception of the system in 1690, the process of com- 
 petitively raising the course of the coinage had still 
 continued, and pieces of 30, 20, 15, and lo-kreutzers 
 were struck on a basis of from 20 to 2\\ gulden to 
 the mark. The result was to put upon the carolus, 
 which from 1730 onwards was minted in great quan- 
 tities in South- West Germany, an agio of 10 per 
 cent, a differentiation which was much increased by 
 the disorders of the war of the Austrian succession. 
 Such an agio swiftly drove the larger, full-valued 
 specie out of currency, and during the continuance of 
 that war the currency of Austria and South Germany 
 was almost entirely reduced to depreciated fractional 
 pieces, while the exchangers reaped untold advantage. 
 It was on the close of this war, in 1748, that, with 
 characteristic Austrian selfishness, though also with a 
 boldness none of his predecessors had approached, 
 the Emperor, Francis i., determined on the. erection 
 of the 20 -gulden standard as a separate Austrian 
 independent system, minting the mark of fine silver 
 into 13^ Reichs thalers, or 20 guldens. This latter 
 system, after the accession to it of Bavaria, obtained 
 the name of the Convention Standard, and the 2-gulden 
 pieces minted under it are styled the Species or Con- 
 vention Thaler. The convention system remained 
 
202 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 in force in Austria until the Vienna Coinage Con- 
 vention of 1857, a period during which the Con- 
 vention Thaler found wide circulation through South 
 Germany. 
 
 The currency was eked out by the Austrian gold 
 ducats and by vast quantities of foreign silver, 
 French 6-livre thalers (current for 2 florins 48 
 kreutzers) and the crown or Brabant thaler (current for 
 2 florins 42 kreutzers). From 1807 onwards this 
 latter coin was imitated by the South German States, 
 Bavaria especially, in their crown thaler, minted on a 
 fresh basis of 24^ guldens to the mark of fine silver. 
 
 The selfish initiative of Austria was followed by 
 Prussia and the South German States. The latter, 
 the Rhenish and South German States, adopted in 
 1761-65 the 24-gulden ; subsequently changed into 
 the 24^-gulden standard (see Appendix VI.). The 
 overvaluation of the Kronthaler, which led to that 
 latest development from a 24 to a 24^-gulden standard, 
 was the result of the immense circulation of French 
 6-livre pieces (known in Germany as Laubthalers) in 
 South -West Germany. Graumann quite discredits 
 the theory that the overswimming of South Germany 
 by these French pieces, with all the confusion in 
 the currency which resulted, was due to the wars and 
 the progress of French arms, and directly attributes 
 it to the depreciation of the French specie, and to 
 their quite deliberate departure from the standard of 
 French coinage as fixed in 1726. 
 
 In Prussia the reform of the coinage system was 
 
SOUTH GERMAN AND PRUSSIAN SYSTEMS 203, 
 
 undertaken by her first King, Frederick i., father of 
 Frederick the Great. In 1750 the latter adopted the 
 14-thaler or 2 ^-gulden standard, subdividing the 
 thaler into 24 groschens of 12 pfennige each. The 
 measure was undertaken expressly to stop the export of 
 gold which was going on. The adoption of a standard 
 lower than the Convention standard effectually pre- 
 vented the outflow of Prussian money, and it was not 
 until the beginning of the present century, through 
 the new Mint confusion which arose from the French 
 Revolution, that Prussian money spread into Saxony, 
 Hanover, Hesse, and even into the south-west. The 
 second idea of Frederick's reform was to buy gold 
 cheap, but in this it did not succeed. The intention 
 was to obtain for five Prussian thalers the gold 
 pistoles, which were purchasable for five convention 
 thalers. This rate, however, never prevailed in the 
 market, as from the first the pistole was valued 
 at 5^ Prussian thalers. During the Seven Years 
 War, when Frederick was driven to a depreciation of 
 his coinage, his system went to pieces. But an 
 active reform was undertaken upon the conclusion of 
 the peace of Hubertsburg, 1763. The 14-thaler 
 system was re-established, although, as far as the 
 smaller divisional silver coinage was concerned, the 
 depreciation, in which Frederick had been imitated by 
 the pettier states round him, continued into the present 
 century. 
 
 In 1 82 1 a minor alteration was made in the 
 Prussian system, by subdividing the thaler into 30 
 
204 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 instead of as previously 24 groschen, the former being 
 distinguished from the latter by the title of silver 
 groschen. To this Prussian or 14-thaler system 
 Saxony acceded, as did also, in 1 848, Mecklenburg and 
 Oldenburg, with many minor differences of detail, — - 
 Saxony, for example, dividing the silver groschen 
 into 10 pfennige ; Mecklenburg dividing the thaler 
 into 48 schillings of 1 2 pfennige each ; and Oldenburg 
 dividing ,it into 72 grotens of 5 schwarens each. 
 The gold coin was supplied by the Prussian and 
 Hanoverian 5 and 10- thaler pieces, the Friedrichs 
 d'or, a favourite trade coin even in South Germany, 
 and by Spanish pistoles circulating at an equivalence 
 of 4 6-livre thalers. 
 
 The confusion of these various German systems 
 was further increased by the uncertainty and difference 
 which had come to prevail in the unit of weight. 
 In Austria alone there were 2 marks in use, the 
 Vienna mark ( = 288.644 grs.), and the Cologne 
 mark ( = 243.870 grs.). While ih North Germany, 
 and subsequently in the south-west,' the Prussian 
 mark ( = 233.855 grs.) prevailed. It was as the 
 outcome of a desire to remedy at once the evil 
 condition and confusion of the currency, and the 
 uncertainty as to weight standard, which led to the 
 conference of Munich on 25th August 1837. At that 
 conference, Bavaria, Wurtemberg, Baden, Hesse, 
 Darmstadt, and the Free State of Frankfort, adopted 
 the 24|-gulden standard as the standard for their 
 several states. At the same time the Prussian mark 
 
CONFERENCE OF MUNICH, 1837 205 
 
 (233.855 grms. = half the Prussian pound), was estab- 
 lished as the Mint mark for the contracting numbers. 
 For the divisional coinage (6 and 3-kreutzer pieces) a 
 standard of 27 guldens to the mark was adopted, the 
 details of the various fractional pieces being left to 
 the different states. To this convention Hesse, 
 Hamburg, and the two Hohenzollerns acceded in 
 the following years. 
 
 This movement of South Germany gave a new 
 impetus to the idea of Mint unification, and led to the 
 General Mint Convention of the States of the Zoll- 
 verein, agreed upon in full assembly of delegates 
 at Dresden, 30th July 1838, and ratified also at 
 Dresden on the 7th January 1839. The Dresden 
 Convention was practically the first renewed attempt 
 at Mint unification which Germany had seen since 
 1738. The contracting members to this general Mint 
 convention were Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, Wurtem- 
 burg, Baden, Hesse, Saxe- Weimar, Eisenach, Saxe- 
 Meiningen, Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha,. 
 Nassau, Schwarzburg Rudolstadt, Schwarzburg - 
 Sondershausen, Reuss, Reuss-Schleiz, Reuss-Loben- 
 stein, Ebersdorf, and Frankfurt. 
 
 Briefly, the articles of the convention were as; 
 follow : — 
 
 " I. The Mint mark of all these contracting states 
 of the Customs Union shall be the Prussian Mint 
 mark =233.855 grms. 
 
 " 2. On this comrnon weight standard the coinages; 
 of the contracting states shall be in accordance with 
 
2o6 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 the two systems in existence among the said states, viz. 
 by thalers and groschen, according to the 14-thaler (or 
 Prussian) system ; or by gulden and kreutzer, accord- 
 ing to the 24-|-gulden (or South German) standard. 
 For the purpose of assimilation or equivalating, the 
 thaler to be reckoned = i f -gulden, and the gulden = 
 f-thaler. 
 
 "3. The 14-thaler system to be that of Prussian 
 Saxony, Hesse, Saxony, and Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe- 
 ■Coburg and Gotha (Gotha), Schwanzburg-Rudolstadt 
 (Unterherrschaft), Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, and 
 Reuss ; the 24^-gulden system to prevail in Bavaria, 
 Wiirtemberg, Baden, Hesse, Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe- 
 Coburg and Gotha (Coburg), Nassau, Schwarzburg- 
 Rudolstadt (Oberherrschaft), and the Free State of 
 Frankfurt. 
 
 "4. Each state will confine its mintings to such 
 pieces as prevail in the system of which it forms part. 
 
 "5, In larger specie, and also in divisional coin, 
 each state to bind itself to exercise the greatest care 
 to preserve the standard and weight. 
 
 " 7. For the purpose of the commerce of the 
 contracting states union or convention coins (vereins- 
 munze) shall be minted seven to the mark of fine 
 silver, at an equivalence of 2 thalers or 3J guldens, 
 fully tenderable throughout the Union. 
 
 "8. Alloy to be .9 silver, ,1 copper; so that 61^ 
 pieces = i Mint mark in weight ; remedy = '003. 
 
 "9. From ist January 1839 to 1842, at least 
 2,000,000 of these vereinsmiinze to be coined, one- 
 
THE DRESDEN CONVENTION, 1838 207 
 
 third part each year, and by the various states pro 
 rata of their population. From 1842 onwards, in 
 case of no new treaty, the rate of minting to be two 
 milHons vereinsmiinze every four years, pro rata as 
 before ; each state to give an account of its mintings, 
 "10. Also of their separate trials of standard and 
 weight. 
 
 " II, 13. None of the contracting states to set its 
 particular internal specie at any different value except 
 on a three" months' notice, and to renew its currency 
 at face value in case of depreciation. 
 
 " 12. The states bind themselves not to issue 
 divisional coins in excess of such pro rata require- 
 ments as above. 
 
 "14. For the divisional coinage the standard of 
 the convention of Munich, 1837 (viz. 27 gulden), is 
 adopted. 
 
 " 18. The treaty to endure till the end of 1858. 
 States intending to retire then to give two years' 
 notice. From that date, if not discarded, the treaty to 
 be periodically renewed (five-yearly)." 
 
 This treaty continued in force nominally until the 
 later and still more famous convention of Vienna in 
 1857, before which date Hanover, Brunswick, and 
 Oldenburg had also given in their adherence to it. 
 
 At the time of the Mint Conference and Conven- 
 tion of Vienna, therefore, there were, broadly speaking, 
 three competing systems in Germany, viz. of Austria, 
 Frussia, and South Germany or Bavaria. 
 
 One aspect of this latter conference of 1857, viz. 
 
2o8 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 its deliberations with regard to gold coinage, will 
 be referred to separately. As far as relates to its 
 attempted systematisation of these three German cur- 
 rencies the agreement took the following form : — 
 
 1. The pound of 500 grammes decimally sub- 
 divided, to be used as the basis of the coinage. 
 
 2. The competing systems to be assimilated to 
 this basis by the following regulation : — 
 
 The thaler (or Prussian) standard of 30 thalers to 
 the pound of silver to take the place of the 14-thaler 
 standard, and to prevail in Prussia, Saxony, Hanover, 
 Hesse, and a string of minor states. 
 
 The Austrian standard to be on the basis of 45 
 guldens out of a pound of fine silver, and to prevail 
 in the Empire of Austria and the principality of 
 Lichtenstein. 
 
 The South German standard to be on the basis of 
 ,52|-gulden to the pound of silver (instead of the 
 24^-florin standard formerly used), and to prevail in 
 Bavaria, Wiirtemburg, Baden, Hesse, Frankfurt, and 
 a few other places of South Germany. 
 
 The equivalence of the systems was to be — 
 
 One-thaler convention piece {^ pound) = i^ florins 
 in Austrian currency = if florin in South German 
 currency. 
 
 All the coins to be of unlimited validity in all the 
 states, divisional coinage to be of a lighter standard 
 than the coinage standard of the country, but lighter 
 only within limits fixed. The tender of these latter 
 to be limited to 20-thaler or 40-gulden. 
 
THE VIENNA CONFERENCE, 1857 209 
 
 The regulations adopted by this Vienna Conven- 
 tion as to the gold coinage are very significant, and 
 deserve special note. 
 
 The advance in the gold price of silver, due to 
 the Californian and San Franciscan gold finds, acted 
 on the silver-using countries. As soon as the price of 
 bar silver exceeded 6o|-pence per standard oz., there 
 resulted a melting down and export of the silver, in 
 the countries which had adopted bimetallism at the 
 I si-ratio. 
 
 It was this experience in France, and the allied 
 group of countries, which led to the formation of the 
 Latin Union in 1865. In mere point of date, that 
 union had been preceded by the Vienna Conference 
 and Convention by a matter of eight years. And as 
 far as the regulations of this latter relating to gold 
 coinage are concerned, there is evidence that the 
 bimetallic action of France had driven Germany to 
 her union of 1857, as a mere matter of self-defence, 
 just as it later drove the Latin states to their union 
 of 1865. In both cases the underlying motive was a 
 wish to protect that part of their currency system 
 which was threatened by bimetallic law. The 
 premium on gold, on its minting, i.e. the profit 
 to be made on minting it at 1 5^ in France, while its 
 market value was considerably less in Germany and 
 elsewhere, drew the gold to France. It is a mistake 
 to think that France attracted gold simply from 
 California and Australia. She attracted it by the 
 action of bimetallic law from her neighbour Germany, 
 14 
 
2IO THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 and replaced it by 5 -franc silver mintings. The 
 circulation of French 5-franc pieces was so extensive 
 in South Germany, in the period preceding the 
 Vienna Convention, that the cash reserve of the 
 Frankfort bank was at one moment composed almost 
 entirely of them. 
 
 The manner in which the Vienna Convention met 
 the difficulty has the appearance of plausibility, 
 though it proved in the end ineffectual. It deter- 
 mined not to establish a fixed ratio but to follow the 
 market price of gold, apparently in the hope of 
 attracting a natural or market supply. 
 
 " For the purpose of further facilitating mutual 
 transactions, and for the promotion of trade with 
 neighbouring countries, the contracting powers may 
 coin convention trade coins in gold, under the names 
 crown, and half-crown. 
 
 "I. The crown = g'^9- of a pound of fine silver. 
 
 " 2. The half-crown — r J^. 
 
 "The contracting powers may not coin any other 
 gold piece, except Austria, which retains the right of 
 coining ducats of the present value, to the end of 1865. 
 
 "The silver value of the convention gold coins in 
 ordinary intercourse is entirely fixed by the relation 
 of the supply to the demand. They must not, there- 
 fore, be considered as a medium of payment of the 
 same nature as the legal silver currency of the 
 country, and no one is legally bound to receive them 
 as such. 
 
 " Each state is at liberty to permit convention gold 
 
THE VIENNA CONVENTION, iSjj 211 
 
 coins to be paid into their offices instead of silver, 
 according to a previously settled fixed rate, and to 
 extend this permission either to all transactions and 
 offices, or only to some. Such previous settlement 
 of the rate is, however, never to last more than six 
 months, and must at the expiration of the last month 
 always be renewed for the following official treasury 
 period of exchange. The rate cannot be fixed at a 
 higher value than that given to such coinage by the 
 average of the official commercial rate of exchange 
 during the previous six months. Each government 
 also reserves to itself the right to alter the rate at 
 any time within the period fixed, and to suspend it 
 when it thinks proper. 
 
 "A treasury rate of exchange shall henceforth only 
 be fixed for convention gold coins, and not for other 
 kinds of coined gold. 
 
 " The widest circulation to be given to the notices 
 by which the official rate of exchange is fixed. They 
 must be published beforehand, even when a change 
 in rate for the next fixed period is not intended, and 
 must contain — 
 
 " I. The statement of the average trade exchange 
 at the principal places of exchange, during the six 
 months immediately preceding. 
 
 "2. The treasury rate fixed accordingly. 
 
 " 3. The duration of the value of the same. 
 
 "4. The reservation to alter or recall this rate of 
 exchange if necessary, even before the expiration of 
 the term named. 
 
212 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 "5. The declaration that such rate of exchange 
 only affects payments to be made into offices of the 
 state. 
 
 " In the countries of the contracting powers pay- 
 offices of the State, as well as public institutions, 
 banks, etc., shall not be allowed in future, in pay- 
 ments to be made by them, to make any proviso with 
 regard to the medium of payment in silver or gold, in 
 such a way that for the latter a certain fixed relative 
 value should be expressed beforehand in silver 
 money." 
 
 From the point of view of Austria, this convention 
 had been entered upon with the desire of effecting a 
 gradual adoption of gold coinage, together with a 
 concurrent ceasing of the compulsory note circula- 
 lation. The outcome of the conference was, how- 
 ever, in quite distinct opposition to this desire, as the 
 agreement which was finally arrived at established 
 the maintenance of a pure silver currency. The 
 continuance of the gold crown of lo-grs. fine gold 
 was recognised only as a trade medium. This 
 experiment of a trade gold coin failed completely, 
 though it is none the less interesting intrinsically, as 
 well as for its reflex bearing on the similar schemes 
 which were proposed in the early years of the French 
 Revolution. The premium on the minting of gold 
 drew it to France, in preference to any other place 
 where a simple market price prevailed. And the 
 20-franc gold pieces of France overflowed, while the 
 German crowns could not struggle into existence. 
 
GERMANY: ATTEMPTS AT REFORM, 1860-70 213 
 
 The attempt which was made by a commercial 
 conference at Hamburg, at the time of the meeting of 
 the Vienna Conference, to secure the introduction by 
 the Hamburg Bank of a gold instead of a silver valuta, 
 remained equally ineffectual. 
 
 As far as concerns the establishment of a simple 
 and single monetary system for Germany was con- 
 cerned, this Vienna Convention, the last great 
 convention which Germany saw previous to the 
 reconstruction of her system in 1871, was as futile 
 as that of Dresden in 1838, or as all the conven- 
 tions of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries 
 previously. 
 
 The consciousness of the need of such simplifica- 
 tion and unification, however, became thereby only the 
 more apparent. Four years later the first German 
 Handelstag, which met in May 1861 at Heidelberg, 
 turned its first and special attention to the erection of 
 some common currency system. The recommenda- 
 tion which it finally concluded upon was the adoption 
 of the Drittelthaler as the unit mark, with a decimal 
 subdivision. Four years later the third Handelstag, 
 which met at Frankfort (September 1865), confirmed 
 the resolution, with the additional proposition of the 
 minting of a gold piece identical with the 20-franc 
 piece, the value of which should be regulated from 
 time to time ; the scheme being, therefore, as- before, 
 that of a silver standard, with gold as trade money. 
 The fourth Handelstag met at Berlin in October 
 1868, and again the matter was most seriously dis- 
 
214 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 cussed. With the single exception of the Berlin 
 members, all the deputies declared for the adoption of 
 the gold standard. As, in the preceding year, Austria 
 had withdrawn from the German Monetary Union of 
 1857, she no longer stood in the way of this proposi- 
 tion, and the erection of the North German Union 
 distinctly favoured the project. 
 
 In June 1870 the Bundesrath of the North Ger- 
 man Union resolved upon a reform and unification of 
 the paper money, as preparatory to a complete currency 
 reform, and in the same month the Chancellor of the 
 North German Union had decided to call a Mint 
 Convention. The outbreak of the Franco-German 
 War immediately afterwards put a short stop to the 
 proposal. 
 
 A long train of preparation had thus been laid, 
 and there can be little doubt as to what the ultimate 
 direction of German monetary legislation would have 
 been, even without the war, and the consequent erec- 
 tion of the Empire. That the latter event, however, 
 enormously facilitated the process cannot for a moment 
 be questioned. 
 
 When the subject was taken up after the Franco- 
 German War, the determination to adopt a gold 
 coinage was only gradually arrived at. In the original 
 plan, as drafted soon after the conclusion of peace, 
 the new gold coinage proposed was intended not to 
 be tenderable, for the meantime, in private commerce. 
 Such a provision roused all the opposition of the 
 mercantile community, and in consequence of the 
 
GERMANY: NEW IMPERIAL SYSTEM, 1871 215 
 
 agitation the scheme, as finally submitted to the 
 Reichstag, was for a gold monometallic system. 
 The law passed on the 4th December 1871, and 
 the great operation of recoinage and conversion was 
 immediately entered upon. It was greatly favoured 
 by the ratio existing at the moment, and by the 
 metallic condition of the world. The ratio taken 
 as the basis of the computation was the French 
 15.5, accepted because of its long and present wide 
 employment. 
 
 The previous silver standard thalers were taken as 
 equivalent to 3 marks. 
 
 30 thaler =90 mark= i pound fine silver. 
 90x15.5 = 1395 marks. 
 
 The gold piece of 10 marks was therefore coined 
 at a tale of 139^ to the pound of fine gold. 
 
 Propositions were made to the Reichstag that the 
 20-franc piece should be made equivalent to the Eng- 
 lish sovereign, or to the 25-franc piece, giving respect- 
 ively a ratio of 15.17 or 15.31, but at the moment 
 the price of silver in the London market ruled between 
 6of and 6of pence per ounce, i.e. at a mercantile ratio 
 of 1 5.49-1 5. 52. It was this fact which decided the 
 adoption of the French ratio. 
 
 The chief Acts which have accomplished the 
 reform are of dates 5th December 187 1 and 9th July 
 1873, the first declaring the monetary system and the 
 latter the law of tender. 
 
 The unit of the system is the mark, which is the 
 T"2"5:5-'5 part of a pound of gold of 500 grammes at -^ 
 
2i6 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 fine, and is coined into pieces of 20 and 10 marks. 
 The gold crown is a lo-mark piece, is 1^0 fine, and 
 struck at a tale of 139^ pieces to the German 
 pound ; charge for coinage, • 3 marks per pound of 
 fine gold. 
 
 The pound of fine silver is struck into 100 marks, 
 iV fine. The total amount of silver coin not to exceed 
 10 marks per head of population. No individual need 
 accept more than 20 marks of imperial silver coin in 
 payments. They are accepted in any amount by the 
 Empire and by the Federal States. 
 
 All other German coins are no longer legal tender, 
 and have been withdrawn, with the single exception 
 of the thaler pieces. Whatever pieces of this kind 
 still exist are legal tender to any amount, like the 
 imperial gold coins, each being equal to 3 marks. An 
 Act of 20th April 1870 provides that Vereinsthalers 
 coined in Austria before 1867 should also be full legal 
 tender. An Act of 6th January 1876 has authorised 
 the Bundesrath to put the thaler pieces and the 
 Austrian Vereinsthalers on the same footing as 
 imperial silver coins, i.e. to make them legal tender 
 only up to 20 marks, the thaler being still reckoned 
 at 3 marks. Since the suspension of silver sales and 
 of the withdrawal of the silver thalers (May 1879) 
 there is no likelihood that the Bundesrath will make 
 use of this authority conferred upon it. 
 
 In briefest rdsumd, the course of the silver coinage 
 during the preceding century may be presented 
 thus : — 
 
GERMANY: NEW IMPERIAL SYSTEM, 1871 217 
 
 GERMANY— COURSE OF THE i-THALER PIECES. 
 
 
 
 Thalers. 
 
 Total minted during 1750-1816 .... 
 
 . . • 
 
 64,380,936 
 
 Withdrawn by the Government of the States 
 
 27,788,956 
 
 
 ,, under the new Imperial System, 1871-3 
 
 5.652.999 
 
 
 1874 
 
 6,319,170 
 
 
 187s 
 
 2,900,202 
 
 
 „ 1876 
 
 2,582,123 
 
 
 » 1877 
 
 ',465.424 
 
 
 1878 
 
 864,253 
 
 
 
 
 47.573,127 
 
 Leaving a balance not accounted for of 
 
 16,807,809 
 
 
 
 Thalers. 
 
 Total minted during 1817-22 .... 
 
 • 
 
 24,261,735 
 
 Withdrawn under the new Imperial System, 1871-3 
 
 3.623,511 
 
 
 1874 
 
 5.^47,970 
 
 
 1875 
 
 2,580,580 
 
 
 1876 
 
 2,373.496 
 
 
 1877 
 
 1,421,719 
 
 
 1878 
 
 766,908 
 
 15,914,184 
 
 
 
 Leaving a balance not ace 
 
 ounted for of 
 
 8,347,551 
 
 
 Thalers. 
 
 Total minted during 1823-1856 .... 
 
 ■ . 
 
 91,031,741 
 
 Withdrawn under the new Imperial System, 1874 
 
 40,000 
 
 
 ,. ,. 1875 
 
 566,677 
 
 
 1876 
 
 11,250,277 
 
 
 1877 
 
 s. 753.269 
 
 
 1878 
 
 4,640,068 
 ounted for of 
 
 22,250,291 
 
 Leaving a balance not ace 
 
 68,781,450 
 
 
 
 Thalers. 
 
 Total minted during 1857-71 .... 
 
 . 
 
 215,863,120 
 
 Withdrawn by the Government of the States 
 
 2,538 
 
 
 ,, under the new Imperial System, 1875 
 
 3,000 
 
 
 ,, „ 1876 
 
 25.958 
 
 
 1877 
 
 64,806,347 
 
 
 1878 
 
 18,915,167 
 
 109,635,938 
 
 
 
 Leaving a balance not accounted for of 
 
 106,177,182 
 
2i8 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 Thaleis. 
 On the whole period, 1750-1871, the total minted i-thaler pieces 
 
 amounted to 395.537,532 
 
 Total withdrawn 195.423-540 
 
 Leaving a balance not accounted for of 200,113,992 
 
 Allowing 83,062,882 thalers as a rough equivalent 
 for the loss by attrition, there is still a deficit of 
 117,051,000 thalers, or about ^17,557,650 steding to 
 be accounted for (and laid to the account of remint- 
 ings and loss by arbitrage). 
 
 ACCOUNT OF THE MINTING OF THE RECONSTRUCTED 
 GERMAN EMPIRE— GOLD— FROM 1872 TO DEC. 1878 
 
 
 Supplied for the 
 
 Supplied for Private 
 
 
 Empire. 
 
 Accounts. 
 
 Origin of the Bullion supplied 
 to the Mint. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Pounds Weight Fine 
 
 Pounds Weight Fine 
 
 
 Gold. 
 
 Gold. 
 
 German gold coin of the old 
 
 
 
 type .... 
 
 64,092.3 
 
 II. 4 
 
 Bars 
 
 402,382.6 
 
 214,825.7 
 
 Austrian gold coins . 
 
 381.7 
 
 711. 9 
 
 Francs and Napoleons 
 
 391. 166. 5 
 
 809.7 
 
 Sovereigns. 
 
 30,181.3 
 
 223.1 
 
 Russian gold coins 
 
 28,252.3 
 
 20,862.1 
 
 Isabellas .... 
 
 12,822.9 
 
 
 Dollars and Eagles 
 
 16,860.1 
 
 20,548.8 
 
 Turkish gold coins 
 
 51.0 
 
 1,084.0 
 
 946,191.2 
 
 
 Making a complete total, with odd amounts from 
 various sources, and including imperial gold coins 
 minted in 1877-78 but now no longer current, of 
 1,205,786 lbs. weight = ^84, 103,584. 
 
GERMANY : NEW IMPERIAL SYSTEM, 1871 219 
 
 SALES OF SILVER BY THE GERMAN GOVERNMENT FROM 1873 
 TO THE SUSPENSION OF THE SALES IN MAY 1879 
 
 Date. 
 
 Pounds of Fine 
 Silver. 
 
 Product. 
 
 Price 
 Per oz. 
 
 Marks. 
 
 Pence. 
 
 1873 . 
 
 1874 . 
 
 1875 ■ 
 
 1876 . 
 
 1877 . 
 
 1878 . 
 
 1879 . 
 
 105,923-372 
 703,685.175 
 
 214,898.594 
 1,211,759.204 
 2,868,095.533 
 1,622,696.403 
 
 377.744-712 
 
 9,296,682.77 
 61,135,670.29 
 18,208,449.08 
 
 93.936.482.37 
 230,424,238.51 
 126,203,852.08 
 
 27,934.417-89 
 
 59A 
 
 58* 
 
 57i 
 
 52f 
 
 54A 
 52A 
 SO 
 
 7,104,895.993 
 
 567,139.992.99 
 
 
 The total silver withdrawn from circulation up to 
 the close of 1880 was 1,080,486,138 marks. 
 
 Of this amount 382,684,841 marks were delivered 
 to the Mint for coinage into the new imperial silver 
 coins. 
 
 The remaining 696,797,069 marks were melted 
 into silver and produced 7,474,644 pounds of fine 
 silver. Of this quantity 7,102,862 were sold up to 
 May 1879. The balance of unsold silver still in the 
 hands of the Imperial Government is 339,353 pounds 
 of fine silver. 
 
 England 
 
 Charles 11. began his regulation of the currency 
 by the proclamation of 29th January 166 1, fixing the 
 coins to be current and their tariff. This pi'oclamation 
 was followed by another, of loth June 1661, against 
 
n, 
 
 220 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 the export of gold or silver, and against buying or 
 selling the metals at higher rates than were given at the 
 Mint, a practice to which the proclamation attributed 
 the scarcity of money. This edict proved of no 
 avail, for, in spite of it, the gold coins were exported 
 in such quantities that they were current more 
 abundantly in foreign' parts than in England. As the 
 result of deliberation of the Privy Council, assisted 
 by the Commissioners of Trade and officers of the 
 Mint, who all attributed the export to the higher 
 price of gold abroad, it was determined to raise the 
 price of the gold coins to or near the value which 
 they had on the Continent at the moment. Accord- 
 ingly, by proclamation of the 26th August 1661, the 
 value of the gold unite was raised from 22s. to 
 23s. 6d., and other gold coins in proportion, the 
 silver currency being left unaltered. 
 
 In referring to the Act for the free trade in gold 
 and silver {supra, p. 162), mention has already been 
 made of the motive of the legislator, namely, to 
 increase the importation of the metals to the Mint. 
 Exactly similar was the intention, as expressed in the 
 preamble of the succeeding Act of 1666 (8 Charles 
 II. c. 5), which abolished the right of seigniorage, 
 thereby establishing free and gratuitous coinage in 
 England — the principle of minting still in force In 
 this country.^ 
 
 1 As far, that is, as relates to gold. So far as silver is concerned, it was 
 practically abrogated by the clauses for the prohibition of silver coinage in 
 38 Geo. in. L. 59 (1798), and finally repealed by the Act of 56 Geo. iii. 
 c. 68 (1816). See.postea. 
 
ENGLAND: CHARLES II 221 
 
 The testimony of both Act and declaration as to 
 the scarcity of money is confirmed by actual record. 
 In the following year, 1667, there was a great scarcity 
 of money, and dollars and pieces of eight were bought 
 up by the goldsmiths and bankers for 4s. 3d. each, 
 and instead of being brought to the Mint were at 
 once exported to France for 4s. lod. and to Ireland 
 and Scotland for 5s. 
 
 According to the new indenture for the coinage of ^ ^ 
 
 1670, a slight reduction in the standard of the gold jf^.f^f^^ 
 took place, the pound of crown gold (22 carats fine)^ aji'''^'' |^ V'^ 
 being to be minted at a tale of ;i^44, los. The Vr^i^ 
 scarcity of money still continued, however, and the y^ 
 separate experience of Ireland only corroborated that 
 of England. The general statement of the case as 
 to the fate of the coined money since the Act of 
 18 Car II., which instituted free coinage, is thus put 
 by Sir Dudley North, in his Discourses ^l,pon Trade : 
 " I call to witness the vast sums that have been 
 coined in England since the free coinage was set up. 
 What is become of it all ? Nobody believes it to be 
 in the nation, and it cannot well be all transported, 
 the penalties for so doing being so great. The case 
 is plain — the melting-pot devours it all ; and I know 
 no intelligent man who doubts but the new money 
 goes this way. Silver and gold, like other com- 
 modities, have their ebbings and flowings ; upon the 
 arrival of quantities from Spain, the Mint commonly 
 o-ives the best price, i.e. coined silver for uncoined 
 silver, weight for weight. Wherefore it is carried 
 
222 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 into the Tower and coined. Not long after there 
 will come a demand for bullion to be exported again. 
 If there is none, but all happens to be in coin, what 
 then ? Melt it down again ; there's no loss -in it, for 
 the coining costs the coiners nothing. Thus the 
 nation hath been abused and made to pay for the 
 twisting of straw for asses to eat." 
 
 By the time of the accession of William iii. the 
 scarcity of silver had become so great as to cause a 
 petition from divers working goldsmiths in and about 
 the City of London to the House of Commons (9th 
 April 1690). It stated "that upon search at the 
 Customs they found that since last October entries 
 had been made of 286,102 oz. of silver in bullion, 
 and 89,949 dollars and pieces of eight for exportation 
 by divers private persons, and they doubted not 
 but it would appear that not only the East India 
 Company, but also divers Jews and merchants, had of 
 late bought up great quantities of silver to carry out 
 of the kingdom, and had given i^d. per oz. above the 
 value, which had encouraged the melting down of 
 much plate and milled monies ; whereby for six 
 months past, not only the petitioners in their trade, 
 but the Mint itself had been stopped from coining." 
 
 The petition was referred to a committee of the 
 Lower House, which reported on the 8th May that 
 great quantities of silver had been exported, of which 
 seven-eighths had been shipped off by the Jews, who 
 would do anything for their profit. The reason for 
 the exportation, too, was plain, for the French 
 
ENGLAND: THE EXPORT IN i6go 223 
 
 king, of late finding his money very scarce, had 
 raised his coin 10 per cent., which was an encourage- 
 ment to send silver to fill his coffers, and therefore the 
 Jews exported it daily in very great quantities. The 
 melting down of ;i^iooo of milled money for exporta- 
 tion was attended with a profit of £2^ ready money 
 and upwards, silver being coined at the Mint at 
 5s. 2d. per oz., but at the time of exportation sold 
 generally at 5s. 3^d. The remedies proposed to the 
 committee were either a prohibition of export or the 
 enhancing of the English monies. 
 
 Not less than three measures were presented to 
 the House for the prohibition of export — one of them 
 by Sir Richard Temple — but were all lost ; and, mean- 
 while, the exports to Holland and France continued. 
 In November 1690 it was calculated that during the 
 preceding sixteen months about 140,000 oz. had been 
 exported. 
 
 In addition to this actual drain of coinage, the 
 processes of culling, clipping, and counterfeiting, 
 which had been going on through the reigns of 
 Charles 11. and James 11., had resulted in an 
 unexampled depreciation of so much of the coinage 
 as remained. A large portion of the currency con- 
 sisted of iron, brass, or copper-pieces plated, and 
 such coins as were of good silver were worth scarcely 
 one-half their current value. 
 
 This statement is more than borne out by quite 
 reliable computations which were made in the process 
 of the recoinage five years later. A medium lot of 
 
224 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 si bags, containing in tale ^57,200 of the called-in 
 currency, and which should have weighed 221,418 oz. 
 16 dwt. 8 grs., was found to weigh only 113,771 oz. 
 5 dwt. According to the accounts of Neale, then 
 master and warden of the Mint, 4,695,303 dwt. 15 oz. 
 2 grs. of the clipped silver money produced only 
 790,860 lbs. I oz. 19 grs., implying a depreciation in 
 weight alone of over 47.75 per cent. 
 
 The process of stripping the country of currency 
 was increased by the continual pouring out of money 
 in aid of William's wars, and the loss in exchange on 
 such large remittances made the evil only too ap- 
 parent. The one or two millions yearly remitted to 
 the Continent for the British armies were negotiated 
 in Holland in a thousand ways to England's prejudice. 
 Partisan statements were made that whereas in the 
 beginning of the war the Dutch allowed 43 schillings 
 for an English pound they gradually lowered the 
 exchange to 28 schillings. Guineas, which were equal 
 in value to 21s.. 6d. in silver, rose to 30s. ; and they 
 would have risen to a still higher rate if the officers 
 of the exchequer and the receivers of public revenue 
 had not refused to receive them in payment at the 
 increased value. 
 
 In 1695 the matter was taken up in the House of 
 Commons, and a committee appointed. The report 
 of this committee, which was never passed, was based 
 on the proposition of a reduction of standard. By 
 Montague's influence the proposals were dropped, 
 and it was not till the 22nd November that the Act 
 
ENGLAND : RECO IMAGE OF i6g6 225 
 
 for remedying the ill state of the coins passed. 
 It is well known that the unwise determination of the 
 Government of William iii. to adhere to the pre-exist- 
 ino; standard was due to the action and contrivance 
 of Montague as Chancellor of the Exchequer, and to 
 the influence of Locke's writings. By a subsequent 
 series of Acts, based on the complaints of merchants 
 representing the evils resulting from the unsettled 
 price of gold, the price of the guinea was ordered to 
 be gradually reduced from 30s. to 28s., 26s., and 
 finally 22s., before loth April 1696. 
 
 This great recoinage scheme was only completely 
 accomplished in 1699, having occupied the greater 
 part of four years, and after a long series of Acts and 
 proclamations of, occasionally, very doubtful wisdom. 
 
 According to the accounts of the officers of the 
 Mint, the new silver coin amounted in tale to 
 ^6,882,908, 19s. yd. The worn and clipped money 
 called in was estimated roughly at ^4,000,000, on 
 which the loss was about ^2,000,000 ; the whole 
 charge and loss being stated at not less than 
 ^2,700,000. It is significantly affirmed that, in a 
 manner, all the called-in silver was found to consist 
 only of pieces coined between the days of Edward vi. 
 and 1662, a sure indication of the fate which had 
 befallen the coinagfe issued since the Restoration. 
 
 Before the transaction was finally complete the 
 last safeguard and complement of the system had 
 been adopted,, in fixing the relation of the gold coinage 
 to the new silver issue. On the 22nd September 
 
226 THE HISTORY OF -CURRENCY 
 
 1698, a report was given in to the House of Com- 
 mons, signed by four names, including that of John 
 Locke, stating that the value of gold in Holland 
 and the neighbouring countries was, as near as could 
 be computed upon a medium, 15:1 in silver ; and 
 that, according to this value, the currency of the guinea 
 at 2 2s. was too high, and occasioned a disproportionate 
 importation of gold and an exportation of silver. 
 The bringing down of the guinea to 2 is. 6d. would 
 make the value of English gold and coin very near 
 15^:1 to silver, which, though not so low as the 
 rate in Holland, would in their opinion be sufficient to 
 correct the error. 
 
 In consequence of this report the Commons re- 
 solved that, under the Act 7 and 8 William in. chap. 
 19, no person was obliged to take guineas at 22 s. a 
 piece. The price then fell to 21s. 6d., at which rate 
 they were received by the officers of the revenue. 
 With the exception of this merely declaratory tariffing 
 of the guinea, it is to be borne in mind that this 
 recoinage of William's reign was carried out on the 
 principle enunciated by Montague, and backed by the 
 authority of Locke, namely, that of a retention of the 
 old standard, although in the face of a clearly estab- 
 lished advance in the value of silver, and in face of 
 quite irrefutable answers to all Locke's arguments.' 
 Momentarily the scheme succeeded ; the adverse ex- 
 change was instantly redressed, while the renewal of 
 the coinage and the ratio of 1698 was sufficiently 
 above the continual ratio to turn the flow of gold, as 
 
ENGLAND. EFFECTS OF THE RATIO OF i6g8 327 
 
 doubtless was the (unexpressed) design in adopting 
 it. According to Burnet the packet-boat from France 
 seldom came over during the following winter with- 
 out bringing 10,000 lotiis d'or, and often more. "The 
 nation was indeed filled with them, and in six months 
 a million of guineas was coined out of them^ The 
 merchants in fact said that the balance of trade was 
 then so much turned to our side that whereas we 
 were wont to carry over a million of our money in 
 specie, we then sent no money to France, and had at 
 least half that sum sent over to balance the trade." 
 
 The circulation of French and other foreign gold 
 became so great that on the 5 th February 1701 the 
 Council issued a proclamation that the loids d'or and 
 S'^a.msh pistole should not pass for above 17s. Such 
 action at once brought those coins to the Mint, and 
 nearly i-| millions were coined out of them. 
 
 It was not seen at the moment that the establish- 
 ment of this ratio so favourable to gold was pari passu 
 unfavourable to silver. The idea was entertained 
 that the French gold came over to bribe English 
 members, i.e., on mere political causes. The hypo- 
 thesis was needless as it was incorrect. Gold came 
 over because it was higher priced in England than 
 abroad through the ratio of 1698; and for the same 
 reason silver left the country to pay for the gold.. 
 The one movement was the essential counterpart of 
 the other, and made itself at last only too visible. 
 
 As early as the seventh year of Anne's reign — only 
 nine years after the completion of this great recoinage. 
 
228 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 it was found necessary to give further encouragement 
 to the coinage of silver by offering a premium on 
 every ounce of foreign coins which should be brought 
 to the Mint within a limited time. The premium was. 
 not to exceed 2^d. per oz., and the time limited was- 
 from the 17th April to the ist December 1709. 
 
 Such a measure has been already noticed in the 
 history of France ; it was indeed a design frequently 
 employed there under the title of Surachat, and it 
 always proved as futile as the Government of Anne 
 found it to be. As the drain continued, representa- 
 tions were made by the officers of the Mint to the 
 Treasury, and in 171 7 the House of Commons re- 
 quested these representations to be laid before it 
 (December 20th). On the same and following day 
 a remarkable speech was made by a member, Mr. 
 Aislabie, who took notice of the great scarcity of the 
 silver species, and proposed the remedy of lowering 
 the gold species. On the second day he was. 
 seconded by Mr. Caswall, who suggested that the. 
 overvaluation of gold, in the current coins of Great 
 Britain had caused the export of great quantities of 
 silver species, "and to that purpose [i.e. the purpose 
 of his argument] laid open a clandestine trade, which 
 of late years had been carried on by the Dutch,. 
 Hamburgers and other foreigners, in concert with 
 the Jews and other traders here, which consisted in 
 exporting silver coins and importing gold in lieu 
 thereof ; which being coined into guineas at the 
 Tower, near 15 pence was got by every guinea,. 
 
ENGLAND: SIR ISAAC NEWTON'S REPORT, 1717 229 
 
 which amounted to about 5 per cent.; and as these 
 returns might be made five or six times in a year 
 •considerable sums were got by- it, to the prejudice 
 ■of Great Britain, which thereby was drained of silver 
 and overstocked with gold." He concluded by pro- 
 posing to lower the price of guineas and all other 
 gold specie. 
 
 His speech was received with applause, and the 
 House unanimously petitioned the King to call the 
 guinea down to 21s., and other gold species in pro- 
 portion. To this George i. immediately acceded, 
 and the proclamation to that effect verbatim was 
 issued on thie following- day, 22nd December 17 17. 
 
 The report for which the House had called two 
 clays earlier, and which was produced on the 21st 
 December, was the celebrated report made some 
 months before by Sir Isaac Newton as master of the 
 Mint, at the demand of the Commissioners of the 
 Treasury. It is a document deserving the careful 
 attention of every student 6f currency history. 
 Newton reviews the ratio in each of the then 
 commercial nations, and shows the effect of differ- 
 ence of ratio in producing export and disturbance of 
 one or other metal. "Gold in Spain and Portugal 
 is of sixteen times more value than silver of equal 
 weight and alloy ; at which rate a guinea is worth 
 2 IS. id. net; this high price keeps their gold at 
 home in good plenty, and carries away the Spanish 
 silver into all Europe. So that at home they 
 make their payments in gold, and will not pay in 
 
230 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 silver without a premium. Upon the coming in of a 
 plate [silver] fleet the premium ceases or is but small, 
 but as their silver goes away and becomes scarce the 
 premium increases and is most commonly about six 
 per cent," 
 
 In France the ratio was 15:1, and the guinea 
 therefore worth 20s. 8^d. In Holland it was worth 
 20s. 7:|d., in Italy, Germany, Poland, Denmark 
 and Sweden, from 20s. yd. to 20s. 4d. " In China 
 and Japan the pound weight of fine gold is worth 
 but 9 or 10 lbs. weight of fine silver, and in East 
 India it may be Avorth 12 lbs., and the low price 
 of gold in proportion to silver carries away the 
 silver from all Europe." "If gold were lowered 
 only so as to have the same proportion to the 
 silver money in England, which it hath in the rest 
 of Europe, there would be no temptation to ex- 
 port silver rather than gold to any part of Europe, 
 and to compass this last there seems nothing more 
 requisite than to take off about lod. or I2d. from the 
 guinea." 
 
 In a subsequent report of the 21st September 
 1 71 7, Newton stated that, since the beginning of 1702 
 to September 171 7, the gold coined at the Mint 
 amounted 10^7,127,835, while the silver within the 
 same period only amounted to .^{^ 2 2 3, 380, of which 
 ^143,086 had been brought to the Mint in response 
 to the premium offered ; in 1 709 and 17 1 1, of their own 
 free will, the goldsmiths had only brought a matter of 
 ;!^2 1,220 to the Mint. In the House of Lords, early 
 
ENGLAND: STATE OF THE COINAGE IN 1760 231 
 
 in the following year, it was proved that during the 
 year 171 7 the East India Company had exported 
 nearly 3,000,000 oz. of silver. 
 
 The immediate purpose of the above proclama- 
 tion of 22nd December 1717 was for a time 
 thwarted by a speculative hoarding of silver in 
 expectation of a further calling down of the gold 
 species ; and it was to cut the ground from under 
 this speculation that in January 1718 both Houses 
 declared their determination not to alter the standard 
 of gold and silver coins in the kingdom, and proceeded 
 in place of such alteration to prepare a bill for 
 preventing the melting down of the coins of the 
 kingdom. 
 
 It is demonstrable, even from Sir Isaac Newton's 
 own figures, that the calling down of the guinea to 
 2 IS., though largely, was not completely effective in 
 destroying the profit of arbitrage transactions with 
 Holland. With the guinea at 21s., the ratio was 
 still isilioo. while in France and Holland the ratio 
 was 15 or under. That the process of culling and 
 exporting the heaviest silver specie still continued is 
 proved by the state of silver coinage twenty years 
 later, when shillings were found to be deficient in 
 weight, by between 6 and 1 1 per cent., and sixpences 
 between 11 and 22 per cent., and all species so scarce 
 as to threaten greatest confusion in every branch of 
 trade. At the accession of George iii., 1760, the 
 silver coinage was found in so imperfect a state thai 
 the crown pieces had almost entirely disappeared, 
 
-3^ THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 though mhited since 1795 to the amount of over a 
 million and a half sterling. Of half-crowns, likewise 
 minted to the value of ;i 2, 329, 370, only defaced and 
 impaired specimens remained current, while shillings 
 and sixpences had lost every sign of impression. 
 Up to 1763 only a matter of .;^579i in silver had 
 issued from the Mint — practically no coinage at all. 
 
 Gradually however, owing to the force of wider 
 principles at work, the matter of the ratio righted 
 itself. Ever since 1756 the value of gold had been 
 rising all over Europe. In 1759 the continental ratio 
 was still calculated at 14^, as compared with 15,^ in 
 England; but by 1773 the continental ratio had 
 overtaken the English, and the market price of 
 standard silver had risen to 5s. 2d. per oz. — the 
 English Mint rate. In the greatly depreciated state 
 of the silver coinage — three-fourths of it was said to 
 be base — even the approach of a fair ratio acted 
 prejudicially on gold. Already, in 1771, the export of 
 gold to Holland had become noticed, and it was 
 asserted that the gold coins had never before been so 
 deficient. They were sent over to Holland, and there 
 filed and returned and put into circulation — a bi- 
 metallic phenomenon that always recurs in a currency 
 containing two differently depreciated elements. 
 
 The idea that bimetallic action replaces one good 
 metal by another,, an equal weight of one metal for 
 that of the other, a good undepreciated coinage of 
 silver for a good undepreciated coinage of gold, or 
 vice versa, is not borne out by a single instance in 
 
ENGLAND: STATE OF THE COINAGE IN 1774 233 
 
 -history. Bimetallic action always substitutes the less 
 for the greater, whether weight or value, the more 
 depreciated for the less, or the depreciated for the 
 perfect standard coin. In this particular instance, 
 ] 774, the depreciation of silver had been the result of 
 the action of a too high ratio from 1 7 1 7 onwards ; the 
 depreciation of gold was effected in a much less time 
 between 1770 and 1773, simply because the already 
 depreciated state of the silver causing that differentia- 
 tion of value, which is the bullionist's opportunity, 
 happened to coincide with a natural rise of the value 
 of gold all over the Continent. The result, therefore, 
 of fifty years of bimetallic regime left England with a 
 currency depreciated in both its limbs, in both gold 
 and silver, and as deficient in the quantity current as 
 in the weight of the individual pieces. This is not in 
 keeping with the theory of bimetallism as developed 
 to-day, according to which the transition from one 
 coin to the other would only be made at the point of 
 equation, and the substituted metal would equalise 
 that displaced. This is theory. The facts of the 
 situation in 1774 are not theory but history, and tell 
 a different tale. 
 
 "The evil was so great," says Lord Liverpool, 
 "'that the Government found it necessary to take this 
 difficult subject into their immediate consideration. 
 On this occassion I addressed a letter to a noble Lord, 
 who was then Chancellor of the Exchequer, suggest- 
 ing what appeared to me the proper remedy for this 
 evil. I proposed that, with a view to the general 
 
234 T.HE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 reform of the'coins of the realm, all the deficient gold 
 coins should '\\\ t)he first place be called in and 
 recoined, and that in future the currency of the gold 
 coin should be regulated by weight as well as by tale, 
 and that the several pieces, should not be legal tender 
 if diminished below a certain weight. Your Majesty 
 was pleased to approve of this advice and to propose 
 to your Parliament, on 13th January 1774, the calling 
 in and recoining of all the deficient gold coins; and 
 the Chancellor of your Exchequer opened the whole of 
 this plan to the House of Commons, who approved 
 of the measure, which was carried into immediate 
 execution without any complaint , and with great 
 success. The, defects which had previously existed in 
 this species of coiiis were thereby removed, and the 
 regulation, then established, of weighing the gold coin 
 has been the means of preserving it at nearly the 
 state of perfection to which it was then brought." 
 
 The resolutions of the House of Commons on 
 which this recoinage depended were passed on the 
 loth May 1774. After stating the. depreciation 
 existing in the gold coinage the House asserted — (3) 
 that it has been a practice to export and melt down 
 the new and perfect gold coin soon after it is issued 
 for private advantage, to the great detriment of 
 England ; (4) that while pieces of gold coin, differing 
 so greatly in weight, are allowed to be current under 
 the same denomination and at the same rate and 
 value, great quantities of the new and perfect pieces 
 will continue to be exported and melted down, and,. 
 
ENGLAND: RECOINAGE OF 1774 235 
 
 there is reason to apprehend, will be recoined into 
 pieces the rhost deficient that are allowed to be 
 current." 
 
 The House thefi goes on to adopt the principle of 
 limiting the depreciation to be allowed on any single 
 coin, i.e. of making the coins' current by weight as 
 well as tale within the limits allowed. 
 
 The House next turned its attention to the silver 
 element of the currency. At the outset it was met 
 by the patent fact that the depreciated silver coinage 
 had been made the handle or lever, or point 
 d'avaniage, in all the operations against gold. 
 " Whereas," is the recital of the Act of 14 George in. 
 c. 42, "considerable quantities of old silver coin of this 
 realm, or coin purporting to be such, greatly below the 
 standard of the Mint in weight, have been lately 
 imported into this kingdom, and it is expedient that 
 some provision should be made to prevent the 
 practice," etc. The Act therefore decrees the pro- 
 hibition of importation of light silver coinage into the 
 kingdom, and its confiscation in case of discovery as 
 such. "And be it further enacted . . . that no 
 tender in the payment of money made in the silver 
 coin of the realm, of any sum exceeding the sum of 
 ^25 at any one time, shall be reputed in law or 
 allowed to be a legal tender within Great Britain or 
 Ireland for more than according to its value by 
 weight, after the rate of 5s. 2d. per oz. of silver, and 
 no person to whom such tender shall be made shall 
 be any way bound thereby or obliged to receive the 
 
236 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 same in payment in any manner than as aforesaid ; 
 any law, statute, or usage to the contrary notwithstand- 
 ing." 
 
 The importance of this latter epoch-making clause 
 is vital.. It is the first etiactment of a law of tender 
 in the history of English monetary legislation, and it 
 was the first step towards the shaking off the incubus 
 of that mediaeval currency system which was even 
 then only coming to be understood in all its fatal 
 perniciousness. For statesmanship, the only parallel 
 to it is that Act of Henry iii. of France, which proved 
 so shortlived in its adoption (see supra, pp. 87-88). 
 It was the first step in the evolution of that system of 
 a safeguarded currency which was finally constructed 
 in 1 8 16. 
 
 This Act prohibiting the importation of light silver 
 was renewed in 1776 for a further two years, and was 
 again, in 1778, continued until the ist day of May 
 1783, and from thence to the end of the next session 
 ■of Parliament. On the 21st June 1798 the Act, 
 being then expired, was revived and further continued 
 to the 1st day of June 1799 by a new statute, and on 
 the 1 2th July 1799 the Act was made perpetual by 
 statute of 39 Geo. iii. c. 75. 
 
 The later legislative action with regard to silver 
 beloncfs to the final construction of the Engflish 
 currency system. In the main, the recoinage of gold 
 "was accomplished in the year 1774, though it lingered 
 over the three succeeding years as appears by the 
 items in the Appropriation Acts. 
 
ENGLAND: RECOINAGE OF 1774 237 
 
 The accounts of grants for recoinage were as 
 follows : — 
 
 1774. The first grant . . . .^250,000 o o 
 
 '775- To the bank for receiving the defi- 
 cient gold coin .... 46,846 o o 
 For extraordinary charges of the 
 
 Mint 22,824 19 o 
 
 1776. Further grant 92,421 14 1} 
 
 1778. ,, „ 105,227 8 3 
 
 ; ^5i7,320 2 2| 
 
 The scope of this series of Acts of 1774 will be 
 seen at a glance ; as well as the tendency in policy, 
 namely, in favour of gold, which it indicated. The 
 gold coinage was renewed, and as a safeguard against 
 its future depreciation the existing depreciated coin 
 was cut off from any sapping action upon it by the 
 above restriction as to tender by weight. For the 
 renewal of the silver coinage itself no actual measures 
 were taken save the prohibition of the import of light 
 coins. 
 
 For more than twenty years the defective state of 
 the silver coin continued quite unheeded ; evidently as 
 no longer causing international embarrassment, now 
 that its function and differentiating action upon the 
 companion metal had been partially tied down and 
 limited. 
 
 In 1787 the depreciation of the silver coinage 
 was ascertained experimentally, when it was found 
 that half-crowns were defective by over 9 per 
 cent., shillings by over 24 per cent., and sixpences 
 by more than 38 per cent, of their proper weight. 
 
238 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 To this depreciation was added an exterior cause 
 of drain by the action of France, who in 1792 
 increased the scarcity of silver coins and bullion 
 by the issue of her assignats. In that year not 
 less than 2,909,000 oz. of silver were purchased 
 with assignats and sent into France. Five years 
 later an attempt was made to supply the defici- 
 ency of the silver coins by the issue of Spanish 
 dollars, countermarked with the hall mark of the 
 King's head. This was after the Bank of England 
 had, in accordance with the minute of the Privy 
 Council of 26th' February 1797, suspended cash 
 payments. 
 
 On the 7th of February of the following year, 1798, 
 the subsisting Committee of Council for Coins was 
 dissolved, and a new committee appointed to consider 
 the state of the coins and Mint. During its delibera- 
 tions, and until it established the new rule, the further 
 coining of silver was suspended by the Act already 
 spoken of, which (21st June 1798) revived the old 
 law against importation of light silver. This suspen- 
 sion of silver coinage was simply a temporary pre- 
 caution. "Whereas," says the Act, " His Majesty has 
 appointed a committee of his Privy Council to take 
 into consideration the state of the coins of this king- 
 dom, and the present establishment and constitution 
 of His Majesty's' Mint, and inconvenience may arise 
 from any coinage of silver until such regulations may ■ 
 be framed as shall appear necessary ; and whereas 
 from the present low price of silver bullion, owing to , 
 
EkGLAND: ACT OF jygS ' 239 
 
 temporary circumstances, a small quantity of silver 
 bullion has been brought to the Mint to be coined, and 
 there. is reason to suppose that'a still further quantity 
 may be brought, and it is therefore necessary to sus- 
 pend the coining of silver for the present, be it there- 
 fore enacted that no silver bullion shall be coined at 
 the Mint, nor|Shall any silver coin that may have been 
 coined there be delivered." 
 
 There can be little doubt that this enactment was 
 due to Lord Liverpool, and if so that it was intended 
 as an arrest, with a particular intent or bearing ; for 
 Liverpool had formed his conception of a monetary 
 theory as early as 1773. None the less it is quite 
 inadmissible to state, as has been done, that this 
 restriction, so evidently, and expressly only .a tempo- 
 rary or interim measure of self-defence, was equivalent 
 to a placing upon the statute-book of Lord Liverpool's 
 gold monometallical theory. There was asyfit—ao-^ 
 restriction on the legal tender of silver. It was still 
 legal tender to any amount, — it was indeed the standard 
 coin of the realm, — only,' in order to avoid the effects- 
 of depreciation, and to prevent further depreciation, 
 it was now. the law of the land that payments of silver 
 of sums over £2ej should be made by weight, and the 
 further coinage of silver was temporarily stopped. 
 
 This was not a gold monometallic system, and 
 the Act which established that system 'was passed 
 eight years after the death of Lord Liverpool, and 
 six years after the 'Bullion Report of 1810 had been: 
 printed. 
 
240 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 Further than incidentally it is inconsistent with 
 the design of this book to refer to the period of sus- 
 pension of cash payments and the Bullion Report. 
 These latter are banking phenomena, and will find 
 their place in a treatise of currency in the fuller- 
 acceptance of the term, rather than in a treatise de- 
 finitely restricted to the subject of the metallic curren- 
 cies. The events of 1797 which led to the suspension,. 
 — the remittances to the Continent for war purposes, a 
 failure of credit, a run on the country banks, and then 
 upon the London banks, — had been experienced in- 
 1793 as acutely as in 1797; and, according to the 
 express statement of the report itself, even in the- 
 years 1796 and 1797, when the country bankers were 
 making great demands in order to increase their 
 deposits, the market price of gold never rose above 
 the Mint price. These events were therefore one- 
 phase of the internal experiences of the country, and. 
 have no relation to an international outflow of gfold, 
 caused by the heightened ratio which definitely set in. 
 in 1794. On the mere ground of first principles, 
 therefore, it is inadmissible to make argumentative 
 use of this event, known as the Bank Restriction, for 
 judgment and illustration in the wider question of 
 bimetallism. Further, the argumentative use that; 
 has been made of it — viz. that if from 1773 tO' 
 1797 England had possessed a true rather than a 
 halting bimetallic rdgihie, she would have been 
 supplied by its means with an amount of silver that: 
 would have increased the metallic reserve and 
 
ENGLAND; THE BANK RESTRICTION 241 
 
 Strength of the country, and enabled it to avoid 
 suspension — is inadmissible : and the argument itself 
 is untenable. Such bimetallic action supplying silver 
 could only have begun to operate in 1 794, three years 
 before the suspension. It could only have operated 
 by substituting one metal for the other, not by adding 
 silver to gold, but by taking away higher valued gold, 
 and furnishing lower valued silver, i.e. by actually 
 decreasing the metallic strength and reserve of the 
 kingdom. And, lastly, there is the peculiar fact still 
 requiring explaining, that the years of the bank restric- 
 tion, until, that is, the new Mint law of 1816, saw the 
 heaviest export of silver probably that England has 
 ever experienced. During the ten years, 1 801 -10, 
 nearly 10 millions sterling of silver was exported from 
 England (over 38,176,016 oz.), while the gold exports 
 amounted only to ^2,088,483, so that, of the total 
 export, silver formed 82 per cent, (net amounts used 
 in both cases). It is still well known to what straits 
 this export of silver put the country. In almost every 
 town where there was any employment of labour the 
 tradesmen were obliged to issue token money of their 
 own — - shilling tokens, sixpenny tokens, half-crown 
 and five-shilling promissory-notes. Every conceiv- 
 able form of hand-to-mouth unauthorised currency 
 was resorted to, in order to relieve the needs of the 
 situation caused by the want of silver coins. And 
 stories are still remembered of the straits to which the 
 working classes were driven in order to make their 
 
 purchases at the week end with one pound notes, for 
 16 
 
242 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 which they could get no change. The explanation 
 of such a phenomenon can only be that the one pound 
 notes having driven gold out of circulation, by a law 
 which is merely another form of the bimetallic law, 
 left only silver available for remittance to the Con- 
 tinent for loans and war purpose. But, whatever the 
 explanation, the fact cuts the ground from under the 
 argument that bimetallism would have saved England 
 from the bank restriction. If silver had not been 
 legal tender to any amount (up to .2^25 by tale, and 
 beyond that by weight), or again if it had been pro- 
 tected by an agio in 1808 as it was in 1 816, it could 
 not have left the country. The straits of the poorer 
 classes in those years of hardship were due to the 
 existing bimetallic system, and to it must, therefore, 
 be attributed the aggravation rather than alleviation 
 of the bank restriction. 
 
 If anything is required to confirm such view it can 
 be found in the very terms of that statute of 1816 
 (56 Geo. III. c. 68), which established the gold standard 
 in England. They reveal the fact that the Act was 
 not so much a philosophical or theoretical declaration 
 of monometallism, such as might have been expected 
 if Lord Liverpool had still lived to dictate it, but a 
 measure for the protection -of and relating almost 
 entirely to silver. 
 
 "Whereas the silver coins of the realm have, by 
 long use and other circumstances, become greatly 
 diminished in number and deteriorated in value, so as 
 not to be sufficient for the payments required in dealings 
 
ENGLAND: THE ACT OF 1816 -Zi^i 
 
 under the value of the current gold coins, by reason 
 whereof a great quantity of light and counterfeit silver 
 coin and foreign coin has been introduced into circu- 
 lation within this realm, and the evils resulting there- 
 from can only be remedied by a new coinage of silver 
 money. ..." 
 
 The Act therefore prescribes the coining of silver, 
 1 1 oz. 2:dwts. fine, at a tale after the rate of 66s. per 
 Troy pound, whether the same be coined in crowns, 
 half-crowns, shillings, or sixpences, or pieces of a lower 
 denomination, but to be issued to the importer of the 
 silver, or to the public, after'a rate of 62s. per pound 
 Troy. 
 
 "And whereas at various times heretofore the 
 coins of this realm of gold and silver have been usually 
 a legal tender for payments to any amount, and great 
 inconvenience has arisen from both these precious 
 metals being concurrently the standard measure of 
 value and equivalent of property, it is expedient that 
 the gold coin made according to the indentures of the 
 Mint should henceforth be the sole standard measure 
 of value and legal tender for payment, without any 
 limitation of amount, and that the silver coin should 
 be a legal tender to a limited amount only, for the 
 facility of exchange and commerce." The Act there- 
 fore prescribes the limit of 40s. for the tender of silver. 
 
 This Act was repealed, but in substance re-enacted 
 by the Coinage Act of 1870, and is still in principle 
 and fact the law of the land and the basis of our 
 monometallic system. 
 
244 
 
 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 From the date of its enactment England has been 
 withdrawn from that action of bimetallic law which 
 had been her bane for centuries. The flow of gold in 
 or out became automatic, representing the natural 
 flow of world-balances, and therefore proving the 
 greatest trade help and indicator ; and such commercial 
 crises as have come upon her have arisen from the 
 peculiarly sensitive organisation of credit which 
 distinguishes the modern system, and are to be 
 classed with banking rather than metallic currency 
 phenomena. 
 
 The total coinage in England from 1816 to 1875 
 inclusive was ^234,139,886 gold and ^24,663,309 
 silver. 
 
 
 Coinage of 
 Gold. 
 
 Imports of Gold 
 
 Exports of Gold 
 
 Year. 
 
 Bullion and 
 
 Bullion and 
 
 
 Specie. 
 
 Specie. 
 
 185s 
 
 9,008,663 
 
 ? 
 
 11,847,000 
 
 1856 
 
 6,002,114 
 
 .? 
 
 12,038,000 
 
 1857 
 
 485,980 
 
 ? 
 
 15,062,000 
 
 1858 
 
 1,231,023 
 
 22,793,000 
 
 12,567,000 
 
 1859 
 
 2,649,509 
 
 22,298,000 
 
 18,081,000 
 
 i860 
 
 3,121,709 
 
 12,585,000 
 
 15,642,000 
 
 1861 
 
 8,190,170 
 
 12,164,000 
 
 11,238,000 
 
 1862 
 
 7,836,413 
 
 19,904,000 
 
 16,012,000 
 
 1863 
 
 6,607,456 
 
 19,143,000 
 
 15,303,000 
 
 1864 
 
 9,535,597 
 
 16,901,000 
 
 13,280,000 
 
 1865 
 
 2,367,614 
 
 14,486,000 
 
 8,493,000 
 
 1866 
 
 5,076,676 
 
 23,510,000 
 
 12,742,000 
 
 1867 
 
 496,397 
 
 15,800,000 
 
 7,889,000 
 
 1868 
 
 1,653,384 
 
 17,136,000 
 
 12,708,000 
 
 1869 
 
 7,372,204 
 
 13,771,000 
 
 8,474,000 
 
 1870 
 
 2,313,384 
 
 18,807,000 
 
 10,014,000 
 
 1871 
 
 9,919,656 
 
 21,619,000 
 
 20,698,000 
 
 1872 
 
 :5,26i,442 
 
 18,469,000 
 
 19,749,000 
 
 1873 
 
 3,384,568 
 
 20,611,000 
 
 19,071,000 
 
 1874 
 
 1,461,565 
 
 18,081,000 
 
 10,642,000 
 
 1875 
 
 243,264 
 
 23,141,000 
 
 18,648,000 
 
 1876 
 
 4,696,648 
 
 23,476,000 
 
 16,516,000 
 
ENGLAND: iSid-gj 
 
 245 
 
 
 Coinage of 
 Gold. 
 
 Imports of Gold 
 
 Exports of Gold 
 
 Year. 
 
 Bullion and 
 
 Bullion and 
 
 
 Specie. 
 
 Specie. 
 
 1877 
 
 981,468 
 
 15,442,000 
 
 20,374,000 
 
 1878 
 
 2,265,069 
 
 20,871,000 
 
 14,969,000 
 
 1879 
 
 35.050 
 
 13,369,000 
 
 17,579,000 
 
 1880 
 
 4,150,052 
 
 9,455,000 
 
 11,829,000 
 
 1881 
 
 ... 
 
 9,963,000 
 
 15,499,000 
 
 1882 
 
 
 14,377,000 
 
 12,024,000 
 
 1883 
 
 1,403,713 
 
 7,756,000 
 
 7,091,000 
 
 1884 
 
 2,324,015 
 
 10,744,000 
 
 12,013,000 
 
 1885 
 
 2,973,453 
 
 13,377,000 
 
 11,931,000 
 
 1886 
 
 
 13,392,000 
 
 13,784,000 
 
 1887 
 
 1,908,686 
 
 9,955,000 
 
 9,324,000 
 
 1 888 
 
 2,277,424 
 
 15,000,000 
 
 14,250,000 
 
 1889 
 
 7,257,455 
 
 17,570,000 
 
 14,000,000 
 
 1890 
 
 7,662,898 
 
 23,900,000 
 
 14,250,000 
 
 1 891 
 
 6,869,119 
 
 29,500,000 
 
 25,000,000 
 
 1892 
 
 13,944,963 
 
 21,250,000 
 
 15,450,000 
 
 1893 
 
 9,318,021 
 
 23,630,000 
 
 18,800,000 
 
 Year. 
 
 185s 
 1856 
 1857 
 1858 
 1859 
 i860 
 1861 
 1862 
 1863 
 1864 
 1865 
 1866 
 1867 
 1868 
 1869 
 1870 
 1871 
 1872 
 1873 
 1874 
 1875 
 1876 
 
 1877 
 
 Coinage of 
 Silver. 
 
 195,510 
 462,528 
 373,230 
 445,896 
 647,064 
 218,403 
 209,484 
 148,518 
 161,172 
 535,194 
 501,732 
 493,416 
 193,842 
 
 301,356 
 
 76,428 
 
 336,798 
 
 701,514 
 
 1,243,836 
 
 674 
 
 890,604 
 
 594,000 
 
 222,354 
 
 420,948 
 
 Imports of Silver 
 
 Bullion and 
 
 Specie. 
 
 ? 
 ? 
 
 6,700,000 
 
 14,772,000 
 
 10,394,000 
 
 6,583,000 
 
 11,753,000 
 
 10,888,000 
 
 10,827,000 
 
 6,977,000 
 
 10.777,000 
 
 8,021,000 
 
 7,716,000 
 
 6,730,000 
 
 10,649,000 
 
 16,522,000 
 
 11,139,000 
 
 12,988,000 
 
 12,298,000 
 
 10,124,000 
 
 13,578,000 
 
 21,711,000 
 
 Exports of Silver 
 
 Bullion and 
 
 Specie. 
 
 6,981,000 
 
 12,813,000 
 
 18,505,000 
 
 7,062,000 
 
 17,608,000 
 
 9,893,000 
 
 9,573,000 
 
 13,314,000 
 
 11,241,000 
 
 9,853,000 
 
 6,599,000 
 
 8,897,000 
 
 6,435,000 
 
 7,512,000 
 
 7,904,000 
 
 8,906,000 
 
 13,062,000 
 
 10,587,000 
 
 9,828,000 
 
 12,212,000 
 
 8,980,000 
 
 12,948,000 
 
 19,437,090 
 
'246 
 
 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 
 Coinage of 
 Silver. 
 
 Imports of Silver 
 
 Exports of Silver 
 
 Year. 
 
 Bullion and 
 
 Bullion and 
 
 
 Specie. 
 
 Specie. 
 
 1878 
 
 613,998 
 
 11,552,000 
 
 11,718,000 
 
 1879 
 
 549,054 
 
 10,787,000 
 
 11,006,000 
 
 1880 
 
 761,508 
 
 6,799,000 
 
 7,061,000 
 
 1881 
 
 997,128 
 
 6,901,000 
 
 7,004,000 
 
 1882 
 
 209,880 
 
 9,243,000 
 
 8,965,000 
 
 1883 
 
 1,274,328 
 
 9,468,000 
 
 9,323,000 
 
 1884 
 
 658,548 
 
 9,633,000 
 
 9,986,000 
 
 1885 
 
 720,918 
 
 9,434,000 
 
 9,852,000 
 
 1886 
 
 417,384 
 
 7,472,000 
 
 7,224,000 
 
 1887 
 
 861,498 
 
 7,819,000 
 
 7,807,000 
 
 1888 
 
 755,113 
 
 6,000,000 
 
 7 500,000 
 
 1889 
 
 2,215,742 
 
 9,000,000 
 
 10,500,000 
 
 1890 
 
 1,708,415 
 
 10,300,000 
 
 10,500,000 
 
 1891 
 
 1,049,113 
 
 10,500,000 
 
 11,800,000 
 
 1892 
 
 773.353 
 
 12,375,000 
 
 14,075,000 
 
 1893 
 
 1,089,707 
 
 11,320,000 
 
 13,532,000 
 
 United States 
 
 Under British dominion the American colonies 
 retained the silver standard, as did their mother 
 country, with such variation of actual coins and of 
 their tariff as the situation of the country and the 
 immense variety of metallic values prevailing in the 
 different colonies gave rise to. The coin most 
 commonly current was the Spanish piece of eight, but 
 the system of weights and measures was the English 
 system, and reckoning was by pounds, shillings, and 
 pence. The method by which such a composite 
 system was regulated consisted in those coinage 
 tariffs with which early European monetary history is 
 so well acquainted. According to a tariff issued in 
 1750, the ounce of silver was declared worth 6s. 8d., 
 the Spanish milled piece of eight was to be equal to 6s. ; 
 
UNITED STATES: MORRIS'S SCHEME, 1782 247 
 
 and "whereas there is great reason to apprehend that 
 many and great inconveniences may arise in case any 
 coined silver or gold or English halfpence and 
 farthings should pass at any higher rate than in a 
 just proportion to Spanish pieces of eight, or coined 
 silver at the ratio aforesaid," a tariff list was appended 
 according to which the guinea was 28s., the English 
 crown 6s. 8d., and so on for other European 
 coins. 
 
 In accordance with this system the earliest financial 
 steps of the Continental Congress in 1775 — its issues 
 of bills of credit — were based upon, and the bills were 
 declared payable in, the Spanish dollar or piece of 
 eight, to which, on the report of a special commission, 
 appointed on 19th April 1776, the various gold and 
 silver coins circulating by different standards in 
 different colonies were rated by a tariff According 
 to this tariff the guinea weighing 5 dwts. 8 grs. was 
 to be equivalent to 4| dollars, and the English crown 
 equal to I ^ dollar. / '' 
 
 Gold bullion was rated 17 dollars per oz. Troy 
 weight ; sterling silver at i-^ dollar per oz. U I /o.dOj^J^ 
 
 Assuming the coins to be of full weight, the ratio 
 here established is nearly the English ratio of 15.21. 
 The ratio for bullion is slightly different, but hardly 
 materially.' 
 
 Six years later, at the request of a committee of 
 Congress, the superintendent of finance, Robert 
 Morris, submitted a scheme for a national • coinage 
 (15th January 1782). This scheme is remarkable for 
 
248 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 its clear-sightedness and grasp, as well as the testi- 
 mony it bore to the European monetary system of the 
 time. After deciding on silver as a necessary unit, 
 the report thus proceeds : — 
 
 " The various coins which have circulated in 
 America have undergone different changes in their 
 value, so that there is hardly any which can be 
 considered as a general standard unless it be Spanish 
 dollars. These pass in Georgia at 5s., in North 
 Carolina and New York at 8s., in Virginia and the 
 four Eastern States at 6s., in all the other States 
 except South Carolina at 7s. 6d., and in South 
 Carolina at 32s. 6d. 
 
 As a common denominator, calculated from part 
 of these figures, Morris proposed a monetary unit of 
 |;-grain in fine silver, the multiples to be by the decimal 
 system, the dollar containing 1440 units, and the 
 Mint price of fine silver being 22,237 units per pound. 
 
 On the following 21st February 1782 Congress 
 approved of the establishment of a Mint, and directed 
 Morris to prepare and report a plan for conducting it. 
 
 In a concurrent paper of notes on the establish- 
 ment of a money unit, and of a coinage for the United 
 States, Jefferson proposed, in opposition to Morris's 
 scheme, a decimal system resting on the dollar, and 
 with a ratio of 15 : i. 
 
 "Just principles," he says, after stating the legal 
 ratio in the chief European countries, " will lead us to 
 disregard legal proportions altogether, to inquire into 
 the market price of gold in the several countries with 
 
UNITED STATES: REPORT OF 178s 249 
 
 which we shall be principally connected in commerce, 
 and to take an average from them. Perhaps we 
 might well safely lean to a proportion somewhat above 
 par for gold, considering our neighbourhood and 
 commerce with the sources of the coins, and the 
 tendency which the high price of gold in Spain has to 
 draw thither all that of their mines, leaving silver 
 principally for our and other markets." 
 
 The settlement of the matter was, however, 
 delayed, although in the course of the year Morris 
 declared that "all our dollars are rapidly going to 
 the enemy in exchange for light gold, which must 
 eventually cause a considerable loss and a scarcity of 
 silver which will be seriously felt." 
 
 In this undetermined state the matter rested till 
 13th May 1785, when the grand committee on the 
 money unit made its report. 
 
 The proposed ratio was justified thus : "In 
 France i grain of pure gold is counted worth 
 15 grs. of silver. In Spain 16 grs. of silver are 
 exchanged for i of gold, and in England 15^. In 
 both England and Spain gold is the prevailing money, 
 because silver is undervalued. In France silver 
 pre\^ils. Sundry advantages would arise to us from 
 a system by which silver might become the prevailing 
 money. This would operate as a bounty to draw it 
 from our neighbours, by whom it is not sufficiently 
 esteemed. Silver is not exported so easily as gold, 
 and it is a more useful metal. Certainly our exchange 
 should not be more than 15 grs. of silver for i of 
 
250 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 gold." The charge for coinage was to be 2^ per 
 cent, for gold, and slightly over 3 per cent, for silver. 
 The unit was to be a dollar of 362 grs. of pure 
 silver, with a multiple gold piece (5 dollars) and 
 decimal aliquot pieces. 
 
 On the 6th July following, 1 785, the Congress by 
 vote adopted the silver dollar as the basis of the 
 currency on a decimal system, but the resolution 
 was not followed by the establishment of a Mint, 
 although the States were experiencing great loss by 
 the circulation of base copper coins made in Birming- 
 ham. 
 
 On the 8th April 1786, a report was made in 
 triplicate by the Board of Treasury to the President of 
 Congress, the first of the three forms of the report 
 advocating a silver dollar of 375.64 grs. fine and a 
 ratio of 15.256. These proposals were adopted by 
 resolution on the 8th August- following, and on the 
 1 6th October of the same year, 1786, the ordinance 
 for the establishment of the Mint of the United 
 States of America, and for regulating the value and 
 alloy of coin, finally passed Congress. 
 
 In accordance with the resolutions of 8th August, 
 the mint price of the pound Troy of gold ( 1 1 parts 
 fine) was' fixed at 209 dols. 7 dimes, 7 cents, and of 
 silver at 13 dols. 7 dimes, 7 cents, and 7 mills. 
 
 The Mint charge here comprised is about 2 per 
 cent, on both silver and gold, " bringing the ratio of 
 bullion at the Mint to 15.22, a little below the ratio in 
 the coin." 
 
UNITED STATES: HAMILTON'S REPORT, lygi 251 
 
 F"or several years all these regulations of Congress 
 were not put in force, and it was not until 5th May 
 1 79 1 that the matter was again brought before the 
 Senate by the report of the Secretary of the Treasury, 
 Alexander Hamilton. 
 
 Hamilton's scheme, as contained in his most 
 remarkable paper, was for a silver unit or dollar of 
 37ii grs. of pure silver and a ratio of 15, and instead 
 of the allowance of 2 per cent, for waste and coinage 
 the principle was adopted of free coinage — of deliver- 
 ing at the Mint the same weight of pure metal coined 
 as should be brought to it in bullion or foreign coin. 
 Hamilton justifies his ratio thus : " The difference 
 established by custom in the United States between 
 coined gold and coined silver has been stated to be 
 nearly i : 15.6. This, if truly the case, would imply 
 that gold was extremely over- valued in the United 
 States, for the highest actual proportion in any part 
 of Europe very little, if at all, exceeds 1:15, and the 
 average proportion throughout Europe is probably 
 not more than i : 14.8." He also deduces his ratio 
 of 15 as a mean between the two lately preceding 
 issues of dollars. " Taking the rate of the late dollar 
 of 374 SI'S., the proportion would be as 1:15.11. 
 Taking the rate of the newest dollar of 374 grs., 
 the proportion would be as i : 14.87. The mean of 
 the two would give the proportion of 1:15 very 
 nearly, less than the legal proportion in the coins of 
 Great Britain, which is as 1:15.2, but somewhat 
 more than the actual or market proportion, which is 
 
252 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 not quite i : 15." As to the express selection of one or 
 other metal for the unit, Hamilton makes a departure 
 which marks clearly that he was creating and not con- 
 tinuing a system, and that if bimetallism is a feature of 
 modern conception that conception is due to American 
 rather than French statesmanship:' — "Contrary to 
 the ideas which have heretofore prevailed in the 
 suggestions concerning a coinage for the United 
 States, though not without much hesitation arising 
 from a deference for those ideas, the secretary is, 
 upon the whole, strongly inclined to the opinion that 
 a preference ought to be given to neither of the 
 metals for the monetary unit . . . because this 
 cannot be done effectually without destroying the 
 office and character of one of them as money and 
 reducing it to the situation of mere merchandise, 
 which, accordingly, at different times, has been 
 proposed from different and very reputable quarters, 
 but which would probably be a greater evil than 
 occasional variations in the unit, from the fluctuations 
 in the relative value of the metals, especially if care 
 be taken to regulate the proportion between them, 
 with an eye to their average commercial value. To 
 annul the use of either of the metals as money is to 
 abridge the quantity of circulating medium." 
 
 ^ Professor Laughlain brings out very strongly that even in such action 
 Hamilton shows no trace of the modern conception of bimetallism, that his report 
 expresses an emphatic preference for gold over silver, and that his object in 
 adopting bimetallism was, while retaining silver, to leave a door open, if possible, 
 for the introduction of gold. — History of Bimetallism in the United States, 
 pp. 13, 14. 
 
UNITED STATES: SCHEME OF lygg 253 
 
 This scheme was accepted in its entirety by the 
 Act of 2nd April 1792, with the slight change 
 that the standard of silver was changed from W 
 to itif firie. The silver dollar, therefore, weighed 
 416 grs. gross (37 ij grs. pure silver); on this basis, 
 at a ratio of 15, the equivalent gold piece would 
 contain 24.75 g*"^- ('^Is" = 2 7§). This was accord- 
 ingly established as the basis of the gold eagle or 
 ten-dollar piece, which was to contain 270 grs. gross 
 (247.5 grs. pure gold).' The Act was followed by 
 another on the 9th February 1 793, for regulating the 
 rate of foreign coins. The gold coins of Great 
 Britain and Portugal of their then standard were 
 made a legal tender for the payment of all debts and 
 demands, at the rate of 100 cents for every 27 grs. of 
 their actual weight, those of France and Spain at the 
 rate of 100 cents for every 27I grains. 
 
 For a period the system established in 1792 went 
 on, although the ratio established was prejudicial to 
 gold. But, twenty years after, the natural result 
 arrived in America, as in England, and the circulation 
 of gold was completely extinguished in the States by 
 the unseen withdrawal of the metal. 
 
 In obedience to a resolution of the Senate of 3rd 
 March 18 17, John Quincy Adams, Secretary of 
 State, produced a report on weights and measures, in 
 
 1 By the law of 1837 the alloy for both gold and silver coins was fixed at tV- 
 The pure gold in the eagle, which by the Act of 1834 was fixed at 232 grs. (258 
 grs. gross for the piece), was thereby changed to 232.2 grs. At the same time 
 the pure metal content of the silver dollar was maintained at 371J grs., the 
 (gross) weight per piece being changed to 412J grs. 
 
254 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 which he impugned the correctness of the data on 
 which Hamilton had based his reckoning in 1791. 
 
 Two years later, 26th January 1819, a committee 
 of the House reported an ill-considered scheme, 
 recommending a change in the ratio in favour of gold, 
 and the imposition of a heavy seigniorage on silver. 
 On the ist of March following, the House of Repre- 
 sentatives directed the secretary to report such 
 measures as might be expedient to procure and retain 
 a sufficient quantity of gold and silver coin in the 
 United States. 
 
 In this report, in referring to one feature in the 
 previous crisis, namely, the necessity in 18 14 for the 
 suspension of specie , payments, Secretary Crawford 
 stated that, from the commencement of the war until 
 that event of 18 14, a large amount of specie was 
 taken out of the United States by the sale of 
 English Government bills, at a discount frequently 
 of 15 to 20 per cent. 
 
 He concluded by suggesting a raising of the value 
 of gold in relation to silver, 5 per cent., implying a 
 ratio of 15.75. 
 
 In the report to the House of Representatives, 
 dated 1 7th March 1832, quite a different statement was 
 made, namely, that there was no export of gold from 
 the United States from 1792 to 1821, and that "there 
 were certainly no indications that gold was rated too 
 low in our standard of 1:15 earlier than 1821, when 
 the English demand commenced." 
 
 The terms of the report of the committee on the 
 
UNITED STATES : GOLD EXPORT OF 1820 255 
 
 currency, which was communicated to the House of 
 Representatives on the .2nd February 1821, must be 
 contrasted with this statement. "The committee are 
 of opinion that the value of American gold compared 
 with silver ought to be somewhat higher than by law 
 at present established. On inquiry they find that 
 gold coins, both foreign and of the United States, 
 have in a great measure disappeared, and from the 
 best calculation that can be made there is reason to 
 apprehend they will be wholly banished from cir- 
 culation, and it ought not to be a matter of surprise, 
 under our present regulations, that this should be the 
 case. ... There have been coined at the Mint of 
 the United States 6 millions of dollars in gold. It 
 is doubtful whether any considerable portion of it 
 can at this time be found within the United States. . . . 
 It is ascertained that the gold coin, in an office of 
 discount and deposit of the Bank of the United States 
 in November 1819, amounted to 165,000 dollars and 
 the silver coin to 118,000; that since that time the 
 silver coin has increased to 700,000 dollars, while the 
 gold coin has diminished to 1200 dollars, 100 only of 
 which is American."' 
 
 The committee proposed a bill in the sense of 
 their report, but for seven years — years of acute 
 commercial crises and distress — no actual step was 
 taken. In November of the following year the sub- 
 ject of the disappearance of gold from the currency 
 
 ' See the case more fully established in Laughlin's Bimetallism in the 
 United States, pp. 29, 57. 
 
256 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 was brought before the lower house of Congress by 
 Mr. Lowndes. In December 1828, however, the 
 Senate required the Secretary of the Treasury to 
 ascertain the ratio and to state such alterations in the 
 gold coins as might be necessary to conform those 
 coins to the silver coins in their true relative value. 
 
 In his report Secretary Ingham insisted on the 
 advantage of a single standard, but, in case of a 
 determination to maintain both gold and silver, he 
 proposed to approximate as near as could be to the 
 French system by establishing a ratio of 15.625. In 
 case of no change of the ratio he proposed to dis- 
 continue the gold coinage, whenever the premium for 
 gold should exceed 2 per cent. 
 
 No action was taken on these reports, nor on the 
 similar proceedings in the two following years, nor 
 very little more on the report which in June 1832 
 the select committee on coins produced. Part of the 
 instructions given to this committee were "to inquire 
 into the expediency of making silver the only legal 
 tender, and of coining and issuing gold coins of a fixed 
 weight and fineness, which shall be received in pay- 
 ment of all debts to the United States, at such ratio 
 as may be fixed from time to time but shall not 
 otherwise be a legal tender." 
 
 In the House of Representatives the converse 
 proposition of a gold standard with a restricted legal 
 tender had been made by M. Wilde, 26th March 
 1832, but when the report appeared it advocated a 
 silver standard. 
 
UNITED STATES: THE ACT OF 1834 257 
 
 While Congress was thus delaying over a vital 
 question the New York bankers, May 1834, pressed 
 for the regulation of the gold coins, so as to retain 
 them in the country. 
 
 Two months later, 31st July 1834, the long-sought 
 measure passed, but in an extraordinary form. At a 
 blow the ratio was changed from i : 15 to i : 16 
 (15.988), by the reduction of the weight of the fine 
 gold in the gold coins to 23.20 Troy grains, soon 
 afterwards, by an Act of i8th July 1837, changed to 
 23.22 grains, the standard being changed at the 
 same time from W to ^^ fine. \ 
 
 The motives and amount of wisdom which under- 
 lay this sudden close of a long period of agitation can 
 be measured from Benton's own words, in his Thirty 
 Years View: — 
 
 "A measure of relief was now at hand, before 
 which the machinery of distress was to balk and 
 cease its long and cruel labours — it was the passage 
 of the bill for equalising the value of gold and silver 
 and legalising the tender of foreign coins of both 
 metals.f- The bills were brought forward in the 
 House by Mr. Campbell H. White of New York, and 
 passed after an animated contest in which the chief 
 question -was as to the true relative value of the two 
 metals, varied by some into a preference for National 
 Bank paper ; 1 5| was the ratio of nearly all who 
 seemed best calculated from their pursuits to under- 
 stand the subject. The thick array of speakers was 
 on that side, and the eighteen banks of the city of 
 17 
 
258 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 New York, with Mr. Gallatin at their head, favoured 
 that proportion. The difficulty of adjusting this value, 
 so that neither metal should expel the other had been 
 the stumblingblock for a great many years, and now 
 this seemed to be as formidable as ever. Refined 
 calculations were gone into, scientific light was sought, 
 history was rummaged back to the times of the Roman 
 Empire ; and there seemed to be no way of getting 
 to a concord of opinion either from the light of science, 
 the voice of history, or the result of calculations. 
 The author of this View had, in his speeches on 
 the subject, taken up the question in a practical point 
 of view, regardless of history and calculations and the 
 opinions of bank officers ; and looking to the actual 
 and equal circulation of the two metals in different 
 countries he saw that this equality and actuality of cir- 
 culation had existed for above three hundred years in 
 the Spanish dominions of Mexico and South America, 
 where the proportion was i6 : i. Taking his stand 
 upon this single fact, as the practical test which solved 
 the question, all the real friends of the gold currency 
 soon rallied to it. Mr. White gave up the bill which 
 he had first introduced, and adopted the Spanish ratio. 
 Mr. Clowney of South Carolina, Mr. Gillet, and Mr. 
 Cambreleng of New York, Mr. Ewing of Indiana, 
 Mr. McKim of Maryland, and other speakers gave 
 it a warm support. Mr. John Quincy Adams would 
 vote for it, though he thought the gold was over- 
 valued, but if found to be so the difference could be 
 corrected hereafter. The principal speakers against 
 
\ 
 
 \ 
 
 UNITED STATES: THE ACT OF 1834. 259 
 
 it and in favour of a lower rate were Messrs. Gorham 
 of Massachusetts, Selden of New York, Binney of 
 Pennsylvania, and Wilde of Georgia, and eventually 
 the bill was passed by a large majority, 145 to 35. In 
 the Senate it had an easy passage. Messrs. Calhoun 
 and Webster supported it, Mr. Clay opposed it ; and 
 on the final vote there were but seven negatives — 
 Messrs. Chambers of Maryland, Clay, Knight of 
 Rhode Island, Alexander Porter of Louisiana, Silsbee 
 of Massachusetts, Southard of New Jersey, Sprague 
 of Maine. The good effects of the bill were immedi- 
 ately seen. Gold began to flow into the country 
 through all the channels of commerce, old chests gave 
 up their hordes, the Mint was busy ; and in a few 
 months, as if by magic, a currency banished from the 
 country for thirty years overspread the land and gave 
 joy and confidence to allthe pursuits of industry." 
 
 The panacea thus magnificently lauded sooiv' 
 proved itself worse than inefficient. The ratio was 
 too hiofh, and the silver dollars could not be main- 
 tained. They were unduly exported, especially 
 between the years 1848 and 1851. And in 
 order to retain within the country a sufficient 
 amount of small coin the amount of silver in the 
 small coins, from the half - dollar downwards, was 
 reduced by an Act of 24th February 1853. It was 
 at the same time provided that they should be coined 
 only on Government account, and they were made 
 legal tender only up to the sum of five-dollars. 
 
 The direction of this step will be seen at a glance — 
 
26o THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 it was in the direction of the gold valuation. This 
 is as plainly the case as it was in the Latin Union, 
 already exemplified (p. 190). Further, it was so 
 conceived and explicitly stated by Dunham, who 
 piloted the bill through the House. "We have 
 had," he said, "but a single standard for the last 
 three or four years. That has been and now is gold. 
 We propose to let it remain so, and to adapt silver to 
 it, to regulate it by it." Legally, the old silver dollar 
 was left untouched, and the gold and silver valuation 
 was not expressly abolished. No reference whatever 
 was made to the silver dollar in the Act, for the 
 simple reason that for years nothing had been seen of 
 them. They did not and could not circulate. There 
 was plenty of gold, and the absence of silver with the 
 change in standard therein practically implied was 
 either unnoticed, or regarded, if at all, only with 
 indifference. 
 
 The final step in the simplification and unification 
 of this system was commenced in 1870, when a bill 
 was prepared for a revised coinage law with a pure 
 gold standard, silver beiiig demonetised as a legal 
 tender money. The bill did not become law till 
 1 2th April 1873. And no opposition was expressed 
 in either the House of Representatives or the Senate 
 to the abolition of the double standard. The silver 
 dollars previously coined (of which, however, but few 
 were in existence) maintained their quality as legal 
 tender ; but the coining of new dollars, whether on 
 Government or private account, was forbidden. 
 
UNITED STATES : THE LEGISLATION OF 1873-74 261 
 
 This Act was therefore simply the complement of 
 the preceding legislation of 1853. 
 
 The completion of this system thus established 
 was provided in section 3586 of the Revised Statutes 
 of 1874, by which the silver coins of the United 
 States were declared legal tender only up to five 
 dollars, thus completing, from December 1873 
 onwards, the demonetisation of silver, and the 
 establishment of gold monometallism on the English 
 plan. As an effective scheme it meant little because 
 of the prevalence of paper. 
 
 Within a very short time of the passing of this 
 bill, however, began the great change in the relative 
 value of the precious metals which has continued 
 since. The silver - producing interest, at that 
 moment on the eve of receiving an enormous 
 accession of strength by the Nevada finds, made 
 itself heard. At the same time the prospect of the 
 resumption of cash payments brought an additional 
 incentive and interest. A commission to investigate 
 the question of standard was therefore appointed, 
 14th August 1875, and a majority , of this 
 commission recommended the establishment of the 
 double standard. Thereupon Bland, one of the 
 members of the commission, proposed in the House 
 of Representatives the re-establishment of the double 
 standard, at the old ratio of i : 15.988, with free coin- 
 age of silver. 
 
 The question of resumption was pressing near. 
 On the ist January 1879 the States were to return 
 
262 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 to cash payments. On what basis should that return 
 be effected ? Should the Act of 1873 be maintained, 
 or should a return be made to the bimetallic system 
 which had prevailed before then ? The Government 
 was of the former opinion ; the majority of Congress 
 of the latter. 
 
 The silver party, finding the measure could not be 
 carried over the veto of the president, agreed to a 
 compromise, under which the free coinage clause was 
 dropped, and it was as a compromise that the Bland 
 Act so-called, the "Act to authorise the coinage of 
 the standard silver dollar, and to restore its legal 
 tender character," passed on the 28th February 1878. 
 
 To the favourers of a gold system it was conceded 
 that in the maintenance of the previous legal ratio 
 of 15.988, the silver dollar should be reserved for 
 Treasury reckonings, and a maximum minting limit of 
 4 million dollars monthly should be fixed. The bi- 
 metallists gained the fixing of a minimum limit of 2 
 million dollars monthly of silver coinage, and the 
 clause enjoining the President of the United States 
 to take ateps for the meeting of an international 
 conference. 
 
 This scheme became law immediately, and on the 
 I St January 1879 the United States resumed specie 
 payment. As far as the actual circulation of the 
 country is concerned this return is only nominally 
 effective. The habit of employing redeemable paper 
 had grown too strong and continuous, and even the 
 rule of the New York banking-houses, to employ 
 
UNITED STATES : BLAND AND SHERMAN ACTS 263 
 
 only gold in clearing-house settlements, has been 
 formally, though not absolutely, abolished by the 
 Act of Congress of 12th July 1882, which provided 
 that no national bank should be a member of a clear- 
 ing-house at which gold and silver certificates were 
 not accepted in payment of balances. The Bland 
 Bill deceived the hope of both parties, as such a 
 compromise might be expected to do. It remained in 
 force, notwithstanding, till August 1890, and during 
 the twelve years, 1 878-1 890, the United States 
 coined a matter of 370 million silver dollars, em- 
 ploying therein 9 million kilogrammes of silver — a 
 third of the total contemporary production. 
 
 Almost yearly, up to 1887, the repeal of the 
 silver purchase clauses of the Bland Bill and the 
 suspension of the silver coinage was recommended 
 to Congress by presidential message, and in the 
 reports of the Secretary of the Treasury. 
 
 In December 1889 President Harrison and Secre- 
 tary Windam definitely proposed to cease the coining 
 of silver, and to limit the issues of silver certificates 
 to the value of the silver bullion as deposited, 
 reckoning that value at its then market price. 
 From these proposals sprang, by the same peculiar 
 process of committee gestation which had produced 
 the Bland Act, the compromise which passed on 
 the 14th July 1890, under the title of the Sherman 
 Act. 
 
 This act represents a compromise not of principles 
 but of self-seeking interests. The main regulations of 
 
264 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 the law, which came into force on the 13th August 
 1890, were : — 
 
 1. The Secretary of the Treasury is to purchase 
 silver to not more than the monthly amount of 
 4,500,000 oz. at the market price, so long as that 
 price is below 129.29 cents per oz. 
 
 2, 3. To issue Treasury notes against the pur- 
 chases, the said notes to be full legal tender, and 
 capable of forming part of bank reserves. 
 
 5. Up to 1st July 1 89 1, 2 million oz. monthly of 
 this silver to be coined into dollars. That coinage 
 to cease after the date specified, except so far as 
 necessary to secure the Treasury notes. At the 
 same time the Act declares the intention of the 
 American Government to preserve the parity of gold 
 and silver. 
 
 The fillip given by this legislation to the price of 
 silver was over in a moment, and almost immediately 
 the question recurred for pressing consideration, on 
 the strong demand of the silver party for free coinage 
 in place of these as yet ineffectual purchase schemes. 
 The impotent close of the international monetary 
 conference at Brussels, in February 1893, was 
 followed by the Act of the Governor-General of 
 India in Council of June 26th closing the Indian 
 Mint to the free coinage of silver. Left practically 
 alone in her stand in defence of silver, America, in 
 the simple interest of her gold reserve, was obliged 
 to abandon the field, and after a bitter fight the 
 repeal of the clauses of the Sherman Act, which had 
 
UNITED STATES: COINAGE, j^gj-iSgj 
 
 1(1$ 
 
 enacted the compulsory purchase of silver, was 
 carried in November 1893. 
 
 We are too near the event to estimate these later 
 developments of the situation, but as yet two remark- 
 able facts have hinged upon this report — (i) the 
 immediate depreciation of the value of silver and 
 the effect on the export of silver to India were not 
 such as might a priori have been conjectured ; (2) 
 the ceasing of the silver purchase deprived the 
 currency of the United States of its only remaining 
 element capable of expansion, and of all the countries 
 of the world the United States stands most in need 
 of an expanding and expansible currency. 
 
 COINAGE OF THE MINTS OF THE UNITED STATES.' 
 
 Years. 
 
 Gold 
 (Dollars). 
 
 Silver 
 (Dollars). 
 
 Years. 
 
 Gold 
 (Dollars). 
 
 Silver 
 (Dollars). 
 
 1 793-5 
 
 71,485.00 
 
 370,683.80 
 
 1813 
 
 477,140.00 
 
 620,951.50 
 
 1796 
 
 77,960.00 
 
 77,118.50 
 
 1814 
 
 77,270.00 
 
 561,687.50 
 
 1797 
 
 128,190.00 
 
 14,550.4s 
 
 1815 
 
 3,175.00 
 
 17,308.00 
 
 1798 
 
 205,610.00 
 
 330,291.00 
 
 1816 
 
 
 28,575-75 
 
 1799 
 
 213,285.00 
 
 423,515.00 
 
 1817 
 
 
 607,783.50 
 
 1800 
 
 317,760.00 
 
 224,296.00 
 
 1818 
 
 7,1 7., 940. 00 
 
 1,070,454-00 
 
 1 801 
 
 422,570.00 
 
 74,758.00 
 
 i8r9 
 
 258,615.00 
 
 1,140,000.00 
 
 1802 
 
 423,310.00 
 
 58,343.00 
 
 1820 
 
 1,319.030.00 
 
 501,680.70 
 
 1803 
 
 258.377-50 
 
 87,118.00 
 
 1821 
 
 189,325.00 
 
 825,762.45 
 
 1804 
 
 258,642.50 
 
 100,340.50 
 
 1822 
 
 88,980.00 
 
 805,806.50 
 
 1 80s 
 
 170,367.50 
 
 149,388.50 
 
 1823 
 
 72,425.00 
 
 895.550.00 
 
 1806 
 
 324,505.00 
 
 471,319.00 
 
 1824 
 
 93,200.00 
 
 1,752,477-00 
 
 1807 
 
 437,495-0° 
 
 597,448-75 
 
 1825 
 
 156,385.00 
 
 1,564,583-00 
 
 1808 
 
 284,665.00 
 
 684,300.00 
 
 1826 
 
 92,245.00 
 
 2,002,090.00 
 
 1809 
 
 169,375.00 
 
 707,376.00 
 
 :827 
 
 131,565.00 
 
 2,869,200.00 
 
 1810 
 
 501,435-00 
 
 6.38,773-50 
 
 1828 
 
 140,145-00 
 
 1,575,600.00 
 
 1811 
 
 497,905.00 
 
 608,340.00 
 
 1829 
 
 295,717-50 
 
 1,994.578.00 
 
 1812 
 
 290,435.00 
 
 814,029.50 
 
 1830 
 
 643,105-00 
 
 2,495,400.00 
 
 ' Viz. of Philadelphia, New Orleans, Dahlonega, Charlotte, San Francisco, 
 and Carson City. 
 
266 
 
 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 Years. 
 
 Gold 
 (Dollars). 
 
 Silver 
 (Dollars). 
 
 Years. 
 
 Gold 
 (Dollars). ' 
 
 Silver 
 (Dollars). 
 
 1831 
 
 714,270.00 
 
 3,175,600.00 
 
 1863 
 
 22,445,482.00 
 
 809,267.80 
 
 1832 
 
 798,435.00 
 
 2,579,000.00 
 
 1864 
 
 20,081,415.00 
 
 609,917.10 
 
 1833 
 
 978,550.00 
 
 2,759,000.00 
 
 1865 
 
 28,295,107.50 
 
 691,005.00 
 
 1834 
 
 3,954.270.00 
 
 3,415,002.00 
 
 1866 
 
 31.435.945-00 
 
 982,409.25 
 
 183s 
 
 2,186,175.00 
 
 3,443,003.00 
 
 1867 
 
 23,828,625.00 
 
 908,876.25 
 
 1836 
 
 4,135,700.00 
 
 3,606, 100.00 
 
 1868 
 
 19.371.387-50 
 
 1.074,343-00 
 
 1837 
 
 1,148,305.00 
 
 2,096,010.00 
 
 1869 
 
 17.582,987,50 
 
 1,266,143.00 
 
 1838 
 
 1,809,765.00 
 
 2,333.243-40 
 
 1870 
 
 23.198.787-50 
 
 1.378,255.50 
 
 1839 
 
 1,376,847.50 
 
 2,209,778.00 
 
 1871 
 
 21,032,685.00 
 
 3,104,038.30 
 
 1840 
 
 1,675,482.50 
 
 1,726,703.00 
 
 1872 
 
 21,812,645.00 
 
 2,504,488.50 
 
 1841 
 
 1,091,857.50 
 
 1,132,750.00 
 
 1873 
 
 57,022,747.50 
 
 4.024.747-60 
 
 1842 
 
 1,829,407.50 
 
 2,332,750.00 
 
 1874 
 
 35,254.630.00 
 
 6,851,776.70 
 
 1843 
 
 8,108,797.50 
 
 3.834.750.00 
 
 1875 
 
 32.951,940-00 
 
 15.347,893-00 
 
 1844 
 
 5,427,670.00 
 
 2.235.550.00 
 
 1876 
 
 46,579.452-50 
 
 24.503,307-50 
 
 1845 
 
 3.756.447-50 
 
 1,873,200.00 
 
 1877 
 
 43.999,864.00 
 
 28,393,045.50 
 
 1846 
 
 4,034,177-50 
 
 2,558,580.00 
 
 1878 
 
 49,786,052.00 
 
 28,518,850.00 
 
 1847 
 
 20,202,325.00 
 
 2,374.450-00 
 
 1879 
 
 39,080,080.00 
 
 27.569.776.00 
 
 1848 
 
 3,775,512.00 
 
 2,040,050.00 
 
 1880 
 
 62,308,279.00 
 
 27,411,693.75 
 
 1849 
 
 9,007,761.50 
 
 2,114,950.00 
 
 1881 
 
 96,850,890.00 
 
 27,940,163.75 
 
 1850 
 
 31,981,738.50 
 
 1,866,100.00 
 
 1882 
 
 65,887,685.00 
 
 27.973,132.00 
 
 1851 
 
 62,614.492.50 
 
 774.397-00 
 
 1883 
 
 29,241,990.00 
 
 29,246,968.45 
 
 1852 
 
 56,846,187.50 
 
 999,410.00 
 
 1884 
 
 23,991,756-50 
 
 28,534,866.15 
 
 1853 
 
 39.377.909-00 
 
 9,077,571.00 
 
 1885 
 
 27,773.012.50 
 
 28,962,176.20 
 
 1854 
 
 25,915,962.50 
 
 8,619,270.00 
 
 1886 
 
 28,945,542-00 
 
 32,086,709.90 
 
 1855 
 
 29,387.968.00 
 
 3,501,245.00 
 
 1887 
 
 23,972,383-00 
 
 35,191,081.40 
 
 1856 
 
 36,857,768.50 
 
 5,142,240.00 
 
 1888 
 
 31,380,808.00 
 
 33,025,606.45 
 
 1857 
 
 32,214,540.00 
 
 5,478,760.00 
 
 1889 
 
 21,413,931-00 
 
 35,496,683.15 
 
 1858 
 
 22,938,413.50 
 
 8,495.370.00 
 
 1890 
 
 20,467,182.50 
 
 39,202,908.20 
 
 1859 
 
 14,780,570.00 
 
 3,284,450.00 
 
 1891 
 
 29,222,005.00 
 
 27,518,856.00 
 
 i860 
 
 23,473,654-00 
 
 2.259,390.00 
 
 1892 
 
 34,787,222.50 
 
 12,641,078.00 
 
 1861 
 
 83,395,530.00 
 
 3,783,740.00 
 
 1893 
 
 56,997,020.00 
 
 8,802,797.30 
 
 1862 
 
 20,875,997.50 
 
 1,252,516.50 
 
 
 
 
 IMPORT AND EXPORT OF THE PRECIOUS METALS INTO AND 
 FROM THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 Gold and Silver. 
 
 
 Import (Dollars). 
 
 Export (Dollars). 
 
 Yearly average, 1851-55 
 
 1856-60 
 
 ,, 1861-63 
 
 5.151,817 
 10,385,770 
 24,112,923 
 
 39.432.522 
 59,589,841 
 43,611,777 
 
UNITED STATES': MOVEMENTS OF METALS, 1851-93 267 
 
 Gold. 
 
 
 Import (Dollars). 
 
 Export (Dollars). 
 
 Yearly average 
 
 1864-70 
 
 11,117,584 
 
 58,757,487 
 
 J) 
 
 187 1 
 
 6,883,561 
 
 66,686,208 
 
 )9 
 
 1872 
 
 8.717,458 
 
 49,548,760 
 
 )j 
 
 «873 
 
 8,682,447 
 
 44,856,715 
 
 ,, 
 
 1874 
 
 19,503,137 
 
 34,042,420 
 
 jj 
 
 187s 
 
 13,696,793 
 
 66,980,977 
 
 )j 
 
 1876 
 
 7,992,709 
 
 31,177,050 
 
 „ 
 
 1877 
 
 26,246,234 
 
 26,590,374 
 
 jj 
 
 1878 
 
 13,330,215 
 
 9.204,455 
 
 ,, 
 
 1879 
 
 5,624,948 
 
 4,587,614 
 
 ,, 
 
 1880 
 
 80,758,396 
 
 3,639,02s 
 
 )) 
 
 1881 
 
 100,031,259 
 
 2,565.132 
 
 n 
 
 1882 
 
 34,377,054 
 
 32,587,880 
 
 )) 
 
 1883 
 
 17,734.149 
 
 11,600,888 
 
 „ 
 
 1884 
 
 22,831,317 
 
 41,081,957 
 
 ,, 
 
 '!!« 
 
 26,691,696 
 
 8,477,892 
 
 
 1886 
 
 20,743,349 
 
 42,952,191 
 
 „ 
 
 1887 
 
 42,910,601 
 
 9,701,187 
 
 ,, 
 
 1888 
 
 43,934,317 
 
 18,376,234 
 
 )) 
 
 1889 
 
 10,284,858 
 
 59,951,685 
 
 >) 
 
 1890 
 
 12,943,342 
 
 17,274.491 
 
 )» 
 
 1891 
 
 45,298,928 
 
 79,187,499 
 
 ,, 
 
 1892 
 
 18,165,056 
 
 76,735,592 
 
 ■ )) 
 
 1893 
 
 73.280,575 
 
 80,010,633 
 
 Silver. 
 
 Yearly average 
 
 1864-70 
 
 S.469,798 
 
 16,818,279 
 
 
 1871 
 
 14,382,463 
 
 31,755,780 
 
 
 1872 
 
 5,026,231 
 
 30,328,774 
 
 
 1873 
 
 12,798,490 
 
 39,751,859 
 
 
 1874 
 
 8,951,769 
 
 32,587.985 
 
 
 187s 
 
 7,203,924 
 
 25,151,165 
 
 
 1876 
 
 7,943,972 
 
 25,329,252 
 
 
 1877 
 
 14,528,180 
 
 29,571,863 
 
 
 1878 
 
 16,491,099 
 
 24,535.670 
 
 
 1879 
 
 14,671,052 
 
 20,409,827 
 
 
 1880 
 
 12,275,914 
 
 13.503,894 
 
 
 i88i 
 
 10,544,238 
 
 16,841,715 
 
 
 1882 
 
 8,095,336 
 
 16,829,599 
 
 
 1883 
 
 10,755,242 
 
 20,219,445 
 
 
 1884 
 
 14,594,945 
 
 26,051,326 
 
 
 1 88s 
 
 16,550,627 
 
 33,753,633 
 
 
 1886 
 
 17,850,307 
 
 2,954,219 
 
 
 1887 
 
 17,260,191 
 
 26,296,504 
 
 
 1888 
 
 15,403,189 
 
 28,027,949 
 
 
 1889 
 
 18,678,215 
 
 36,689,248 
 
 
 1890 
 
 21,032,984 
 
 34,873,929 
 
 
 1891 
 
 27,910,193 
 
 28,783,393 
 
 
 1892 
 
 31,450,968 
 
 37,541,301 
 
 
 1893 
 
 27,765,696 
 
 47.463,399 
 
268 
 
 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 In 1878 the currency total of America was thus 
 composed : — 
 
 
 1878. 
 
 1879. 
 
 Gold (dollars) 
 
 Silver (dollars), .... 
 
 Silver (small coin), 
 
 Gold Certificates, 
 
 Silver Certificates, 
 
 State Notes, .... 
 
 Notes of the National Banks, 
 
 
 82,500,000 
 
 53,600,000 
 44,400,000 
 
 311,400,000 
 313,900,000 
 
 123,700,000 
 11,100,000 
 54,100,000 
 14,800,000 
 12,000,000 
 327,700,000 
 330,000,000 
 
 Totals, 
 
 
 805,800,000 
 
 862,600,000 
 
 In 1893- 
 
 Metallic. 
 
 1893. 
 Gold bullion. 
 Silver bullion, 
 Gold coin, . 
 Silver dollars, 
 Subsidiary silver coins. 
 
 Dollars. 
 84,631,966 
 
 128,479.587 
 582,366,998 
 
 419.332.777 
 76,267,586 
 
 1,291,078,914 
 
 Paper. 
 
 Legal tender notes (old issue), . . . 346,681,016 
 
 Legal Tender Notes Act, 14th July 1890, . 153,160,151 
 
 Gold certificates, 77.487,769 
 
 Silver certificates, 334. 584, 504 
 
 National Bank notes, 208,538,844 
 
 Currency certificates, 39,085,000 
 
 1,159.537.284 
 
 Of the total of silver dollars in the above, only a 
 matter of 57,869,589 are in circulation. The balance, 
 361,463,188, are in the Treasury vaults. 
 
 Netherlands. 
 During the eighteenth century the monetary 
 
THE NETHERLANDS IN 1816 269 
 
 history of the Netherlands loses its central and deter- 
 mining importance. The details of the Mint laws, 
 which precede the later developments of the nine- 
 teenth century, are therefore relegated to the Appen- 
 dix (No. IV. Holland). 
 
 When the United Provinces of the Netherlands 
 and Belgium were united under a single sceptre, 
 both countries had an immense variety of coins, for 
 formerly nearly every province claimed a right of 
 coining money. To meet the desire for a simple 
 and single system, a monetary law was passed in 
 18 16 under King William i. Its object was to arrive 
 at a currency having the old florin, called the florin 
 of 2<X)as, as the unit. But at the same time a gold 
 piece of 10 florins was allowed. The florin contained 
 9.63 grms. of silver and the lo-florin piece 6.056 
 grms. of gold. The ratio was therefore 15.873, 
 whilst in France it was 15^. 
 
 Moreover, to respond to the desire of the in- 
 habitants of Belgium, the franc was accepted in the 
 public treasuries, but at too high a rate, viz. 
 at 47 J cents, whereas it was worth only 46.8 cents. 
 The result was that the new 3-florin pieces on 
 leaving the Brussels Mint went to the Lille Mint, 
 to come back in the shape of 5 -franc pieces. 
 
 The law was languidly carried out. Gold pieces 
 were principally coined, and in proportion as gold was 
 coined it became more and more difficult to coin silver. 
 
 In 1830 Belgium was separated from Holland, 
 and it was not till 1 844 that the recoining of the old 
 
270 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 money was seriously undertaken. The monetary 
 law had been already altered in 1839. Side by 
 side with the worn silver coins there were issued 5 
 or lo-florin gold pieces, which had been coined to 
 the amount of 172-^ millions of florins. The worn 
 and clipped silver coins not being available for 
 international transactions, gold formed the basis of 
 exchange. This was regulated not by the florin but 
 by ^^ of the lO-florin gold piece. All difficulties it 
 was thought could be obviated by adopting a florin 
 of exactly 10 grms. weight, corresponding to the 
 decimal metric system, and .945 fine. As long as 
 the gold coins remained in circulation, and they were 
 of great use while the recoinage was going on, there 
 was thus a bimetallism with a ratio of i : 15.504. 
 From 1842-49 more than 85 J millions of florins in 
 nominal value were called in and were recoined in 
 new silver pieces. The operation cost the State 
 8 millions of florins, 7 millions being the loss on the 
 old coins. 
 
 Before actually commencing the recoinage, the 
 question of standard had been carefully considered. 
 Silver was resolved on. For more than a century 
 and a half the florin had been the unit of all 
 transactions. As the recoinage advanced, further 
 attention was devoted to the necessity of instituting 
 the single standard. By the law of 26th September 
 1847, the system of single silver standard was 
 adopted. In June 1850 the gold coins were called in. 
 A total of 50 millions, not one-third of what had been 
 
HOLLAND IN 1872 271 
 
 coined, was offered by the public. It was sold in 
 1850-5 1 by the Government, which thereby lost rather 
 more than i million. 
 
 There is a very noticeable point connected with 
 this reform. The law of September 1847 admitted 
 trade coins in gold by the side of the legal silver 
 coins and fractional money. Besides the ducats, 
 which are still in demand from time to time, there 
 were Guillaumes d'or, doud/e-' and half-Guillaumes. 
 These pieces were inscribed only with the weight 
 and fineness. 
 
 This system failed completely. Though the 
 gold Guillaume was coined of the same weight and 
 fineness as the old lo-florin piece, which was much in 
 request, people would not have it. The uncertainty 
 of its value made it unpopular. Between the years 
 185 1 and 1853 only 10,000 Guillaumes, 10,000 half- 
 Guillaumes, and 2636 double-Guillaumes were coined, 
 and since 1853 not a single one has been coined. 
 
 All through the Californian and Australian gold 
 finds and until 1872, the price of silver remained 
 stationary for large transactions. Only in small 
 transactions did it exhibit from time to time some 
 slight fluctuations. 
 
 From 1847-72 everybody was in- 
 variably able to sell his silver 
 to the Netherlands Bank at . 104 fl. 65 cents. 
 
 Bank retained for recoinage, etc . i fl. 17 cents. 
 
 105 fl. 82 cents. 
 
272 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 which, equal to value of i kilogramme of silver, .945, 
 was as by the Netherlands standard. 
 
 At Amsterdam also the price of silver did not 
 change. 
 
 With the change in 1871 this repose was dis- 
 turbed. A commission was thereupon appointed to 
 consider the situation. It proposed to prohibit the 
 free minting of silver, and this was enacted by the 
 law of 2ist May 1873. As long as there was still 
 a hope of Germany continuing her old system, the 
 commission merely proposed to coin a gold piece side 
 by side with the silver money. When, however, 
 Germany adopted the gold standard, the commission 
 proposed to do the same, but this idea did not prevail 
 in the States-General. 
 
 The result was the permanence of the limping 
 standard — a gold piece with free mint side by side 
 with silver pieces whose minting is restricted, but 
 gold and silver pieces being alike of unlimited legal 
 tender. 
 
 Portugal. 
 
 The first law respecting gold in Portugal is dated 
 4th August 1688. 
 
 By that law the price to be paid in the Lisbon 
 and Oporto Mints for a mark of gold (22 carats) was 
 96,000 reis (533 fr. 33 cents). This same gold was 
 valued at 102,400 reis (568 fr. 88 cents). For a 
 mark of silver of 1 1 dinheiros {i.e. \\ fine) the value 
 was fixed at 6000 reis {t^Z ff- 33 cents), producing, 
 
PORTUGAL IN i8s3 273 
 
 when minted, 6300 reis (35 francs). The legal ratio 
 at that date (1688) was 1:16 (for purchase price of 
 the metal), i : 16.25 (for the Mint issue rate). 
 
 In 1747 the value of a mark of coined silver was 
 changed, and rose from 35 francs to 41 francs 66 
 cents {7500 reis), an enactment which changed the 
 ratio at a blow to 13.6. 
 
 This ratio remained until the beginning of the 
 present century, and led in short to the expulsion of 
 gold from the monetary circulation. 
 
 The law of the 6th March 1822 gave to a mark of 
 coined gold a fixed value of 120 milreis (666 francs 
 666 cents), and the gold piece of 4 oz., whose value was 
 6400 reis (35 francs 55 cents), had a value of 41 francs 
 66 cents (7500 reis). This law was repealed shortly 
 afterwards, together with those passed in the Cortes 
 of 1820, but was restored and ratified by another law 
 of the 24th November 1823, and by a special charter 
 of 5th June 1824. 
 
 The preamble of the law of 1822 had declared 
 that the equivalence of 13.5 between gold and silver 
 was very far from expressing the proportion of their 
 mercantile value, and that gold did not practically 
 come into circulation on account of the legal value of 
 such money being below its corresponding value in 
 bullion, the legal ratio was therefore raised to 16 in 
 1825. 
 
 In 1835 a new law, of the 24th April, gave the 
 
 coined silver mark the value of 7500 reis (41 francs 
 
 66 cents), which brought the equivalence to about 
 18 
 
274 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 i5j5, a figure which was considered the average rate 
 of exchange of money, whether national or foreign. 
 
 On the 3rd March 1847 a new law was passed 
 raising the value of the gold mark to 128,000 reis 
 (711 francs 11 cents), and the gold piece of 4 oz., 
 whose value had been fixed in 1822 at 41 francs 
 66 cents (7500 reis), rose to 44 francs 44 cents (8000 
 reis). After this law other legal measures were taken 
 which established the legal ratio of 16.5. 
 
 It was these incessant alterations of ratio which 
 led Portugal to abandon bimetallism. The preamble 
 of the law of 1854, which instituted the gold single 
 standard, expresses this, attesting that the circulation 
 felt the lack of harmony and the disorder produced 
 by alterations in the ratios, that the legal ratio being 
 higher than the commercial ratio hampered the 
 transmission of money and burdened all transactions. 
 
 The law was adopted unanimously by the Portu- 
 guese Chambers. 
 
 The International Conferences. 
 
 The chief feature of the modern monetary 
 agitation — the international conferences and the 
 attempt at international system — is due to the rapid 
 development of bimetallic theory in France, and to 
 the initiative of the United States, as well as to the 
 universal or world-embracing needs of the situation, 
 and the extension of the domain of international 
 law or morality. 
 
 It is a mistake to suppose that this new era dates 
 
THE CONFERENCE OF 1867 275 
 
 from 1 87 1, from the change in the German monetary 
 system and the commencement of the wide divergence 
 between the two metals. The formation of the 
 Latin Union was the initial step in the process, 
 although, in a smaller sphere, German monetary 
 history for centuries had been acquainted with Mint 
 conventions between very divergent systems, and 
 had shortly before furnished another illustration in 
 the Conference of Vienna in 1857. The first widely- 
 embracing international conference proper, however, 
 was the outcome of an expression of opinion in 
 the conclave of the Latin Union. It was called at 
 the invitation of France, and met at Paris on the 
 17th June 1867. The States represented were 
 Austria, Baden, Bavaria, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, 
 the United States, France, Great Britain, Greece, 
 Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Prussia, Russia, 
 Sweden and Norway, Switzerland, Turkey, and 
 Wiirtemberg. The eight sessions of the conference 
 occupied till the 6th July 1867. All the states 
 except Holland declared in favour of a gold standard. 
 It closed without arriving at any actual or practical 
 conclusions, but the president, Dr. Parieu, in his 
 concluding oration, considered himself justified in 
 asserting that the sense of the conference was in 
 favour of a gold monometallic standard, approximating, 
 as near as the occasions of future Mint change in the 
 various states would permit, to a unit based on the 
 5-franc piece (620 tale to a kilogramme of gold). 
 
 Though without immediate practical result, the 
 
276 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 conference initiated a wide movement. In England 
 it was followed by the appointment of a commission, 
 1 8th February 1868, " to consider and report upon 
 the proceeding of the said international monetary 
 conference, . . . and to examine and report upon 
 the recommendations of the conference, and their 
 adaptability to the circumstances of the United 
 Kingdom, and whether it would be desirable to make 
 any and what changes in the coinage of the United 
 Kingdom, in order to establish, either wholly or 
 partially, such uniformity as the conference had held 
 in contemplation." 
 
 The commission sa.t from the 13th March to the 
 8th July 1868, but closed without practical decision, 
 in regard of the difficulties lying in the way of an 
 international coinage. In particular, the proposition 
 of a reduction of the pound sterling to the 2 5 -franc 
 piece was rejected. 
 
 In France the whole course of public opinion, 
 both before and after the conference of 1876, and in 
 the concluding examination of the EnquHe of 1 865-69, 
 ran strongly in favour of gold monometallism, and 
 the opinion has been unflinchingly held and expressed 
 that only the breaking out of the Franco-German 
 War prevented the adoption of that system in France 
 and in the states of the Latin Union. It is hardly 
 too much to say that the conclusion of the war, with 
 the heavy war indemnity which she thereby suffered, 
 took the initiative in monetary legislation out of the 
 hands of France. 
 
THE DEPRECIATION OF SILVER 277 
 
 Along with the latest reconstruction of her hoary 
 imperial scheme, Germany effected her great and 
 greatly-needed nionetary unification and reform. She 
 accomplished it on the basis of the old or French 
 ratio of 15:5, and for two years after the reception 
 of the scheme the price of silver maintained itself 
 moderately. On the 9th July 1873, however, she 
 completed the system by the Legal Tender Law, 
 which demonetised the silver currency, and gradually 
 more than two-thirds of the total old German silver 
 money was called in, melted into bullion, and flung 
 on the market. Concurrently, other changes were 
 at work on the Continent. In 1872 the Scandinavian 
 States followed the example of Germany and adopted 
 a gold in place of a former silver standard. By the 
 treaty of i8th December 1872 a common system was 
 established between Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. 
 For Sweden the conversion of the silver currency 
 was based on a ratio of 15.57, fo^" Denmark, 15.43, 
 and for Norway 15.44. Three years later the 
 Netherlands followed suit. By their law of 6th 
 June 1875 and loth May 1876 they adopted a gold 
 in place of their previous silver standard at a basis 
 ratio of 15.625. 
 
 Before the completion of these widespread changes, 
 the great fall in the gold price of silver had begun, 
 and the United States in her silver - producing 
 interests. Great Britain in the interests of her Indian 
 dependency and in those of her trade with silver-using 
 countries, and the whole commercial world generally 
 
278 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 in the dislocation of international exchange, found 
 themselves menaced by gravest danger. 
 
 Before the inrush of silver to the Mint, caused by 
 such a fall, the Latin Union first limited and then 
 abandoned its coining of the 5-franc piece. 
 
 The fall of silver became thereby only the more 
 acute and confirmed. By July 1876 it had sunk to 
 46! per oz. Apprehension was universally felt, and 
 in both England and the United States fresh com- 
 missions were appointed to consider the question. 
 The English commission on the depreciation of silver 
 was appointed in March 1876, and sat from the 
 20th March to the 8th May, under the presidency of 
 Mr. Goschen. The investigation turned upon the 
 causes of the prevailing situation, without any attempt 
 at the suggestion of a remedial positive system. 
 
 Later, in the same year (15th August), the 
 American Congress voted the appointment of a like 
 commission, to inquire into the causes of the deprecia- 
 tion of silver and into the feasibility of a reconstruc- 
 tion of a bimetallic system, as well as to devise a 
 ratio and measures for the facilitation of a return to 
 cash payments in the United States. This commis- 
 sion resulted in a double report, the ' majority ' and 
 the ' minority ' report. The majority, comprising 
 Messrs. Jones, Bogy, Willard, Groesbeck, and Bland, 
 recommended the remonetisation of silver and the 
 recourse to a fresh international conference. This 
 latter proposition was expressed in the compromise 
 known as the Bland Bill, the "Act to authorise the 
 
THE CONFERENCE OF 1878 279 
 
 coinage of the standard silver dollar, and to restore its 
 legal tender character, 28th February 1878." Section 
 2 of this law imposed it upon the President of the 
 United States to invite the members of the Latin 
 Union and the other interested nations to an interna- 
 tional conference. On the invitation of France this 
 conference met in Paris on loth August 1878. 
 The American delegates proposed the free coinage of 
 silver in an international agreement and its unre- 
 stricted employ on a full equality of tender with gold. 
 The delegates of Belgium, Switzerland, and Norway 
 combated the proposals, and, on the part of England, 
 Mr. Goschen declared that while the complete demone- 
 tisation of silver portended a commercial crisis to 
 which no parallel could be found, England could 
 consent to no serious modification of her currency 
 system. Germany was not represented, and in her 
 absence France adopted a waiting policy, and the 
 conference closed with an impotent expression of 
 opinion that, in view of the difference of opinion, it 
 was useless to discuss an international ratio, and that, 
 while it was necessary for the world to maintain the 
 currency of silver, the choice and treatment of each 
 or either metal must be left to the particular monetary 
 situation and needs of each separate state. 
 
 It was not to be expected that so lame a conclusion 
 could stand before the needs of the situation. On 
 the 19th May 1879 the landed interest in Germany 
 succeeded in driving the Chancellor of the Empire to 
 suspend the further sale of silver. T.he circumstance 
 
28o THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 gave fresh hope to the bimetallists, and a busy 
 propaganda was carried on throughout Europe and 
 the States. The renewed international conference 
 of 1881 is to be regarded as an outcome of this 
 movement. 
 
 On the invitation of the United States and France 
 the third international conference met in Paris on the 
 19th April 1881. All the European States, Canada, 
 India, and the United States were represented. 
 
 France, through her delegates, Magnin, the 
 president of the conference, and Henri Cernuschi, at 
 once and boldly declared for bimetallism. The 
 United States, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands, and 
 British India followed suit. On behalf of their 
 states the British and German delegates declared 
 that no change in the currency systems of their 
 countries could be entertained, but in case of an 
 agreement among the chief nations certain regulations 
 to increase the monetary employment of silver might 
 be devised. Belgium, Switzerland, Greece, and the 
 Scandinavian kingdoms declared against bimetallism. 
 After a recess from the 30th June to the 19th May 
 the conference closed on the 8th July 1881 with a 
 nominal adjournment to the 12th April 1882, so as to 
 give room for possible currency legislation in the 
 meantime. On the day fixed, however, the confer- 
 ence, as need hardly be said, did not reassemble. 
 
 Practically, in the interval between the second and 
 third of these international delegations, the monetary 
 situation had not perceptibly altered. The price of 
 
THE CONFERENCE OF 1881 281 
 
 silver in 1878 had been 52-1-% in 1881 it was 51]^: the 
 general level of prices had, if anything, slightly im- 
 proved, while the production of silver had not materi- 
 ally increased (from 2,551,000 kilogrammes in 1878 to 
 2,593,000 kilogrammes in 1881), though that of gold 
 had certainly decreased. The close of the conference 
 was, however, followed by a strong bimetallic agita- 
 tion in England and Germany, which found united 
 expression in the Bimetallic Congress at Cologne in 
 October 1882. 
 
 This congress unanimously adopted the following 
 resolutions : — 
 
 " That in order to the establishment of a firm ratio 
 between gold and silver, it is desirable for England 
 and Germany — 
 
 "I. To increase the employment of silver by mint- 
 ing full tender silver by the side of the divisional 
 restricted tender silver. 
 
 " 2. That Germany should withdraw all gold and 
 paper below the value of 10 marks [and replace it by 
 silver]. 
 
 " 3. That Germany should sell no more silver. 
 
 "4. That the Bank of England should put in prac- 
 tice the clause of her charter which allowed her to 
 employ silver as part of the bank reserve." 
 
 The conclusions of this congress had, however, no 
 practical influence on the course of policy of either 
 nation. 
 
 In the United States a parallel though more 
 interested agitation was conducted, centring round 
 
282 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 the yearly proposed repeal of the compulsory minting 
 clauses of the Bland Bill. 
 
 In England the commercial depression, consequent 
 upon falling prices and the dislocation of exchanges 
 with India and the East, ran its full course, and gave 
 fresh ground for activity to the then recently formed 
 Bimetallic League. 
 
 In the course of 1886 silver had sunk to 42d. per 
 oz., and when the royal commission on the depres- 
 sion of trade and industry closed its investigations, 
 with the expression of a desire for an inquiry into 
 the state of the precious metals, the British Govern- 
 ment only too gladly acceded. On the 20th September 
 1886 the royal commission "to inquire into the 
 present changes in the relative values of the precious 
 metals " was appointed. Its final report was made in 
 October 1888, and, as is well remembered, was of a 
 divided nature. All the members of the commission 
 agreed that the action of the Latin Union in 1873 
 broke the link between gold and silver, which had 
 kept the price of silver, as measured by gold, con- 
 stant at about the legal ratio, and thereby left silver 
 exposed to the influence of all the factors which 
 go to determine the price of a commodity. On 
 the question of bimetallism, in reference to the 
 actual and to any possible currency system, the com- 
 missioners disagreed, and made separate reports. 
 Lord Herschell, Sir C. W. Fremantle, Sir John 
 Lubbock, Sir Thomas Henry Farrer, J. W. Birch, and 
 Leonard H. Courtney expressed themselves adversely. 
 
THE ENGLISH GOLD AND SILVER COMMISSION 283 
 
 " Though unable to recommend the adoption of 
 what is commonly known as bimetallism, we desire 
 it to be understood that we are quite alive to the 
 imperfections of standards of value, which not only 
 fluctuate but fluctuate independently of each other, 
 and we do not shut our eyes to the possibility of future 
 arrangements between nations which may reduce these 
 fluctuations. One uniform standard of value for all 
 commercial nations would, no doubt, be a great 
 advantage. But we think that any premature and 
 doubtful step might, in addition to its other dangers 
 and inconveniences, prejudice and retard progress to 
 this end. 
 
 " We think also that many of the evils and dangers 
 which arise from the present condition of the curren- 
 cies of different nations have been exaggerated, and 
 that some of the expectations of benefit to be derived 
 from the changes which have been proposed would, 
 if such changes were adopted, be doomed to disap- 
 pointment. 
 
 " Under these circumstances we have felt that the 
 wiser course is to abstain from recommending any 
 fundamental change in the system of currency under 
 which the commerce of Great Britain has attained its 
 present development." 
 
 From these opinions dissent was directly expressed 
 in Part in. of the report by the remaining members — 
 Lord Malet, A. J. Balfour, Henry Chaplin, Sir D. 
 Barbour, Sir W. H. Houldsworth, and Sir Samuel 
 Montague. 
 
284 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 " We cannot doubt that if the system which pre- 
 vailed before 1873 were replaced in its integrity most 
 of the evils which we have above described would be 
 removed ; and the remedy which we have to suggest 
 is simply the reversion to a system which existed before 
 the changes above referred to were brought about — a 
 system, namely, under which both metals were freely 
 coined into legal tender money at a fixed ratio over a 
 sufficiently large area. 
 
 " The remedy which we suggest is essentially 
 international in its character, and its details must be 
 settled in concert with the other powers concerned. 
 
 "It will be sufficient for us to indicate the essen- 
 tial features of the agreement to be arrived at, viz. : — 
 
 " I. Free coinage of both metals into legal tender 
 money. 
 
 "2. The fixing of a ratio at which the coins of 
 either metal shall be available for the payment of all 
 debts at the option of the debtor. 
 
 " We submit, therefore, that the chief commercial 
 nations of the world, such as the United States, Ger- 
 many, and the states forming the Latin Union, should, 
 in the first place, be consulted as to their readiness to 
 join with the United Kingdom in a conference, at which 
 India and any of the British colonies which may desire 
 to attend shall be represented, with a view to arrive, 
 if possible, at a common agreement on the basis above 
 indicated." 
 
 Such a report was claimed as a victory for either 
 side, but its doubtful tenor only confirmed the rooted 
 
THE BRUSSELS CONFERENCE 285 
 
 suspicion of the English administration as regards 
 any change of the currency system. And when, on 
 the occasion of the Paris Exhibition in 1889, a free 
 International Monetary Congress was held, as one of 
 the numerous special congresses connected with the 
 celebration. Great Britain was not represented among 
 the 194 members who attended on the invitation of the 
 organising committee. M. Magnin, governor of the 
 Bank of France, presided at the sittings, which covered 
 from the nth to the 15th September. Like its 
 predecessor, the international conference, this con- 
 gress closed without direct or practical resolution. 
 Putting out of view this congress as of a more 
 informal nature, a period of eleven years elapsed 
 between the still only prorogued conference of Paris 
 of 1 88 1 and the conference of Brussels in 1893. 
 This — as yet the last — conference was summoned on 
 the initiative of the United States, but from the 
 commencement a distinct difference of tone and 
 method made itself felt ; the Government of the 
 United States recognising that some European 
 countries might not be willing to adopt the remedy 
 which they would prefer, namely, " the establishment 
 of some fixity of value between gold and silver, and 
 the free use of silver as a coin metal, upon a ratio to 
 gold to be fixed by an agreement between the great 
 commercial peoples of the world." The invitation to 
 and purpose of the conference were conveyed in quite 
 general terms, namely thus, " For the purpose of 
 considering what measures, if any, could be taken to 
 
286 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 increase the use of silver in the currency systems of 
 nations." 
 
 The invitation was accepted by all the most 
 important states, and at the first meeting, on 26th Nov- 
 ember 1892, the delegates of twenty Governments 
 were present, namely, Austria, Hungary, Belgium, 
 Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, British 
 India, Greece, Italy, Mexico, The Netherlands, 
 Norway, Portugal, Roumania, Russia, Spain, Sweden, 
 Switzerland, Turkey, and the United States. 
 
 The proceedings were opened by M. Beernaert, 
 President of the Council and Finance Minister of 
 Belgium. M. Montefiore Levi, senator, and delegate 
 of Belgium, was chosen as president, and his 
 Excellency, M. Edwin H. Terrell, Minister of 
 the United States at Brussels, and one of the 
 delegates of the United States, was chosen vice- 
 president. 
 
 At the second meeting the American delegates 
 submitted a scheme for international bimetallism, but, 
 in conformity with the terms of the invitation, at the 
 same time expressed a hope that the powers re- 
 presented would consider and submit other plans for 
 the enlarged use of silver. Two such proposals they 
 themselves suggested for discussion — (i) the plan of 
 M. Moritz Levy, proposed at the conference of 1881, 
 and (2) the plan proposed by the late Dr. A. Soet- 
 beer. The main design of both these proposals was 
 to increase the use of silver, by substituting silver 
 coin or notes based on silver, for such small gold 
 
THE BRUSSELS CONFERENCE 287 
 
 coins and small notes based on gold as are at present 
 in circulation. 
 
 At the same session the delegates of Germany, 
 Austria, and Russia explained that they were in- 
 structed not to express an opinion or to vote upon 
 any resolution. Roumania, Portugal, Turkey, and 
 Greece not having special instructions, felt themselves 
 compelled to take up a similar attitude. Finding 
 that France and the States of the Latin Union were 
 apparently more disposed to criticism of, rather than 
 to cordial co-operation with, the objects of the con- 
 ference, the delegates of the United States did not 
 press for a resolution on the wider question of bi- 
 metallism, and the attention of the conference was 
 accordingly fixed on the subsidiary suggestions. To 
 these latter, as above, was added on the same day a 
 third, made by Mr. Alfred de Rothschild, to the effect 
 that on condition of the United States continuing 
 her purchases of 54 million oz. of silver yearly the 
 different European powers should combine to make 
 certain yearly purchases, say to the extent of 
 ^5,000,000 yearly ; these purchases to be con- 
 tinued over a period of five years, at a price not 
 exceeding 43 pence per oz. On a rise of silver 
 above that price the purchases for the time being to 
 be immediately suspended. 
 
 In committee this latter proposal was thus 
 modified — 
 
 I. The European states which agree, upon the 
 basis of this proposal, will buy in each year 30 
 
288 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 million oz. of silver, on condition that the United 
 States agree to continue their present purchases, and 
 that unlimited free coinage be maintained in British 
 India and Mexico. 
 
 2. The proportion of the purchases to be made by- 
 each country will be determined by agreement.. 
 
 3. The purchases will be made at the discretion 
 of and in the manner preferred by each Government. 
 
 4. These amounts of silver will be devoted in each 
 country to the monetary uses authorised by the 
 legislation of that state, and the silver will be either 
 coined or made the guarantee for an issue of ordinary 
 or special notes, as Government may think fit. 
 
 5. The arrangement will be made for five years. 
 The obligatory purchase of silver will be suspended 
 should the metal reach in the London market a price 
 determined by agreement between the Governments. 
 The purchases may be renewed, if the delegates of the 
 different countries interested should agree upon the 
 fixing of a new limit of price. They should be re- 
 newed in any case if the price falls below the original 
 limit. 
 
 With regard to the Soetbeer plan it was abandoned 
 in committee, while the Levy plan was drawn up in 
 the following terms : — 
 
 " I. The withdrawal from circulation within a 
 period of .... of gold coins containing a weight 
 of less than 5.806 grms. of fine gold {20-franc 
 pieces). 
 
 " 2. The withdrawal of notes of a less value than 
 
THE BRUSSELS CONFERENCE 289 
 
 the coin of 20 francs or its equivalent, an exception 
 being made of notes representing a deposit of silver." 
 
 The manner of adopting and recommending 
 these schemes to the conference from the committee 
 was peculiar. The British delegate, Sir C. Fremantle, 
 declared that he could not entertain the "Levy" ex- 
 cept in conjunction with the " Rothschild " scheme, and 
 while recommending the latter to the conference for 
 discussion, the states of the Latin Union declared that 
 even if passed, they could not recommend the plan 
 to their Governments. 
 
 At the fourth session M. Boissevain declared that 
 there were insurmountable obstacles to its adoption 
 by the Government of the Netherlands. General 
 Strachey said that unless it received more favour 
 than was indicated by the report, he would be 
 unable to support it. Mr. Allard, one of the 
 Belgian delegates, declared that it was insufficient, 
 and Sir Rivers Wilson declared, on behalf of 
 himself and Sir Charles Fremantle, that recognis- 
 ing that this want of support would prevent them 
 from recommending the plan to their Government, 
 they would refrain from taking part in a detailed 
 discussion of it, although they did not consider it 
 inconsistent with the monometallist opinions which 
 they held. Mr. M'Creary (delegate for the United 
 States), then stated that he did not consider M. de 
 Rothschild's proposal, as it stood, equitable to the 
 United States, and therefore that he would be un- 
 able to support it. 
 19 
 
290 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 In view of the various declarations, M. de Roths- 
 child withdrew his plan, and there was left before 
 the conference only the Levy plan. This latter was 
 favourably regarded, but was radically insufficient for 
 the situation, and not considered important enough to 
 receive really vigorous support. 
 
 The course of the conference thereupon returned 
 to the general discussion of the bimetallic proposal of 
 the United States. In this discussion the attitude of 
 reserve which the French delegates had maintained 
 was abandoned, and M. Tirard declared with the 
 greatest clearness that he could not advise his 
 Government to open the French Mints to the free 
 coinage of silver, unless there was a general agree- 
 ment on the part of other nations to open their Mints 
 also. Until, therefore, there should be a decided 
 change of opinion on the part of Great Britain, 
 Germany, Austria, the Scandinavian States, and 
 other monometallic states, the question of returning 
 to the free coinage of silver must be looked upon as 
 settled. 
 
 In view of such declarations the delegates of the 
 United States declared that they would not press 
 for a vote upon the question of bimetallism. And 
 the conference closed with a formal adjournment, 
 should the Governments approve, to the 30th May 
 1893. 
 
 The close of the conference was a heavy blow to 
 the bimetallic cause, as illustrating so fully the im- 
 possibility of any arrangement. Germany, Denmark, 
 
CLOSE OF THE BRUSSELS CONFERENCE 291 
 
 Sweden, and Norway, declared clearly that no change 
 would be made on the gold basis of their currency. 
 The delegate of Austria Hungary was equally 
 explicit in his statement that his Government had 
 every intention of abiding by the gold standard they 
 were in the course of adopting. 
 
 The decided lead of France was followed 
 punctually by Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, and 
 Greece. The Netherlands were prepared to join a 
 bimetallic union, provided that Great Britain formed a 
 part of it ; .and Spain and Mexico were willing to 
 adopt bimetallism, or other measures which would 
 have the effect of raising the price of silver. No 
 declaration was made on the behalf of Russia, 
 though one of the delegates, speaking personally, 
 was an active supporter of the gold standard. The 
 Roumanian Government did not consider bimetallism 
 a practical possibility, and Turkey and Portugal 
 expressed no opinion. 
 
 Practically, the United States stood alone in 
 advocacy of bimetallism. In addition to this fact, 
 the situation was rendered much more trying for her 
 delegates by the fact that since their appointment 
 the presidential election had placed the Democratic 
 party in power, and great uncertainty prevailed as 
 to the attitude and intentions of a new President 
 and Congress. "In these circumstances it soon 
 became evident that the delegates were anxious 
 for an adjournment of the question to give the 
 new Government the opportunity of expressing 
 
292 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 their vidws, and that the conference would adjourn 
 without any practical result. But, nevertheless, 
 some very important statements and declarations 
 were elicited in the course of the debates. In the 
 first place, in addition to the distinct declarations on 
 the part of some of the most important European 
 powers that they would not entertain bimetallism, the 
 representatives of the United States announced in 
 very clear language that at any moment their Govern- 
 ment might be disinclined to continue their purchases 
 of silver, and that they were determined to protect 
 their stock of gold. The Indian delegates alluded to 
 the possibility of their Government finding itself under 
 the necessity of closing its Mint to the free coinage 
 of silver." 
 
 Already, before the calling of the Brussels Confer- 
 ence, it had been recognised that, in case of failure to 
 arrive at a bimetallic agreement, it would be essential 
 thus far to close the Indian Mint, and to attempt the 
 establishment of a gold standard in India. This 
 impresssion, together with a draft scheme for a gold 
 currency, was conveyed in a minute of Sir David 
 Barbour's, addressed to the Secretary of State, 21st 
 June 1892. As the result of correspondence be- 
 tween the Secretary of State for India in Council 
 and the Government of India the British Govern- 
 ment, on the 2ist October 1892, i.e. a month before 
 the meeting of the Brussels Conference, nominated a 
 committee to consider the proposals submitted by the 
 Indian Government for stopping the free coinage of 
 
INDIA 293 
 
 silver in India, with a view to the introduction of a 
 gold standard. 
 
 The committee consisted of — The Lord High 
 Chancellor ; The Right Hon. Leonard H. Courtney, 
 M.P.; Sir Thomas Henry Farrer, Bart.; Sir Regi- 
 nald Earle Welby, G.C.B.; Arthur Godley, Esq., 
 C.B.; Lieutenant-General Richard Strachey, C.S.L; 
 Bertram Wodehouse Currie, Esq. 
 
 A hope was at first expressed that the committee 
 would be able to make its report before the meeting 
 of the conference at Brussels. But it was not actually 
 made until the 31st May 1893. 
 
 India. 
 
 The part which India has played in the currency 
 history of the world has been characterstic and uniform 
 from the first. India is, and has been, from the birth 
 of international commerce, the receptacle or sink for 
 the precious metals of the civilised Western world. 
 The fact that in so being she has constituted herself 
 the safety-valve of the world's currencies is not 
 confined to the present day merely. It is peculiarly 
 applicable to the present day, with our organisation of 
 banking and credit, which has concentrated the 
 metallic reserves in certain burning central spots, 
 and built thereon a superstructure of credit transactions 
 so vast and in so delicately poised a manner that any 
 undue addition to the metallic reserve sends a shudder 
 of excitement and speculation through the whole, 
 inducing over-trading and over-funding, and in the 
 
294 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 end a crisis. Such is the structure of the world's 
 commerce that India provides an outlet or drain for 
 any sudden crisis-bringing inflow of precious metal, 
 and preserves the equilibrium of our system. The 
 fact is patent to-day, because the nature of our credit 
 and banking system is understood. But in reality 
 this function India has performed through ages. 
 
 The influence she now exerts through impact 
 with a highly delicate credit system, she formerly 
 exerted on a less uniform and delicate system by the 
 rougher influence of prices generally. The gain 
 attending the Eastern trade in the sixteenth and 
 seventeenth centuries was not measured by modern 
 conceptions of dividends or trading margins. To 
 the European trader the intercourse was attended 
 with a double gain, commercial and financial— the 
 latter really bimetallic in nature from the higher ratio 
 then prevailing between silver and gold in India. 
 
 To India it meant a perpetual balance of trade in 
 her favour, if such a phrase can be used of such a 
 situation, — a continual inflow of precious metal. Her 
 capacity of absorption of metal seems as large and 
 unsatisfied as ever, and, on the assumption of an 
 unaltered situation in Europe and America, her 
 function in the world's currency system still remains — 
 feasible and beneficent. It is the most difficult 
 question attending the modern currency crisis, 
 whether such assumption of an unaltered situation 
 is permissible. 
 
 Further than this, as a simple matter of fact. 
 
INDIA 295 
 
 the currency difficulty with India at the present 
 moment is purely governmental and commercial. 
 The Indian Government has yearly to remit a very 
 large sum to this country in discharge of its gold obli- 
 gations. In 1873-74, before the great fall in silver 
 commenced, the amount remitted was ^13,285,678, 
 which, at the rate of exchange of i rupee = 
 IS. io.35d., meant 142,657,000 rupees. During the 
 year 1892-3 the amount remitted was ;!f 16,532,215, 
 which, at the average rate of exchange in that year, 
 IS. 2.985d., required a paymentof 264,784, 150 rupees. 
 If this could have been remitted at the exchange of 
 1873-74, it would only have needed 177,519,200 
 rupees, making a difference of 87,274,950 rupees. 
 The result of this is to turn what would be a surplus 
 of revenue into a large deficit. At an estimated 
 exchange of is. 4d. per rupee for the past year, a 
 surplus, of revenue over expenditure was shown of 
 1,466,000 rupees. The exchange having fallen to an 
 average of rather less than is. 3d., this surplus has 
 been converted into an estimated deficit of 10,819,000 
 rupees. Notwithstanding the improvement of the 
 revenue by 16,533,000 rupees over the budget 
 estimate, the situation at the close of 1892 was 
 fraught with a double danger to the Indian Govern- 
 ment. The fall of silver — which had been such that 
 during the year exchange could scarcely be main- 
 tained at IS. 2|d. for the rupee by the refusal to sell 
 bills in India below that rate — might still proceed. 
 And, secondly, in case of failure attending the 
 
296 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 Brussels Conference, the United States would be in- 
 evitably driven to abandon her single-handed attempt 
 to keep up the price of silver by her silver purchases. 
 In that case an unexampled fall of silver might be 
 expected. The only practical solution of the dififi- 
 culty was the adoption of a gold standard for India, 
 and in order to do so at a workable rate for the 
 rupee it would be necessary to anticipate such further 
 fall. 
 
 So much, in very brief, for the Government 
 situation. For the commercial, — the harassment of 
 trade by fluctuations of exchange, the check to 
 investments, the handicapping of the Lancashire 
 manufactures, and so on, — all this ground is still 
 strewn with the debris of debate and difference. As 
 far as the currency question, pure and simple, is 
 concerned — such, that is, as is conceived of through- 
 out this book, viz. metallic — it is almost incapable 
 of presentation or realisation. Through the extra- 
 ordinary preference of the Indian for the precious 
 metals as metals or as a commodity, quite apart 
 from currency use, the ordinary action of such 
 monetary laws as have been at work in Europe for 
 centuries is nullified — to how great an extent it is 
 quite impossible to estimate. The minting of silver 
 has been such as might be expected under the 
 conditions of free minting of a cheapening metal — 
 i.e. it has risen on an average to the full amount of 
 the net imports of silver. But, conversely, there has 
 been no such reactionary influence of such mintings 
 
INDIA 297 
 
 on the gold store of the country as would have taken 
 place in Europe. The importations of silver have 
 gone hand in hand with a net importation, not 
 exportation, of gold, with no traceable evidence of 
 bimetallic action. 
 
 The establishment of the gold standard for India 
 is, therefore, primarily and in greatest part a 
 governmental measure. As far as relates to such 
 purely scientific phenomena and considerations, as 
 have governed the European currencies for centuries, 
 India still presents field for little or for very 
 questionable observation.^ 
 
 ^ On the subject of the history of the Indian Currency System under the 
 East India Co., in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, see a very 
 interesting communication made in the pages of the Nineteenth Century by Mr. 
 H. D. Macleod (Nineteenth Century, November 1894, p. 777). The question 
 of the system established by the Order in Council of January 1841 (authorising 
 officers in charge of public treasuries to freely receive gold coins struck in con- 
 formity vfith the provisions of Act xvii. of 1835, establishing the 15-rupee pieces), 
 which continued till its rescinding in December 1852, is discussed in the evidence 
 of Mr. T. Comber before^the Royal Commission on Gold and Silver {Second 
 Report of the Commission on Changes in the Relative Values of the Precious 
 Metals, 1888, p. 27). 
 
 [Table. 
 
298 
 
 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 TABLE OF THE SURPLUS OR NET IMPORTS OF THE 
 PRECIOUS METALS INTO INDIA 
 
 Year. 
 
 Gold. 
 
 Silver. 
 
 Council Bills. 
 
 1835-5 
 
 ;if 329.918 
 
 ;^i, 611,896 
 
 ;^2,045,254 
 
 1836-7 
 
 419,724 
 
 1,338,882 
 
 2,042,232 
 
 1837-8 
 
 430,870 
 
 1,966,944 
 
 1,706,184 
 
 1838-9. 
 
 258,925 
 
 2,645,130 
 
 2,346,592 
 
 1839-40 
 
 226,643 
 
 1,650,471 
 
 1,439,52s 
 
 1840-1 
 
 137,312 
 
 1,401,670 
 
 1,174,450 
 
 1841-2 
 
 165,623 
 
 1,283,228 
 
 2,589,283 
 
 1842-3 
 
 211,161 
 
 2,952,44s 
 
 1,197,438 
 
 1843-4 
 
 406,523 
 
 3,695,442 
 
 2,801,731 
 
 1844-5 
 
 710,100 
 
 1,988,561 
 
 2,516,951 
 
 1845-6 
 
 544,476 
 
 932,490 
 
 3,065,709 
 
 1846-7 
 
 846,949 
 
 1,378,249 
 
 3,097,042 
 
 1847-8 
 
 1,039,116 
 
 (—^97,797) 
 
 1,541,804 
 
 1848-9 
 
 1,348,918 
 
 313,904 
 
 1,889,195 
 
 1849-50 
 
 1,116,993 
 
 1,273,607 
 
 2,935, 1 18 
 
 1850-1 
 
 1,153,294 
 
 2,117,225 
 
 3,236,458 
 
 1851-2 
 
 1,267,613 
 
 2,865,357 
 
 2,777,523 
 
 1852-3 
 
 1,172,301 
 
 4,605,024 
 
 3,317,122 
 
 1853-4 
 
 1,061,443 
 
 2,305,744 
 
 3,850,565 
 
 1854-5 
 
 731,290 
 
 29,600 
 
 3,669,678 
 
 1855-6 
 
 2,506,245 
 
 8,194,375 
 
 1,484,040 
 
 1856-7 
 
 2,091,214 
 
 11,073,247 
 
 2,819,711 
 
 1857-8 
 
 2,783,073 
 
 12,218,948 
 
 628,499 
 
 1858-9 
 
 4,426,453 
 
 7,728,342 
 
 25,901 
 
 1859-60 
 
 4,284,234 
 
 11,147,563 
 
 4,694 
 
 1860-1 
 
 4,232,569 
 
 5,328,009 
 
 797 
 
 1861-2 
 
 5,184,425 
 
 9,086,456 
 
 1,193,729 
 
 1862-3 
 
 6,848,159 
 
 12,550,155 
 
 6,641,576 
 
 1863-4 
 
 8,898,306 
 
 12,796,719 
 
 8,979,521 
 
 1864-5 
 
 9,839,964 
 
 10,078,798 
 
 6,789,473 
 
 1865-6 
 
 5,724,476 
 
 18,668,673 
 
 6,998,899 
 
 1866-7 
 
 3,842,328 
 
 6,963,074 
 
 5,613,746 
 
 1867-8 
 
 4,609,467 
 
 5,593,961 
 
 4,137,285 
 
 1868-9 
 
 5,159,352 
 
 8,601,022 
 
 3,705,741 
 
 1869-70 
 
 5,592,117 
 
 7,320,337 
 
 6,980,122 
 
 1870-1 
 
 2,282,121 
 
 941,937 
 
 8,443,509 
 
 1871-2 
 
 3,565,344 
 
 6,512,827 
 
 10,310,339 
 
 1872-3 
 
 2,543,362 
 
 704,644 
 
 13,939,095 
 
 1873-4 
 
 1,382,638 
 
 2,451,383 
 
 13,285,678 
 
 1874-5 
 
 1,873,53s 
 
 4,642,202 
 
 10,841,615 
 
INDIA 
 
 299 
 
 NET IMPORT OF SILVER AND MINTING OF NEW 
 SILVER, 1870-92 
 
 
 Net 
 
 New 
 
 
 Net 
 
 New 
 
 Year. 
 
 Imports 
 
 Coinage 
 
 Year. 
 
 Imports 
 
 Coinage 
 
 
 (Rupees). 
 
 (Rupees). 
 
 
 (Rupees). 
 
 (Rupees). 
 
 1870-1 
 
 9,419,240 
 
 17,181,970 
 
 1883-4 
 
 64,051,510 
 
 36,634,000 
 
 187 1-2 
 
 65,203,160 
 
 16,903,940 
 
 1884-5 
 
 72,456,310 
 
 57,942,320 
 
 1872-3 
 
 7,151,440 
 
 39,809,270 
 
 1885-6 
 
 116,066,290 
 
 102,855,660 
 
 1873-4 
 
 24,958,240 
 
 23,700,070 
 
 1886-7 
 
 71,557,380 
 
 46,165,370 
 
 1874-5 
 
 46,422,020 
 
 48,968,840 
 
 1887-8 
 
 92,287,500 
 
 107,884,250 
 
 1875-6 
 
 15,553,550 
 
 25,502,180 
 
 1888-9 
 
 92,466,790 
 
 73,122,550 
 
 1876-7 
 
 71,988,720 
 
 62,711,220 
 
 1889-90 
 
 109,378,760 
 
 85,511,580 
 
 1877-8 
 
 146,763,350 
 
 161,803,260 
 
 I 890- I 
 
 141,751,360 
 
 131,634,740 
 
 1878-9 
 
 39,706,940 
 
 72,107,700 
 
 1891-2 
 
 90,221,840 
 
 55,539,700 
 
 1879-80 
 
 78,697,420 
 
 102,569,680 
 
 1892-3 
 
 128,635,690 
 
 127,052,100 
 
 1880-1 
 
 38,925,740 
 
 42,496,750 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 88 1-2 
 1882-3 
 
 53,790,500 
 74,802,270 
 
 21,862,740 
 65,084,570 
 
 Total of\ 
 23 years/ 
 
 1,652,256,020 
 
 1,525,044,460 
 
 NET IMPORT AND MINTING OF GOLD 
 
 Year. 
 
 Rupees. 
 
 Rupees. 
 
 1875-6 
 
 15,451,310 
 
 171,500 
 
 1876-7 
 
 2,073,490 
 
 Nil 
 
 1877-8 
 
 4,681,290 
 
 156,360 
 
 1878-9 
 
 [Exprt 0/8,961,730) 
 
 850 
 
 1879-90 
 
 17,505,040 
 
 147,300 
 
 1880-1 
 
 36,551,990 
 
 133,550 
 
 1881-2 
 
 48,439,840 
 
 339,700 
 
 1882-3 
 
 49,308,710 
 
 174,950 
 
 1883-4 
 
 54,625,050 
 
 Nil 
 
 1884-5 
 
 46,719,360 
 
 129,650 
 
 1885-6 
 
 27,629,350 
 
 225,850 
 
 1886-7 
 
 21,770,650 
 
 Nil 
 
 1887-8 
 
 29,924,810 
 
 Nil 
 
 1888-9 
 
 28,139,340 
 
 226,090 
 
 1889-90 
 
 46,153,030 
 
 230, 500 
 
 1890-1 
 
 56,361,720 
 
 Nil 
 
 1891-2 
 
 24,137,920 
 
 248,010 
 
 1892-3 
 
 {Export 0/28,126,830) 
 
 
APPENDIX I.~FLORENCE 301 
 
 APPENDIX I 
 
 THE MONETARY SYSTEM OF FLORENCE 
 DURING THE DAYS OF HER COMMER- 
 CIAL ACTIVITY AND INDEPENDENCE 
 
 Throughout the history of independent Florence her gold 
 coin type is always the florin. In its first beginning her 
 monetary system had relation to that of the restored 
 Empire. The silver fiorino of which the first mention 
 occurs was equivalent to 12 denari, as in the Charlemagne 
 system. Presumably this would be equal to some hypothe- 
 cated soldo, and the multiple of it a hypothecated fiorino 
 d'oro, gold florin ( = 20 soldi), would be equal to the lira or 
 libra, or unit of weight. This will explain how it is 
 possible to have mention of gold florins almost a century 
 before the actual issuing of a real coin so named. Such 
 mention occurs in the monetary ordinances and schedules 
 of France as early as 1 1 80. (See Preface, supra, p. xiii, 
 also De Saulcy, Documents, i. 115. Le Blanc was unable 
 to explain this apparent contradiction of history.) 
 
 What the particular Florentine weight unit or lira 
 (libbra) was, however, is uncertain. According to the 
 
302 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 researches of Neri (in Argelatus, i. 157) the scheme of 
 
 weights was — 
 
 Denari. Grani. 
 
 Silver florin .. = ... 38 23 26 
 
 Lira (or 20 popolini) = 32 11 15 21 
 
 When it actually emerges, the gold florin has a weight 
 of 53 (English) grs., or 72 Florentine; which would 
 give a mark of 69 1 2 grs. Its standard was of absolute 
 fineness, 24 carats, a standard which was never departed 
 from through the whole of its history. Very little change, 
 too, was made in the weight, hardly more than 4^ grs. in 
 all (or 6-J per cent.). 
 
 It was issued at an equivalence of 20 soldi, which were 
 represented by 20 silver florins, already known. 
 
 The variation of this coin with regard to the unit coin 
 of lower denomination will be found in the Table below. 
 
 There is a second variation of the gold florin, apparently 
 with regard to itself, which has given rise to much mis- 
 understanding, and requires explanation. As the process 
 of wear and tear and abrasion went on in the coins, with 
 lapse of time the custom grew of subdividing or hypothe- 
 cating a gold florin of ideally perfect weight and condition 
 as the standard for transactions. This became book or 
 bank money, and the actually circulating medium was rated 
 to it at a certain discount. This ideal florin is known as 
 fiorini di suggello or sigillo, florin of the public seal, and 
 there is a series of such denominations. The first apparent 
 adoption of such a method — which also emerges in the 
 currency history of Hamburg and Amsterdam — ^was in 
 I 3 2 1 , and the florins of that date are styled " of the first 
 
Spef 
 
 :ent 
 
 advantage 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 S 
 
 
 
 s 
 
 
 
 li 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 APPENDIX I— FLORENCE 303 
 
 sigello"; the second was in 1324, the third in 1345, and so 
 on. Between the years 1328 and 1462 there was a series 
 of eight, as follows : — 
 
 1328 
 
 134s 
 
 1347 
 
 1402 
 
 1402 
 
 144Z .... 
 
 1461 
 
 Subsequently, by law of 30th May 1464, this various 
 advantage was transferred from the fiorini di suggello to a 
 new denomination, _/?on'«?' d'oro larghi, with an advantage of 
 20 per cent, above the fiorini di suggello ; and once again, 
 by the law of 1 4th October 1501, the process was repeated. 
 An advantage of 1 9 per cent, over the fiorini d'oro larghi 
 was announced in favour of the newest denomination, 
 fiorini d'oro larghi in oro. The advantage of these last, 
 therefore, over the fiorini di suggello of 1461 amounted to 
 39 per cent. 
 
 It appears quite clear that this advantage represents a 
 differentiation, not of good bank abstract florins from worn 
 current gold florins, but of the former from the actual 
 current medium of payment, and that this latter was silver. 
 
 The cause of the advantage was the depreciation of the 
 silver denomination, from the aggregate of which was 
 formed the lira, in which was expressed the value of the 
 gold florin.^ 
 
 ^ For a corroboration of this, see the texts of the laws of 1460 and 1470. 
 
 1460. "Vedata una legge del anno 1452, che provide che in qualunque 
 pagamento si avesse a fare, si potisse pagare, e cosi fosse accettato, per ogni 
 fiorino di suggello 4 lire 5 soldi delle monete di grossi d'Ariento, per la quel 
 
304 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 For illustration : — 
 In 1464 — 
 
 120 fiorini di suggello = lOO fiorini 
 d'oro larghi at 4 lire 8 sol. 4 den. 
 each . . . . . =530 lire. 
 
 Therefore each fiorino d'oro largo 
 ought to = 5 lire 6 sol., which by the 
 tables of the time it actually did. 
 Similarly, in 1501 — 
 
 1 00 fiorini larghi d'oro in oro =119 
 larghi di grossi at 5 lire 1 1 sol. 
 4 den. . . . . = 660 lire. 
 
 Therefore fiorino largo d'oro in oro 
 should = 6 lire 1 2 sol., which it 
 actually did. 
 
 The SILVER MONIES of Florence were based on the 
 silver florin = 5'o of gold florin (=38^^ grains). 
 
 From the time of the Mint Law of 1296, these silver 
 coins are styled grossi, and subsequently soldi, grossi, Guelfi, 
 etc. etc. 
 
 The alloy gradually sank— 
 
 - 
 
 Onza. 
 
 Denaro. 
 
 II 
 
 18 
 
 II 
 
 17 
 
 (1280) II 
 
 IS 
 
 (1314) II 
 
 12 
 
 cosa e seguito che i grossi sono scemati tanto di peso che i fiorini larghi per 
 ragguaglio di quelli, dove solevano essere meglio comunemente da fiorini 10 in 
 12 per cent., che i fiorini di suggello sono iti a fiorini 22 per cent — " 
 
 1471. "Che i fiorini di suggello in moneta bianca o nera non abbiano 
 pregio firmo ne a grossoni, ■ok a quattrini ma vagliano quello e quanto sara la 
 sua commune valuta di per di e secondo saranno alia camera e all' Arte del 
 Comtis — " 
 
APPENDIX I.— FLORENCE 305 
 
 remaining at the last-named figure until the reopening of 
 the Pisan Mint in i 597. 
 
 As the gold rose in value by the process already 
 indicated, and the idea of the lira as 20 soldi = i gold 
 florin, became inapplicable, the lira came to be looked on as 
 a fractional part of the gold piece or florin. This usage 
 grew up in Florence from the beginning of the twelfth 
 century, and so continued till the days of Cosimo I., who 
 in 1534 coined the first lira, i.e. an actual silver coin. 
 
 This imaginary lira of mediaeval Florence was itself 
 divided, like the florin, into soldi and denari, similar aliquot 
 parts. Hence the custom of keeping Florentine accounts, 
 (i) « oro, or (2) a moneta di piccioli, the one in terms of the 
 florin of gold, the other in terms of the imaginary lira. 
 
 The confusion to which this led was due to the unstable 
 nature of the imaginary money, which from 1 3 1 2 continu- 
 ally depreciates in value, as compared with the actual hard 
 florin money. In 1 3 1 4, as some measure of reform, it was 
 ordained that the florin of gold should not equal more nor 
 less than 29 of the soldi of this lira, and that it should 
 never change from such course — the distinction of moneta 
 bianca and nera being introduced for the purpose. The 
 ceasing of the observation of this regulation in the sixteenth 
 century made way for every kind of confusion. 
 
 For the explanation of the text in Part I., pp. 19-23, it 
 need only be added that 20 of these imaginary soldi formed 
 the lira a fiorino spoken of. 
 
3o6 
 
 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 o 
 
 H 
 
 o 
 
 o 
 
 H 
 U3 
 
 ^; 
 
 1—4 
 
 o 
 u 
 
 Pi 
 w 
 > 
 J 
 
 w 
 
 H 
 O 
 
 w 
 J 
 aa 
 < 
 
 Value 
 
 at which 
 
 Circulated. 
 
 •-3 
 CO 
 
 •a 
 
 i 
 
 5 
 
 CC O 
 w « N 
 
 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 (of the pic- 
 
 cioli.) 
 
 o 
 
 o 
 
 o O^- 
 
 3 
 
 
 ■a 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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APPENDIX I— FLORENCE 
 
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3o8 
 
 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 TABLE OF THE GOLD COINS OF FLORENCE, 1252-1534. 
 (From Zanetti, i. 439.) 
 
 
 
 
 
 Tale 
 
 Value 
 
 Year. 
 
 Denomination. 
 
 Standard. 
 
 Weight. 
 
 Mark. 
 
 at which 
 circulated. 
 
 
 
 Karati. 
 
 Grains. 
 
 
 Soldi. Den. 
 
 1252 
 
 Fiorino d'oro 
 
 24 
 
 72 
 
 96 
 
 20 
 
 1275 
 
 Do. 
 
 24 
 
 72 
 
 96 
 
 30 
 
 1282 
 
 Do. 
 
 24 
 
 72 
 
 96 
 
 32 
 
 1286 
 
 Do. ... 
 
 24 
 
 72 
 
 96 
 
 36 
 
 1296 
 
 Do. 
 
 24 
 
 72 
 
 96 
 
 40 
 
 1302 
 
 Do. ... 
 
 24 
 
 72 
 
 96 
 
 SI 
 
 1321 
 
 Fiorino of tiie first suggello (5 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 per cent, advantage) . 
 
 24 
 
 69^ 
 
 100 
 
 
 1324 
 
 Fiorino of the second suggello 
 
 24 
 
 
 98i 
 
 60 
 
 1328 
 
 Fiorini stretti . 
 
 24 
 
 7o| 
 
 98i 
 
 66 I 
 
 1331 
 
 Do. ... 
 
 24 
 
 7o| 
 
 98i 
 
 60 
 
 1345 
 
 Fiorini of the third suggello (j 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 24 
 
 7oi 
 
 98} 
 
 62 
 
 1347, 
 
 Do. do. 
 
 24 
 
 70i 
 
 98J 
 
 68 
 
 1352 
 
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 I3S3 
 
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 1356 
 
 Do. do. 
 
 
 
 
 70 
 
 137s 
 
 Fiorino nuovo . 
 
 24 
 
 ik 
 
 96f 
 
 70 
 
 1378 
 
 Do. . . . 
 
 
 
 
 68 
 
 1380 
 
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 70 
 
 1402 
 
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 24 
 
 68 
 
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 73 t 
 
 1422 
 
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 24 
 
 7i| 
 
 96* 
 
 80 
 
 1442 
 
 Fiorino largo 
 
 Fiorino of the sixth suggello (10 
 
 24 
 
 72 
 
 96 
 
 
 
 per cent, advantage) . 
 
 24 
 
 72 
 
 96 
 
 
 
 Fiorino stretto di Camera of the 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 advantage) 
 
 24 
 
 69A 
 
 100 
 
 
 1448 
 
 Fiorino of the eighth suggello 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 24 
 
 
 
 8s 
 
 1460 
 
 Fiorino of the ninth suggello 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 (7 per cent, advantage) 
 
 24 
 
 74 
 
 964 
 
 86 8 
 
 1462 
 
 Fiorino (of Pisan weight) 
 
 24 
 
 71? 
 
 9-64 
 
 ■ 87 
 
 1464 
 
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 24 
 
 72 
 
 96 
 
 106 
 
 1471 
 
 Do. do. 
 
 24 
 
 72 
 
 95 
 
 108 
 
 1480 
 
 Do. do. 
 
 24 
 
 72 
 
 96 
 
 III 
 
 1485 
 
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 24 
 
 72 
 
 96 
 
 III 4 
 
 1501 
 
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 ('140 
 
 1 hipri ^ 
 
 ' 
 
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 72 
 
 96 
 
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 1 III 4 
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 1508 
 
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 72 
 
 96 
 
 142 
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 24 
 
 72 
 
 96 
 
 150 8 
 
 
 
 
 
 (piccioh.) 
 
APPENDIX I— FLORENCE 
 
 309 
 
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310 HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 APPENDIX II 
 
 THE MONETARY SYSTEM OF VENICE 
 
 The Venetian monetary system of history employed a 
 double basis or unit : — 
 
 1. The lira di piccioli, the principal system, and the one 
 which endured through the whole life of the Republic, 
 from the tenth century to the introduction of the decimal 
 system in i 806. 
 
 2. The lira di grossi — an ideal system, i.e. money of 
 accompt only, and of importance for a much less extensive 
 period. It originated in the thirteenth century, and was 
 abandoned by the end of the sixteenth. 
 
 The " lira " of the first of these systems is derived from 
 the " libra " of Charlemagne, and, like it, was divided into 
 20 soldi, each soldo being subdivided into i 2 denari. 
 
 For long the only coin actually minted was this denaro 
 (^parvus, pai'vulus, piccolo or ininuto'), a silver coin. The 
 first of these thus issued appertain entirely to the system 
 of the Empire of Charlemagne. They bear the name of 
 Louis the Pious (814—40), and approximate in weight to 
 his pieces. The dismemberment of Charlemagne's Empire 
 
APPENDIX II.— VENICE 311 
 
 is followed by a gap in the Venetian coinage, and the 
 series only recommences in the eleventh century. These 
 latter still appertain to the system of the revived Roman 
 (Germanic) Empire, and bear the names of Henry ll. 
 (1002-24), Conrad II. (1027-39), and Henry IV. 
 (1056-1 106). 
 
 From this latter date onwards the imperial monies cease 
 at Venice, and the series of Ducal monies — the monies of 
 the republic of Venice — begin with the Dogeship of 
 Vitale 11. (1156—72). From the same period there is 
 noticeable that deterioration in weight which marks all 
 the systems of mediaeval Europe. The denari of Doge 
 Sebastiano Ziani (i 172—8) and of the two succeeding 
 Doges are scarcely one-quarter the weight of the Charle- 
 magne denarius. 
 
 This depreciation led, in the year 1200, to the issue of a 
 piece of higher denomination, namely, the grosso — still a 
 silver coin, but valued at 26 piccioli or denari; and for 
 about seventy years the grosso displaced the picciolo. 
 About 1270, however, the coining of the picciolo recom- 
 menced under Doge Lorenzo Tiepolo, but at a slightly 
 reduced value, 28 piccioli being rated to the grosso, instead 
 of 26 as in the year 1200. Up to the great recoinage 
 of 1476 the grosso remains the main coin of reference. 
 Its gradual but incessant depreciation can be traced in the 
 table of silver coins given on p. 31 8. 
 
 Under the eleventh doge, Giovanni Dandolo (1280—89), 
 the coining of gold began in Venice. In 1284, the date of 
 the first issue, the gold ducat or sequin (zecchino) of Venice 
 was valued at i 8 grossi, giving a ratio of gold to silver of 
 
312 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 I0.6. The subsequent changes of the ratio have already 
 been stated (see text, supra, p. 40). From 1282, 6^ 
 ducats were coined from the Venetian mark. This 
 number was increased in 1491 to 6'j\, and in 1570 
 to 6%\. The course of the sequin throughout is given 
 in the table on p. 31 6. It was the monetary trouble which 
 they produced that led to the great recoinage accom- 
 plished under Doge Nicolo Tron (1471-73) and his 
 successors, Nicolo Marcello (1473—74) and Pietro Mocenigo 
 (1474-76). 
 
 From the date of this recoinage onwards the silver 
 grosso was abolished as a coin, and a new silver coin, the 
 lira, valued at 20 soldi, was instituted. This is the first 
 appearance of a real and effective lira as a coin. Hitherto 
 the name had only been that of a weight. By the decree 
 of 1472, 36 of these lira were to be coined out of the mark 
 of silver. 
 
 On account of the name of the doge this coin was 
 known as the Lira Tron for centuries. In its turn it 
 underwent a ceaseless depreciation (see table on p. 31 8). 
 
 In the middle of the sixteenth century there was 
 so much silver in the Venetian Mint waiting to be 
 coined for the merchants that the State, finding it 
 could only issue 35,000 pieces a month, which, in small 
 pieces of 442 soldi, would take a year to exhaust the 
 stock, determined for the ease and encouragement of 
 the merchants to issue a large silver piece, the ducato 
 d'argento, 'j\ to the mark of silver by tale, and rated at 
 124 soldi. 
 
 Under Doge Nicolo da Ponte (1578-85) this piece 
 
APPENDIX II.~ VENICE 
 
 313 
 
 becomes the scudo d'argento, which begins in 1578 with an 
 equivalence of 7 lira. 
 
 In 1578 the scudo was rated at 7 lira o soldi. 
 
 „ 1608 
 
 
 8 , 
 
 , 8 
 
 ,, I62I , 
 
 
 8 , 
 
 10 
 
 .. 1630 
 
 
 9 , 
 
 . 
 
 .. 163s 
 
 
 9 , 
 
 6 
 
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 , 12 
 
 >. 1702 I 
 
 
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 , 10 
 
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 4 
 
 ,, 1706 , 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 „ »7o8 
 
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 10 
 
 ,. 1709 
 
 . 1. 
 
 
 12 
 
 ,, 1718 
 
 
 
 14 
 
 „ 1739 
 
 
 [2 , 
 
 8 
 
 On this basis the monetary system of Venice con- 
 tinued till the seizing of the Mint by the Democrats in 
 1797. 
 
 For several years, during which they held possession, 
 they issued a coin called Tollero, of the nominal value of i o 
 Venetian lire, i.e. 5.16 Italian lire, but really only equal to 
 4.99 of the latter. 
 
 In 1 802 the Italian Republic was erected by Buona- 
 parte. The monetary law of the Republic, dated 30th April 
 1 804, provided for the coining of a national money on a 
 unit or basis of the silver lira, of the weight established by 
 the law of 27th October 1803, namely, 4 deniers, and 
 of .9 standard. 
 
 The unit gold coin to be j^-^ of the new established 
 livre in weight ( = 8 deniers), and of .9 standard, to equal 
 3 1 lire. 
 
314 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 In 1805 Napoleon declared himself King of Italy, but 
 the change was not followed by any radical revolution of 
 the coinage system. 
 
 From 1806 the decimal system was introduced into 
 Italy, and on the reduction of the numerous independent 
 monetary systems the Venetian lira was computed at .5116 
 of the Italian, i.e. 51.16 centesimi. 
 
 As a matter of fact, however, the Venetian lira did not 
 totally thereupon disappear from use. 
 
 By decree of December 21, 1807, the ducat (zecchino) 
 of S'jW Venetian grs. was rated at 12.03 ^^'^^ Italiane. 
 
 Under the Lombardo-Venetian kingdom, which sue-' 
 ceeded, the main Italian monies were assimilated to those 
 of Austria. The money of account was, at Milan, the 
 Austrian lira (= 100 centesimi =20 Austrian soldi at 5 
 centesimi each). 
 
 There remains to be described the second and less 
 important basis of the Venetian system, that of the 
 lira di grossi. It was throughout — i.e. from the thirteenth 
 century, when it originated, to the close of the sixteenth, 
 when it disappeared — an ideal system, i.e. of account 
 only. 
 
 A supposititious lira di grossi was taken and divided 
 into 40 soldi, each soldo was subdivided into 1 2 
 denari, and each one of these denari was equivalent to 
 the grosso, the actual coin existing in the system — already 
 described. 
 
 The lira di grossi therefore maintained at first the same 
 relativity to the lira di piccioli that the actual grosso did to 
 the actual picciolo, namely, 26 : i. This relation, however, 
 
APPENDIX II.— VENICE 315 
 
 changed subsequently with the depreciation of the actual 
 grosso (the lira). 
 
 In 1278 the ratio of the two was 28 : i 
 
 » 1282 ,, „ 32: I 
 
 ., 1343 ., .. 48 : I 
 
 ,, 1472, onwards to the discontinuance of the system . 62 : i 
 
 A curious feature about this system was that in its turn 
 it subdivides. In 1343 a double (hypothetical) grosso was 
 adopted; one of 48 piccioli, the other of 32, both of them 
 subdivided into thirty-two parts as, again, an ideal system. 
 
 In 1472, therefore, the Venetian silver system consisted 
 of— 
 
 1. Li7-a di piccioli, an actual coin represented by the 
 Troni, and containing 128 grs. of silver, .9472 fine. 
 
 2. The ideal lira di £^rossi, then equivalent to 10 ducats, 
 divided into 20 ideal soldi, each equivalent to J-ducat, each 
 soldo again subdivided in 1 2 grossi, the grosso being now 
 no longer the actual coin of that name but ideal, like the 
 above multiples ; and each grosso in its turn subdivided into 
 32 parts, to which the name of piccioli was given, though as 
 ideal as its multiple the grosso. For distinction's sake 
 probably, these ideal grossi and piccioli occur in history as 
 grossi a oro and piccioli a oro. 
 
 [Table. 
 
3i6 
 
 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 TABLE OF THE GOLD DUCAT OR SEQUIN OF VENICE. 
 
 (According to Nicolo Papadopoli, Siil Valore Delia Moneta 
 Veneziana, p. 33.) 
 
 Date. 
 
 Coin. 
 
 Declared or Deduced 
 
 Value in Venetian 
 
 Lira of History. 
 
 Value in Modern 
 
 Italian Lire of the 
 
 Venetian Lira 
 
 of History. 
 
 
 
 Lire. Soldi. 
 
 Lire. Centesimi. 
 
 1284 
 
 Ducat = 1 8 gross! of 32 
 
 
 
 
 piccioli each 
 
 2 8 
 
 5 012 
 
 1324 
 
 „ =24grossi. 
 
 3 2 
 
 3 883 
 
 1350 
 
 „ =96 soldi. 
 
 4 16 
 
 2 506 
 
 1399 
 
 „ =93 ,. 
 
 4 13 
 
 587 
 
 1417 
 
 „ =100 „ 
 
 5 
 
 2 406 
 
 1429 
 
 
 
 4 4 
 
 2 313 
 
 1443 
 
 
 
 5 14 
 
 2 no 
 
 1472 
 
 
 
 6 4 
 
 I 940 
 
 1517 
 
 
 
 6 10 
 
 I 850 
 
 1520 
 
 
 
 6 16 
 
 I 769 
 
 1529 
 
 
 
 7 10 
 
 I 604 
 
 1562 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 I 504 
 
 IS73 
 
 
 
 8 12 
 
 398 
 
 1594 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 I 203 
 
 1608 
 
 
 
 10 15 
 
 I 119 
 
 1638 
 
 
 
 15 
 
 802 
 
 1643 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 752 
 
 1687 
 
 
 
 17 
 
 707 
 
 1739 
 
 
 
 22 
 
 546 
 
APPENDIX II.— VENICE 
 
 317 
 
 TABLE OF THE GOLD DUCAT OR SEQUIN OF VENICE. 
 
 (According to Vincenzo Padovan, La Nummografia Venziana Documentato, 
 
 PP- 13s. 365-) 
 
 Date. 
 
 Value of Ducat in 
 
 Date. 
 
 Value of Ducat in 
 
 
 
 Lire. 
 
 Soldi. 
 
 
 
 Lire. 
 
 Soldi. 
 
 1284 . 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 1594 (October 12) 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 1287 . 
 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 1601 . 
 
 
 10 
 
 12 
 
 1310 . 
 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 1605 . 
 
 
 10 
 
 14 
 
 1320 . 
 
 
 3 
 
 6 
 
 1608 . 
 
 
 10 
 
 IS 
 
 1361 . 
 1370 . 
 
 
 3 
 3 
 
 10 
 
 12 
 
 1633 . 
 
 { 
 
 14 
 14 
 
 
 10 
 
 1377 ■ 
 
 
 3 
 
 13 
 
 1638, November 20 
 
 
 IS 
 
 » 
 
 1378 • 
 
 
 3 
 
 14 
 
 1643 • 
 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 1379 • 
 
 
 3 
 
 16 
 
 1687 . 
 
 
 17 
 
 
 
 13S0 . 
 
 
 3 
 
 18 
 
 1697 . 
 
 
 17 
 
 10 
 
 1382 . 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 1698 . 
 
 
 17 
 
 15 
 
 1384 • 
 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 1699 . 
 
 
 18 
 
 
 
 1399; October 7 . 
 1401 . 
 
 
 4 
 4 
 
 13 
 18 
 
 1701 . 
 
 { 
 
 18 
 18 
 
 10 
 IS 
 
 14 1 7, November 11 
 
 
 S 
 
 
 
 
 
 19 
 
 
 
 1421 . 
 
 
 S 
 
 3 
 
 1702 . 
 
 
 19 
 
 s 
 
 1429, July 29 
 
 
 S 
 
 4 
 
 
 19 
 
 10 
 
 1433 • 
 
 
 5 
 
 10 
 
 
 . 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 1443, January 23 
 
 
 S 
 
 14 
 
 1704 . 
 
 
 20 
 
 s 
 
 1472, March 29 . 
 
 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 1707 . 
 
 
 20 
 
 8 
 
 1517, October 16 
 1518 . 
 
 
 6 
 6 
 
 10 
 14 
 
 1708 . . . 
 
 ( 
 
 20 
 20 
 
 10 
 IS 
 
 1520 . 
 1524 . 
 
 
 6 
 7 
 
 16 
 4 
 
 1711 . 
 
 { 
 
 21 
 21 
 
 S 
 10 
 
 1529 . 
 
 
 7 
 
 10 
 
 1713 . 
 
 
 21 
 
 15 
 
 1533 • 
 
 
 7 
 
 18 
 
 1716 . 
 
 
 21 
 
 18 
 
 1562 . 
 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 Thenceforward to 
 
 
 
 
 
 / 
 
 8 
 
 12 
 
 the fall of the 
 
 
 
 
 1573 • 
 
 I 
 
 8 
 
 16 
 
 Republic 
 
 
 22 
 
 
 
 1584 . . . 
 
 { 
 
 9 
 9 
 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 
3i8 
 
 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 TABLE OF THE SILVER COINAGE OF VENICE. 
 (From Papadopoli, tibi supra, with additions.) 
 
 Year. 
 
 Coin. 
 
 Value in 
 
 Lire of 
 
 Venice 
 
 declared or 
 
 calculated. 
 
 Weight of 
 
 the Lira in 
 
 Venetian 
 
 Grains. 
 
 Stand- 
 ard. 
 
 Value of the 
 Venetian Lira 
 in Lira of the 
 
 Modern 
 Italian Deci- 
 mal System. 
 
 1 200 
 
 Grosso instituted by En- 
 rico Dandolo ; weight 
 in Venetian grains, 
 42. 1 ; value = 26 pic- 
 cioli ; 93^ grossi to a 
 lira .... 
 
 Lire. Soldi. 
 108 
 
 388.61 
 
 .9652 
 
 4.313 
 
 1270 
 
 Grosso = 28 piccioli; 8^f 
 grossi to a lira . 
 
 116 
 
 360.85 
 
 
 4.005 
 
 1282 
 
 Grosso= 32 piccioli; 7i 
 grossi to a lira . 
 
 13 
 
 315-75 
 
 
 3-504 
 
 1350 
 
 Grosso = 48 piccioli ; 5 
 grossi to a lira . 
 
 2 
 
 210.5 
 
 
 2-336 
 
 1379 
 
 Weight of the grosso re- 
 duced to 38. 4Venetian 
 grains; 5 of these 
 grossi to a lira . 
 
 
 192.0 
 
 
 2.130 
 
 1399 
 
 Weight of grossoreduced 
 to 35.17 Venetian 
 grains 
 
 
 175.85 
 
 
 1.951 
 
 1429 
 
 New regulation ; the 
 mark of silver to yield 
 31 lire of money 
 
 I 
 
 148.64 
 
 
 1.649 
 
 1472 
 
 Lira (Tron), 36 to mark 
 
 
 128.0 
 
 
 1.39s 
 
 1527 
 
 Lira (Mocenigo) . 
 
 I 4 
 
 105.0 
 
 ■9479 
 
 1. 144 
 
 1561 
 
 Institution of the silver 
 ducat ; weight = 
 635.5586 Venetian 
 grains ; 7j to a mark . 
 
 6 4 
 
 102.51 
 
 
 1.117 
 
 1578 
 
 Institution of the scudo 
 
 7 
 
 87.86 
 
 
 0.957 
 
 1608 
 1630 
 1665 
 1704 
 1718 
 1739 
 
 Scudo raised to . 
 )) jj ■ ■ 
 
 )) M • • 
 >> ») - ■ 
 )» M • • 
 )) J) • ■ 
 
 8 8 
 
 9 
 9 12 
 
 II 
 
 11 14 
 
 12 8 
 
 68133 
 63.96 
 55.81 
 52.47 
 49.3s 
 
 ... 
 
 0.798 
 0.746 
 0.697 
 0.608 
 0.573 
 O.S37 
 
 1797 
 
 ToUero of the Demo- 
 crats ; weight = 550 
 Venetian grains 
 
 10 
 
 55-0 
 
 
 0.522 
 
APPENDIX III— SPAIN 319 
 
 APPENDIX III 
 
 THE MONETARY SYSTEM OF SPAIN 
 
 The monetary system of Christian Spain dates from the 
 Gothic invasions, and differs from that of Germany, Italy, 
 and France in being derived in the first place from the 
 Roman system without the intermediation of that of 
 Charlemagne. 
 
 Under the Goths the monetary basis was the Roman 
 libra, subdivided thus — 
 
 I libra = 8 onzas = 4608 grs. 
 
 I onza = 8 ochavas = 576 grs. 
 
 I ochava = 6 tomines = 72 grs. 
 
 1 tomin = 3 quilates or siliqua = 12 grs. 
 
 The unit denomination was the sueldo de oro (gold 
 sueldo) =^ onza of the fineness of 23! quilates ( = .989 
 fine), corresponding exactly to the Roman aureus of the 
 times of Julian. 
 
 The unit denomination of the silver money was twofold 
 — (i) the silver sueldo ( = ^ onza like the gold), and (2) the 
 denario {\ onza or ochava). The silver coins were at first 
 of 1 2 dineros fine, but subsequently only io.i2( = .875 fine). 
 
320 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 Of these two units, the latter, the silver denario was 
 far the more usual and frequent in use. 
 
 With one important change of name, and infinite 
 change of incident and detail, it was this system which 
 obtained till the great reform of the Spanish monetary 
 system under Ferdinand and Isabella. 
 
 The change of name consists in the introduction of that 
 of the maravedi, which was adopted from the conquered 
 Moors, and applied to designate the sueldo d'oro from the 
 time of the conquest of Toledo. 
 
 In a comprehensive way it may be said that the 
 history of this word or name, maravedi, sums up the 
 monetary history of Spain. From being the original gold 
 coin of highest denomination, it came to be a silver coin, 
 then a billon coin of the very lowest denomination, as it is 
 to-day. The process of its degeneration is quite un- 
 exampled even in Europe. In addition, also, to the 
 confusion of idea produced by this depreciation there is a 
 further uncertainty, caused by the quite general use of the 
 word or name, i.e. not as the name of a particular coin or 
 money series, but perfectly generally for almost any and 
 every coin — as synonymous, in fact, with the simple word 
 money itself. 
 
 Neglecting this . latter question, however, as one of 
 nomenclature merely, the course of depreciation of the 
 maravedi may be thus illustrated : — 
 
 Maravedi (Moorish coin), fine gold, about 56 grs. By 
 the time of James I. of Aragon, the contents in fine gold 
 had sunk to 14 grs. 
 
 Having been still further reduced to 10 grs. under 
 
APPENDIX III— SPAIN 
 
 321 
 
 Alfonso the Wise, it was made into a silver coin, as being too 
 small to be expressed in gold. 
 
 Its depreciation in this latter form and through its third 
 form of billon money was as follows : — • 
 
 
 Number of Maravedis 
 
 Contents of 
 
 Date. 
 
 to the 
 
 Fine Silver, 
 
 
 Cologne Mark. 
 
 Grains. 
 
 1312 . 
 
 130 
 
 25.85 
 
 1324 
 
 
 
 I2S 
 
 26.86 
 
 1368 
 
 
 
 200 
 
 16.79 
 
 1379 
 
 
 
 250 
 
 13-43 
 
 1390 
 
 
 
 Soo 
 
 6.71 
 
 1406 
 
 
 
 1000 
 
 3.35 
 
 I4S4 
 
 
 
 2250 
 
 1.49 
 
 1550 
 
 
 
 2210 
 
 1.52 
 
 1808 . 
 
 S440 
 
 0.62 
 
 To return. At the time of its adoption by the Christian 
 powers of Spain, the maravedi (or sueldo de oro) was equal 
 to 1 onza of gold. 
 
 To this maravedi de oro was subsequently given the 
 name of Alfonsi, supposititiously from Alfonso VI., the first 
 to issue them. 
 
 The first important change in this monetary system of 
 Gothic Spain — though one of detail rather than system — 
 was effected by Ferdinand li. of Leon, who, in 1157, coined 
 the silver hones of the value of half the silver sueldo' (=12 
 dineros). 
 
 In 1222 S. Ferdinand introduced the sueldo peptones. 
 
 Sueldo de oro = 10 metales or mitgales, i metale = 18 pepiones. 
 
 But both these importations were suppressed by Alfonso 
 X., the Wise, of Castile. 
 
322 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 In 1252 he coined his maravedis blancos, or Burgaleses, 
 to replace the sueldos pepiones. 
 
 6 dineros = i sueldo, 
 I s sueldos = I maravedi Burgalese. 
 
 This maravedi bore the ratio of i : 6 to the old 
 maravedi de oro. 
 
 This money (Burgalese) was subsequently known as 
 moneda viejo, maravedis viejos, or moneda blanca. 
 
 Six years after its introduction, however, Alfonso 
 demonetised his own Burgaleses to make room for his 
 maravedises negros, or prietos, a money of billon which 
 lasted till the days of Ferdinand and Isabella. 
 
 Twenty - three years later Alfonso issued a second 
 " white money " ( 1 2 8 1 ), so called as distinguished from the 
 Burgaleses, mention of which recur. 
 
 To the " second white " {bianco segundd) was also given 
 the (commoner) name of new (novenes). It was issued at 
 one-fourth the value of the prietos. The relationship of the 
 novenes to the prietos and to the standard (now suppositi- 
 tious) gold maravedi is thus expressed : — 
 
 1 5 dineros prietos = i maravedi, 
 Old maravedi = 75 sueldos, 
 
 . ". I prieto = 5 sueldos. 
 Old maravedi = 60 maravedis novenes, 
 
 .-. I prieto = 4 ,, ,, 
 
 Under Alfonso the Wise, therefore, the system was as 
 follows : — 
 
 10 dineros =-i noveno, 
 4 novenes = i maravedi de los prietos { = 5 sueldos of 8 
 
 dineros each). 
 10 novenes = i maravedi de los Burgaleses, 
 60 ,, =1 old maravedi. 
 
APPENDIX III.—SPAIN 323 
 
 These novenes, or maravedis blancos segundos, con- 
 tinued current through the fourteenth century, and in the 
 laws of John III. are spoken of as " maravedises of our 
 present currency," and as still = y^ of the maravedises 
 Burgaleses, which latter are spoken of as " maravedises of 
 good currency " (tnaravedis de los buenos). 
 
 But by the close of the fourteenth century, owing to the 
 depreciation of the currency, the novenes had come to be 
 looked upon as of better denomination than the then 
 current coin, and are accordingly spoken of as " old " 
 {viejos) for distinction's sake. 
 
 The only material additions to this system of Alfonso 
 the Wise were briefly- — ■ 
 
 1. The coronados, an innovation of his successor, 
 Sancho IV. (1284— 95), who, in 1286, introduced them as 
 = I old dinero. They subsequently appear as cornados. 
 
 In the Cortes of Toledo their relation to the novenes 
 was thus determined : — 
 
 6 coronados = 10 novenes = i maravedi de moneda vieja (= Burgaleses). 
 
 2. The series of gold coins initiated by Alfonso xi. 
 (1302-50). 
 
 It was in the reign of this latter King that the general 
 movement of adoption of gold coinage first touched Spain. 
 The earliest gold coins were Alfonso's doblas, subsequently 
 known as castellanos. The weight of this coin has been 
 variously assigned as 48 to a mark or 50 or 51. 
 
 Taking the tale of 5 o to the mark, the weight per piece 
 would be 922^5 grms. ( = 4.60090 grms.) of 2 3f quilates 
 fine ( = .989 fine). 
 
 Pedro I. made gold doblas of the weight of 90 grs., and 
 
324 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 this endured till the days of John I., 1379-90, who 
 preserved the same weight but lowered the standard. 
 Under Henry III. the standard of 23! quilates was again 
 restored. For the movement of the gold coins subsequent 
 to Ferdinand and Isabella, see the Table. 
 
 3. The silver real first appears under Pedro I., 
 1350—69. It was issued at a tale of 66 to a mark, and 
 1 1 dineros 4 grs. fine. 
 
 Under Henry II, of Castile, 1369—79, these reals 
 undergo .extraordina,ry debasement, the standard being 
 reduced to .279, .1 29, .060, and so on ; but a recovery took 
 place under his successor, John I., 1379—90, who Returned 
 to the standard of Pedro I., substituting for the debased 
 real his own vellon money, under the titles of blancos 
 andi Agniis Dei, a money known later as blancas and 
 maravedises de moneda blanca. 
 
 The restorer of the Spanish coinage was, however, not 
 John so much as his son, Henry III., 1390— 1406. By his 
 ordinance of 21st January 1391, issued at the instance of 
 the Cortes of. Madrid, 1390, the blancos of John I. were 
 reduced in equivalence to i coronado. Gold coins were 
 restored to the tale and standard of Alfonso XI., and the 
 silver real to those of Pedro I. 
 
 The vellon money, however, of this reign^ — the blancos 
 in particular— present a confusion which has hitherto baffled 
 the most learned. It has been computed that one hundred 
 and thirty-two monies of various denominations circulated 
 in Castile under this King. 
 
 In brief, the system from his day till the time of 
 Ferdinand and Isabella may be thus tabularly expressed : — 
 
APPENDIX III.— SPAIN 
 
 32s 
 
 
 J2 ♦(^ 
 « do 
 
 ? g- s- 5 s, 
 
 do d d d 
 
 11 
 
 ■ 3 S3 
 
 ■I ■% .£, 
 I I •? 4 
 1 1 . 1 1 
 bo2o g o'S^ 
 
 hB i ? i 1 
 
 m g 
 n 
 
 ■? c 
 
 
 .5 
 
 
 
 
 
 7 1^ 
 
 si 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 •3 
 
 11 
 
 fflpli 
 
 
 M n « 
 
 ft) u 
 
 1 1 i 
 
 a 
 
 o-> ^ S.82 
 
 si 
 oi 
 
 |8 s |a ^^i 
 
 2 w K S-o c :S ° ^ S 
 
 '3 
 
 It 1 1 
 
 > 
 
 If % 
 
326 
 
 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 
 pidd ddddddddd 
 
 ve with addition of 
 
 \ maravedi (ideal money) 
 \ sueldo (ideal money) 
 
 >" 
 
 9 o 9 - o 
 
 
 
 S S u <ia) uS 
 
 < 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 < 
 
 
 .2 
 
 •s 
 
 1 
 
 -1 
 
 S 
 
 P 
 
 Eg °Sl-£2 
 
 S2 
 '■3 „- 
 
 ■« ME 
 
 c 
 
 (fl ft C "^ 
 ^ d< d ts t^ iSJ e3 
 
 §1 ISl J 
 
 
 11 
 
 •on J o g 
 
 ■- i 
 
 ■a c 
 
 |.^ 1 
 r? 1 
 
 d 
 o 
 
 si 
 3|: 
 
 .. if .^^ Ii. .1 1 
 Ir 1 i^ ? illilllil 
 
 O 
 
 1 ^ 
 
 [I. 
 
 
 
 O H H 
 
 •—1 
 
APPENDIX III.— SPAIN 327 
 
 The reign of John II. (1406-54) marks a period of 
 exceeding confusion, coupled with inefficient attempts at 
 legislative remedy. The disorder of his reign was further 
 increased under his successor, Henry IV. (1454-74), years 
 which represent the apogee of Spanish depreciation. By 
 grants of the right of private minting the six official Spanish 
 Mints were increased to not less than 150, with a resulting 
 monetary disorder, dearness of necessaries, and commercial 
 panic which it would be difficult to estimate. The gold 
 monies varied in fineness from 2 3 J, 19, 18, 17, and so on, 
 even to 7 quilates, and the same extraordinary variations 
 marked the silver monies. Of billon monies there were 
 eight distinct classes, representing a succession of fractional 
 parts of the silver real, ^, \, \, ^^, ^, sV, 2*5' sV- 
 
 Taking, for the mere purpose of generalisation or aver- 
 age, the gold Enrique of this reign at a tale of 5 o to a mark, 
 23I quilates fine, and the silver real (=30 maravedis de 
 blancas) at a tale of 61 to a mark, and standard of 11.4 
 fine, the ratio of gold to silver for the reign would be 
 9.824 : I. 
 
 The monetary situation which the advent of the Catholic 
 kings, Ferdinand and Isabella (1475— 1506), was to alleviate 
 and reform was the most deplorable that Spain has ever 
 seen. Not less than eleven ordinances of reform were issued 
 before the close of the century. For practical purposes only 
 the first and last of these require notice. By the Mint inden- 
 ture, issued on the 26th June 1475 to the Mint master of 
 Seville, the gold coinage was ordered on the following basis: — 
 
 Excellentes (at a tale of 25 to a mark, 23! quilates fine, in 
 value = to 2 castellanos). 
 
328 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 And silver on the following basis : — 
 
 Silver Reals (at a tale of 67 to a mark, 1 1 din. 4 grs. fine, 
 in value equal to 30 maravedis). 
 
 First and chiefest importance, however, attaches to the 
 ordinance of 1497, issued at Medino del Campo, and so 
 named. By this ordinance all the previous existing systems 
 and monies were abrogated, and a new system instituted 
 which forms the starting-point for the monetary history of 
 that Spain which was to be the receiver and distributor of 
 the gold and silver of the New World. 
 
 The standard of gold was fixed at 23! quilates. The 
 basis of the gold coins was to be the excellente de la 
 Granada, issued at an equivalence of two of the antecedent 
 excellentes, and at a tale of 65^ to the mark. 
 
 The system of the silver real was as in 147S, but it 
 was issued at an equivalence of 34 maravedis, at which it 
 ever after remained. 
 
 The billon money was to consist of blancas (7 grs. fine, 
 and at a tale of 192 to a mark). 
 
 One excellente =11 reals I maravedi = 375 maravedis. 
 I real ,, 34 maravedis. 
 
 The changes subsequently effected in this system may be 
 presented in skeleton form (see also accompanying Tables). 
 
 In 1523 the Cortes of Valladolid presented a petition 
 referring to the changed relation of the two metals, and 
 asking for a recoining on a different ratio. Its proposals 
 were incorporated in the ordinance of 1537, when the 
 scheme was as follows : — 
 
 Gold 
 
 Standard, . . 22 quilates. 
 
 )j 
 
 Tale, . . 68 to a mark. 
 
 
 Value, . . . 350 maravedis. 
 
 Silver 
 
 Left untouched. 
 
 Billon 
 
 Standard increased to ^\ granos. 
 
APPENDIX III.—SPAIN 329 
 
 Under Philip 11., by the ordinance of 23 rd November 
 1566, the equivalence of the gold coins was increased a 
 seventh, the silver monies being again left untouched. The 
 increase was partly arbitrary and unprincipled, partly due 
 to the normally prevailing depreciation of silver. 
 
 Under Philip III. the intrinsic value or content of the 
 gold monies was decreased -^i^, silver being again left intact. 
 
 The innumerable calamities which overtook Spain under 
 Philip IV. (1621-65) and Charles II. (1665-1750) led to an 
 immense introduction of billon money, to so great an extent, 
 indeed, that it fell to one-eighth its previous value, thereby 
 only complicating and increasing the evils. The result was 
 an increasing premium on good monies, coupled with the 
 usual disappearance of them. By the proclamation of 8th 
 March 1625 it was prohibited, on severest penalties, to 
 carry such premium above i o per cent. ; by the succeeding 
 proclamations of 30th April 1636 and 7th September 1641 
 this limit was raised respectively to 25 per cent, and 50 
 per cent. 
 
 Philip IV. also instituted the first change in the silver 
 system which it underwent since the great reform of 1497. 
 
 The tale was increased from 6^ to 83I per mark, the 
 real of eight being henceforth issued at an equivalence of i o 
 reals. 
 
 This change was equivalent to a reduction of 25 per 
 cent, in the silver monies. 
 
 Under Charles II. this corruption proceeded in an 
 ascending scale until 1680, when the gold doblon had 
 arrived at an equivalence of no reals of billon, and the 
 real of eight to 29 reals of billon. 
 
33° 
 
 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 By the law of 14th October 1686 an attempt was 
 made to re-create and reform the tottering system. The 
 mark of silver (11 din. 4 grs. fine) was to be coined at a tale 
 of 84 pieces. The real of eight received a new name, 
 Escudo de plata, and was to issue at an equivalence of 
 I o reals of the new silver. 
 
 The effect of this apparent reform was to lower the 
 weight of the silver money 25 per cent., to incorporate the 
 premium of 50 per cent, on the billon money, and to insti- 
 tute or sanction a matter of four separate monetary units : — 
 
 1. The real of old silver = -fj mark. 
 
 2. The real of new silver = -^ mark. 
 
 3. The real of billon = y^ mark. 
 
 4. The real of billon = -jV of the double escudo. 
 
 At the close of the reign the monetary system was as 
 follows : — 
 
 Mark of fine gold, 
 
 Of intrinsic value of . 
 The seigniorage being 
 
 Mark of fine silver, . 
 
 Of intrinsic value of . 
 The seigniorage being 
 
 Mark of copper. 
 
 Of intrinsic value of . 
 The seigniorage being 
 
 Silver Reals. 
 
 1408.94 
 
 1363-15 
 
 45-79 
 
 90.32 
 
 88.11 
 
 2.21 
 
 Maravedis. 
 
 76 
 
 68 
 
 8 
 
 Philip V. was for many years prevented by the enormous 
 expenditure caused by the revolt of Don Carlos from reform 
 of this system, which he ultimately undertook and carried 
 out. In 1707 he reduced the standard of silver to 10 
 dineros, of a tale of 7 5 reals to the mark, creating the money 
 which is distinguished thenceforward by the name of Plata 
 provincial. 
 
APPENDIX III— SPAIN 331 
 
 By the regulation of 9th June 1728 the series of Plata 
 nacional was lowered to 1 1 dineros fine ( = .917) and a 
 tale of 68 reals. 
 
 Of more importance was the Mint regulation of i6th 
 July 1730, by which — 
 
 Reales de Plata 
 Provincial. 
 Mark of gold of 22 quilates fine was coined into . 1360 
 Delivered to the importer 1280 
 
 Seigniorage 80 = 5.88 per cent. 
 
 Mark of silver of 11 dineros fine coined into . . 85 
 Delivered to the importer 80 
 
 Seigniorage 5 = 5. 88 per cent. 
 
 This ideal system could not be retained, as the billon 
 money fell within a short time a matter of 5 J per- cent, in 
 relation to it. The latter change was incorporated by the 
 proclamation of i6th May 1737, which fixed the silver 
 escudo of 10 reals (the old piece of 8 reals) at 170 cuartos, 
 equivalent to the 20 reals of billon at which it continued 
 to be valued. By the subsequent Mint order of 22nd June 
 1742 the attempt was made to bring the billon money into 
 exact relationship with the gold by the coining of gold 
 pieces equal to 20 reals billon (veintenes) struck at a tale of 
 128 per mark, and fineness of 2i| quilates, in place of the 
 previously existing standard of 22 quilates. 
 
 These veintenes correspond to the escudos of 2 1 1 reals 
 still to be found in circulation. 
 
 No change of any importance was effected under the 
 short reign of Ferdinand VI. (1746-59), under whom the 
 custom inaugurated by Philip V. of expressing values in reals 
 of billon rather than of silver {plata provincial) still continued. 
 
332 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 His successor, however, Charles III. (1759-88) effected 
 profound reforms. By the ordinance of 29th May 1772 
 he accomplished a complete recoinage of the Spanish money. 
 
 The standards he established were— 
 
 Quilates. Granos. 
 Of gold Escudos (oro nacional) ... 21 2J 
 
 ,. Veintenes (oro provincial) . . 21 i\ 
 
 Dineros. Granos. 
 Of silver (plata nacional or gruesa) . . 10 20 
 
 ,, (plata provincial or menuda) . . 9 18 
 
 being a lowering per cent, of standard as follows : — 
 
 Oro nacional . . . . 1.31 
 
 ,, provincial . . . . 2.84 
 
 Plata nacional . . . 1 . 59 
 
 ,, provincial . . . . 2.49 
 
 The bearing of this change on the question of the ratio 
 at large in Europe has been already referred to. It was 
 again and still further for the protection of gold that the 
 seigniorage was increased to 7.48 per cent, by the law of 
 17th July 1779. The later system established in 1786 
 (see Tables posted) has a similar bearing. 
 
 His son, Charles IV. (1789— 1808), made no alteration in 
 this latter system of Charles III. 
 
 Under Ferdinand VII. (1808—32) currency was given 
 (18 1 3—1 823) to French gold and silver monies on a certain 
 footing, and the seigniorage on the coins was reduced. Both 
 under Ferdinand, however, and under his successor, Isabella 
 II. (1832—61), this latter regulation proved ineffectual in 
 attracting merchants to bring the metals to the Mint to be 
 coined ; and under the circumstances the circulation of 
 French Napoleons was considered a benefit. A profound 
 alteration was projected by the two laws of 1834; the 
 
APPENDIX III— SPAIN 333 
 
 first of which proposed to lower the equivalence of the real 
 to 32 from 34 maravedis, and the standard of silver to 10 
 dineros 12 granos ( = .875), and the second, to prevent the 
 circulation of French money. This scheme was intentionally 
 bimetallic. It failed, however, of accomplishment, and the 
 monetary system remained as before up to 1 847. 
 
 By the decree of 31st May 1847 — (i) the decimal 
 division of the real was adopted ; (2) the weight of the real 
 was established at 25 granos and standard at .900; (3) a 
 new gold coin of 1 00 reals of the weight of 161^ granos of 
 the same alloy was introduced. 
 
 This system was of course a reproduction of that of 
 France; but in the following year it underwent slight 
 alteration, as already related. By the law of ist January 
 1859 the French metrical system was adopted in its entirety 
 by Spain, and since ist January 1876 Spain reckons in- 
 pesetas (representing the French franc) and centesimos 
 (representing the French centime) — 1 00 centesimos = i 
 peseta. The new gold coins are pieces of 5, 10, 20, and 
 other multiples of the peseta. The peseta (5 grms. silver, 
 .835 fine) is token money, but the 5 -peseta pieces (25 grms. 
 silver, .900 fine) are legal tender. 
 
 5 pesetas = i duro ("hard dollar," "Spanish dollar," or piastre). 
 
 I duro = 2 escudos.' 
 
 I escudo = 10 reals. 
 
 I real = 34 maravedis. 
 
 [Table. 
 
334 
 
 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
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APPENDIX III— SPAIN 
 
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APPENDIX III.— SPAIN 
 
 337 
 
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 pastas de oro 
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 reales las tres 
 ochavas. 
 
 Escudos (oro na- 
 cional) 
 
 Veintenes (oro pro- 
 vincial) 
 
 May 21 and 25, 1772 — 
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 tion and lower- 
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 ard. 
 
 Escudos (oro na- 
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 vincial) 
 
 
 ■a 
 
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338 
 
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 to 320 reals (oro 
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 March 7, 1781— 
 Oz. of bullion in- 
 creased to 336 
 reals 
 
 Keb.26&June5, 1786— 
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 standard. 
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APPENDIX III— SPAIN 
 
 339 
 
 
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APPENDIX III— SPAIN 341 
 
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343 
 
 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 uivalen'ce 
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APPENDIX III.—SPAIN 
 
 
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APPENDIX IV.— THE NETHERLANDS 345 
 
 APPENDIX IV 
 
 THE MONETARY SYSTEM OF THE 
 NETHERLANDS 
 
 In its earliest known form the Netherlands monetary 
 system reproduces those features of the Carlovingian 
 system, which reappear alike in Italy, France, and England. 
 
 The ideal Flemish pound was divided into 20 schel- 
 lingen,_the schelling into 12 groqten. 
 
 This was entirely an ideal system ; the actual coins 
 being, at first, the silver denarius, divided into obols. This 
 ideal system of pounds, schellings, and groots survived in 
 Flanders and the Southern Netherlands (now the kingdom 
 of Belgium) long after it had been superseded in the 
 Northern Provinces (the United Netherlands) by another 
 equally ideal system, that of the gulden and stiver. 
 
 According to this latter system the Flemish pound was 
 divided into 6 gulden, the gulden into 20 stivers. As 
 between the two systems, therefore, the Northern gulden 
 was equal to 3^ Southern schellings, and the Northern 
 stiver to 2 Southern groots. 
 
 The earliest mention of the stivers occurs in 1355, but 
 
346 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 it was a considerable time before the new system displaced 
 the old one in the Northern Provinces, and the reckoning 
 by schellings and groots as well as, or alongside of, that by 
 gulden and stivers occurs in Holland even as late as the 
 sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. 
 
 The weight system employed for the precious metals 
 was as follows : — 
 
 I pound troy = 2 marks. 
 
 I mark = S oz. 
 
 I oz. = 20 engels. 
 
 I engel = 32 azen. 
 
 So that 160 engels or 5120 azen made up the inark. 
 
 In reckoning the standard or alloy, the weight system 
 was — 
 
 For silver — I mark = 12 pfennige or deniers. 
 
 = 288 grs. (12 X 24). 
 For gold — 1 mark = 24 carats. 
 
 ,, = 288 grs. (24 X 12). 
 
 Although forming part of the Holy Roman Empire 
 (being included in the Burgundian Circle), the Mint system 
 of the Empire has apparently never obtained in the 
 Netherlands. The Counts of Holland, from the days of 
 Floris II. and Jan I. {i.e. from 1256 onwards) have minted 
 on their own account, as have also the Counts of Flanders 
 from a much more remote date. The silver deniers of the 
 Counts of Flanders date from at least the days of Count 
 Arnold II. (964—989). The introduction of " la grosse 
 monnaie" (whence gros and groots), in imitation of the 
 French money, dates from the reign of Marguerite, Countess 
 of Flanders (1244— 1280), or possibly earlier; and the gold 
 coinage {royaux, in imitation of those of Philip the Long of 
 
APPENDIX IV.— THE NETHERLANDS 347 
 
 1'" ranee, s^xA florins, in imitation of those of Florence) dates 
 from Count Louis de Cr^cy (i 322-1 346). 
 
 The interest, however, attaching to the monies of the 
 Counts of Flanders and Holland up to the close of the 
 fifteenth century is prevailingly numismatic, as, in the 
 absence of a continuous series of Mint indentures, it is a 
 matter of almost insuperable difficulty to construct tables of 
 the coins. The chief indications are contained in the tariffs 
 already referred to {supra, text, pp. 79-83), but their testi- 
 mony bears more expressly on exchange rates rather than 
 upon Mint rate and standard. 
 
 The table of the groot, according to this source, is as 
 follows : — 
 
 1336. 9-pfennige weight, 
 1376. 4.16 
 1388. 5 
 
 Engel. 
 I 
 2 
 I 
 
 Azen 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 23 
 
 1393- S 
 
 I 
 
 20 
 
 1422. 4 
 1489. 5 
 
 2 
 I 
 
 16 
 
 5 
 
 The foundations of a national Mint, or monetary system 
 for the Netherlands, were first laid by the ordinance issued by 
 theEmperor Maximilian at Breda on the 14th December 1489. 
 
 According to this ordinance the gold double florin was- 
 te be struck at a tale of 44! to the mark Troy, of a fineness 
 of 23^ carats, and issued at an equivalence of 80 gros. 
 
 The remaining gold coins were to comprise the St. 
 Andries florin = /^O groschen (and its half); while the silver 
 coins were to comprise — 
 
 Gros = I gros. 
 
 Pattart = 2 „ 
 
 Double pattart = 4 .> 
 
 Grand double = 8 ,, 
 
348 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 In great part this is to be regarded as an ideal or 
 unrealised system. The first effectual regulation of the 
 silver coinage was made in the ordinance of Charles v. of 
 22nd February 1542. 
 
 This ordinance prescribed the minting of the silver 
 carolus, in imitation of the Dutch thaler. 
 
 Weight to be . . 14 engels, 30 azen. 
 
 Standard to be . . 10 pfennige (= .853 fine). 
 
 Equivalence to be 20 stivers. 
 
 The practical effect of this measure, therefore, was to 
 introduce a coin equal to, and therefore representative of, 
 the hitherto fictitious or merely ideal gulden. 
 
 The remaining tariffs of the succeeding hundred years 
 or so, together with the bimetallic experience of the Nether- 
 lands, have been already briefly described in the text 
 {sup7-a, pp. 71, y^). On the declaration of independence by 
 the Northern Provinces, and the separation of the United 
 Netherlands from the Southern or Spanish Netherlands, 
 which succeeded, the monetary history of these two portions 
 of the Low Countries bifurcates. 
 
 We are here concerned only with that of the Northern 
 or United or Dutch Provinces, as being of more commercial 
 interest in European history of the seventeenth and eight- 
 eenth centuries. 
 
 By Article 1 2 of the Union, each of the seven United 
 Provinces was bound to conformity in the course or tariff- 
 ing of its money, while left free to determine the species 
 and mere numismatic detail of the coins. 
 
 The various tariffs therefore, already described, con- 
 tain the Mint law as applied to the United Provinces ; 
 
APPENDIX IV.— THE NETHERLANDS 
 
 349 
 
 but it was not until 1606 that a serious attempt at 
 systematisation was made. By the great plakkaat of 
 2 1 St March 1606, completed by that of 6th July 1610, 
 a new and very full tariff was imposed ; an important 
 regulation was made, declaring all coins which lacked 
 more than \\ engels over and above the remedy, to be 
 taken as bullion and not current as coin, and the indenture 
 details of the gold coins were fixed, as it proved, through- 
 out the life of the Republic. 
 
 The gold rijder and the gold ducat were prescribed as 
 follows ; — 
 
 GOLD RIJDER. 
 Weight (gross), 207.2 azen ( = 9.95 grs.). 
 
 ,, (of fine gold), 187.77 ^^en ( = 9.11 grs.). 
 Standard, 22 carat ( = .9167). 
 
 (Equivalence=lo fl. 2 St.). 
 
 GOLD DUCAT. 
 Weight (gross), 72J azen ( = 3-494 gfs.). 
 
 „ (of fine gold), 71.43 azen ( = 3.432 grs.). 
 Standard = 23 carat 8 grs. (=.9826). 
 (Equivalence = 3 fl. 16 St.). 
 
 By Article 23 of this same ordinance of 1606, the 
 further minting of billon money was forbidden, and at the 
 same time it was enacted, with regard to the lower de- 
 nominations of silver coins (schillings and smaller pieces), 
 that not more than one-tenth of any total settlement should 
 be tenderable in them, in case of sums exceeding 100 
 guldens. 
 
 The succeeding experience of the effect of these 
 tariffs, involving, as they did, the almost total dis- 
 appearance of the great silver coins, even already by the 
 year 1638, led in 1659 to the institution of two new silver 
 
350 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 coins — (i) the silver ducat, .868 fine, and containing 
 507 azen fine silver; and (2) the silver rijder, .937 fine; 
 and containing 634.75 azen fine silver. 
 
 By the plakkaat of 25 th December 1681, the states of 
 Holland and West Friezland prescribed the minting of the 
 gulden piece, thus at last making the gulden, so long 
 simply an ideal money or money of account, a real coin, 
 and laying the basis of a truer national currency system. 
 
 By subsequent proclamations and resolutions of the 
 States-General of the 17th March 1694, and 31st Decem- 
 ber 1 699, this was adopted for all the United Provinces. 
 
 The single gulden piece was to be of the standard of 
 10 pf. 22 i grs., and to contain 200 azen fine silver. 
 
 This coin remained the mint coin of the Dutch system, 
 without any further alteration of tariff, or any need of it 
 till 1806. 
 
 With regard to the development of a specific law of 
 tender, the legislation of the United Provinces was peculiarly 
 involved. The first declaration of a wide nature was that 
 of the 26th September 1686, which reduced certain coins, 
 — the silver ducat and two others — to the position of trade 
 money merely. This was repeated in the declaration of the 
 States-General of the 7th August 1691. The declaration 
 of the 1st August 1749 ascribed a similarly restricted 
 character, of trade money merely, to all gold coins except 
 the gold rijder and its half These latter were fixed at an 
 equivalence of 14 and 7 -florin respectively. The gold 
 ducats were not fixed, their course as trade money might 
 fluctuate daily. They might be taken freely by weight, 
 and at values determined by the course of trade. 
 
APPENDIX IV.— THE NETHERLANDS 351 
 
 The meaning of this provision can only be read in the 
 light of the experience of the preceding half century. 
 Up to this date (1749) there had existed, in theory, a 
 silver standard with gold rated to it by each succeeding 
 tariff. The fall of silver throughout the seventeenth 
 century had acted adversely on gold, and for long the 
 currency had consisted almost entirely of silver. This fall 
 received some slight check in the earlier part of the 
 eighteenth century, and the result was a reverse tendency. 
 Gold came back into circulation, and the full weighted 
 silver coins began to flow out and away. A bitter cry 
 was accordingly raised in 1720 by the commercial com- 
 munity, and already in 1720 the Mint authorities had 
 proposed the adoption of the gold rijder as standard, in 
 order to stop the drain. 
 
 In 1749, however, the Mint officials felicitated them- 
 selves on the non-adoption of this proposal, and prayed 
 that the ducat should be merely declared trade money 
 (26th March 1749); and it was on this advice that the 
 plakkaat of 31st March 1749 passed. It proved insuffi- 
 cient to prevent the export of silver, and on the i st August 
 following, the States-General issued an order creating the 
 gold rijder provisionally the standard. The right of coin- 
 ing it was reserved to the State, so that there was no 
 standard in the modern sense. 
 
 The influence of this measure proved to be very slight, 
 and 172 merchants of Amsterdam petitioned the States- 
 General to declare the tenderableness of the ducat again. 
 The result of a further communication from the Mint 
 officials was the proclamation and ordinance of ist May 
 
352 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 1750, according to which only the gold rijder and half 
 rijder were declared standard, and all other gold species 
 only trade money. Gradually, however, what the Govern- 
 ment had been unable to effect by legislation was accom- 
 plished by the mere force of a rise in gold or fall in silver. 
 The gold rijders began , to disappear, the complaints 
 as to the disappearance of silver ceased, and the 
 regulations of 1749 and 1750 were superseded. At the 
 time of the French Revolution, therefore, the silver standard 
 was actually in force. Nominally the gold rijder was still 
 legal tender at 14 florins, but actually few specimens of it 
 were in circulation. 
 
 In 1798 the establishment of the Batavian Republic 
 necessitated the creation of a Batavian Mint, and on the 
 I 2th February i 800 the First Chamber was called upon to 
 consider the coins. 
 
 It was not, however, until the year 1806, after the 
 Republic had been superseded by the imposition of Louis 
 Napoleon as King of Holland, that an effectual system was 
 enunciated. By the resolution of ijth December 1806, a 
 double standard was adopted. 
 
 GOLD STANDARD COINS. 
 Gold Penning of 20 francs, 18 to the mark. 
 Alloy, 22 carats gold, 16 grs. silver. 
 Weight, 8 engels 28f azen. 
 Content of fine gold, 260J azen. 
 
 STANDARD SILVER COINS. 
 Fifty-stuiver piece — g^^^- to 'he mark. 
 Weight, 17 engels 4/^ azens. 
 Standard, 10 pen. 22| grs. 
 
 Gulden — 23r'VVA- to the mark. 
 Weight, 6 engels 27ff azens. 
 
APPENDIX IV.— THE NETHERLANDS 353 
 
 With the annihilation of the Napoleonic structure this 
 scheme perished, and the law of 28th September 18 16 
 erected a system in which elements of both those previously 
 existing were combined. 
 
 The coinage was prescribed to consist of gold and silver 
 standard pieces, and gold and silver trade pieces. 
 
 The standard coins were — 
 
 I. The Silver Gidden — 
 
 Weight = 7 engels ( = 10.766 grms.). 
 
 Content of fine silver = 200 azen ( = 9.613 grms.). 
 
 Standard = .893. 
 
 This was to be the unit, and divided decimally. 
 
 ^. The gold piece of 10 Gulden .900 fine. 
 Weight 140 azen (6.729 grms.). 
 
 TRADE COINS. 
 
 1 . Silver Dukaat — 
 
 Weight 18 engels 8^xVW azen (28.78 grs.), 
 Standard, 10 pen. 10 grs. ( = .868). 
 
 2. Silver Rijder — 
 
 Weight, 21 engels 5|-J- azen ( = 52.574 grs.). 
 Standard, II pen. 5l grs. ( = .937). 
 
 3. Gold Dukaat — 
 
 Weight, 2 engels 8^ azen ( = 3.494 grs.). 
 Standard, 23 kr. 7 grs. ( = .983). 
 
 The trade money was only minted for private accompt. 
 The unit gulden and the 3-gulden piece were also minted 
 for private accompt, but the divisional silver money, the 
 copper money, and the gold standard lo-gulden piece 
 were only to be minted on Government account. 
 
 By Article 1 5 of this law the franc was adopted in the 
 Southern provinces on a footing of 
 
 I franc = 47J carats. 
 
 1 gulden = 2 francs iiAV centimes. 
 
 23 
 
354 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 Finally, by Article i 8, the tender of copper was limited 
 to I gulden, and that of the smaller silver denomination to 
 one-fifth of the amount of settlement. 
 
 By the succeeding law of 22nd March 1839, the silver 
 Netherland gulden was prescribed to be of the weight of 
 10 wigtje's or grms., and .945 fine. 
 
 This prescription was retained as to the gulden in the 
 more important Act of 26th November 1847. 
 
 This Act definitely established the silver standard. 
 The standard coins were declared to be the gulden (and 
 its half) and the rijksdaalder (=2^ guldens). The gold 
 William and the gold dukaat were declared to be trade 
 money, and the minor or divisional silver coins (25 cents 
 and under) were fixed at a fineness of .645. The gold 
 William was to weigh 6.729 grms., .900 fine (content of 
 pure gold, therefore, to be 6.056 grms.). The gold dukaat 
 was to weigh 3.494 grms., .983 fine (therefore to contain 
 3-4345 grms. fine gold). 
 
 The coinage of standard silver coins, and of gold trade 
 coins, was left free to individuals (Article 1 8). The trade 
 money was expressly declared to be no legal tender (^geen 
 wettig betaalmiddel. Article 20). 
 
 The tender of silver divisional coins was limited to 10 
 guldens, and that of copper coins to i gulden. 
 
 This silver standard continued in force until 1872. In 
 that year, however, in consequence of the fall of silver, a 
 Bill was passed to suspend the coining of silver for private 
 accompt. The Mint was closed to its coinage, and for 
 a time Holland had no metallic standard at all, as gold was 
 only merchandise or trade money. This state of things led 
 
APPENDIX IV.— THE NETHERLANDS 355 
 
 to the enactment of the law of 6th June 1875, which intro- 
 duced the gold standard, but under peculiar arrangements. 
 
 The standard coins were declared to be — beside, or in 
 addition to, the silver standard coins minted previously to 
 the new law — the gold i o-gulden piece, .900 fine, containing 
 6.048 grs. fine gold (weight, therefore, 6.720 grms.). 
 
 The minting of these latter was declared free to the 
 individual, and the minting of the gold Williams ordered to 
 cease (Articles 5 and 6). 
 
 No further declaration was made as to tender, so that 
 the standard is to be regarded as a limping rather than a 
 gold standard proper. 
 
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36o THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 APPENDIX V 
 
 THE MONETARY SYSTEM OF GERMANY 
 
 The German Mint system inherited from that of Charle- 
 magne the common features noticed already in the case of 
 Florence, the Netherlands, and other countries, namely, the 
 division of the silver libra into 20 solidi {schillingen), and 
 of the solidus into 12 denarii (^pfennige), so that 240 
 denarii = i libra. The solidus occurs (theoretically or in 
 accompt) in both gold and silver. The gold solidus of the 
 German system originally weighed less than the Prankish, 
 which was 72 to the libra, while the German was 80 to 
 the libra. 
 
 The ratio of gold to silver was 12: I , so that theoreti- 
 cally I pound silver = i oz. gold = 6§ gold schilling. 
 
 In actual coins, i gold schilling = 3 silver schillingen = 
 36 pfennige. 
 
 Gradually this system was superseded by that of 
 reckoning by the mark. The particular mark which 
 obtained widest acceptance was the Cologne mark, which 
 was thus subdivided — 
 
APPENDIX v.— GERMANY 361 
 
 Cologne mark = 8 Oz. 
 
 = 16 Loth. 
 
 = 64 Quintlein. 
 
 = 256 Pfennige. 
 
 = 512 Heller. 
 
 =4352 Eschen or Grain. 
 
 For the purpose of standard of alloy the mark was 
 differently subdivided. Thus — 
 
 Gold alloy weight — 
 
 I mark =12 carats 
 
 = 288 grs. (12 X 24). 
 Silver alloy weight — 
 
 I mark= i5 loth 
 
 = 288 grs. (16x18). 
 
 Subsequently, when the gold gulden began to be minted, 
 and to displace in reckoning the gold solidi (6§ to the oz.), 
 a third system of reckoning by gulden, schillingen, and 
 pfennige was adopted. But long before this had become 
 general, the downward course of the pfennige had pro- 
 ceeded apace. 
 
 In 1255, in Swabia, the silver mark was minted into 
 660 pfennige; and in 1276, in Magdeburg, the mark of 
 silver ( i 5 loth fine) into 528 pfennige. 
 
 Originally heller and kreutzer were only alternative 
 forms of the pfennige, not subdivisions of it (heller = 
 Hallische pfennige) ; but the irregular course of depreciation 
 established a difference in character.^ 
 
 In 1407, in the Bishopric of Wiirzburg, pfennige were 
 
 ^ Heller were first minted in 1228 at Halle, but by the year 1420 they had 
 sunk to the equivalence of a half-pfennige. Of the origin of the kreutzer less is 
 known, as few, if any, records of it occur before its minting in the Tyrol in 
 1490. Its subsequent variation in different parts of Germany, and at different 
 limes, it is almost impossible to give account of. 
 
362 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 minted at a tale of 400 to the mark and 6 loth fine ; Heller 
 544 to the mark and 4 loth fine. Fifty years later, at 
 Niirnberg, pfennige were being minted 512 to the mark 
 and 5i loth fine (= 15602^ to the mark of fine silver), 
 and Heller at 704 to the mark and 3 J loth fine (= 32i8f 
 to the mark fine). 
 
 The course of depreciation proceeded from the unregu- 
 lated, irresponsible mintings of the small states, and from 
 base financier craft. During the fourteenth century it pro- 
 ceeded apace, in spite of the attempts at a reform made by 
 the Emperor Charles IV. In 1356 he prescribed the mint- 
 ing of the mark of silver into 31 schillingen 4 heller (or 
 376 hellers), but the ordinance remained ineffectual. 
 
 The depreciation against which it vainly strove was not 
 confined to the lower species, such as pfennige and heller. 
 The close of the thirteenth century had witnessed the in- 
 troduction of a new large silver money, which for a time 
 stood by the side of the schilling, and then gradually 
 displaced it. The new coin — the groschen, minted in 
 imitation of the gros Tournois of France — made its first 
 appearance in Bohemia in 1296, when its tale was 63 1 to 
 the mark, 1 5 loth fine. The same process of depreciation 
 at once began to affect it, and during the fourteenth cen- 
 tury the downward course of the coin was very rapid, 
 especially in Saxony (see Tables infra, and pp. 30, 97). 
 With the commencement of a gold coinage in the middle 
 of the same century, a third element of confusion was 
 introduced, and quickly the same diversity of weight, alloy, 
 and type began to prevail as in the silver coinage (see Table 
 of the depreciation of the gold gulden, infra, and pp. 31, 98). 
 
APPENDIX v.— GERMANY 363 
 
 The Reichstag, which met at Nurnberg in 1438, found 
 itself driven to record, in simple terms, the right of every- 
 body who could mint to do so according to what standard 
 of fineness and weight he pleased, " seeing the impossibility 
 of a common standard and weight." 
 
 The close of the century witnessed the introduction of 
 the last of these numerous confusing elements, but one 
 which was to become of prime importance in the history 
 of German currency, namely, the thaler. In its first form 
 it was intended as the silver equivalent of the gold gulden, 
 being minted 8 to the mark [i.e. i oz. weight per piece), and 
 of fine (or 16 loth) silver. It received the name gulden 
 groschen when first coined by Archduke Sigismund of 
 Austria in 1484; but in the sixteenth century, on account 
 of its great manufacture in Bohemia, it became known as 
 the Joachims thaler (or Schlicken thaler, or L'dwen thaler'). 
 The subsequent depreciation of the thaler, which came as a 
 matter of course, was very unequal in the different circles, 
 being most strongly marked in Saxony. 
 
 By the first of the Imperial Mint Ordinances, which 
 will be spoken of immediately, the weight of this piece 
 was still retained at i oz., but the standard was reduced 
 to 1 5 loth fine. In 1549 the Elector Maurice fixed the 
 standard at 14 loth 8 grs. fine, while still retaining the 
 tale of 8 to the mark. 
 
 The second Imperial Mint Ordinance of 1551 was 
 constructed as a double basis — 
 
 1. Of the guldfen groschen {i.e. thaler) = 1 gold gulden = 72 kr. 
 
 2. Of the gulden groschen {i.e. thaler) = i gold gulden = 60 kr. 
 
 The tale was altered from 8 to 7 1 to the mark, but the 
 
364 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 standard was lowered still further to 14 loth 2 grs. fine 
 ( = 8^54 to the mark of fine silver). But in the accom- 
 panying tariff the actual specie thaler -piece was set at 
 22 groschen, or 66 kreutzers. 
 
 The third Imperial Mint Ordinance established an im- 
 portant difference from this system, The actual thaler or 
 silver gulden ( = 72 kreutzers) was ordered to be discon- 
 tinued, and no more minted, and a different basis adopted 
 of silver Reichs guldens =60 kreutzers, at a tale of 9 J to 
 the mark, 14 loth 16 grs. fine. 
 
 This intended exclusion of the thaler, however, proved 
 quite ineffectual. Protestations were raised against it, 
 and in the Reichstag at Augsburg the minting of the 
 thaler was again authorised — 8 to the mark, 14 loth 
 4 grs. fine. 
 
 The immediately succeeding movement of the thaler is 
 given in the text (see Table, p. 103). 
 
 Further than, as above, it is out of the question in so 
 brief a r^sum^ to specify the minuter confusions and con- 
 flicting variations of the German monetary system at the 
 opening of the sixteenth century. During the course of 
 that century three separate attempts were made to establish 
 an imperial system that should displace all minor ones, and 
 thus remedy the confusion. 
 
 The first attempt was made by Charles v. in his 
 Imperial Mint Ordinance issued at Esslingen on the loth 
 November i 524. 
 
 The basis of this ordinance was the mark of silver = 8 
 florins 10 schillings 8 heller, and the pieces ordained 
 were — 
 
APPENDIX V.—GERMANY 
 
 365 
 
 1. A silver piece = i Rhenish gold gulden, 8 to the mark, 15 loth fine (see 
 the account of the thaler above), 
 
 2. Orth, 32 to mark, 15 loth fine. 
 
 3. Zdhender = ^ Rhenish gold gulden, 80 to mark, 15 loth fine. 
 
 4. Groschen = -f^ Rhenish gold gulden, 12 loth fine, 136 to mark. 
 
 Besides these coins, the ordinance recognised temporarily 
 a whole series of then-current pfennige. Thus — 
 
 Strasburg pfennige, 
 
 126 to the gulden 
 
 Wurtemberg ,, 
 
 168 
 
 Rappen ,, 
 
 i57i 
 
 Rhenish ,, 
 
 210 ,, 
 
 Saxon , , 
 
 252 
 
 Riider „ 
 
 312 
 
 As explained in the text (p. 96), this ordinance came 
 nowhere into observance, and twenty - nine years later 
 Charles V. issued his second Imperial Ordinance at the 
 Reichstag of Augsburg (1551). 
 
 The system then attempted to be instituted was based 
 on a mark of fine silver =10 florins \2.\ kreutzers but in 
 denomination a double system was employed — • 
 
 I. Gold gulden 
 
 r Gold gulden ^^ 
 \ Gulden groschen J 
 
 60 kr. 
 
 72 
 
 1. The Reichs gulden (= i gold gulden = 72 kreutzers) was prescribed 
 thus — ^\ to the mark, 14 loth 2 grs. fine (see account of thaler, sufra). 
 
 2. The kreutzer-piece was prescribed — 237 to the mark, 6 loth i gr. fine 
 ( = 626! to the mark of fine silver). 
 
 3. The groschen (=^ Reichs gulden) — 94J to the mark, 7 loth 5 grs. 
 fine ( = 207t%V to the mark of fine silver). 
 
 Accompanying these regulations, however, there was a 
 tariff as before, but more comprehensive, for the temporary 
 recognition of a miscellaneous mass of coins of the Rhine, 
 
366 
 
 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 the Netherlands, Lower Saxony, Higher Saxony, Franconia, 
 and the mark of Brandenburg. Thus — 
 
 Reichs groschen, at 12 pfennige, 
 Groschen of Misnia and Franconia, at 
 
 12 pfennige, 
 Rhenish albi and Netherland stuyvers, at 
 
 GROSCHEN. 
 24 
 
 I gulden, at 72 kreutzers. 
 
 25i = 
 
 )» )» 
 
 8 pfennige, 
 
 28 
 
 = 
 
 3 » »J 
 
 Liibeck schellingen, at 12 pfennige. 
 
 28* 
 
 = 
 
 M >3 
 
 Groschen of the Mark, at 8 pfennige, . 
 
 38i 
 
 = 
 
 11 >1 
 
 PFENNIGE. 
 
 
 
 Of the Tyrol, .... 
 
 300 
 
 = 
 
 I gulden, at 60 k 
 
 OfLubeck, .... 
 
 288 
 
 = 
 
 
 Of the mark of Brandenburg, . 
 
 256 
 
 = 
 
 
 Of Saxony and Franconia, 
 
 252 
 
 = 
 
 
 Of Austria, 4 loth fine, 649 to the mark, 
 
 240 
 
 = 
 
 
 Of Bavaria, .... 
 
 210 
 
 = 
 
 
 Of the Rhine, .... 
 
 i86i 
 
 = 
 
 
 OfSwabia, .... 
 
 180 
 
 = 
 
 
 Of Wiirtemberg, 
 
 168 
 
 = 
 
 
 Rappen, .... 
 
 250 
 
 = 
 
 
 OfStrasburg, .... 
 
 120 
 
 = 
 
 
 This ordinance obtained no more vogue than its pre- 
 decessor, the main cause of its slighting being the dissatis- 
 faction of the powers of Upper and Lower Saxony at the 
 tariffing of the thaler, which they declared to be too low, 
 and accordingly advanced (i55S) to 24 groschen (= 32 
 Marien groschen = 72 kreutzers). 
 
 The third Imperial Ordinance was issued at Augsburg 
 on the 1 9th August 1559. Practically the same standard 
 and basis was maintained as in the preceding ordinance, the 
 mark of fine silver being coined into 10 florins 1 3|- kreutzers 
 in the larger species. 
 
APPENDIX v.— GERMANY 367 
 
 But in the detail of these larger species an important 
 difference was established. 
 
 The silver gulden had hitherto been equal to the gold 
 gulden. The actual specie silver gulden in pieces of the 
 time was nominally equivalent to 60 kreutzers. But since 
 I 5 5 I there had been minted a Reichs gulden in specie equal 
 to 72 kreutzers. 
 
 In order to mark the difference it was determined to 
 coin in future only silver gulden = 60 kreutzers, while the 
 gold gulden was put at 75 kreutzers. 
 
 The specie authorised by this third Imperial Ordinance 
 therefore were — 
 
 1. Gold gulden, 72 to mark, iSJ-carat fine, to equal 75 kreutzers. 
 
 2. Silver Reichs gulden, gj to the mark, 14 loth 16 grs. fine, to equal 60 
 kreutzers. 
 
 3. Thaler, or 72 kreutzers silver gulden, to be discontinued. 
 
 4. Kreutzer, to equal ^ gulden, 243J to the mark, 6 loth 4 grs. fine 
 ( = 626f to the mark fine). 
 
 5. Reichs groschen, to equal -it gulden, 8 loth fine, loSJ to the mark ; and 
 a few other species. 
 
 The lower denominations (pfennige and heller) were 
 minted on the basis of the mark = 1 1 florins 5 kreutzers. 
 
 Almost immediately, protestations were raised against 
 this ordinance, especially by the Lower Westphalian Circle, 
 and it remained quite inoperative. The succeeding Reich- 
 stag at Augsburg again authorised the issue of the thaler 
 (8 to the mark, 14 loth 4 grs. fine, so that the fine mark = 
 10 florins 12 kreutzers). 
 
 As late as the Reichstag of Regensburg (1594) 
 desultory attempts were made to establish a uniform 
 system, but all practical idea of it had long ceased, and 
 
368 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 the regulation of Mint matters henceforth fell into the 
 separate jurisdiction of the various Circles. The Lower 
 Circles went their own way at their meetings at Cologne 
 (1566, 1572, and 1582), as did the Upper Circles in their 
 separate meetings in 1 5 64 and 1572 at Nordlingen and 
 Niirnberg. 
 
 At its meeting at Liineburg in 1568 the Lower Saxon 
 Circle adopted a system not far removed from that of the 
 third Imperial Mint Ordinance of 1559. The mark of fine 
 silver was to be coined into 10 florins 4337 kreutzers, and 
 the thaler was fixed at 24 groschen (=72 kreutzers). 
 
 Underneath this separately concerted action of the 
 Circles, however, licence and disorder prevailed in the issue 
 of smaller pieces of a grossly depreciated nature, before 
 which the good heavy silver species disappeared, leaving 
 the greatest confusion, together with a continual rise in 
 prices or fall in the standard. The imperial proclama- 
 tions of 20th January and 24th September 1 571 were of 
 no avail against this process, and by 1585 the mercantile 
 rate had risen, thus — • 
 
 Philipps thaler = 
 
 82 kr. 
 
 Reichs thaler = 
 
 74 „ 
 
 Gulden groschen = 
 
 64 „ 
 
 In 1596 the Imperial Commissioners at Frankfort 
 provisionally recognised as a tariff — 
 
 Gold gulden = 80 kr. 
 
 Reichs thaler = 72 ,, 
 
 Gulden groschen or thaler = 64 , , 
 
 But later in the same year these authorities at Strasburg 
 set the Reichs thaler at 84 kreutzers (mark of fine silver = 
 
APPENDIX v.— GERMANY 369 
 
 12 fl. 36 kr.). As the disorder of the Kipper und Wipper 
 Zeit broke over the Empire, in consequence of the process 
 of wilful depreciation, the Emperor made several public 
 attempts at its arrestation by letters addressed to the 
 various Circles separately ( 1 60 1 , 1603, and 1607). Mean- 
 while, the Reichs thaler had risen to 90 kreutzers (mark of 
 fine silver = 13J florins). 
 
 According to this valuation the gulden of 1551 of 72 
 kreutzers was set at 94 kreutzers, and the gulden of 1559 of 
 60 kreutzers was set at 79 kreutzers. 
 
 It was on this latter basis (of the 60-kreutzer Reichs 
 gulden of 1559 = 79 kreutzers) that was founded the later 
 Misnian, Franconian, and Kammer-Gerichts currencies of 
 the eighteenth century, which did not materially differ 
 amongst themselves, thus — ■ 
 
 Misnian gulden ® 31 groschen ( = 78| kr.) 
 Franconian gulden @ 20 batzen ( = 80 kr.) 
 Kammer-Gerichts gulden =78 kr. 2^ thalers. 
 
 In 1623 the Higher Circles adopted by their Mint 
 determination the following system : — 
 
 Thaler = 90 kr. 
 
 Gold gulden = i fl. 44 kr. 
 Ducat = 2 fl. 20 „ 
 
 In the smaller pieces the basis was the mark of fine 
 silver = 1 6-florin = i o§ thaler. 
 For example — 
 
 4-Batzen, 7 loth fine, 210 to the mark. 
 
 Kreutzer, 5 ,, 300 ,, 
 
 3-Heller piece, 34 „ 560 „ 
 
 Pfennige 3 ,, 720 
 
 24 
 
370 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 To this system the Lower Circles acceded, in the same 
 year 1623, after an ineffectual attempt to enforce the 
 interim standard of 1596, which had set the Reichs thaler 
 at 21 batzen or 84 kreutzers. 
 
 From this united action of the Upper and Lower Circles, 
 Saxony stood apart, following quite a different course. 
 While elsewhere the thaler was raised, here they lowered it 
 to its old equivalence of 24 groschen. In actual practice, 
 however, the step proved only half effective, as the de- 
 preciated thaler was persistently minted. There resulted 
 accordingly, in Saxony, a double system of " good " and 
 " bad " money, with a difference of something like 2 5 per 
 cent, between them. To increase the confusion there was 
 for a time a difference between the practice of Lower 
 Saxony and Electoral Saxony. The former. Lower 
 Saxony, had in 1 6 1 adopted the following system : — 
 
 Reichs thaler == 28 groschen. 
 
 Reichs gulden thaler of 1559 = 24 ,, 
 
 Philipps thaler = 3o|- ,, 
 
 Silver groschen,=234 to the mark, 14 loth, 4 grs. fine. 
 ,, schillingen, 306 ,, 
 
 (So that the mark of fine silver = 12 fl. 9 kr.) 
 
 Finding it impossible to maintain this system, they 
 altered it in 1617, and finally in 1622 conformed with 
 Higher Saxony, setting the Reichs thaler at 24 silver 
 groschens. 
 
 As settled in this and the following year, the system of 
 
 Electoral and Lower Saxony was as follows : — 
 
 Reichs thaler = 24 gulden groschen. 
 
 Gulden thaler of 1559 = 21 „ 
 
 Philipps thaler and gold gulden = 30 ,, 
 
 Ducat = 36 ,, 
 
APPENDIX v.— GERMANY 371 
 
 Contemporaneously (1623), the Brandenburg system 
 was as follows : — 
 
 Reichs thaler 
 
 = 
 
 24 good groschen, 
 
 Gold gulden 
 
 = 
 
 27 
 
 Ducat 
 
 = 
 
 38 
 
 Through the remaining period of the Thirty Years' War 
 very little is on record with regard to the German Mint 
 system. The closing period of the strife was marked 
 by such complaints as to excess of depreciated small 
 specie as had prevailed in 1 620, bringing with it a further 
 enhancement of the price of the larger silver specie. In 
 1665, accordingly, the three Higher Circles, FranConia, 
 Bavaria, and Swabia met together. They found on a 
 trial that the mark of fine silver was selling commercially 
 at from 14 florins 15 kreutzers to 14 florins 20 kreutzers, 
 and that it was impossible to mint the larger silver specie 
 unless the Reichs thaler were set at 96 kreutzers. This 
 would raise the mark of fine silver to 14 florins 24 kreutzers. 
 At the same time it was resolved to declare the ducat at 
 3 florins (mark of fine gold = 203 florins 49 kreutzers, 3H 
 pfennige), the ratio being accordingly changed from 1 5 
 to 14^. 
 
 In 1667 this scheme was provisionally adopted in 
 comitiis. From this scheme Saxony and Brandenburg 
 held off", maintaining that the advance of the Reichs thaler 
 was not sufficient. They accordingly, in the same year, 
 adopted the so-called Zinnaische standard, setting the 
 Reichs thaler at i florin 45 kreutzers (105 kreutzers), equal 
 to 18 good groschens (mark of fine silver = io| thalers, or 
 I 5 florins 4 5 kreutzers). 
 
372 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 The enactment of this system gave rise to a new 
 species of heavy silver coins : — 
 
 Guldener = f thaler. 
 
 ,, = 60 kr. 
 
 ,, = 16 good groschen. 
 
 „ = 32 schillingen. 
 
 Two years later, 1669, the three Higher Circles 
 determined, as a measure of protection to their gold, 
 to alter the ratio, and for that purpose to reduce the 
 thaler from 96 to 90 kreutzers again, while leaving the 
 ducat — 3 florins, and the gold gulden = 2 florins 20 
 kreutzers. 
 
 The mark of fine silver was thus = 3 fl. 30 kr. 
 
 „ gold „ = 204 „ 
 
 (Ratio = 1 5 J.) 
 
 The divisional coins were to be minted on a graduated 
 and enhanced standard. Thus — 
 
 6-kr. and 4-kr. pieces (Batzen), at 13 fi. 55 kr. to the mark fine. 
 Groschen (3 kr.) at 14 fl. 10 ,, ,, 
 
 Kreutzer at 14 fl. 40 ,, ,, 
 
 Pfennige(376oto the mark fine), at 15 fl. 43 ,, ,, 
 
 There were thus three contemporary systems in Germany 
 in 1670 — 
 
 1. Reichs thaler, at 90 kr., mark of fine silver at 13 fl. 30 kr. 
 
 2. ,, at 96 ,, ,, at 14 fl. 24 „ 
 
 3. „ at 105 ,, ,, at isfl. 45 ,, 
 
 The three Upper Circles, however, could not maintain 
 their last enacted order. In spite of its enactment, the 
 Reichs thaler rose again to 96 kreutzers, and the ducat to 
 3 florins 12 kreutzers. 
 
APPENDIX v.— GERMANY 373 
 
 The confusion and general harm which resulted has 
 been referred to in the text (p. 199), and it is to be 
 regarded simply as a stop-gap at any cost that the 
 measure proposed by the Three Circles of fixing the 
 thaler at 90 kreutzers was carried through the Reichstag 
 of 1680. 
 
 From this system, however, the Emperor, with Bavaria 
 and Salzburg, stood apart, putting the Reichs thaler at 96 
 kreutzers ; and ten years later, 1 690, Saxony, Brandenburg, 
 and Brunswick and LUneburg established again a distinct 
 system — the well-known Leipzig standard. 
 
 By this system the Reichs thaler was set at 120 
 kreutzers or 2 florins (mark of fine silver =12 thalers 1 8 
 gulden). 
 
 In a few years this valuation of the thaler prevailed 
 all over the Empire. Sweden acceded to it in 1690, with 
 Bremen and Pomerania, Mainz, Treves, the Palatinate, and 
 Frankfort, and three years later the Higher Circles followed 
 suite. Contemporaneously the gold gulden was advanced 
 to 2 florins 56 kreutzers. 
 
 Although the Emperor subsequently joined in the re- 
 cognition of the Leipzig standard, it did not remain effective 
 in actual practice, and while no further advance of the 
 thaler was officially recognised, the lower denominations 
 were again depreciated by the Mint competition of the 
 various states, i o - kreutzer pieces being minted on a 
 standard of 20 J to 2\\ gulden to the mark fine. In 
 1736 the question of a standard was again brought before 
 the Reichstag; and on the loth September 1738 it was 
 resolved to adopt the Leipzig standard for the Empire, 
 
374 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 with the Reichs thaler = 2 florins, ducat = 4 florins, gold 
 gulden = 3 florins ; while, for the divisional coins, a basis of 
 fine mark silver = i 3! thaler was enacted. 
 
 This system, if it endured at all, did so only for a 
 couple of years. The outbreak of the war of the Austrian 
 Succession brought with it a new period of conflicting 
 depreciations, and at the close Austria took a decisive step. 
 Without taking any measure to secure the co-operation 
 of the Circles, or any part of the Empire, the Emperor 
 Francis I. adopted the 20-gulden standard (the mark of 
 fine silver =133 Reichs thalers = 20 guldens). It was at 
 once adopted in Hungary and Bohemia, the territories of 
 Maria Theresa. 
 
 Frederick Augustus, Elector of Saxony and King of 
 Poland, was the first to adopt this Austrian standard, at 
 Dresden in 1750, though with a very slight variation 
 (putting the mark of fine silver at 1 3-I Reichs thalers 
 instead of 1 3-^). In 1753 Bavaria also acceded to 
 the 20-gulden standard, after a brief attempt (1747— 
 1753) 3.t the erection of a 24-gulden standard, and in 
 the following year the Austrian system was adopted 
 by Brandenburg Anspach, Bayreuth, Wiirzburg, and 
 Niirnberg. 
 
 The Convention of Vienna (21st September 1753), 
 which formally established this Austrian or Convention 
 standard (20-gulden system), prescribed as follows : — 
 
 I. Gold- 
 Mark of fine gold = 283 fl. 5 kr. 4fJ pf. Chief coin = Reichs diicat, 67 to 
 the mark (Cologne mark), 23 kr. 8 grs. fine ( = 67^|- to the mark of fine gold), 
 to = 4 fl. 10 kr. ; the Holland and other ducats then current in Germany being 
 tariffisd at 4 fl. 74 kr. 
 
APPENDIX v.— GERMANY 375 
 
 2. Silver- 
 
 Mark of fine silver = 20 guldens for all manner of silver coins down to the 
 groschen or 3-kreutzer piece (ratio of silver to gold i : 14H). 
 
 The silver coins authorised were — 
 
 1. Thaler (specie or convention thaler = 2 fl.), 10 to the mark, 13J1 loth 
 
 fine. 
 
 2. Gulden (or -J-specie thaler), 20 to the mark, 13J loth fine. 
 
 3. 30-kreutzer piece (^-gulden or J-specie thaler), 40 to the mark, 13J 
 
 loth fine. 
 
 4. 17-kreutzer piece, 70^ to the mark, 8f loth fine (only for Austria). 
 
 5. 7-kreutrer piece, 171? to the mark, 6ff loth fine (only for Austria). 
 
 6. 20-kreutzer piece, 60 to the mark, 9J loth fine. 
 
 7. lo-kreutzer piece, 120 to the mark, 8 loth fine. 
 
 8. Groschen or 3-kreutzer piece, 400 to the mark, sJ loth fine. 
 
 For the lowest denomination of divisional coins, half- 
 groschen, kreutzer, and pfennige, quite varying standards 
 were permitted, according to the piece or locality, namely, 
 from 2of to 33 guldens to the Koln mark. 
 
 For tolerated coin the following tariff was fixed : — 
 
 GOLD 
 Bavarian maxd'or and double gold gulden = 6 fl. 8 kr. 
 Bavarian carolus or 3-gold gulden piece = 9 fl. 12 kr. 
 Kremnitz ducat "j 
 Florentine gigliati J- = 4 fl. 12 kr. 
 Venetian zecchino j 
 All other gold coins to be taken as bullion at a value of 280 fl. for the 
 Cologne mark of fine gold. All silver species of other states below the value of 
 \ florin forbidden. 
 
 Such was the Convention System or Standard, which, by 
 the accession of the Electoral Palatinate, and of Salzburg, 
 might be practically regarded as the Imperial system. 
 
 This Convention system, and these Convention or specie 
 thaler and other coins, remained the Mint system of Austria 
 until modern times. 
 
376 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 The changes which were made in the Austrian system 
 by the Vienna Convention of 1857 have been already 
 detailed (see text, pp. 209—12). 
 
 Ten years later Austria withdrew from this monetary 
 treaty (in accordance with the terms of the treaty of Berlin, 
 13th June 1867), with the intention of acceding to the 
 contemplated French currency treaty of 31st July 1867. 
 She ceased the coining of German gold crowns and half- 
 crowns, and instead minted 4 and i - ducat pieces. From 
 1 870 onwards she coined, in conjunction with Hungary, 
 8 and 4-florin gold pieces, the former 77|- to the pound, 
 .900 fine. 
 
 By a decree of 6th November 1870, the 8-florin gold 
 piece was tariffed at 8. 10 florin. At this it was made 
 legal tender, on the basis of the French ratio of i S J ; but 
 it was practically nothing more than commercial money, 
 like the preceding crowns and half-crowns of the convention 
 of 1857. The standard of Austria remained nominally the 
 silver florin of the convention of 1857, although in actual 
 practice the currency was paper. In March 1879 the 
 Austrian and Hungarian Mints were closed to the coinage 
 of silver on private account, preparatory to a reorganisation 
 of the Austrian monetary system on a gold basis. This 
 reform was decided on in 1892, and briefly prescribed as 
 follows : — 
 
 The monetary unit is the krone or crown = 2 florins ; 
 but to be minted in 10 and 20-crown pieces, i kilogramme 
 pure gold = 3280 crowns, .900 fine. The crown is divided 
 into 100 hellers. 
 
 For the purpose of basing the new system on gold, a 
 
APPENDIX v.— GERMANY 377 
 
 ratio between the old silver and the new gold standard of 
 1:18.22 was adopted, the existing florin being declared 
 = 2 francs i o cents. 
 
 Silver is fractional money only, the old florins passing 
 as 2 crowns. 
 
 South Germany. 
 
 From the Convention or 20-gulden system (the old 
 Austrian system) sprang the accompanying system, the 
 24-gulden standard, which was nothing but the 20-gulden 
 or Austrian standard under another name. Very soon 
 after the establishment of the Convention standard, the 
 Elector of Bavaria perceived or concluded that the con- 
 tinuance of that standard in his dominions would produce 
 disorders so long as the other circles did not accede to the 
 convention. He accordingly arrested the execution of the 
 convention in his territories, and adopted a provisional 
 arrangement. At the end, however, of a long correspond- 
 ence with the Austrian state (Maria Theresa), an agree- 
 ment was made that he should conforni his coins in 
 standard and weight to the convention system, but should 
 be permitted to tariff" them at one-fifth higher rate, putting 
 i.e. the specie thaler not at 2 florins but at 2 florins 24 kr., 
 and so on (the mark of silver being consequently worth 
 24 guldens, instead of, as in the Austrian or Convention 
 system, 20 guldens). 
 
 This was the origin of the 24-gulden standard, which 
 gradually spread over the whole of South Germany, with 
 the exception of Austria. The three Upper Circles acceded 
 in 1 761, Salzburg in 1765, and in the following year the 
 
378 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 Rhenish powers, Mainz, Treves, the Palatinate, Hesse- 
 Darmstadt, and Frankfort. 
 
 From this 24-gulden standard sprang towards the close 
 of the eighteenth century a later development, due to the cir- 
 culation of the kronen thaler or Brabant thaler, which, from 
 1755 onwards, Austria minted for her Netherland posses- 
 sions. The Rhenish provinces drove this piece above its 
 Mint rate, setting it at 2 florins 42 kreutzers, although in 
 the 24-gulden standard its value was only 2 florins Z^\% 
 kreutzers. This implied a standard of 24i\ guldens to the 
 mark of fine silver, and gradually, about the beginning of 
 the present century, Bavaria, Wurtemberg, and Nassau minted 
 convention thalers on the same footing. Baden, Hesse, and 
 Saxe-Coburg followed suit in their minting of kronen 
 thalers until, by the Mint Convention of the South German 
 states in 1837, the new standard (the 24|-gulden standard) 
 was formally recognised as the South German standard. 
 In this convention Austria had no part. 
 
 The standard here detailed, the 24|-gulden or South 
 German standard, was assimilated to the Prussian system 
 in the Dresden Convention, 1838 (see text, p. 205), and in 
 that connection remained intact until the developments of 
 modern times detailed in the text, p. 215. 
 
 Prussia. 
 
 The Prussian monetary system, as a separate identity, 
 took its rise in that same period which ^ witnessed the 
 independent action of Austria, above detailed. Its builder 
 was Frederick the Great, who, for this purpose, called in the 
 advice of a Dutch merchant, Philip Graumann. It is to 
 
APPENDIX v.— GERMANY 379 
 
 this latter that is due the introduction in 1750 of the 
 2 1 -gulden or 1 4-thaler standard, otherwise known as the 
 Graumann standard. 
 
 Thaler = \o\ to the mark, iz loth fine (mark of fine silver there- 
 fore = 14 thalers or 21 guldens). 
 
 Thaler = 24 groschens = 288 pfennige (24 x 12). 
 
 Groschen and J-groschen minted as divisional coins ( = TfV and -}^ 
 thaler) of billon. 
 
 After the temporary debasement during the Seven Years' 
 War, the Graumann standard was re-established in 1764, 
 but with two differences. 
 
 1. The minting of \ and -J -thaler pieces of 12 loth 
 silver was ordered to cease from 1766, and to be replaced 
 from 1764 by — 
 
 \ thaler, loj loth, 28 to the mark •\ 
 
 6 )) 8^ ,, 43I ,, > 14-thaler standard. 
 
 -A „ 6 ,, 63 „ 1 
 
 2. The billon divisional money (minted primarily for 
 the Provincial States of Prussia) was greatly increased in 
 the amount of its issue, but depreciated in standard on a 
 varying scale according to the districts intended, Silesia, 
 Cleves, etc., reaching in some cases even to an i8-thaler 
 standard. Up to 1772 there was issued in these -depre- 
 ciated single and double-groschen pieces an amount equal to 
 8,979,189 thalers. Subsequently, the standard of divisional 
 money was reduced to 2 1 thalers, and at this rate, up to 
 the death of Frederick in 1786, there were issued in 
 6-pfennige and other pieces 12,586,863 thalers' worth. 
 From this time onward, up to the .decrying of this depre- 
 ciated divisional money at the peace of Tilsit, there was 
 minted a matter of 29,628,807 thaler worth. 
 
38o THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 The total, therefore, was 42,215,670 thalers; the 
 pure silver content of which was only 28,243,780 
 thalers. 
 
 By the publicandum of 4th May 1 808, and the edict 
 of I 3 th December 1 8 1 1 , the value of this mass was reduced, 
 the coins being set at from two-thirds to four-sevenths of 
 their normal value, so that — 
 
 42 groschens . . . ^ 
 
 1 , r. , • ^ 1 = 1 eood thaler. 
 
 52^ ,, (Bohemia) . . ' '^ 
 
 but it was not till the law of 30th September 1821 
 that a recoinage could be accomplished. 
 
 The provisions of this law of 1 8 2 1 were as follows : — 
 
 I, Gold— 
 
 Friedrichs d'or as hitherto, viz. 35 to the mark = 5 thalers. 
 
 4. Silver — 
 
 Prussian thaler as before, loj to the mark gross (= 14 to the 
 mark fine). 
 
 7. Thaler to be subdivided into 30 groschens 12 pfennige ; 
 
 the latter tenderable only up to } thaler. 
 
 8. Silver groschen = io6| to the mark, | silver (=16 thalers 
 
 to the mark fine). 
 
 By the law of 1 8 2 1 , this standard came into operation 
 in 1626, and it remained the standard for Prussia and her 
 provinces until the developments in modern times, specified 
 in the text, p. 215. 
 
 At the convention of Dresden, 30th July 1838, the 
 Prussian 14-thaler or 21 -gulden standard was adopted, 
 along with the South German or 24^-gulden standard as 
 the standard of the German ZoUverein. 
 
 Subsequent to that date the Prussian system was 
 
APPENDIX v.— GERMANY 381 
 
 adopted by Hanover, Brunswick, Oldenburg, Mecklenburg, 
 Waldeck, Lippe, etc. 
 
 PRUSSIAN MINTINGS FROM THE REFORM OF 1809 
 TO THE END OF 1836. 
 
 Thaler pieces . . . 70,850,560 
 
 16,942,307 
 
 
 87,792,867 
 
 Full-weighted silver previously in currency . 
 
 95,709,282 
 
 Total of full-weighted silver 
 
 183,502,149 
 
 One-third pieces, minted 1809-1 1 
 
 237,151 
 
 Billon divisional money, minted 1821-36 . 
 
 2.949,760 
 
 Thalers 
 
 186,689,060 
 
 Withdrawn since 1809-36— 
 
 
 ^-thaler pieces . , . 319,522 thalers 
 
 
 tV „ ., ... 135,504 „ 
 
 
 A „ „ ... 428,256 „ 
 
 883,282 
 
 
 185,805,778 
 
 The gold coinage had, in Prussia, little relativity to the 
 silver. 
 
 From 1750 this state minted double, single, and half- 
 pistoles, under the name, Friedrichs d'or, on the basis of 
 3 5 to the mark, 2 1 f carats fine, for the single piece. 
 
 From 1770 the standard was lowered to 2 1§ carats, 
 and at this it was confirmed by the law of September 
 1821. 
 
 The ascertained mintings of these were as follows : — 
 
 1764-86 .... 29,599,4824 thalers. 
 1787-1808 .... 26,515,490 ,, 
 1809-36 .... 13,922,960 ,, 
 
 But long before 1 840 almost the whole of this amount 
 had disappeared or been melted down. 
 
382 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 In state payments the Friedrich d'or was taken at S 
 thalers, but in ordinary commerce up to 1783 they were 
 taken at 5| thalers, a tariff which gradually rose to 5I and 
 5^ thalers. The purchases of gold which the Bank of 
 England made in 1 8 1 6, in order to its resumption of cash 
 payments, drove the pistole or Friedrich d'or up to 5| 
 thalers, and it was not for ten years that it fell back to sf 
 thalers. 
 
 Although paid by Government at this latter, and so 
 continued till the Mint Convention of 1853, it was only as 
 a mercantile commodity. The only legal standard and 
 tender in Prussia was silver (the silver thaler), to which gold 
 was varyingly ratable, according to market fluctuations. 
 
 The Prussian system thus described remained in force 
 until the Vienna coinage treaty of 24th January 1857, the 
 details of which have been already stated in the text. 
 The resolutions of that treaty were adopted by the Prussian 
 Mint law of 4th May 1857, as follows : — 
 
 I. The Prussian pound of 500 grms., decimally 
 divided, is substituted for the previous standard of 233.865 
 grms. 
 
 2—6. The thaler continues the regular silver coin of the 
 country — 
 
 Thirty thalers to the pound of pure silver, .900 fine. 
 
 Thus the 30-thaler standard to take the place of the 
 old 14-thaler standard, but the two to be treated as the 
 same. 
 
 The thaler to be coinable as a convention thaler or 
 Vereins thaler; thaler to be subdivided into 30 groschens, 
 at 12 pfennige. 
 
APPENDIX v.— GERMANY 383 
 
 7-8. Divisional coin limited in tender to ^- thaler as 
 before, and both minted on a 34|-thaler standard. 
 
 1 1 . Gold commercial coins shall be coined under the 
 names of " crown " and " half-crown," in the form and with 
 the attribution of confederation coins, viz. — 
 
 1 . Crown, 3'o- of a pound of fine gold (.900 fine). 
 
 2. Half-crown, j-Jq 
 
 These coins shall be the special gold coins of the 
 country, and other gold pieces shall not henceforth be coined. 
 
 14. The silver value of the gold coinage shall be 
 entirely fixed by the relation of the supply to the demand, 
 and no one is bound to take gold in the place of the legal 
 silver value of the country. 
 
 16. Our Finance Minister is empowered to settle the 
 price at which the crown and the half-crown shall be taken 
 into our pay offices. 
 
 The established ' rate, as well as the permission to 
 receive crowns and half-crowns instead of silver coins in our 
 offices, may at any time be revoked or restricted by the 
 publication of a proclamation by our Finance Minister. 
 
 1 9. Our Minister of State is also authorised to fix the 
 value above which foreign gold and silver coins must not 
 be offered or given in payment in ordinary transactions. 
 
 The subsequent course of events and the existing 
 Prussian (Imperial German) system have been already 
 specified (see text, p. 215). 
 
 Hamburg. 
 
 The origin of the common Mint standard of Liibeck 
 and Hamburg was the division of the mark into 16 
 
384 
 
 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 schillingen, and each schilling into 12 pfennige. The 
 metal mark and the Mint mark soon parted company, and 
 by the time of the treaty of 1255 the two states agreed 
 to mint the mark of iine silver into 38 schillingen 
 I o pfennige ( = 2 marks 6 schillingen i o pfennige). 
 
 The Wendish standard was established by the adoption 
 in 1325 of the Hamburg-Lubeck treaty by Wismar and 
 LUneburg. 
 
 In 1433 this Wendish standard adopted the Cologne 
 mark as its weight basis. 
 
 URSI 
 
 : OF DEPRECIATION OF THE 
 
 STANDARD 
 
 
 
 
 Mks. Sch. Pf. 
 
 1226- 
 
 -The mark of fine silver coined into 
 
 220 
 
 I2SS 
 
 
 
 
 2 9 5 
 
 1293 
 
 
 
 
 298 
 
 1 30s 
 
 
 
 
 2 IS s 
 
 132s 
 
 
 
 
 309 
 
 I3S3 
 
 
 
 > , 
 
 3 10 II 
 
 137s 
 
 
 
 
 430 
 
 1398 
 
 
 
 
 4152 
 
 1403 
 
 
 
 
 S I n 
 
 1411 
 
 
 
 
 S 12 5 
 
 1430 
 
 
 
 
 880 
 
 1450 
 
 
 
 
 9 12 2 
 
 1461 
 
 
 
 
 II 8 10 
 
 1506 
 
 
 
 
 12 8 
 
 The Mint Union of the Wendish states continued 
 until the beginning of the seventeenth century, when 
 it expired unperceived. The experience of Hamburg in 
 the Kipper und Wipper Zeit, with its resultant establishment 
 of the Hamburg Bank, has been already referred to. 
 
 In 1667 Hamburg freely joined the Zinnais<;/te standard^ 
 according to which the mark of fine silver was coined into 
 
APPENDIX V.— GERMANy 385 
 
 \ol thalers ( = 31 marks 8 schillingen, Hamburger courant). 
 She, however, hesitated to follow the German system in its 
 change over to the Leipzig standard in 1 690, and after an 
 interim period of weltering disorder, during which the 
 standard varied from 30 marks to 34 marks 8 schillingen 
 per mark fine of silver, the State adopted in 1725 the 
 so-called Liibeck standard (i mark fine= 34 marks), as the 
 Hamburger courant. 
 
 This standard had existed in Holstein from 1693. In 
 1788 and 1789 long and serious debates were held in 
 Hamburg on the question of the substitution of a lighter 
 (or lower) standard. And seventy years later a change in 
 such direction had practically effected itself, although not 
 legislatively recognised. By 1850 the actual currency of 
 the state consisted mostly of silver coins of the Prussian 
 (or 14-thaler) standard, circulating at an equivalence of 
 I thaler =2^ marks Hamburger courant (=40 schillingen), 
 an equivalence implying a standard of 35 marks courant 
 to the mark of fine silver. 
 
 Legally, however, the 34-marks standard remained in 
 force until the coalescence of the free state of Hamburg 
 with the new imperial German system in our own days. 
 
 The question of the agio of the Hamburg banco 
 system belongs rather to the history of banking. 
 
 German Standards: Silver. 
 
 In brief resume, the historic standards of the German 
 monetary system have been as follows :^Nos. 4, 5, 7, 9, 
 II, 12, 13 representing the systems in existence at the time 
 of the projection of the great currency reform of 1 87 1 : — 
 25 
 
386 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 1 . Old imperial standard of 1 5 S 9, based on the 
 Reichs Munz ordnung of Ferdinand i., mark of fine silver 
 = 8 thalers. Altered in 1622, so that 9 thalers 2 grs.= 
 I mark fine silver. 
 
 2. The Zinnaische standard, agreed upon by Saxony 
 and Brandenburg a^ Zinna, 1 616^, i mark fine silver = 
 10^ thaler = i5f guldens. 
 
 3. Leipzig standard or Torgau standard (see text, 
 p. 200), mark fine silver =18 gulden. 
 
 4. The Prussian standard, 1 4 thalers or 2 1 guldens = 
 I mark fine silver (see above, p. 379). 
 
 5. Convention standard or Austrian standard, mark 
 fine silver = 20 gulden (see above, p. 375). 
 
 6. The 24-gulden standard or new imperial standard 
 of 1766 (see above, p. 377), i mark fine silver = 
 24 guldens. 
 
 7. The 24I, or South German standard (see above, 
 p. 378), I mark fine silver =24 J guldens. 
 
 8. The kronen-thaler standard, existing more or less 
 between 1808 and 1837 in such of the states of the South 
 as had adopted the minting of the Brabant or crown 
 thaler-piece, 9. 1 8 to a mark fine, and issued at 2 guldens 
 42 kreutzers, representing a 24^-gulden standard. It was 
 this system which called into being the 24^-gulden 
 standard, by the evolution of which it was itself completely 
 superseded. 
 
 9. Wechselzahlung, or Weichselgeld, the bank reckoning 
 system of Frankfort-on-the-Maine, 20:^ guldens = 1 3?,^ 
 thalers = i mark fine silver. The standard was, therefore, 
 T^ lighter than the 20-gulden or convention standard. 
 
APPENDIX v.— GERMANY 387 
 
 10. The Augsburg girogeld, a system which existed till 
 1st July 1845, and in, which the exchange with Amsterdam 
 and Hamburg was expressed. Mark of fine silver = 
 I 5 T^^ gulden giro ( 1 00 gulden giro =127 gulden of the 
 convention standard). This system was displaced by the 
 introduction of the 24j-gulden standard. 
 
 11. The Lubeck couirant (or Hamburg courant, as 
 described above), the mark of fine silver =11^ thaler, or 
 34 marks. 
 
 1 2. Hamburg banco, the system of reckoning of the 
 Hamburg Bank. From i 790 the bank reckoned the mark 
 of fine silver = 9^ thaler-banco, or 27! mark-banco. 
 The issue rate was, however, g\ thaler, or 27f mark-banco, 
 the slight premium simply covering the expenses of the 
 bank. In 1 846 this difference was abolished, the mark of 
 fine silver both for receipt and disbursement being reckoned 
 at 27! marks (27 marks 12 schillings). The Hamburg 
 banco was, therefore, appreciated above the Hamburg 
 courant by a matter of 22.522.5 per cent. 
 
 1 3. The Schleswig-Holstein courant, mark of fine 
 silver = 1 1 ^^^ thaler, or 34!^ marks. 
 
 Gold Standards. 
 
 1. Imperial or ducat standard. The Imperial Mint 
 Ordinance of 1559 'contains the first mention of the ducat 
 in German legislation, prescribing it 6j to the mark, 23^- 
 carat fine. Subsequently -the standard varied slightly. 
 Austria minted them 23 carat 8 grs. for herself [kaiser- 
 lichen], at 23 carat 9 grs. for Hungary ikremnitzer). The 
 other German states approximated between a 23-carat 
 
388 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 6 grs. and a 23-carat 8 grs. standard. Baden , struck 
 ducats 22 carat 6 grs. fine, 63.697 to the mark. 
 
 2. The Pistole standard {Friedrichs d'or, August d'or, 
 Wilhelms d'or, Carls d'or, or generally, Louis d'or'), mostly in 
 
 the Northern States of Denmark, mostly 35-t to the mark, 
 2 1 1 carats fine, though with considerable variations {e.g. the 
 Saxon august d'or, 3 S to the mark, 2 1 carats 8 grs. fine. In 
 Bremen this was the legal currency, the louis d'or being 
 taken at 5 thalers at 72 groot, each groot at 5 schwaren). 
 For a considerable period, far into the present century, the 
 merchants of Mecklenburg, Hanover, and Brunswick kept 
 their accounts in gold pistoles ( = 5 thalers). Prussia (as 
 above, p. 382) fixed the pistole at 5f thalers, but elsewhere 
 it had a varying (mercantile) equivalence. 
 
 3. The gold gulden standard. The last of the three 
 Imperial Mint Ordinances ( i 5 5 9) prescribed gold gulden 72 
 to the mark, i 8 J carat fine. They continued to be coined 
 in Southern German states and in Hanover up to the 
 middle of the eighteenth century. 
 
APPENDIX V.^GERMANY 
 
 TABLE OF THE GOLD COINS OF GERMANY- GULDEN, 
 DUCAT, AND FRIEDRICHS D'OR. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Tale to the 
 
 Cologne 
 
 Mark. 
 
 Standard. 
 
 Value of the Piece 
 as expressed in 
 Coin of the 20- 
 
 
 
 Florin Standard. 
 
 
 
 Kar. Grs. 
 
 Fl. Kr. Pfge. 
 
 1252 — 
 
 
 
 
 Florentine florin or gold 
 
 
 
 
 gulden (64 to the 
 
 
 
 
 Florence mark) 
 
 44l 
 
 24 
 
 6 22 i4^'-h 
 
 1371— 
 
 
 
 
 Gold gulden of Cune, 
 
 
 
 
 Archbishop of Treves, 
 
 
 
 
 Wenceslaus of Bo- 
 
 
 
 
 hemia 
 
 66 
 
 23 
 (and I of silver) 
 
 4 6 2m 
 
 1386 and 1399— 
 
 
 
 
 Gold gulden of the 
 
 
 
 
 RhenisH Princes. 
 
 
 
 
 Adopted by Rupert 
 
 
 
 
 II. in 1402 
 
 66 
 
 22 6 
 (and I 6 of silver) 
 
 4 I 1//1 
 
 1409— 
 
 
 
 
 The gulden of the three 
 
 
 
 
 •Spiritual Electors 
 
 
 
 
 (adopted in the same 
 
 
 
 
 year by the Nether- 
 
 
 
 
 lands at Speyer, and 
 
 
 
 
 by the States of the 
 
 
 
 
 Empire at Cologne . 
 
 66 
 
 22 
 
 3 55 3Ht 
 
 1419— 
 
 
 
 
 Gold Gulden of Elector 
 
 
 
 
 Frederick of Branden - 
 
 
 
 
 burg (66 to the Niirn- 
 
 
 
 
 berg mark) 
 
 64i 
 
 19 
 
 3 28 ^vm 
 
 1422 — 
 
 
 
 
 Gold gulden of King 
 
 
 
 
 Sigismund (68 to the 
 
 
 
 
 Niirnberg mark) 
 
 66i 
 
 22 6 
 
 3 59 if^t 
 
 1428 and 1429 — 
 
 
 
 
 Gold gulden of Emperor 
 
 
 
 
 Sigismund (confirmed 
 
 
 
 
 at Frankfort and 
 
 
 
 
 Niirnberg, 1433,1438, 
 
 
 
 
 and 1442) 
 
 68 
 
 19 
 
 3 17 z-M^ 
 
 1438- 
 
 
 
 
 Gold gulden of the 
 
 
 
 
 Elector of Mainz, 
 
 67 
 
 19 
 
 3 20 2*fff 
 
39° THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 TABLE OF THE GOLD COINS OF GE^^^:S\— continued. 
 
 Yeai\ 
 
 1442— 
 Gold gulden of Emperor 
 Frederick iv. . 
 
 1477— 
 Gold gulden as adopted 
 by agreement of sever- 
 al Electoral Princes 
 at Frankfort 
 
 149s and 1497— 
 Gold gulden as adopted 
 at Worms, and in 1498 
 at Lindau and Frei- 
 burg 
 
 1506 — 
 Gold gulden as by treaty 
 between Bamberg, 
 Wurzburg, and Bran- 
 denburg . 
 
 1509— 
 Gold gulden adopted by 
 the Reichstag at 
 Frankfort 
 
 1524— 
 Gold gulden as deter- 
 mined by the Imperial 
 Mint Ordinance of 
 Charles v. at Es- 
 slingen 
 
 1551- 
 Gold gulden as deter- 
 mined by the Imperial 
 JVIint Ordinance of 
 Charles v. at Augs- 
 burg 
 
 1559- 
 Gold gulden as deter- 
 mined by the Imperial 
 Mint Ordinance of 
 Ferdinand I. 
 
 Gold ducat {ibid. ) . 
 
 Tale to the 
 
 Cologne 
 
 Mark. 
 
 72 
 
 /68| 
 \69i 
 
 71J 
 
 7x1 
 
 7ii 
 
 n\ 
 
 72 
 67 
 
 Standard. 
 
 Kar. Grs. 
 
 19 o 
 
 19 o 
 18 10 
 
 i8 6 
 
 18 6 
 (and 3 6 of silver) 
 
 18 6 
 (and 4 o of silver) 
 
 18 6 
 (and 3 8 of silver) 
 
 18 6 
 (and 3 8 of silver) 
 23I 
 
 Value of the Piece 
 as expressed in 
 Coin of the 20- 
 
 Florin Standard. 
 
 Fl. Kr. Pfge. 
 3 6 3.V1r 
 
 3 IS 
 3 12 
 
 T -2 + 2 1 
 
 OS (ids 
 
 6 o^fg- 
 
 6 i^Wx 
 
 2 54 m\^ 
 
 J o °T31IT 
 
 3 4 
 
 (to= r 
 
 fl. 44 kr. 
 
APPENDIX v.— GERMANY 391 
 
 TABLE OF THE GOLD GULDEN AND TiMCKT— continued. 
 
 From 1559 the Tale and Standard remained legally unaltered ; the only 
 variations being thenceforward in equivalence or tariff, thus — 
 
 Fair of 1585 . Set the Rhenish gold gulden and Philipps thaler at 82 kr. 
 1596 . . Imperial Commissioners at Frankfort set the gold gulden at 
 
 80 kr. 
 About 1600 . Gulden of 1551, of 72 kr., set at 94 kr. 
 .> • .. I559> .. 60 ,, 79 ,, 
 
 1602, April 10 . Brandenburg ducat set at 2 fl. 
 
 ,, Philipps thaler and Reichs gold gulden set at 20 batzen. 
 
 rFranconia ^ 
 1601 and 1602 ■! Bavaria [-ducat, 67 to Cologne mark, 23 carats 8 grs. 
 
 ISwabia ; 
 1604 . . Ibid. {Munz Probations Tag), gold gulden, 72 to Cologne mark, 
 
 18 carats 6 grs. fine. 
 1623, July 31 . Mint Edict of John George, Duke of Saxony, Rhenish gold 
 gulden set at i gulden 6 good groschen. 
 
 1623 . . Higher Circles gold gulden = i fl. 44 kr. 
 ,, . ,, ducat = 2 ,, 20 ,, 
 ,, August 23 . Wurtemberg gold gulden = i fl. 44 kr. 
 
 „ „ „ ducat = 2 ,, 20 , 
 
 ,, ,, 29 . Archduke Leopold of Austria set the gold gulden at I fl. 52 kr. 
 
 „ „ „ ducat 2 ,, 30 „ 
 
 ,. October 19 Strasburg gold gulden = I fl. 52 kr. 
 
 „ ,, ducat = 2 „ 30 „ 
 
 , , . . Electoral Saxony, Philipps or gold gulden = 30 groschen. 
 
 ,, . . ,, ducat = 36 ,, 
 
 ., . . Brandenburg gold gulden = 27 groschen. 
 
 . . „ ducat = 38 „ 
 
 ,, October 23 Frankfort gold gulden = i fl. 44 kr. 
 
 „ „ ducat = 2 „ 24 ,, 
 
 ,, . . Lovi^er Saxony gold gulden = 26f groschen ( = i fl. 40 kr. ). 
 
 1624 . . Three Circles (Franconia, Bavaria, Swabia) 
 
 gold gulden = i fl. 50 kr. 
 • • ,, ,, ,, ducat = 2,, 30 „ 
 
 1637 . ,, ,, ,, gold gulden tolerated at 2 fl. 
 
 ■ • ,, „ „ ducat ,, 3 ,, 
 
 (But to be reduced respectively to ij fl. and 2 fl. 24 kr.) 
 1659 . . Three Circles gold gulden = 2 fl. :o kr. 
 
 „ . , ducat = 3 „ 
 
 1665 . . ,, (Franconia, Bavaria, Swabia) ducat = 3 fl. 
 
392 
 
 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 1669 
 
 J) 
 1690 
 
 >) 
 1695 
 
 1736 \ . 
 1738:-' 
 1748 
 1751, May 2 
 
 1 77 1, March 23, 
 
 ') s> 
 
 3 9 9 9 
 
 1783, Sept. I, . 
 
 9 9 99 
 
 1786, Jan. 12, . 
 
 1756 
 
 1786, Jan. 12, 
 
 1750 
 1770 
 
 i8S7 
 187 1 
 
 Three Circles ducat = 3 A. 
 
 ,, gold gulden = 2 fl. 20 kr. 
 
 In consequence of Leipzig standard, gold gulden = 2 fl. 56 kr. 
 
 „ ,, ducat =4fl. 
 
 Austrian ducat = 4 fl. 
 
 ,, gold gulden = 3 „ 
 
 ,, ducat =49, (but circulating at 4 fl. 15 kr.). 
 
 ,, ducat = 4 fl. 10 kr. 
 ,, Imperial ducat = 4 fl. 10 kr. 
 ,, Kremnitz „ =4,, 12 „ 
 Other „ = 4 ,, ^\ ,, 
 
 Austria (Imperial Patent) Kremnitz ducat 
 Imperial, Bavaria, Salzburg ,, 
 
 Holland and others ,, 
 
 Kremnitz ducat and zecchini 
 Imperial , , 
 Holland ,, 
 
 Imperial ducat 
 
 Kremnitz Bavarian Salzburg „ 
 Holland 
 
 (This equivalence of 4 fl. 30 kr. remained till the Vienna 
 Convention (at 67 to the Koln mark, 23! fine = 4J gulden, 
 ratio = I : ISJH (15.2873), the ratio prescribed by the Edict 
 of the Emperor Joseph II., of 12th January 1786.) 
 Souverain, or souverain d'or (originally Netherlands), minted in 
 Vienna Mint, 22 carat f gr. , 42. 09 1 to mark gross (45. 874 fine) 
 = 6 gulden 11 kr. i pf. 
 Souverain, or souverain d'or = 6 gulden, 40 kr. (makes a ratio 
 
 of 15.2923). 
 Prussian Friedrichs d'or, 35 to mark, 21 J carat fine (= 261 grs. 
 
 of fine gold to the piece). 
 Prussian Friedrichs d'or, 35 to mark, 2i§ carat fine ( = 260 grs. 
 fine gold to the piece). 
 (Confirmed by law of 30th Sept. 1821.) 
 Vienna Convention trade money (see p. 210). 
 lo-mark piece, 1394 to the German pound, .goo fine. 
 
 = 4 
 
 julden 
 
 18 kr 
 
 = 4 
 
 
 16 ,, 
 
 = 4 
 
 
 14 „ 
 
 = 4 
 
 
 22 ,, 
 
 = 4 
 
 
 20 , 
 
 = 4 
 
 
 18 , 
 
 = 4 
 
 
 30 9. 
 
 = 4 
 
 
 20 ,, 
 
 = 4 
 
 
 18 „ 
 
 TABLE OF THE THALER. 
 
 1555, Brunswick, Luneberg, Hanover, etc. — Thaler = 32 Marien groschen 
 24 silver groschen. 
 1558, Saxony Mint Ordinance (renewing previous ordinances in spite of th 
 
APPENDIX V— GERMANY 393 
 
 Imperial Ordinance) — Thaler or gulden thaler, 14 loth 8 grs. fine, 8 to mark 
 ( = 8f^ to mark fine) = to 24 groschen : mark fine therefore equal to 10 fl. 38 kr. 
 
 1559, Imperial Ordinance — forbidden. 
 
 1566, Reichstag of Augsburg — again authorised ; 14 loth 4 grs., 8 to the 
 mark fine ; equal 72 kr.; mark fine therefore= 9 thalers 68 kr. (10 fl. 12 kr.). 
 
 1855, Frankfort Fair— Philipps thaler = 82 ki:. 
 
 1596, Imperial Commissioners at Frankfort — Philipps thaler provisionally set 
 at 72 kr. 
 
 .Same year, December 1596, Imperial Commissioners at Strasburg — Reichs 
 thaler — 84 kr. (or 21 batzen), according to which mark of fine silver = 12 fl. 
 36 kr. 
 
 Beginning of seventeenth century (Imperial letters)— Reichs thaler recognised 
 at 90 kr. as highest limit. 
 
 1623 (Higher Circles) — Reichs thaler recognised at 90 kr. 
 
 Electoral Saxony — Reichs thaler = 24 good groschen. 
 
 1610, Lower Saxony — Reichs thaler = 28 good groschen ; Philipps thaler, 
 30 J good groschen (mark fine silver = 12 fl. 9 kr.). 
 
 1617, Lower Saxony^ — Reichs thaler = 30 silver groschen. 
 
 1665 (Three Circles, 1667 in comitiis) — Reichs thaler = 96 kr. (fine mark = 
 14 fl. 24 kr.). 
 
 1667, Saxony and Brandenburg (Zinnaische Fuss) — Reichs thaler = i H. 
 45 kr. = 28 good groschen (fine mark = isf fl. ). 
 
 1669 (Three Circles) — Reichs thaler reduced to 90 kr. (fine mark = 1 3 fl. 30 kr. ). 
 
 1680 (the Three Circles carried it in comitiis) — Reichs thaler reduced to 
 90 kr. (fine mark = 13 fl. 30 kr.). 
 
 1 68 1, Emperor at Salzburg set the Reichs thaler = 96 kr. 
 
 1690 (Leipzig Mint, for Saxony, Brandenburg, Brunswick, Luneburg) — Marie 
 fine = 12 thalers = l8 fl.; Reichs thaler = 2 fl. (120 kr.). 
 
 1691, rejected by Hamburg, Lubeck, and Bremen, who stuck to Reichs thaler 
 = 24 groschen, or 48 schillingen, or 90 kreutzers, or 3 marks (to be reduced to 
 this by three drops). 
 
 1750, Prussia — Frederick v. 14-thaler, or 21-gulden fuss (14 thalers to the 
 mark fine), thaler = 24 groschen, i groschen = 12 pfennige. 
 1821, Thaler = 30 groschen. 
 
 1857, ,, =30 to the pound of pure silver, .900 fine. 
 1871, ,, =3 marks (see p, 216). 
 
394 
 
 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 TABLE OF THE GROSCHEN. 
 
 Tale to the 
 Cologne Mark. 
 
 Standard. 
 
 1226 — 
 The GrosTournois minted at Tours in 
 France (58 to the troy mark) 
 
 1296 — 
 Groschen of Bohemia and Meissen . 
 
 1324— 
 Groschen of Meissen 
 
 1341— 
 
 Groschen of Bohemia 
 
 1350— 
 Meissen 
 
 1364— 
 Bohemia ..... 
 
 1378- 
 Bohemian groschen, as by the Con- 
 stitution of Charles IV. and Wen- 
 ceslaus ...... 
 
 1380- 
 
 Meissen ...... 
 
 1407— 
 
 Wiirzburg (74 to the Wurzburg mark) 
 
 1444— 
 Saxony and Meissen 
 
 1444— 
 
 Frederick 11. of Saxony (four kinds of 
 groschen) . . . . ' . 
 
 1484— 
 Archduke Sigismund of Austria (8 
 gulden groschen to the Vienna mark) 
 
 1490— 
 Schvvart groschen 
 Large groschen of Hesse 
 Hamburg . 
 LUbeck . 
 Bohemia . 
 
 (18 other species concurrent.) 
 
 5StV 
 
 63i 
 
 64i 
 
 78 
 
 91 
 
 74* 
 
 70 . 
 
 72 
 
 72A"t 
 
 160 
 120 
 104 
 
 6safi 
 
 103 
 
 112 
 104 
 
 107 
 84 
 
 Loth. Grs. 
 
 15 6 
 
 15 o 
 
 15 o 
 
 10 o 
 
 14 o 
 
 9 o 
 
 14 I 
 
 16 
 
 12 
 
 8 
 
 o 
 o 
 IS 
 13 
 
 6 12 
 
APPENDIX v.— GERMANY 
 TABLE OF THE GROSCHEN— to??ft'»«frf. 
 
 395 
 
 
 Tale to the 
 Cologne Mark. 
 
 Standard. 
 
 
 
 Loth. 
 
 Grs. 
 
 1524— 
 
 
 
 
 Imperial Mint Ordinance of Charles v. 
 
 136 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 1551— 
 
 
 
 
 Imperial Mint Ordinance of Charles v. 
 
 r 94i 
 
 \ ICO 
 
 7 
 
 5 
 
 (16 contemporary species.) 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 1559— 
 
 
 
 
 Imperial Mint Ordinance of Ferdinand 
 
 
 
 
 I, — Reichs groschen 
 
 io8| 
 
 •8 
 
 
 
 1572- 
 
 
 
 
 Lower Saxony — Silver groschen 
 
 1084 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 „ Marien groschen 
 
 1554 
 
 7 
 
 II 
 
 1573— 
 
 
 
 
 Brandenburg 
 
 108 
 
 8 
 
 34 
 
 1610 — 
 
 
 
 
 Lower Saxony . . . . 
 
 116 
 
 14 
 
 4 
 
 1617- 
 
 
 
 
 Lower Saxony 
 
 144 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 1622 — 
 
 
 
 
 Higher and Lower Saxony 
 
 io8i 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 1667— 
 
 
 
 
 Brunswick and Luneber^— 
 
 
 
 
 Good groschen .... 
 
 i6o 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 Marien groschen .... 
 
 192 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 1669— 
 
 
 
 
 The ThreeCircles(Franconia, Bavaria, 
 
 
 
 
 and Swabia) 
 
 I4l| 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 1680— 
 
 
 
 
 The Three Circles(Franconia, Bavaria, 
 
 
 
 
 and Swabia) 
 
 141 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 1690 — 
 
 
 
 
 Leipzig standard-^Good groschen . 
 
 ISO 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 ,, Marien groschen . 
 
 1624 
 
 5 
 
 14 
 
 1738- 
 
 
 
 
 As adopted in comitiis — 
 
 
 
 
 Groschen 
 
 125 
 
 6 
 
 -7 
 
 Imperial groschen .... 
 
 1 341* 
 
 5 
 
 i3i 
 
 Marien groschen .... 
 
 171 
 
 b 
 
 
 
396 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 APPENDIX VI 
 
 THE MONETARY SYSTEM OF FRANCE 
 
 The meti'ic system on which the French Mint was worked 
 throughout the period treated of in this work up to the 
 Revolution was as follows : — 
 
 I luark — 8 oz. 
 
 ,, = 64gros. (8x8). 
 ,, = 192 dens. (64 X 3). 
 ,, = 4608 grs. (192 X 24). 
 
 An alternative subdivision of the ounce was as 
 
 follows : — 
 
 I oz. = 20 esterlings. 
 ,, = 320 mailles (20 x 16). 
 „ = 640 felins (320 X 2). 
 
 For the alloy or standard the mark was thus sub- 
 divided : — 
 
 For gold mark = 24 carats each subdivided into 32 parts. 
 ,, silver ,, = 12 dens, each subdivided into 24 grms. 
 
 In France fine gold was only refined to 2 3 If carats, and 
 fine silver 1 1 deniers 1 8 grs. In calculation the absolute 
 fineness of 24 carats and i 2 deniers must be used. 
 
APPENDIX VI.— FRANCE 397 
 
 The system of reckoning was as follows : — 
 
 I Hvre = 20 sols. 
 I sol. = 12 den. 
 I den. = 2 oboles. 
 I obole = 2 pites. 
 I pile = 2 semipites. 
 
 The reckoning by livres, sols., deniers was derived from 
 the Prankish kings. For a time the system of reckoning 
 by the mark threatened to replace it, but in i 3 1 3 it was 
 again authorised by Philippe le Bel. 
 
 The origin of the difference between the livres Tour- 
 nois and the livres Parisis is to be sought in the feudal 
 Mint franchises of the barons. At one time there was a 
 difference between the two systems of 25 per cent., the 
 barons who had the right of minting preferring to do so 
 at Tours, or according to the Tours weight, which was the 
 more depreciated of the two, while at Paris the French 
 kings attempted to keep up a tradition of a better weight 
 standard. 
 
 The distinction of livres Tournois and livres Parisis 
 was maintained until the days of Louis XIV., when (1667) 
 it was abolished, and the reckoning by a single livre, sol, 
 denier, was established. (For the intermediate experiment 
 of Henry III. see text p. 87.) 
 
 The monetary system of Charlemagne was the pre- 
 cursor and source of the chief currency systems of mediaeval 
 and modern Europe, with the exception of Spain. It 
 was itself an imitation of the system of the Eastern 
 Empire. 
 
 Its basis was the libra or pound, which occurs in two 
 forms — (l) the gold pound, (2) the silver pound. Under 
 
398 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 the first race of the French kings the monetary divisions of 
 the former were — 
 
 1. The gold solidus, a name which gave birth to the 
 Spanish and Itahan soldo and the French sol. {sou). 
 
 2. The third of the gold solidus (Triens or Tremissis). 
 Of the latter the aliquot parts were — 
 
 I. The silver solidus. 
 
 .i. ^ ,, (Tremissis). 
 
 3. The denarius. 
 
 I gold solidus = 3^ silver solidi = 40 denarii. 
 
 Under the system of the Eastern Empire the gold 
 solidus had weighed 85^^ grs. and under the Merovingian 
 Kings yo^ grs. Under the rule of the Second House a 
 considerable alteration took place. Charlemagne adopted 
 for the basis of his system the East Frank or Rhenish libra, 
 which was one-fourth heavier than the Roman libra adopted 
 by the Merovings. His denarius accordingly weighed 32 
 grs. If ideally constructed the system, as far as silver 
 is concerned, would be this — 
 
 12 denarii = i solidus. 
 20 solidi = I libra. 
 32 X 20 X 12 = 7680 grs. = I libra. 
 
 As far as the more precious metal is concerned, the 
 gold solidus was, as a matter of fact, hardly to be met with 
 under the second race. But, theoretically, it was still 
 considered equal to 40 denarii. 
 
 40 X 32 = 1280 grs. 
 J-f|^= 106.6 grs. for the gold solidus. 
 
 Rut there are some actually met with containing 132 
 grs. 
 
APPENDIX VI.— FRANCE 399 
 
 Sols d'or as a reminiscence of the first and second race 
 are said to have still lingered in use at the commencement 
 of the third race of kings. Under Philip I. they occur as 
 francs d'or and florins d'or. In speaking of this latter 
 term in the account of Florentine money (Appendix, i. 
 supra, p. 301), it has been pointed out as possible that it 
 is merely the name for an ideal money, not an actual coin. 
 (See however, preface, p. xiii.) 
 
 The actual reinstitution of gOld monies in France has 
 been already dealt with (text, p. 10). Of the species of 
 the gold monies it would be almost an impossibility to 
 speak. 
 
 Putting aside the disputed florin d'or, the first authen- 
 ticated type of the gold monies was the aignel d'or or denier 
 d'or a I' aignel, so called from the lamb (agneau = aignel), 
 stamped on it. Under St. Louis, to whom it is first 
 assigned, it weighed 3 deniers 5 grs., was of fine gold and 
 worth I 2 sols. 6 deniers Tournois. 
 
 Philippe le Bel, Louis Huttin, Philippe le Long, and 
 Charles le Bel maintained this coin at the same weight and 
 standard. Those of King John were of the same standard 
 or fineness, but were slightly heavier, weighing 3 deniers 1 6 
 grs. Under Charles vi. and Charles vir. both weight and 
 fineness were considerably reduced. Under the various 
 names of agnels d'or, moutons d'or a la grande laine, moutons 
 d'or d la petite laine, this species had currency in France for 
 nearly two hundred years. The imitations of it in surround- 
 ing countries were almost numberless. 
 
 Royal (for the origin of the piece, see text, p. 10). 
 Philippe le Bel minted petits royaux d'or fin, 70 to the 
 
400 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 mark and with an equivalence of 1 1 sols. Parisis. Gros 
 royaux were the double of the petits royaux. Charles le 
 Bel and Philippe de Valois struck royaux 58 to the mark. 
 King John struck royaux or deniers d'or au Roial 66 and 
 69 to the mark, Charles V. 63 to the mark, and Charles VI. 
 64 and 70 to the mark. 
 
 Masses or chaises {cadieres, Royaux durs), were coined 
 by Philippe le Bel, 2 2 -carat fine and 5 deniers 12 grs. the 
 piece. The chaises d'or of his successor varied greatly from 
 these. Philippe de Valois coined them of iine gold, and 
 
 3 deniers 16 grs. the piece, and Charles VI. of fine gold 
 
 4 deniers 1 8 grs. the piece. Under Charles VII. the 
 standard was reduced to 16 carats and the weight to 2 
 deniers 29 grs. 
 
 Of other early gold species it is sufficient to mention — 
 
 Reims, coined by Philippe le Bel. 
 
 Florin George, ,, Philippe de Valois. I 
 
 Parisis (for, . . . . . 32f to mark = 20 sols. Parisis. 
 
 Lion ... ... 50 to the mark. 
 
 Pavilion ..... 48 ,, 
 
 Couronne ...... 45 ,, 
 
 Ange or angelot . • ■ 33l .. 
 
 Denier d^ or a V ecu . . • 54 jj 
 
 The last of these species {deniers d'or a I'^cu) continued 
 to be minted, and had wide currency through the reign of 
 John up to their cessation in 1354. There was, however, 
 great variation in the standard from fine gold to 23, 2 2f, 
 2 1 , and even i 8 carats. 
 
 The reign of John was marked, 1361, by the com- 
 mencement of the coining of the important franc d'or of 
 fine gold, 63 to the mark =20 sols, or i livre. 
 
APPENDIX VI..— FRANCE 401 
 
 Its standard (of fine gold) was maintained under Charles 
 V. and until Charles VII., but under the latter monarch the 
 weight was reduced (to a tale of 80 to the mark). 
 
 Fleurs de lis d'or (or Florins dor aux fleurs de lis) 
 were first minted in 1365 by Charles V. They were of 
 fine gold, and weighed exactly i gros. Being equivalent 
 to the franc (i.e. equal to i livre or 20 sols.), it received 
 the same name, being styled Franc d pied to distinguish it 
 from the Franc dor proper, which was styled Franc d, cheval. 
 
 Saluts were first minted by Charles VI. in 1421 of fine 
 gold, and of the same weight as the francs d cheval, but 
 equal to 25 sols. 
 
 Couronnes or ^cus d la couronne were first coined by 
 Charles vi. in 1384 of fine gold, weighing 3 deniers 4 grs. 
 {i.e. 64 to the mark), and equal 22 sols. 
 
 This was the most celebrated gold coin of mediaeval 
 France. It lasted down to the time of the louis d'or, and 
 was in high repute all over Europe. 
 
 Under Charles VI. and Charles VII. numerous changes 
 were made in this piece both in weight and standard. At 
 one time, under Charles vi., the standard fell as low as 
 16 carats. In 1436, however, they were again made of 
 fine gold, but 70 to the mark, and issued at an equivalence 
 of 25 sols. In 1455 they were issued 23^ carats fine, 
 7 I to the mark, and =27 sols, the piece. 
 
 In 1473 Louis XI. issued them 72 to the mark; but 
 
 two years later he began the issue of ^cus d'or au soleil 
 
 [crowns of the sun), of the same fineness as the couronne, but 
 
 slightly heavier (70 to the mark). 
 
 From the days of Charles VIII. the crown of the sun 
 26 
 
402 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 {ecus d'or au soleil, also called ^cus au porc-epi') took the 
 place of older crowns. Under Francis I. they were gener- 
 ally 23 carats fine and 'j\\ to the mark, under Charles ix. 
 23 carats fine and 72 J to the mark. At this latter they 
 remained till the days of Louis Xiv. The change of 
 equivalence must be followed in the accompanying tables. 
 
 From the old ^cus a la couronne must be distinguished 
 the dcus heaumes, which were issued in small quantities 
 under Charles VI., generally 48 to the mark and 22 carats 
 fine. 
 
 Henris d'or occur only under Henry II., 23 carats fine, 
 2 deniers 20 grs. weight, and issued at an equivalence of 
 50 sols. 
 
 Louis d'or (see text, p. 91), first issued in 1 640 under 
 Louis XIII. in imitation of the Spanish standard ; 2 2 carats 
 fine, 3 6\ to the mark, and = i o livres. Standard and 
 weight remained unchanged until 1709. See tables below 
 for subsequent change. 
 
 Lis d'or have merely a transitory importance. They 
 were issued in 1656 and shortly after, but almost im- 
 mediately discontinued ; 2 3 j carats fine, 3 deniers 3 h 
 grs. the piece (6o| to the mark) = 7 livres (to be dis- 
 tinguished as a third type from the fleurs de lys d'or of 
 King John, and the separate fleur de lys d'or of Charles v.). 
 
 Silver Coins. 
 
 The silver deniers of the first royal race of France 
 averaged 21 grs. in weight. Under the second race a 
 much heavier system was adopted, those of Charlemagne 
 weighing 28 grs., and those of Charles the Bold 32 
 
APPENDIX VI.— FRANCE 403 
 
 grs. At the commencement of the third race they were 
 still of fine silver, and weighed about 23 or 24 grs. 
 The process of diminution by alloy and in weight began 
 under Philippe I. For the question of the existence of a 
 silver solidus, see Le Blanc, Introduction, p. xii. If they 
 ever existed their place as a large silver specie was at an 
 early date taken by that of the gros Tournois (called also 
 gros deniers d' argent, gros deniers blancs, and sols d' argent), 
 attributed to S. Louis ; 1 1 deniers 1 2 grs. fine, 7 grs. 
 weight (58 to the mark), and issued at an equivalence of 
 1 2 deniers or i sol. 
 
 In the commencement, therefore, of this piece the gros 
 Tournois was synonymous with the sol. Tournois. With 
 the degeneration of the standard, however, the coin (the gros) 
 parted company from the sol., which remained as a system 
 of reckoning. 
 
 Up to the time of Philippe de Valois this money con- 
 tinued of undiminished weight and standard, and of the 
 greatest celebrity. When that prince, in i 343, returned to 
 good money after a period of debasement, he coined the 
 gros Tournois 60 to a mark, of fine silver, and at an 
 equivalence of 1 5 deniers Tournois. For its subsequent 
 course, see tables infra. It is noticeable that while in 
 weight and value the gros Tournois was frequently changed, 
 in fineness no diminution was made. 
 
 Parisis d'argent, issued only by Philippe de Valois (of 
 fine silver, 4 deniers in weight = 1 5 deniers Tournois or 
 I sol. Parisis). 
 
 Testoons are to be regarded as the successors of the 
 gros Tournois. They were first issued by Louis Xli. 
 
404 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 in 1513; II deniers 18 grs. fine, 7 deniers \2\ grs. 
 weight, and =10 sols. This species continued until its 
 interdiction by Henry III. in 1575, who replaced them in 
 that year by 
 
 Francs d' argent, i o deniers i o\% grs. fine, 1 1 deniers 
 I grain weight (or 17;^ to the mark), and = 20 sols. 
 This piece continued until the days of Louis XIII. 
 
 Quart d'ecus, also issued by Henry III., 1 1 deniers fine, 
 7 deniers 1 2^ grs. weight, and =15 sols {i.e. a quarter 
 the value of the ecu d'er, then set at 60 sols). This piece 
 endured till 1646. 
 
 Louis d'argent, issued by Louis XIII. (see p. 402, Louis 
 d'or), 1 1 deniers fine, 2 1 deniers 8 grs. weight for the ecus 
 blancs. This money continued till the Revolution. 
 
 Lis d'argent, issued for a few months in 1656, 1 1 deniers 
 12 grs. fine, 6 deniers 5 grs. weight, and = 20 sols. 
 Franc, modern (see text, p. 176). 
 
 The history of the French monetary system has been 
 briefly told in the text, pp. 10, 31-40, 83-95, 167-197. 
 The tables of the present Appendix afford particular 
 information as to the course of the above-mentioned coins, 
 down to the last great change in the French system. 
 They bring out also, in strong relief, the numerous and 
 arbitrary and excessive debasements which that system 
 underwent in the Middle Ages. The particular episode 
 of the eighteenth - century depreciation, which followed 
 upon the erection of the system of John .Law, may be, in 
 brief, more appropriately sketched here than in the text. 
 
 The third of the three great recoinages of 1689, 1693, 
 and 1703 had left the louis d'or tariffed at an equivalence 
 
APPENDIX VI.— FRANCE 405 
 
 of 1 5 livres, and the louis d'argent at 4 livres. By the 
 end of 1708 these figures had sunk to 12 livres 15 sols, and 
 3 livres 8 sols, respectively. By the decree of April 1709 
 quite a different standard was adopted. The louis d'or was 
 minted 32 to the mark, 2 2 carats fine, and = 1 6 livres 
 I o sols., while the louis d'argent was minted 8 to the mark, 
 I I deniers fine, and = 4 livres 8 sols. In the month of 
 May 1 709 a second edict raised these equivalences to 
 20 livres and 5 livres respectively. The sufferings of 
 French commerce under this extraordinary tariff led to its 
 annulling by the decree of 3bth September 17 13, by which 
 a reduction of equivalence was made to 14 livres and 3 
 livres 10 sols, respectively. In December of the same 
 year a reformation was again attempted. The new species 
 were of the same content and fineness as the old, but were 
 tariffed at 20 livres for the louis d'or, and 5 livres for the 
 louis d'argent, while the unreformed .specie were tariffed at 
 16 livres and 4 livres respectively. Three years later 
 began the period of the monetary disorder of the minority 
 of Louis XV. In November 17 16 a new louis d'or was 
 issued, 20 to the mark, 22 carats fine. In May 17 18 
 again a new issue took place — louis d'or 25 to the mark, 
 22 carats; louis d'argent 10 to the mark, 11 deniers 
 fine. 
 
 There were thus, at the time, four different louis d'or in 
 existence, namely : — 
 
 The old louis d'or 
 
 . 36i 
 
 to 
 
 the mark. 
 
 The old louis d'or of 1709 ) 
 1715! 
 
 • 30 
 
 
 j> )j 
 
 1716 
 
 . 20 
 
 
 )) j» 
 
 1718 
 
 • 25 
 
 
 >) J) 
 
4o6 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 And similarly three kinds of louis d'argents or ecus : — 
 
 The old louis d'argent 9 to the mark. 
 
 The old louis d'argent of 17091 „ 
 
 I ■ ■ ° >> ,: 
 
 „ 171S) 
 
 „ 1718 . . . 10 „ 
 
 On the 25th July 1719 the Compagnie des Indes 
 obtained the profit and farm of the French Mint for a term 
 of nine years. The first outcome of their activity was the 
 issue of the following tariff:' — 
 
 
 Livres. 
 
 Sols. 
 
 Deniers, 
 
 Ecu of 1718 . 
 
 5 
 
 13 
 
 4 
 
 Louis d'argent of 1709 
 
 7 
 
 I 
 
 8 
 
 Old louis d'or 
 
 34 
 
 
 
 
 
 Old louis d'or of 1709 . 
 
 28 
 
 6 
 
 8 
 
 In the same year (17 19, the first of their lease) this 
 corporation further issued quite new species, namely, 
 Quinzains d'or = i 5 livres, and livres d'argent = ^-6cu (both 
 being cut at a tale of 6sfi to the mark). On the 5th 
 March 1720 all the species were raised 41-^1 per cent., 
 the louis d'or of 1709 thus rising to an equivalence of 40 
 livres, and the louis d'argent of the same issue to 10 livres. 
 On the I ith March 1720 the use of the gold specie was 
 forbidden, and a recoinage determined on. These regula- 
 tions, however, were not carried out, and by July the louis 
 d'or had risen to 60 livres (= 19637^ livres to the mark of 
 fine gold), and the louis d'argent to 15 livres (= 130}? 
 livres to the mark of fine silver). The same enhancement 
 prevailed in the divisional coin, and the confusion endured 
 till the end of 1720. In September the louis d'or had 
 fallen to 45 livres (=1472^1- livres to the mark of fine 
 gold), and the louis d'argent to 11 livres 5 sols. ( = 98Ti 
 
APPENDIX VI.— FRANCE 407 
 
 livres to the mark of fine silver). At the same time (Sep- 
 tember) a new fabrication of species, according to the 
 standard of 1718, was undertaken. Louis d'or, 25 to the 
 mark, to issue at 54 livres; louis d'argent (or |-^cu), 30 to 
 the mark, to issue at 3 livres. But from the 24th October 
 a gradual diminution in this tariff was prescribed, and from 
 the 1st of January 1721 these coins were to circulate 
 respectively at 45 livres and 2 livres 10 sols. From the 
 same date the louis d'or of 1709 was to circulate for 22 
 livres 10 sols., and the louis d'argent of 1709 for 5 livres 
 1 2 sols. 6 deniers. 
 
 On the 5th January 1721 the contract for coinage held 
 by the Compagnie des Indes was annulled, and an inter- 
 mediate attempt at reform was made, in 1723, when the 
 louis d'or was minted at 37^ to the mark =27 livres, and 
 the louis d'argent at io§ to the mark = 6 livres 18 sols. 
 The downward course of the specie set strongly in, and by 
 1626 they had fallen to i 2 livres and 3 livres respectively. 
 This facilitated the great reform and recoinage of 1726 
 (see text, p. 1 69). This recoinage was carried out on the 
 basis of the edict of 1709 — 
 
 Louis d'or, 30 to the mark = 20 livres. 
 Louis d'argent, 8 to the mark = 5 livres. 
 
 By the edict of May of the same year their equivalence 
 was raised 20 per cent. — the louis d'or to 24 livres, the 
 louis d'argent to 6 livres. 
 
4o8 
 
 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 TABLE OF THE FRENCH GOLD COINS. 
 (^Up to \(}&t),from Le Blanc ; l6go onwards, continued from various sources.] 
 
 Date. 
 
 Price of Mark 
 of Gold. 
 
 Species. 
 
 Standard. 
 
 
 Value. 
 
 
 Liv. Sol. 
 
 Den. 
 
 
 
 
 Sol. 
 
 Den. 
 
 1226 (S. Louis) . 
 
 
 
 Agnel 
 
 Fine gold 
 
 59J 
 
 12 
 
 6 
 
 i295(PhilippeleBel) 
 
 
 
 Gros royal 
 
 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 130S 
 
 44 
 
 
 
 Petit ,, 
 
 Finegold* 
 
 70 
 
 13 
 
 9 
 
 1308, April 16 . . 
 
 44 
 
 
 
 Chaise 
 
 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 1310, August 12 . 
 
 49 10 
 
 
 
 Masse 
 
 22 carat 
 
 344 
 
 30 
 
 
 
 1 3 10, January 22 . 
 
 55 II 
 
 9 
 
 Agnelet 
 
 Finegold 
 
 S9J 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 1312, August 24 . 
 
 55 10 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 1314 (Louis Hut- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 tin), August 25 . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 1314, November 29 
 
 55 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1315, May 6 . . 
 
 
 
 Agnelet 
 
 Fine gold 
 
 59* 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 ,, January 15 . 
 
 45 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 1316 (Philippe le 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Long), Easter . 
 
 38 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 6 
 
 December 8 . . 
 
 55 1° 
 
 
 
 Agnelet 
 
 Fine gold 
 
 59* 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 1 32 1 (Charles le 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Bel), February 20 
 
 58 
 
 
 
 Agnel 
 
 'J 
 
 59* 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 1322, October 15 . 
 
 S3 6 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 
 18 
 
 9 
 
 1325, February 16 
 
 67 10 
 
 
 
 Royal double 
 
 Finegold 
 
 58" 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 1329 (Philipp de 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Valois), Dec. 26 
 
 
 
 Parisis 
 
 ,, 
 
 33* 
 
 37 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 Royal double 
 
 ,, 
 
 58 
 
 22 
 
 6 
 
 1330, April 8 (poste 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 monnaie) . . . 
 
 41 13 
 
 
 
 Parisis 
 Royal double 
 Agnel 
 
 ... 
 
 33* 
 
 25 
 
 15 
 14 
 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 1331, January 9 . 
 
 39 
 
 
 
 Royal 
 
 
 
 22 
 
 6 
 
 1332, April 19 . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 /-r'5 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 (Tournois) | 
 
 1336, February i . 
 
 50 
 
 
 
 Ecu 
 
 Fine gold 
 
 54 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 1338; November 14 
 
 58 
 
 
 
 Lion 
 
 ,, 
 
 50 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 1339, May 25 . 
 
 61 10 
 
 "0 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,, June 14 . . 
 
 66 
 
 
 
 Pavilion 
 
 Fine gold 
 
 48 
 
 30 
 
 
 
 „ August 10 . 
 
 69 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,, June 20 . . 
 
 71 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,, February 7 . 
 
 82 
 
 
 
 Couronne 
 
 Fine gold 
 
 45 
 
 40 
 
 
 
 ,, February 15 
 
 86 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1340, April 16 . . 
 
 96 
 
 
 
 Double 
 
 Fine gold 
 
 36 
 
 60 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Simple 
 
 j> 
 
 72 
 
 30 
 
 
 
 ,, May 27 . . 
 
 100 
 
 
 
 Doubles 
 
 23 carat 
 
 30 
 
 60 
 
 
 
 „ October 7 . 
 
 108 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,, January 31 . 
 
 114 14 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 * See De Saulcy, Documents, i. 73, where it is stated that the fineness of 
 these pieces was occasionally below 20 carats. 
 
APPENDIX VI.- FRANCE 
 
 409 
 
 TABLE OF THE FRENCH GOLD COY^^— continued . 
 
 Date. 
 
 Price of Mark 
 of Gold. 
 
 Species. 
 
 Standard. 
 
 OJ OS 
 
 Value.. 
 
 
 Liv. Sol. 
 
 Den. 
 
 
 
 
 Sol. 
 
 Den. 
 
 1340, February 7 . 
 
 115 
 
 
 
 Anges 
 
 Fine gold 
 
 33f 
 67I 
 
 75 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Demi anges 
 
 
 
 
 1341, August 23 . 
 
 130 
 
 
 
 Anges 
 
 Fine gold 
 
 38i 
 
 75 
 
 
 
 „ January 19 . 
 
 136 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1342, June 28 . . 
 
 168 
 
 
 
 
 
 42 
 
 85 
 
 
 
 „ Septemberi6 
 
 171 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 „ April 10 . . 
 
 117 
 
 
 
 Ecu 
 
 Fine gold 
 
 54 
 
 
 
 1343, September 22 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 45 
 
 
 
 (Forte monnaie) . 
 
 43 6 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 8 
 
 1344, March 27 . 
 
 44 3 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1346, July 17 . . 
 
 50 
 
 
 
 Chaises 
 
 Fine gold 
 
 52 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 „ February 24 
 
 72 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,, March 4 . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 30 
 
 
 
 1347, April 6 . . 
 
 7S 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,, April 14 . . 
 
 44 3 
 
 4 
 
 ]^cu 
 
 Fine gold 
 
 54 
 
 16" 
 
 8 
 
 ,, September 27 
 
 75 
 
 
 
 Chaises 
 
 jj 
 
 52 
 
 30 
 
 
 
 ,, January 11 . 
 
 51 10 
 
 
 
 Ecu 
 
 23 carat 
 
 54 
 
 18 
 
 9 
 
 1348, August 30 . 
 
 
 
 
 22| „ 
 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 ,, March 12 . 
 
 SI IS 
 
 3 
 
 
 22 „ 
 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 1349, May 23 . . 
 
 S2 I 
 
 6 
 
 
 21 ,, 
 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 ,, December 5. 
 
 S3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1350, April 22 (forte 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 raonnaie) . . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 1350, September 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 (John I.) . . . 
 
 iZ 18 
 
 9 
 
 Ecu 
 
 21 carat 
 
 54 
 
 18 
 
 9 
 
 1351, June 20 . . 
 
 54 17 
 
 6 
 
 
 20| „ 
 
 
 
 
 ,. ' July 23 . . 
 
 
 
 
 20 „ 
 
 
 
 
 ,, August 18 . 
 
 96 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 „ August 20 . 
 
 
 
 Fleur de 
 Lys 
 
 Fine gold 
 
 SO 
 
 40 
 
 
 
 „ September 17 
 
 56 5 
 
 
 
 Ecu 
 
 20 carat 
 
 54 
 
 18 
 
 9 
 
 24 
 
 58 2 
 
 6 
 
 
 18 „ 
 
 
 
 
 ,, November 20 
 
 60 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,, February 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 (forte monnaie) . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 1352, April 21 . ., 
 
 60 18 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 „ May 18 . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 ,, January 18 . 
 
 60 17 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,, February 3 . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 37 
 
 6 
 
 1353, May i . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 40 
 
 
 
 ,, October 26 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 (forte monnaie) . 
 
 62 16 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 1354, November 24 
 
 60 
 
 
 
 Moutons 
 
 Fine gold 
 
 52 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 I3SS, June 3 . . 
 
 61 S 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,,19 ■ ■ 
 
 62 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 „ January 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 (forte monnaie) . 
 
 
 
 Moutons 
 
 
 
 25 
 
 
 
4IO 
 
 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 TABLE OF THE FRENCH GOLD ZOl^^— continued. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Price of Mark 
 of Gold. 
 
 Species. 
 
 Standard. 
 
 e2S 
 
 Value. 
 
 
 Liv. Sol. 
 
 Den. 
 
 
 
 
 Sol. Den. 
 
 1356, November 25 
 
 
 
 Moutons 
 
 
 
 30 
 
 
 
 ,, January 25 . 
 
 63 "2 
 
 6 
 
 }, 
 
 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 1357, June IS . . 
 
 
 
 Petits mou- 
 tons 
 
 Fine gold 
 
 104 
 
 12 
 
 6 
 
 1358, August 31 . 
 
 78 15 
 
 
 
 Royal 
 
 jj 
 
 66 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 „ April 20 . . 
 
 80 12 
 
 6 
 
 >> 
 
 ,, 
 
 69 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 1359, • March 31 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 (forte monnaie) . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 40 
 
 
 
 1360, January 12 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 (forte monnaie) . 
 
 60 
 
 
 
 Franc 
 
 Fine gold 
 
 63 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 1361, April 23 . . 
 
 60 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1363, July 29 
 
 61 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1364 (Charles v.), 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 May 3 
 
 62 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1364, August 5 . 
 
 
 
 Royal 
 
 Fine gold 
 
 63 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 „ September 10 
 
 
 
 Franc 
 
 M 
 
 63 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 1365, May s . : 
 
 62 10 
 
 
 
 Fleur de Lis 
 
 
 64 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 1381 (Charles VI.), 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 April 25 . . . 
 
 60 10 
 
 
 
 , " > 
 
 ,, 
 
 64 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 1384, March 18 . 
 
 65 10 
 
 
 
 Ecu a la 
 couronne 
 
 
 60 
 
 22 
 
 
 
 1386, August 31 . 
 
 66 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 • 
 
 
 1387, February 28 
 
 66 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 61 i 
 
 22 
 
 6 
 
 1391, April 8 . . 
 
 67 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1392. „ I . . 
 
 67 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1394, September 5 
 
 68 s 
 
 
 
 
 
 62 
 
 22 
 
 6 
 
 1405, August 8 
 
 68 15 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1407, February 11 
 
 68 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1411, November 7 
 
 70 
 
 
 
 
 
 64 
 
 22 
 
 6 
 
 „ February 12 
 
 
 
 
 23|icarat 
 
 
 
 
 ,, March 5 . . 
 
 70 15 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1414, September 6 
 
 72 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1417, May 17 . . 
 
 92 
 
 
 
 Moutons 
 
 23 carat 
 
 96 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 ,, October 21 . 
 
 96 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 „ 28 . 
 
 
 
 
 22 carat 
 
 96 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 , , December 9 . 
 
 92 
 
 
 
 Ecu heaume 
 
 ,» 
 
 48 
 
 40 
 
 
 
 1418, July 2 . . 
 
 94 
 
 
 
 , 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,, March 7 . . 
 
 150 
 
 
 
 Ecu k la 
 couronne 
 
 23 carat 
 
 64 
 
 50 
 
 
 
 1419, June 18 . . 
 
 144 
 
 
 
 Moutons 
 
 
 96 
 
 30 
 
 
 
 October 24 . 
 
 
 
 Chaises or 
 doubles 
 
 Fine gold 
 
 40 
 
 80 
 
 
 
 „ February 26 
 
 171 13 
 
 4 
 
 Ecu a la 
 couronne • 
 Moutons 
 
 
 67 
 
 50 
 26 
 
 Par. 
 
 
 8 
 
 1420, October 27 
 
 
 
 Doubles 
 
 12\ carat 
 
 40 
 
 80 
 
 
 
APPENDIX VL— FRANCE 
 
 411 
 
 TABLE OF THE FRENCH GOLD QOVUS— continued. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Price of Mark 
 of Gold. 
 
 Species. 
 
 Standard. 
 
 01 "Si 
 
 Value. 
 
 
 Liv. Sol. 
 
 Den. 
 
 
 
 
 Sol. 
 
 Den. 
 
 l4.2l(forte monnaie), 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 April 26 . . . 
 
 72 
 
 
 
 
 
 Ecuklacour- 
 
 Fine gold 
 
 66 
 
 22 
 
 6 
 
 ,, November 8 
 
 76 
 
 S 
 
 
 
 Saluts [onne 
 
 >) 
 
 63 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 1422 (Charles VII.), 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 January 20 . . 
 
 
 
 
 Ecu ala cour- 
 
 22J carat 
 
 64 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 1423, May 22 . . 
 
 84 
 
 
 
 
 
 . . . [onne 
 
 Fine gold 
 
 68 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 „ January 28 . 
 
 
 
 
 Moutons 
 
 22 carat 
 
 96 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 „ February 8 . 
 
 
 
 
 Franc a che- 
 val 
 
 Fine gold 
 
 80 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 „ July I . . 
 
 79 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1424, August 23 
 
 
 
 
 £cu k la 
 couronne 
 
 23 carat 
 
 67 
 
 22 
 
 6 
 
 ,, September 2 
 
 87 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 70 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 „ November 3 
 
 
 
 
 Moutons 
 
 22 carat 
 
 96 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 1425, October 3 . 
 
 
 
 
 Ecu a la 
 couronne 
 
 23 „ 
 
 64 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 „ January 12 . 
 
 87 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 70 
 
 
 
 1426, August 27 . 
 
 i°5 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,, September 1 1 
 
 108 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 22 carat 
 
 70 
 
 30 
 
 
 
 ,, October 12 . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 72 
 
 
 
 January 9 . 
 
 90 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 „ January 17 . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 23 carat 
 
 67 
 
 22 
 
 6 
 
 ,, March 19 . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 1427, May 27 . . 
 
 72 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 ,, July 19 . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 21 carat 
 
 72 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 „ August 28 . 
 
 90 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 22 ,, 
 
 70 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 „ October 15 . 
 
 
 
 
 Moutons 
 
 20 „ 
 
 96 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 „ November 20 
 
 80 
 
 
 
 
 
 ifccu a la 
 couronne 
 
 20 „ 
 
 70 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 ,, February 21 
 
 92 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 21 „ 
 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 1428, July 31 . . 
 
 97 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 20 „ 
 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 ,, October 26 . 
 
 
 
 
 Moutons 
 
 19 ,, 
 
 96 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 ,, April . 
 
 88 
 
 
 
 
 
 Ecu a la 
 couronne 
 
 18 „ 
 
 70 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 ,, March 2 . . 
 
 loS 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1429, June 17 . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 16 carat 
 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 „ November 14 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 (forte monnaie) . 
 
 77 
 
 ID 
 
 
 
 Royal 
 
 Fine gold 
 
 64 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 1429, December 7 
 
 
 
 
 Ecu a la 
 couronne 
 
 22 carat 
 
 67i 
 
 22 
 
 6 
 
 1430, July 7 
 
 97 
 
 
 
 
 
 Chaises 
 
 16 „ 
 
 68 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 „ November 9 
 
 
 
 
 ficuilacour- 
 
 22 ,, 
 
 64 
 
 22 
 
 6 
 
 1431, May 30 . . 
 
 77 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 Royal [onne 
 
 Fine gold 
 
 64 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 ,, September27 
 
 102 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 70 
 
 30 
 
 
 
 „ February 9 . 
 
 
 
 
 ilcu a la 
 
 
 64 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 „ March 24 . 
 
 88 
 
 II 
 
 10 
 
 20 carat 
 
 67* 
 
 22 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 couronne 
 
 ' 
 
 
 
 
412 
 
 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 TABLE OF THE FRENCH GOLD CO\^%— continued. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Price of Mark 
 of Gold. 
 
 Species. 
 
 Standard. 
 
 t 
 
 
 Value 
 
 
 
 Liv. Sol. Den. 
 
 
 
 
 Sol. Den. 
 
 1432, January 16 . 
 
 78 15 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,, December 31 
 
 
 
 Royal 
 
 Fine gold 
 
 64 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 1435, October 14 . 
 
 103 10 
 
 
 
 F;cu a la 
 couronne 
 
 ,, 
 
 70 
 
 30 
 
 
 
 „ February 2 1 . 
 
 86 s 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 1437, September 1 
 
 87 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 „ November 22 
 
 92 10 
 
 
 
 
 ±1 carat 
 
 70 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 1438, April 30 . . 
 
 86 s 
 
 
 
 
 Fine gold 
 
 70 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 1443, November 19 
 
 87 3 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 li\i\/\, December 17 
 
 87 10 
 
 
 
 
 23i carat 
 
 70 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 1445, September24 
 
 88 7 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1446, June I . . 
 
 88 z 
 
 6 
 
 'kcM a la 
 couronne 
 
 23! carat 
 
 7oi 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 ,, January 21 . 
 
 97 IS 
 
 
 
 
 23i„ 
 
 
 27 
 
 6 
 
 1447, July 27 . . 
 
 97 S 
 
 74 
 
 
 234,. 
 
 
 
 
 , , October 27 . 
 
 97 15 
 
 
 
 
 23i„ 
 
 
 
 
 1450, June IS . . 
 
 99 
 
 
 
 
 235 ., 
 
 
 
 
 ,, February 3 . 
 
 99 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1454, May 18 . . 
 
 99 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1456, June 26 . . 
 
 100 
 
 
 
 
 
 71 
 
 
 
 1472 (Louis XI.), 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 March 12 . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 28 
 
 4 
 
 1473, June 18 . . 
 
 103 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 , , January 8 . 
 
 no 
 
 
 
 
 
 72 
 
 30 
 
 3 
 
 1475, November 2 
 
 118 10 
 
 
 
 i;cu au soleil 
 
 23I carat 
 
 70 
 
 33 
 
 
 
 1487 (Charles VII.) 
 
 
 
 £cu k la 
 
 
 
 35 
 
 
 
 July 30 
 
 
 
 couronne 
 ]icu au soleil 
 
 
 
 36 
 
 3 
 
 1488, April 24 . . 
 
 130 3 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1497 (Louis XII.), 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 April 7 . . . 
 
 130 3 
 
 4 
 
 6cu au soleil 
 
 
 
 36 
 
 3 
 
 1507, November 24 
 
 
 
 :fecu au pore 
 epi 
 
 
 
 36 
 
 3 
 
 1 5 14 (Francis i.). 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 January i . . 
 
 
 
 Ecu au soleil 
 
 
 
 36 
 
 3 
 
 1516, November 27 
 
 
 
 , ,, 
 
 Ecu k la 
 couronne 
 
 
 
 40 
 39 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 1517, May 25 . . 
 
 
 
 ]icu au soleil 
 
 
 
 36 
 
 3 
 
 1519, June 10 . . 
 
 147 
 
 
 
 
 22J carat 
 
 71^ 
 
 40 
 
 
 
 „ August 18 . 
 
 
 
 
 23 „ 
 
 71-3 
 
 40 
 
 
 
 1532, March 5 . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 45 
 
 
 
 1539, February 24 
 
 
 
 Ecu a la 
 salemand 
 
 23 carat 
 
 71^ 
 
 45 
 
 
 
 1540, May 18 . . 
 
 16s 7 
 
 6 
 
 Ecu 4 la 
 
 
 
 ; 45 
 
 
 
 1549 (Henry II.), 
 
 
 
 croisette 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 January 23 
 
 172 
 
 
 
 Henris 
 
 23 carat 
 
 67 
 
 1 ^° 
 
 
 
APPENDIX VI.— FRANCE 
 
 413 
 
 TABLE OF THE FRENCH GOLD COYiii%— continued. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Price of Mark 
 of Gold. 
 
 Species. 
 
 Standard. 
 
 ^•5 
 u ci 
 
 Value. 
 
 1561 (Charles ix.), 
 
 Liv. Sol. Den. 
 
 
 
 
 Sol. Den. 
 
 August 30 . . 
 
 185 
 
 Ecu au soleil 
 
 23 carat 
 
 72i 
 
 50 
 
 1569, November 23 
 
 
 
 
 
 S3 
 
 1570, August 30 . 
 
 
 
 
 
 54 
 
 1572, July I . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 52 
 
 1573, June 9 . . 
 
 200 Q 
 
 
 
 
 54 
 
 IS74 (Henry iii.), 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 September 22 . 
 
 
 
 
 
 58 
 
 IS75, June 17 • 
 
 
 
 
 
 60 
 
 ,, May 31 . . 
 
 222 
 
 
 
 
 60 
 
 ,, June 15 . . 
 
 222 
 
 ficu au soleil 
 
 23 carat 
 
 72^ 
 
 65 
 
 „ November 20 
 
 
 
 
 
 60 
 
 1602 (Henry IV.), 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 September . . 
 
 240 10 
 
 
 
 
 65 
 
 1615 (Louis XIII.), 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 February 5 
 
 278 6 6 
 
 
 
 
 75 
 
 1630, February 
 
 
 
 
 
 80 
 
 1631, August . 
 
 
 
 
 
 83 
 
 1633, July . . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 86 
 
 1636, March 5 . 
 
 
 
 
 
 94 
 
 „ May 8 
 
 320 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,, June 28 . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 104 
 
 ,, September 22 
 
 384 
 
 
 
 
 
 1640, April 3 . . 
 
 
 Louis d'or 
 
 22 carat 
 
 36i 
 
 200 
 
 1652 (Louis XIV.), 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 April 4 . . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 220 
 
 165s, December 23 
 
 
 Louis d'or 
 
 23J carat 
 
 60J 
 
 140 
 
 1662, July 7 . . 
 
 423 10 II 
 
 
 
 
 
 1679, April 10 . . 
 
 437 9 % 
 
 
 
 
 
 1686, July 29 . . 
 
 437 7 5 
 
 Louis d'or 
 
 
 
 230 
 
 1687, October 27 . 
 
 447 7 2 
 (Pite) 
 
 
 
 
 225 
 
 i68g, December 10 
 
 
 6cu d'or 
 
 
 
 232 
 
 
 
 
 
 120 
 
 1693 .... 
 
 514A0 
 
 Louis d'or 
 
 
 
 260 
 
 1703 . . 
 
 584i 
 
 ,j 
 
 
 
 300 
 
 1708 
 
 
 J, 
 
 
 
 255 
 
 1709, April . 
 
 576 
 
 ,, 
 
 22 carat 
 
 32 
 
 330 
 
 ,, May . . . 
 
 6S4Ao 
 
 ,, 
 
 
 30 
 
 400 
 
 1713, September 30 
 
 
 ,, 
 
 
 
 280 
 
 ,, December . 
 
 
 ,, 
 
 
 
 400 
 
 17 16, November . 
 
 
 
 22 carat 
 
 22 
 
 
 1718, May . . . 
 
 
 Louis d'or 
 
 ), 
 
 zS 
 
 
 1719, July25 . . 
 
 927A-0 
 
 J, 
 
 
 
 680 
 
 
 1008 15 
 
 Quinzains 
 d'or 
 
 
 
 300 
 
 1720, March 5 . . 
 
 
 Louis d'or 
 (of 1709) 
 
 
 
 800 
 
414 
 
 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 TABLE OF THE FRENCH GOLD C0\^%— continued. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Price of Mark 
 of Gold. 
 
 Species. 
 
 Standard. 
 
 
 Value. 
 
 
 Liv.Sol. Den. 
 
 
 
 
 Sol. 
 
 Den. 
 
 1720, March II . 
 
 1963^1 
 
 Louis d'or 
 
 
 
 1 200 
 
 
 
 „ September . 
 
 I472,\ 
 
 J5 
 
 
 25 
 
 900 
 1000 
 
 
 
 
 1 72 1, January t . 
 
 
 
 
 
 900 
 
 
 
 1723 
 
 
 jj 
 
 
 'yi\ 
 
 540 
 
 
 
 1726 
 
 
 ,, 
 
 
 
 240 
 
 
 
 ,, (Recoinage). 
 
 678 15 
 
 ,j 
 
 22 carat 
 
 30 
 
 400 
 
 
 
 „ May . . . 
 
 740 9 I 
 
 i:cu 
 
 Raised 20 
 percent 
 
 
 480 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 120 
 
 
 
 1785, October 30 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 (recoinage), . . 
 
 828 12 
 
 Louis d'or 
 
 22 carat 
 
 32 
 
 480 
 
 
 
 1803, March 28 . 
 
 3444f francs 
 per kilog. 
 fine = 3100 
 fcs. per kilog. 
 ,%fine 
 
 40 and 20- 
 franc pieces 
 
 Issue price 
 being 
 
 3434* 
 per kilog. 
 and 3091 
 per kilog 
 A fine 
 
 
 
 
 1830 November 8 . 
 
 
 100 and 10- 
 franc pieces 
 
 
 ... 
 
 
 
 1850 
 
 
 lo-franc piece 
 
 
 
 
 
 1835, February 25 
 
 Mint change 
 =6 francs 
 per kilog. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 „ June 30 . . 
 
 Issue price of 
 kilog. of fine 
 gold altered 
 from 34341 
 fcs. to 34371 
 fcs. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
APPENDIX VI.— FRANCE 
 
 415 
 
 TABLE OF FRENCH SILVER COINS. 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 b 
 
 
 Date. 
 
 Price of Mark 
 of Silver. 
 
 Name 
 of Species. 
 
 Alloy. 
 
 
 Value. 
 
 
 Liv. Sol. Den. 
 
 
 Den, Grs. 
 
 
 Sol. Den. 
 
 II44 .... 
 
 40 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1158 ... 
 
 53 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 
 
 1207 ... 
 
 50 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1222 . . . 
 
 50 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1226 . . 
 
 54 
 
 7 
 
 Gros 
 
 Tournois 
 
 II 12 
 
 "58 
 
 12 
 
 1283 . . 
 
 54 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1285 . . . 
 
 54 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 1293 . . 
 
 61 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,129s • ■ ■ 
 
 
 
 Petits 
 
 Tournois 
 
 9 12 
 
 116 
 
 " 6 
 
 1296, May 20 . . 
 
 3 8 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1297, July 4 
 
 3 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1298, May 25 . 
 
 3 15 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1299, June 7 . . 
 
 3 18 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1302, April 23 . . 
 
 4 8 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 „ February 2 . 
 
 5 4 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1303, August 15 . 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1304, May 7 . . 
 
 6 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 „ June 25 . . 
 
 6 14 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 „ September 8 
 
 6 15 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,, December 13 
 
 7 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,, March i •. . 
 
 7 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1305, April 18 . . 
 
 8 10 
 
 
 
 
 ... 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1306, October i . 
 
 2 15 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 (forte monnaie) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1308, April 16 
 
 2 19 
 
 
 
 Gros 
 
 Tournois 
 
 II 12 
 
 58. 
 
 12 
 
 1 3 10, January 20 . 
 
 3 7 
 
 6 
 
 Bourgeois 
 
 Forte 
 
 6 
 
 189 
 
 2 
 (Par.) 
 
 1311, JulyS . . 
 
 3 5 
 
 li 
 
 Bourgeois 
 Singles 
 
 6 
 
 378 
 
 I 
 (Par.) 
 
 1313, June . . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 (Tour.) 
 
 ,, September 19 
 
 2 14 
 
 7 
 
 Gros 
 
 Tournois 
 
 II 12 
 
 58 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 Denier 
 
 3 18 
 
 220 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 Tournois 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Denier 
 
 4 12 
 
 221 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 Parisis 
 
 
 
 (Par.) 
 
 1314, November 29 
 
 2 4 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 
 
 1315, May 6 . . 
 
 
 
 Denier 
 
 Parisis 
 
 4 12 
 
 221 
 
 I 
 (Par.) 
 
 „ January 15 . 
 
 2 4 
 
 
 
 Denier 
 
 Tournois 
 
 3 18 
 
 220 
 
 I 
 (Tour.) 
 
 1317, March i . . 
 
 3 7 
 
 6 
 
 Gros 
 
 Tournois 
 
 II 12 
 
 59J 
 
 I 3 
 
4i6 
 
 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 TABLE OF FRENCH SILVER COm^— continued. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Price of Mark 
 of Silver. 
 
 Name 
 of Species. 
 
 Alloy. 
 
 
 Value. 
 
 
 Liv. Sol. Den. 
 
 
 Den. Grs. 
 
 
 Sol. Den. 
 
 
 
 
 Denier 
 
 4 12 
 
 282 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 Parisis 
 
 
 
 
 1321, February 20 
 
 3 7 
 
 6 
 
 Gros 
 
 Tournois 
 
 II 12 
 
 59i 
 
 I 3 
 
 1322, October 15 . 
 
 3 8 
 
 9 
 
 Denier 
 
 Parisis 
 
 3 18 
 
 2l8 
 
 
 „ March 2 . . 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 Obole 
 
 Blanche 
 
 10 
 
 118 
 
 6 
 (Par.) 
 
 1326, July 24 . . 
 
 4 10 
 
 
 
 ... . 
 
 9 
 
 135 
 
 8 
 
 (Tour ) 
 
 „ January 20 . 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1327, „ 8 . 
 
 S 8 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1328, November 7 
 
 5 II 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1329, December 26 
 
 4 4 
 
 
 
 Gros 
 
 Tournois 
 
 
 
 I " 6 
 
 (Tour.) 
 
 1330, April 8 . . 
 
 2 18 
 
 
 
 )) 
 
 II 12 
 
 60 
 
 I 
 
 (forte monnaie) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 (Tour.) 
 
 
 
 
 Gros 
 
 II 12 
 
 48 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 Parisis 
 
 
 
 (Par.) 
 
 1331, January 9 . 
 
 2 17 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 1333. June 12 . . 
 
 2 15 
 
 6 
 
 Denier 
 
 Parisis 
 
 4 4 
 
 i384 
 
 
 1336, February 13 
 
 3 12 
 
 6 
 
 Gros a la 
 Couronne 
 
 10 16 
 
 96 
 
 I 10 
 
 (Tour.) 
 
 1338, November 14 
 
 4 12 
 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 96 
 
 10 
 
 „ January 3 . 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1339. Augus.t 19 . 
 
 S 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 „ February 5 . 
 
 6 15 
 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 105 
 
 10 
 
 , , April 6 . . 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 108 
 
 10 
 
 1340, August I 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 „ December 4. 
 
 7 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 „ January 27 . 
 
 8 14 
 
 
 
 Gros a la 
 FleurdeLis 
 
 6'" 
 
 ■'84 
 
 I 3 
 
 „ February 8 . 
 
 9 4 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 13 
 
 9 12 
 
 
 
 
 e" 
 
 95 
 
 I 3 
 
 1342, June 30 . . 
 
 12 10 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 120 
 
 I 3 
 
 ,, September 7 
 
 13 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1343, April 9 . . 
 
 13 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 September 22 
 
 9 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Gros 
 
 II 12 
 
 60 
 
 3 9 
 
 
 
 
 Tournois 
 
 
 
 
 „ October 26 . 
 
 3 4 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 3 
 
 (forte monnaie) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1344, February 16 
 
 3 8 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1345, April 9 
 
 3 10 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 1346, July 17 ■ • 
 
 4 10 
 
 
 
 Double 
 
 Parisis 
 
 3'" 18 
 
 i'So 
 
 2 
 
 (Par.) 
 
APPENDIX VI.— FRANCE 
 
 417 
 
 TABLE OF FRENCH SILVER CaW%— continued. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Price of Mark 
 of Silver. 
 
 Name 
 of Species. 
 
 Alloy. 
 
 
 Value. 
 
 
 Liv. Sol. Den. 
 
 
 Den. 
 
 Grs. 
 
 
 Sol. Den. 
 
 1346, January 27 . 
 
 500 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,, February 24 
 
 6 15 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 „ March 3 . . 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 216 
 
 2 
 
 (Par.) 
 
 1347, July 21 . . 
 
 7 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 „ January 11 . 
 
 4 16 
 
 Double 
 Tournois 
 
 3 
 
 8 
 
 i83i 
 
 2 
 
 (Tour.) 
 
 1348, August 31 . 
 
 500 
 
 
 3 
 
 li 
 
 183.4 
 
 2 
 
 (Tour.) 
 
 ,, December 31 
 
 600 
 
 
 2 
 
 12 
 
 200 
 
 2 
 
 (Tour.) 
 
 1349, May 12 . . 
 
 6 13 
 
 
 
 
 
 ... 
 
 „ August 7 . 
 
 6 IS 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,, December 5 
 
 770 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 „ January 20 . 
 
 7 15 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1350, April 23 . . 
 
 500 
 
 Double 
 
 3 
 
 12 
 
 168 
 
 2 
 
 (forte monnaie) 
 
 
 Parisis 
 
 
 
 
 (Par.) 
 
 „ August 23 . 
 
 S 5 
 
 )> 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 168 
 
 2 
 (Par.) 
 
 ,, October 26 . 
 
 5 12 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 „ February 5 . 
 
 600 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,, March 6 . . 
 
 680 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1351, May 17 . . 
 
 6 18 
 
 Blancs 
 
 4 
 
 12 
 
 144 
 
 0" 6 
 (Par.) 
 
 „ June 23 . . 
 
 780 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 „ August 18 . 
 
 8 IS 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 „ September 12 
 
 10 
 
 Blancs 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 144 
 
 6 
 (Par.) 
 
 ,, October 10 . 
 
 10 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 „ December 16 
 
 II 
 
 
 
 
 ... 
 
 
 „ January 25 . 
 
 12 
 
 ... 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,, February 4 . 
 
 14 12 
 
 Gros Tour. 
 Blancs 
 
 4 
 
 8 
 
 "87 J 
 
 0'" 8 
 (Tour.) 
 
 ,, March 27 . 
 
 560 
 
 
 .. 
 
 
 
 
 (forte monnaie) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1352, June 2 . . 
 
 ... 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 „ July 24 . . 
 
 620 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 100 
 
 8 
 (Tour.) 
 
 , August 16 . 
 
 6 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 October 24 . 
 
 6 18 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 „ November 25 
 
 800 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 120 
 
 0'" 8 
 (Tour.) 
 
 „ December 31 
 
 900 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 , , February 6 . 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 ... 
 
 
 1353, April 22 . . 
 
 12 
 
 
 3 
 
 12 
 
 140 
 
 8 
 (Tour.) 
 
 ., July 30 . . 
 
 12 IS 
 
 
 
 
 
 ... 
 
 27 
 
4i8 
 
 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 TABLE OF FRENCH SILVER COmS— continued. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Price of Mark 
 of Silver. 
 
 Name 
 of Species. 
 
 Alloy. 
 
 
 Value. 
 
 
 Liv. Sol. Den. 
 
 
 Den. 
 
 Grs. 
 
 
 Sol. Den. 
 
 I3S3. August 2 . 
 
 13 IS 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 „ October 26 . 
 
 4 IS 
 
 
 
 
 
 • •• 
 
 (forte monnaie) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 „ November 27 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 8* 
 
 65 
 
 8 
 (Tour.) 
 
 „ February 5 . 
 
 S 7 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 17 
 
 s 17 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1354, April 26 . . 
 
 6 IS 
 
 
 
 • 
 
 ■96 
 
 0'" 8 
 
 (Tour.) 
 
 „ May 28 . 
 
 9 12 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 120 
 
 8 
 (Tour.) 
 
 ,. Julys • • 
 
 10 12 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,, September 7 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 „ November 24 
 
 440 
 
 Blanc a la 
 
 3 
 
 8 
 
 "80 
 
 5 
 
 (forte monnaie) 
 
 
 Couronne 
 
 
 
 
 (Tour.) 
 
 „ January 23 . 
 
 4 16 
 
 
 2 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 „ April 4 . . 
 
 560 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 120 
 
 
 1355, May 20 . . 
 
 6 10 
 
 
 2 
 
 12 
 
 
 ,.. 
 
 „ July 6 . . 
 
 7 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,1 17 • • 
 
 10 
 
 Blancs 4 la 
 Couronne 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 
 72 
 
 I 3 
 (Tour.) 
 
 ,, August 22 . 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 „ August 26 . 
 
 11 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 „ September 28 
 
 12 10 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 "80 
 
 
 „ October 9 . 
 
 14 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 100 
 
 
 ,, November 10 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 12 
 
 100 
 
 
 ,, December 15 
 
 iS 
 
 \ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 „ January 3 . 
 
 5 5° 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 (forte monnaie) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,, January 5 . 
 
 
 Blanc a la 
 Couronne 
 
 8. 
 
 
 
 95 
 
 10 
 
 ., ,. 16 . 
 
 
 Blanc k la 
 Fleur de Lis 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 60 
 
 vo 8 
 
 1356, August 3 . 
 
 6 10 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 90 
 
 
 „ September 19 
 
 750 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 1 124 
 
 
 „ October 28 . 
 
 8 17 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,, November 23 
 
 780 
 
 Gros' 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 "80 
 
 I 
 
 28 
 
 780 
 
 Gros Blancs 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 80 
 
 I 
 
 „ February 7 . 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 1124 
 
 I 
 
 , , March 26 
 
 6 10 
 
 Gros k la 
 Couronne 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 70 
 
 10 
 
 1357, January 23 . 
 
 8 10 
 
 Blanc i la 
 Fleur de Lis 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 60 
 
 I 3 
 
 1358, May 9 . . 
 
 10 
 
 
 3 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 „ July I . . 
 
 12 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 64 
 
 
 ,, August 8. . 
 
 13 10 
 
 ... 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 96 
 
 ... 
 
APPENDIX VI.— FRANCE 
 
 419 
 
 TABLE OF FRENCH SILVER COYS?,— continued. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 )h 
 
 
 
 Date. 
 
 Price of Mark 
 of Silver. 
 
 Name 
 of Species. 
 
 Alloy. 
 
 
 Value. 
 
 
 
 Liv. Sol. Den 
 
 
 Den. Grs 
 
 
 Sol. Den. 
 
 i3Sf 
 
 , August 30 . 
 November 13 
 
 6 15 0., 
 700 
 
 Blancs i la 
 Couronne 
 
 4 
 
 S3J 
 75 
 
 I 
 
 JJ 
 
 „ 22 
 
 800 
 
 
 3 
 
 75 
 
 
 )) 
 
 December 3 
 
 8 12 
 
 
 
 
 
 J) 
 
 9 
 
 9 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 39 
 
 February 22 
 
 700 
 
 
 3 
 
 90 
 
 " 6 
 
 )> 
 
 ., 27 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 100 
 
 
 1359 
 
 , April 20 . . 
 
 7 10 
 
 
 3 
 
 120 
 
 
 
 May 28 . . 
 
 II 10 
 
 
 2 12 
 
 150 
 
 
 
 
 
 Gros Blancs 
 
 3 
 
 72 
 
 I 3 
 
 " 
 
 June 5 . . 
 
 900 
 
 Blancs aux 
 trois Fleurs 
 
 3 12 
 
 70 
 
 I 3 
 
 
 * 
 
 
 de Lis 
 
 
 
 
 ,. 
 
 June 12 . . 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 )) 
 
 July 9 . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 J) 
 
 ,, 12 . . 
 
 
 
 2'" IS 
 
 
 
 J) 
 
 ., 31 • • 
 
 16 4 
 
 
 2 12 
 
 "80 
 
 
 >9 
 
 September 18 
 October 5 . 
 
 22 13 
 
 
 2 6 
 
 90 
 1 12 J 
 
 
 J* 
 
 „ 22 . 
 
 29 8 
 
 
 2 
 
 120 
 
 
 JJ 
 
 »> 
 J! 
 )J 
 
 November 27 
 
 December 5 
 .. 19 
 >> 31 
 
 12 
 
 IS 
 18 9 
 23 12 6 
 
 Gros a 
 
 I'estoile 
 
 4 
 3 ,0 
 
 48 
 
 2" 6 
 
 )) 
 
 January 2 . 
 
 24 12 6 
 
 
 2 12 
 
 "60 
 
 
 JJ 
 99 
 
 „ 22 . 
 
 February 17 
 
 34 12 6 
 
 
 2 
 
 72 
 80 
 
 
 )l 
 
 27 
 
 S3 17 6 
 
 
 
 100 
 
 
 
 March 4 
 11 21 ■ 
 
 77 16 
 102 
 
 
 I 12 
 
 100 
 
 I2S 
 
 
 JJ 
 
 ,, 31 . 
 
 II 
 
 Gros Blancs 
 
 4 
 
 64 
 
 
 (forte monnaie) | 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1360, 
 
 April 27 . . 
 
 
 
 3 D 
 
 
 
 99 
 
 May 4 . . 
 
 
 
 2 12 
 
 
 
 J9 
 
 „ 26 . . 
 
 
 ... 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 JJ 
 
 June 2 . . 
 
 700 
 
 Blancs k la 
 FleurdeLis 
 
 2 
 
 "64 
 
 " 6 
 
 J) 
 
 .. 27 . . 
 
 
 
 
 80 
 
 74 
 
 99 
 
 „ 28 . . 
 
 900 
 
 
 I 12 
 
 80 
 
 
 JJ 
 
 „ 29 . . 
 
 August 7 . 
 
 10 lo 
 IS 
 
 
 
 100 
 
 
 JJ 
 
 „ 18 . 
 
 17 
 
 
 
 120 
 
 
 9 9 
 
 22 . 
 
 18 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 9J 
 
 September 7 
 
 700 
 
 Blanc a la 
 couronne 
 
 4 
 
 66 
 
 10 
 
420 
 
 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 TABLE OF FRENCH SILVER Cam's,— continued. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Price of Mark 
 of Silver. 
 
 Name 
 of Species. 
 
 Alloy. 
 
 
 Value. 
 
 
 Liv. Den. Sol. 
 
 
 Den 
 
 Grs. 
 
 
 Sol. Den. 
 
 1360, October 22 . 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 ,, November 13 
 
 8 "0 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 19 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 January 12 . 
 
 5 S 
 
 
 
 Blanc' a la 
 fleur de lis 
 
 4 
 
 12 
 
 54 
 
 10 
 
 1361, April 3 . . 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 Gros 
 
 II 
 
 12 
 
 84 
 
 I 3 
 
 (forte monnaie) 
 
 
 
 Toumois 
 
 
 
 
 
 1364, May 3 . . 
 
 S 
 
 
 
 Gros 
 d'argent 
 
 II 
 
 12 
 
 84 
 
 I 3 
 
 1365, May 2 . . 
 
 s s 
 
 
 
 Blanc 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 96 
 
 ° 5 
 
 1370, June 19 . . 
 
 S IS 
 
 
 
 Gros 
 d'argent 
 
 11 
 
 3i 
 
 96 
 
 I 3 
 
 1372, August 9 . 
 
 5 16 
 
 
 
 
 II 
 
 17 
 
 
 
 1374, „ 12 . 
 
 
 
 
 II 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 1378, „ 19 • 
 
 
 
 
 11 
 
 17 
 
 
 
 1381, April 16 . . 
 
 S "8 
 
 
 
 Gros 
 d'argent 
 
 II 
 
 6 
 
 96 
 
 I 3 
 
 ,, August 15 . 
 
 5 16 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1384, March 22 . 
 
 
 
 Blanc a I'ecu 
 
 6 ' 
 
 
 
 75 
 
 10 
 
 1386, October 31 . 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 12 
 
 74* 
 
 
 1389. ., 30 ■ 
 
 5 is 
 
 
 
 
 S 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 „ July 4 . . 
 
 6 3 
 
 9 
 
 
 S 
 
 12 
 
 
 I 
 
 1391, April 8 . . 
 
 6 S 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1399, November 27 
 
 6 8 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1401, July 26 . . 
 
 
 
 Gros 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 81 
 
 I 3 
 
 1405, „ 6 . . 
 
 6 i'2 
 
 6 
 
 Blanc a I'ecu 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 76i 
 
 10 
 
 141 1, Novembers. 
 
 6 IS 
 
 
 
 
 S 
 
 
 
 80 
 
 
 1413, July 12 . . 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 Gros 
 d'argent 
 
 II 
 
 16 
 
 84^ 
 
 I ■ 8 
 
 1414, June 26 . . 
 
 7 2 
 
 
 
 Blanc a I'ecu 
 
 s 
 
 
 
 80 
 
 10 
 
 1417, May 17 . . 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 Gros 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 80 
 
 I 8 
 
 ,, October 21 . 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 1418, May 28 . . 
 
 9 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,, January 19 . 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 „ March . . 
 
 14 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 „ 7 ■ . 
 
 16 10 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 ' 8 
 
 
 
 1419, February 17 . 
 
 
 
 Blanc 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 i68 
 
 5 
 
 1420, April 9 . . 
 
 18 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 „ May 8 . . 
 
 26 
 
 
 
 Gros 
 
 2 
 
 12 
 
 100 
 
 i'" 8 
 
 , , February 1 1 . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1421, April 26 . . 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 Gros 
 d'argent 
 
 II 
 
 12 
 
 86J 
 
 I ' 8 
 
 1422, October 30 . 
 
 7 10 
 
 
 
 Blanc 
 
 4 
 
 12 
 
 90 
 
 10 
 
 1423, December 31 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 
 s 
 
 
 
 80 
 
 
 ,, March 10 . 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 90 
 
 
 1424, „ 17 • 
 
 
 
 Blanc 
 
 s 
 
 
 
 80 
 
 10 
 
 1425, June 9 . . 
 
 6 "5 
 
 
 
 Gros 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 90 
 
 I 
 
APPENDIX VI.— FRANCE 
 
 421 
 
 TABLE OF FRENCH SILVER 0,01^%— continued. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Price of Mark 
 of Silver. 
 
 Name of 
 Specie. 
 
 Alloy. 
 
 
 Value. 
 
 
 Liv. Sols. Den. 
 
 
 Den. Grs. 
 
 
 Sol. Den. 
 
 1425, August 17 . 
 
 700 
 
 Blanc 
 
 4 
 
 128 
 
 5 
 
 „ January 23 . 
 
 7 10 
 
 Grand Blanc 
 
 9 
 
 96 
 
 I 3 
 
 ,, March 16 
 
 750 
 
 Blanc 
 
 S 
 
 80 
 
 10 
 
 1426, May 28 . . 
 
 8 10 
 
 ... 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 ,, August 20 . 
 
 9 10 
 
 
 3 8 
 
 
 
 ,, November 19 
 
 II 
 
 
 3 
 
 81 
 
 
 „ January 11 . 
 
 700 
 
 
 4 12 
 
 72 
 80 
 
 
 1427, August 26 . 
 
 800 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 , , October 4 . 
 
 8 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 1428, July 31 . . 
 
 II 
 
 
 3 s 
 
 81 
 84 
 
 
 „ January 24 . 
 
 13 10 
 
 
 2 8 
 
 
 „ March 2 . . 
 
 15 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 1429, May 4 . . 
 
 
 
 I 18 
 
 
 
 „ June 10 . . 
 
 20 
 
 
 I 12 
 
 
 ... 
 
 , , November 5 . 
 
 700 
 
 
 5 
 
 80 
 
 8 
 
 ' (forte monnaie) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 „ January 16 . 
 
 700 
 
 
 5 
 
 80 
 
 10 
 
 1430, December 22 
 
 ■6 IS 
 
 Gros 
 
 II 12 
 
 I20| 
 
 I 3 
 
 1431, January 9 . 
 
 7 5 
 
 Blancs 
 
 5 
 
 80 
 
 10 
 
 1432, April II . . 
 
 961 
 
 
 
 
 
 „ August 22 . 
 
 9 10 2 
 
 Gros 
 
 4 18 
 
 68 
 
 I 2 
 
 „ September 29 
 
 9 16 
 
 
 
 
 
 ,, January 16 . 
 1434, May 28 . . 
 
 7 S 
 
 Petit blanc 
 
 4 
 
 i'28 
 
 5 
 
 1435, September22 
 
 900' 
 
 Blanc 
 
 4 
 
 80 
 
 10 
 
 „ February 21 
 
 700 
 
 
 S 
 
 
 
 1436, May 24 . . 
 
 
 Blanc k I'ecu 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 „ April 21 . . 
 
 780 
 
 
 3 '■' 8 
 
 
 
 1437, November 27 
 
 900 
 
 
 
 
 „ April 3 . . 
 
 7 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 1440 
 
 780 
 
 
 
 
 
 1441 ..... 
 
 I447> July 7 • ■ 
 „ „ 27 . . 
 
 7 10 
 800 
 
 8 10 
 
 Blanc a I'ecu 
 Gros 
 
 4 21 
 II 15 
 
 82I 
 68 
 
 10 
 2 6 
 
 
 
 d'argent 
 
 
 
 
 
 7 10 
 
 Blanc 
 
 5 
 
 90 
 
 10 
 
 1456, June 26 . . 
 
 •8 10 
 
 )) 
 
 4 12 
 
 81 
 
 10 
 2 6 
 
 
 8 15 
 
 Gros 
 
 II 12 
 
 69 
 
 
 
 d'argent 
 
 
 
 
 I46s,july . . . 
 
 8 10 
 
 Blanc 
 
 4 12 
 
 69f 
 81 
 
 10 
 
 1473. January 8 . 
 
 10 
 
 Gros 
 d'argent 
 
 II 12 
 
 86 
 69 
 
 II 
 2 9 
 
 1475, November 2. 
 
 
 Blanc au 
 soleil 
 
 4 12 
 
 78i 
 
 I 
 
422 
 
 THE HISTORY OF CURRENCY 
 
 TABLE OF FRENCH SILVER Q,OT^%— continued. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Price of Mark 
 of Silver. 
 
 Name of 
 Species. 
 
 Alloy. 
 
 V 0! 
 
 Value. 
 
 
 Liv. Sol. 
 
 Den. 
 
 
 Den. Grs. 
 
 
 Sol. Den. 
 
 1488, April 24 . 
 
 II 
 
 
 
 Blanc au 
 soleil 
 
 4 12 
 
 78i 
 
 I I 
 
 1497, „ 7 • 
 
 II 
 
 
 
 Blanc a la 
 couronne 
 
 4 12 
 
 86 
 
 I 
 
 1513, ,. 6 . 
 
 12 10 
 
 
 
 Testoons 
 
 II 18 
 
 2S4 
 
 10 
 
 1514, January i 
 
 II 
 
 
 
 Blancs 
 
 4 12 
 
 86 
 
 I 
 
 „ "February 17 
 
 12 15 
 
 
 
 Testoons 
 
 II 18 
 
 254 
 
 10 
 
 1519, June 10, 
 
 12 10 
 
 
 
 Blancs a la 
 couronne 
 
 4 6 
 
 924 
 
 I 
 
 1521, September 2 
 
 3 13 S 
 
 
 
 Testoons 
 
 II 6 
 
 25^ 
 
 10 
 
 1532, March i . 
 
 
 
 
 , , 
 
 
 10 6 
 
 1539, February 24 
 
 12 10 
 
 
 
 Blanc k la 
 Salemand 
 
 4 6 
 
 92i 
 
 I 
 
 1540, May 18 . . 
 
 14 
 
 
 
 Testoons 
 
 
 
 10 8 
 
 1541. ,. 4 • 
 
 
 
 Douzains k 
 la croisette 
 
 3"" 16 
 
 9ii 
 
 I 
 
 1547, March 31 
 
 
 
 Douzains 
 
 
 914 
 
 I 
 
 1549, October 25 
 
 14 10 
 
 
 
 Testoons 
 
 
 
 II 
 
 „ January 23 
 
 IS 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 11 4 
 
 1550, April 20 . 
 
 14 5 
 
 
 
 Douzains 
 
 3 12 
 
 934 
 
 I 
 
 1561, August 30 
 
 15 IS 
 
 
 
 Testoons 
 
 10 i8f 
 
 254 
 
 12 
 
 1572, June 13 . 
 
 
 
 Douzains 
 
 3 12 
 
 102 
 
 I 
 
 iS73> =. 9 ■ 
 
 17 
 
 
 
 Testoons 
 
 
 
 13 
 
 157s. ., 17 • 
 
 
 
 j» 
 
 
 
 14 6 
 
 „ May 31 . 
 
 19 
 
 
 
 Francs 
 
 10 loM 
 
 i7i 
 
 20 
 
 )) J> 
 
 17 IS 
 
 
 
 Douzains 
 
 3 
 
 102 
 
 I 
 
 1577, June 15 . 
 
 
 
 Testoons 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 „ November 2( 
 
 3 
 
 
 jj 
 
 
 
 14 6 
 
 1580, October 17 
 
 19 
 
 
 
 Quart d'ecu 
 
 11 
 
 25^ 
 
 15 
 
 1602, September 
 
 20 S 
 
 4 
 
 it 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 )f >] 
 
 
 
 Franc 
 
 
 
 21 4 
 
 a )) 
 
 
 
 Testoons 
 
 
 
 IS 
 
 1636, May 8 . 
 
 23 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 „ June 28 . 
 
 
 
 Franc 
 
 
 
 27 
 
 ,, September 2 
 
 '- 2S 
 
 
 
 ... 
 
 
 
 
 1641, November i 
 
 i 26 10 
 
 
 
 Louis 
 d'argent 
 
 II 
 
 m 
 
 60 
 
 1652, April 4 . 
 
 
 
 }} 
 
 
 
 66 
 
 165s, December 2; 
 
 ... 
 
 
 }) 
 
 II 12 
 
 304 
 
 20 
 
 1679, April 10. ' 
 
 29 II 
 
 
 
 )9 
 
 
 
 60 
 
 1689, December ic 
 
 ) 
 
 
 Recoinage 
 
 new species 
 of Louis 
 d'argent 
 
 
 ... 
 
 62 
 66 
 
 i693> 
 
 33 16 
 
 
 
 Louis 
 d'argent 
 
 
 
 68 
 
APPENDIX VI.— FRANCE 
 
 423 
 
 TABLE OF FRENCH SILVER COm^— continued. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Price of Mark 
 of Silver. 
 
 Name of 
 Specie. 
 
 Alloy. 
 
 
 Value. 
 
 
 Liv. Sol. Den. 
 
 
 Den. Grs. 
 
 
 Sol. Den. 
 
 1703, December lo 
 
 zmo 
 
 Louis d'argent 
 
 
 
 80 
 
 1709, April . . . 
 
 38 8 
 
 )) 
 
 II 
 
 "s 
 
 88 
 
 „ May . . . 
 
 Mix 
 
 j» 
 
 
 
 100 D 
 
 17 13, September 30 
 
 
 }) 
 
 
 
 70 0' 
 
 1718, May . . . 
 
 
 Louis 
 d'argent or 
 ecu 
 
 11 
 
 10 
 
 80 
 
 1719, July 25 . . 
 
 eiT^T 
 
 
 
 
 "3 4 
 
 ,, 
 
 69i 
 
 Livres 
 
 d'argent 
 
 
 65A 
 
 
 1720, September . 
 
 98A: 
 
 Louis 
 d'argent 
 
 
 
 23s 
 
 
 
 
 {=i ecu) 
 
 30 
 
 60 
 
 1721, January 1 
 
 
 
 („ ,. ) 
 
 
 50 
 
 1723, 
 
 
 
 
 I'oi 
 
 138 
 
 1726, 
 
 46 18 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 100 
 
 „ May . . . 
 
 51 3 3 
 
 
 
 
 120 
 
 1785 
 
 Silver coins 
 unaltered 
 
 
 
 
 
 1803 
 
 Kilog. fine 
 silver =222f 
 Francs(2i8f 
 Francs being 
 returned to 
 the importer) 
 
 Franc 
 
 .900 
 
 5 
 grms. 
 wght. 
 
 
 183s, June 30 . . 
 
 Kilog. fine 
 silver = 222|^ 
 Francs (220 
 Francsbeing 
 returned to 
 the importer) 
 
 j> 
 
 )3 
 
 
 
 1865, Latin Union 
 
 
 
 Pieces 
 und^r 5 
 Francs 
 reduced 
 to .835 
 fine 
 
 
 
INDEX OF COINS 
 
 Agnelet, 408. 
 
 Agnels d'or, 399. 
 
 Agnus dei, 324, 325, 326. 
 
 Aguilas, 334. 
 
 Aignel d'or, or Denier d'or a I'aignel, 
 
 399- 
 Albus, 100. (See Rhenish.) 
 Andries florin, 347. 
 Ange or Angelot, 400, 409. 
 Angel, 58, 113, 120, 131, 139, 408. 
 Angelets, 117. 
 Angelot or Ange, 400. 
 Aragon. (See Florin.) 
 Augustale, 4. 
 August d'or, 388. 
 
 B. 
 
 Barile (or Carolino), 307. 
 Batzen, 369, 372. 
 
 Bavarian carolus or 3-guIden piece, 
 (gold) 375. 
 „ max d'or, 375. 
 Blanc, 420, 421. (See Grand, Gros, 
 
 Obole, Petit.) 
 Blanc a la couronne, 417, 418, 419, 422. 
 
 ,, a la Fleur de lis, 418, 419, 420. 
 
 , , a la Galema, 422. 
 
 ,, k I'ecu, 420. 
 
 ,, au soleil, 421, 422. 
 
 ,, aux trois Fleurs de lis, 419. 
 
 Blanca, 324, 326, 328, 344. 
 
 „ vieja, 325. 
 Blanco segundo, 322. 
 Blancos, 324, 344. 
 Bourgeois, 415. 
 Brabant thaler or Kronen thaler, 202, 
 
 376. 
 Burgaleses, or Maravedis Blancos, 322. 
 Burgundian gulden, 82. 
 Burgundy nobles, 56. 
 Byzants, 2. 
 
 Cadieres, 400. 
 
 Cardacues (see Quart d'ecu), 148. 
 
 Carls d'or or Louis d'or, 388. 
 
 Carolino (or Barile), 307. 
 
 Carolus, 115, 348, 356, 375. 
 
 Castellanos, 323, 325, 334, 335, 336. 
 
 (See Doblas, Oro.) 
 Centenes, 339. 
 Chaise d'or, 35. 
 Chaises or masses, 400, 408, 409, 410, 
 
 411. (See Double.) 
 Convention thaler, 201, 378. 
 Cornado, 325. 
 
 viejo, 325, 326. 
 
 I „ nuevo, 325, 326. 
 Coronados, 323. 
 Coronas, 109, 325, 334. 
 Couronne, 400, 401, 408. (See Blanc, 
 
 Ecu, Crown, Gros.) 
 
426 
 
 INDEX OF COINS 
 
 Crazie, 309. 
 
 Croiseth. (See Douzains, Ecu.) 
 
 Crown (see French crowns), 113, 231, 
 
 243. 376, 383- 
 ,, ofthe Rose, 216. 
 ,, of the Sun, 109, ii6, 117, 119, 
 
 401. 
 ,, or Brabant thaler, 202. 
 ,, thaler, 202. 
 Cruzados, 326. 
 
 ,, de la Banda, 326. 
 
 D. 
 
 Denarii (pfennige), 360. 
 Denarius, 2. 
 Denaro, 319. 
 
 Denier d'or k I'aignel or Aignel d'or, 399. 
 , , d'or a I'ecu, 400. 
 ,, d'or aux Fleurs de lis, 35. 
 ,, Parisis, 415, 416, 417. 
 ,, Tournois, 415. 
 Deniers (silver), 346. (See Gros.) 
 Dinero nuevo, 325, 326. 
 „ viejo, 325, 326. 
 Doblas, 323, 325, 326, 334. 
 
 ,, (Castellanos) de la Banda, 24, 
 325. 326. 
 Doblon, 329, 338. 
 
 Dollar (see Piece of Eight, RixdoUar, 
 Daalder, Spanish, Staten), 
 149, 221, 222, 238, 247, 248, 
 250, 251, 253, 260, 262, 
 Double (see Grand) carolus, 115. 
 ,, florin, 347. 
 „ gold gulden, 375. 
 ,, Parisis, 417. 
 „ Pattart, 347. 
 ,, Tournois, 417. 
 Doubles or chaises, 410. 
 Douzains, 86, 170, 422. 
 
 ,, a la croisette, 422. 
 Drittelthaler, 213. 
 Ducados, 325, 326, 334. 
 Ducat (see Hungary, Holland, Neder- 
 land. Imperial, Silver, Span- 
 ish), loi, 116, 117, 120, 271, 
 
 3". 349, 350. 35i> 369. 370, 
 371, 374, 390, 391, 392. 
 Ducat (Krelnnitz), 387. 
 ,, (see Zecchino, or Sequin), 314, 
 
 316, 317- 
 „ (silver) 318. 
 Ducato d'argento, 312. 
 
 „ d'oro, 308. 
 Dukaat, 353, 354, 358. 
 Dukaton of Brabant, 357. 
 Duro, 333. 
 
 E. 
 Eagle, 253. 
 
 !^cu (see Blanc, Escudos, Scudo, Florin), 
 86, 88, 90, 92, 406, 408, 409, 
 
 414, 423- 
 ,, a la couronne, 401, 402, 410, 411, 
 412. 
 a la croisette, 412. 
 au porc-epi, 402, 412. 
 au soleil, 84, 412, 413. 
 blancs, 167. 
 heaumes, 402, 410. 
 (silver), 169. 
 Ecu d'or, 37, 85, 413. (See Denier.) 
 
 ,, au soleil, 401, -402. 
 Eight-florin (gold), 376. 
 English crown, 247. 
 ,, rose nobles, 81. 
 ,, sovereigns, 81. 
 Enrique, 325, 327. 
 
 Escudos, 109,331,334,335,336,337,338. 
 ,, de plata, 330. (See Scudo, 
 feu.) 
 Esterlings, 41. 
 Excellentes, 327. (See Medios. ) 
 
 ,, de la Granada, 328, 334. 
 
 „ majores, 334. 
 
 Fifty-stuiver piece, 352, 357. 
 Fiorino d'argento, 306. (See Florin, 
 Lira, Silver.) 
 „ da sei, 309. 
 ,, d'oro, 308. 
 „ d'oro largo, 303, 304. 
 „ d'oro largo inoro, 303, 304, 308. 
 ,, disugello, 302, 304. 
 
INDEX OF COINS 
 
 427 
 
 Fiorino neri, 309. 
 ' ,, nuovastro, 308. 
 ,, nuovissimo or Largo di Galea, 
 
 308. 
 „ nuovo, 308. 
 , , of the first suggello, 308. 
 ,, of the second suggello, 308. 
 ,, of the fifth suggello, 308. 
 ,, of the sixth suggello, 308. 
 ,, of the eighth suggello, 308. 
 ,, of the ninth suggello, 308. 
 ,, of the Pisan weight, 308. 
 ,, stretto, 308. 
 
 ,, stretto di Camera of the seventh 
 suggello, 308. 
 Five-franc (silver), 174, 192, 194, 195. 
 
 „ thaler pieces, 204. 
 
 Fleur de lys, or Florens d'or aux Fleurs 
 de lis, 401, 409, 410. (See 
 Blanc, Denier, Gros.) 
 ,, de lys of Charles v., 402. 
 ,, de lys of King John, 402. 
 Florences, 9. (See Florin.) 
 Florentine florin, 389. (See Florin.) 
 
 „ gigliati, 375. 
 
 Florin (see Double, Petit, Fiorino, Oro, 
 S. Andries, Florences), 3, 269, 
 302, 326, 334, 347, 377. 
 ,, d'Aragon, 325, 326. 
 ,, de ecu, 411. 
 ,, d'or, 9, 26, 299. 
 
 ,, aux Fleur de lis, or Fleurs 
 de lis d'or, 401. 
 ,, George, 400. 
 ,, of eight. (See Eight-florin.) 
 Forty-franc (gold), 175, 176. 
 Four-florin gold pieces, 376. 
 
 ,, penny piece (silver), 146. 
 
 Franc (see Five-franc), 174, 176, 192, 
 194, 195. 353. 404, 410, 414. 
 422, 423. 
 ,, a cheval, 401, 411. 
 „ a pied, 401. 
 „ d'argent, 404. 
 „ d'oro, 36, 399, 400, 401. 
 French crowns, 66, 80. 
 Friedrichs d'or, 204, 380, 381, 382, 
 388, 392. 
 
 G. 
 
 Galema (see Blanc), 422. 
 Genoviva, 4. 
 George. (See Florin.) 
 German gold guldens, 79. 
 Gigliali, 375. (See Florentine.) 
 Gold crowns, 376. 
 „ ducat, 390, 391. 
 „ dukaat, 353. 
 ,, florin, 302. 
 
 ,, gulden (Rheinische gulden), 31, 
 98, 363, 36s, 367, 368, 369, 371, 
 389, 390, 391- (See Gulden.) 
 ,, penning, 359. 
 Grand blanc, 421. 
 
 ,, double, 347. 
 Groat, 113, 117, 118, 119. 
 Groots, 34S, 347. 
 
 GroS (see Royal, Blanc, Deniers, Cour- 
 onne, Groschen, Groat, Grossi), 
 347. 418, 420, 421. 
 k la couronne, 416, 418. 
 k la Fleur de lis, 416. 
 k la I'estoile, 419. 
 blancs, 418, 419. 
 d'argent, 37, 420, 421. 
 deniers blancs, 403. 
 deniers d'argent, 403. 
 royaux, 400, 408. 
 royaux d'or, 10. 
 
 Tournois, 28, 403, 415, 416, 417, 
 420. 
 roschen (see Gros, Gulden, Marien, 
 Reichs, Silver), 28, 30, 97, 
 363. 364, 36s. 366, 372, 
 375, 379. 380, 394, 395- 
 ,, of the mark, 366. 
 ,, ofMisniaandFranconia,366. 
 Grosseti, 307. 
 
 Grossi, 20, 304, 306, 307, 311, 312, 318. 
 (See Lira, Gros.) 
 ,, i oro, 315. 
 ,, popolini, 306. 
 Grossoni, 306, 307. 
 Gueldres. (See Riders.) 
 Guelfi, 304. 
 
 ,, del fiore, 19, 306. 
 
428 
 
 INDEX OF COINS 
 
 Guelfi grossi, 22, 306. 
 ,, nuovi, 20, 306. 
 
 Guillaumes d'or, 271. 
 
 Guinea, 135, 231, 247. 
 
 Gulden (see Burgundian, Double, Gold 
 gulden, Karolus, Misnia, 
 Reichs, Rhenish, Silver, 
 Three-gulden),7, 15,27, 96, 
 99. loi, 345. 348, 350. 352, 
 353. 354. 357. 361, 362, 
 367, 369. 375, 392- 
 „ groschen, 363, 365, 368. 
 
 Guldener, 372. 
 
 H. 
 
 Half-crown, 232, 243, 383. 
 
 ,, dollar, 259. 
 
 Hard dollar, 333. 
 Heaumes. (See Ecu.) 
 Heller, 361, 362. 
 Henris, 412. 
 
 ,, d'or, 402. 
 Holland dukaat, 358, 374. 
 Hungary ducat, 358. 
 
 Imperial ducat, 392. 
 
 "Joachims thaler or Schlicken or Lowen 
 thaler, 363. 
 
 K. 
 
 Kammer Gerichts gulden, 369. 
 Karolus gulden, 356, 
 Kremnitz ducat, 375, 387, 392. 
 Kreutzers, 99, 361, 364, 365, 367, 369, 
 
 372, 375- 
 Kronen thaler or Brabant thaler, 378. 
 Kruisdaalder or Patacon, 356, 357. 
 
 L. 
 
 Laubthalers, 202. 
 
 Leeuwendaalder, 356, 357. 
 
 Leones, 321. 
 
 L'estoile. (See Gros.) 
 
 Lion, 408. 
 
 Lira, 305, 310, 312, 313, 314, 318, 400. 
 
 ,, a fiorino, 305. 
 
 „ di grossi, 314, 315. 
 
 ,, di piccioli, 315. 
 
 ,, (Florentine), 301. 
 
 ,, Tron, 312. 
 Lis d'argent, 92, 404. 
 
 ,, d'or, 402. 
 Livres d'argent, 406, 423. 
 Louis d'argent, 167, 168, 169, 404, 
 406, 407, 422, 423. 
 
 „ d'or, 91, 92, 93, 167, 168, 169, 
 172, 227, 402, 405, 406, 407, 
 
 413, 414- 
 ,, d'or or Carls d'or, 388. 
 Lbwen thaler or Joachims thaler or 
 
 Schlicken thaler, 363. 
 Luxembourgs, 44. 
 
 M. 
 
 Maravedis, 15, 320, 321. 
 
 ,, blancos or Burgaleses, 322.. 
 
 ,, blancos segundos, 323. 
 
 ,, de los buenos, 323. 
 
 ,, de raoneda blanca, 324. 
 
 ,, negros or prietos, 322. 
 
 ,, nuevo, 326. 
 
 ,, viejos or moneda blanca, 
 
 322, 323, 325. 
 Marian groschen, 102, 366. 
 Max d'or, 375. 
 Masses or chaises, 400, 408. 
 Meaja. (See Moneda.) 
 Medios excellentes, 334. 
 Metales or mitgales, 321. 
 Milreis, 273. 
 Minuto, 310. 
 Misnian gulden, 369. 
 Mitgales or metales, 321. 
 
INDEX OF COINS 
 
 429 
 
 Molino, 344. 
 
 Moneda blanca or Maravedis blancas 
 viejos, 322. (See Blanca.) 
 
 ,, meaja nueva, 325, 326. 
 
 „ vieja, 322, 32s, 326. 
 Moneta bianca nera, 305. 
 
 „ nera, 305. 
 Mouton, 36, 409, 410, 411. (See 
 Petit.) 
 
 „ d'or, 10. 
 
 ,, d'or k la grand laine, 399. 
 
 ,, d'or i. la petite laine, 399. 
 
 N. 
 
 Nederland dukaat, 357, 358, 359. 
 ,, reaal, 356. 
 
 rijder, 357, 358, 359. 
 „ rijksdaalder, 356, 357. 
 Netherland stuyvers, 366. 
 Nobles, 48, S3, 55, 57. (See Rose 
 
 Nobels, Burgundian.) 
 Novenes, 322, 323. 
 Nuovi Guelfi, 20, 306. 
 
 O. 
 
 Obole blanche, 416. 
 Oro dobla castellana, 23. 
 
 ,, florines, 10. 
 
 ,, gran modulo, 23. 
 Orth, 365. 
 
 P. 
 
 Parisis, 400, 408. (See Denier, double. ) 
 
 ,, d'argent, 403. 
 Parvulus, 310. 
 Parvus, 310. 
 Pastas de oro, 337. 
 Patacon or Kruisdaalder, 357. 
 Pattart, 347. (See Double.) 
 Pavilion, 400, 408. 
 Penny, 2, 4, 113- 
 Penning (gold), 352, 359. 
 
 Pesetas, 333. 
 Petit blanc, 421. 
 
 ,, deniers tournois, 37. 
 
 ,, florins, 42. 
 
 ,, moutons, 410. 
 
 ,, royaux, 10, 400, 408. 
 
 , , royaux d'or, 9. 
 
 ,, royaux d'or fin, 399. 
 
 ,, tournois, 415. 
 Pfennige, 362, 365, 366, 369, 372, 375. 
 Philipps thaler, lOl, 368, 370. 
 Philippus rijder, 82. 
 Piastre, 333. 
 
 Piccioli, 309, 310, 31 1, 315. (See Lira.) 
 k oro, 315. 
 „ neri, 309. 
 Piece of eight (see real and dollar), 148, 
 
 221, 222, 246. 
 Pistole, 87, 131, 203, 227, 381, 382, 
 388. (See Spanish, Louis d'or, 
 Friedrichs d'or.) 
 Pistolets, 148. 
 
 Popolini, 306. (See Grossi.) 
 Porc-epi. (See Ecu.) 
 Pound, 113, 345. 
 
 Prietos or Maravedises negros, 322. 
 Prussian thaler, 203, 380. 
 
 Q- 
 
 Quart d'ecu, 404, 422. (See Cardacues. 
 Quattrini, 309. 
 
 ,, bianchi, 309. 
 
 ,, lanajuoli, 309. 
 
 ,, neri, 94. 
 Quinto di ducato, 307. 
 Quinzains, 406. 
 
 d'or, 413. 
 
 Real (see Nederland, Royal, Ryal), 
 87, 95, "S. 324, 32s. 327, 333- 
 ,, au lion, 10. 
 
 ,, of eight, 131, 143, 329, 341, 342, 
 344. (See Piece of Eight.) 
 
\ 
 
 43° 
 
 INDEX OF COINS 
 
 Real sencillo, 340, 341. 
 „ (silver), 326, 328. 
 Reichs gulden, 367. (See Gulden.) 
 ,, gulden thaler, 370. 
 ,, groschen (see Groschen), 365, 
 
 366, 367- 
 ,, thaler (see Thaler), loi, 103, 
 199, 200, 368, 369, 370, 371, 
 
 372, 374- 
 Reines, 400. 
 Rhenish gulden (see Gold Gulden), 
 
 31- 
 Rhenish albi, 366. 
 
 Riders Gelderns, 119. (See Rijder.) 
 Rijder, 349, 352. (See Nederland, 
 
 Philippus, Rider, Silver.) 
 Rijksdaalder, 83, 354. (See Neder- 
 land.) 
 Rixdollars, 148. (See Rijksdaalder.) 
 Rose nobel, 113. (See Nobel.) 
 Royal, 399, 410, 411, 412. (See Gros, 
 Petit, Reines, Real, Ryal.) 
 ,, double, 408. 
 Royaux durs, 400. 
 
 ,, or Denier d'or au Roiel, 346, 
 400. 
 Rupee, 295. 
 Ryals, 142, 143. (See Real.) 
 
 S. 
 
 Saint Andries florin, 347. 
 
 Saluts, 401, 411. 
 
 Schellings, 345. 
 
 Schlicken thaler or Joachim thaler or 
 
 Lowen thaler, 363. 
 Schillingen (solidi), 360, 361, 362. 
 
 (See Silver.) 
 Scudo, 318. (See Ecu.) 
 
 ,, d'argento, 313. 
 Sequin (see Ducat, Zecchino), 311, 312, 
 
 316, 317- 
 Seven-kreutzer piece, 375- 
 Seventeen-kreutzer piece, 375. 
 Shilling, 113, 138, 142, 144, 145, 231, 
 
 243- 
 of esterlings, 55. 
 
 Sigillo. (See Fiorino.) 
 Silver dukaat, 353. 
 
 ,, fiorino, 301, 304. 
 
 ,, groschen, 102, 380. 
 
 ,, gulden or thaler, 364. 
 
 ,, "jder, 353. 
 
 , , schillingen, 
 Six-livre thalers, 202. 
 Sixpence, 144, 145, 231, 243. 
 Soldi, 301, 304. (See Solidi.) 
 
 „ grossi, 306. 
 
 „ (schillingen), 360. 
 Soleil. (See Ecu, Couronne.) 
 Solidus, 398. (See Soldi, Schelling, 
 
 Sol, Sueldo. ) 
 Sols, 170. (See Solidi, Sueldo.) 
 
 ,, d'argent, 403. 
 
 ,, d'or, 399. 
 Souverain, 392. 
 Sovereign, 113, 117, 131. 
 Spanish dollar, 333. 
 ,, ducats, 79. 
 ,, pistole, 80. 
 Specie or Convention thaler, 102, 201. 
 Staten daalder, 356. 
 Sterlings, 48. 
 
 Stiver, 345. (See Nederland.) 
 Stretti. (See Fiorino.) 
 Sueldo, 319. (See Solidus.) 
 ,, de oro, 321. 
 ,, pepiones, 321, 322. 
 Suggello. (See Fiorino.) 
 
 Ten-gulden piece, 353, 355, 359. 
 
 Ten-stiver piece, 356. 
 
 Ten-thaler piece, 204. 
 
 Testoons, 84, 121, 130, 307, 403, 
 422. 
 
 Thaler (see Silver gulden, Joachims 
 thaler, Kronen thaler, Laub- 
 thalers, Prussian, Philipps, 
 Reichs thaler. Silver, Six-livre, 
 Vereins thaler), 83, 106, 363, 
 364, 367, 369, 370, 371, 373. 
 375. 377, 379. 381, 382, 39Z- 
 
INDEX OF COINS 
 
 431 
 
 Three-gulden piece or Bavarian carolus, 
 
 357, 375- 
 Three-heller piece, 369, 
 Threepenny piece (silver), 146. 
 Thirty -deniers, 170. 
 Thirty-kreutzer piece, 375. 
 ToUero, 313, 31S. 
 Tournois, 397. (See Denier, Double, 
 
 Gros, Petit.) 
 Tremissis or triens, 398. 
 Tron. (See Lira.) 
 Twenty-franc (gold), 175, 176. 
 Twenty-kreutzer piece, 375. 
 Twenty-shilling piece, 149. 
 Two-franc, 190. 
 Twopenny piece (silver), 146. 
 
 Unite, 113, 134. 
 
 V. 
 
 Veintenes, 331. 
 
 „ de ore, 337. 
 Vellon rico, 344. 
 Vereinsmunze, 206. 
 Vereins thaler, 216, 372. 
 Viejos, 323. (See Maravedi.) 
 
 W. 
 
 Wilhelms d'or, 388. 
 William, 354. 
 
 Zahender, 365. 
 
 Zecchino (see Ducat, Sequin), 4, 311, 
 314, 375- 
 
 MORRISON AND GIBB, PRINTERS, EDINBUEGH