733 



MONEY. 



MONEY. 



734 



subject will be found in the articles BANK and BASKING ; BILLS OF 

 EXCHANGE ; EXCHANGE ; CURRENCY, &c. 



Money, as a circulating medium, is either of metal coined for the 

 purposes of commerce, usually stamped with the name and anna of 

 the prince or state that directs it to pass current ; or it is money of 

 account, which may be considered with respect to coins as weights and 

 measures with respect to goods, or as a mathematical scale with respect 

 to maps, lines, or other geometrical figures. Thus moneys of account 

 serve as standards of the value both of merchandise and of the 

 precious metals themselves. It should, however, be remarked, that 

 moneys of account, though they are uniform as a scale of divisions 

 and proportions, yet they fluctuate in their intrinsic value with the 

 fluctuation of the coins which they measure or represent. 



The earliest currency of metal has been already treated of under 

 COIN, together with the denominations, as far as they are known, of 

 the different moneys current among the chief nations of antiquity, as 

 well as some in our own country. 



Several other of the more important coins, ancient and modern, have 

 been already disposed of under their respective heads ; we shall now 

 lay before our readers as concise an account as possible of the mo> ey 

 which forms the present, or has formed the recently existing, metallic 

 currency of modern nations, taking them alphabetically : 



Albert's Dollar is a coin formerly known in Holland, with its half and 

 quarter, at 50, 25, and 124 stivers. The term is used also as a money of 

 account at Libau and Riga. The intrinsic value of a metallic Albert's 

 dollar was 4s. 4^d. 



Altmi-Mic, a Turkish silver coin, no longer in use. 



Ana, an East Indian coin, the 16th part of a rupee ; worth about 

 three halfpence. 



Agptr, a small Turkish money of account. 3 aspers = 1 para; 

 40 paras = 1 piastre. 



'lit d'Or, a gold coin of Saxony, double, single, and half; reckoned 

 at 10, 5, and 2J rix-dollars. The august piece of 5 thalers was worth 

 16s. 54^. It is now disused. 



Bajoccho, or Soldo, a copper coin at Rome, formerly divided into 

 12 denarii, or 5 quattrini ; worth about the third of a penny. There 

 are also double and single bajocchelli, of 4 and 2 bajocchi. 100 

 bajocchi = 1 scudo romano. 



Batzen, a base silver coin formerly used in Switzerland, and also in 

 some parts of Germany. It was worth about Ijrf. English. 



Bethlik, a Turkish and Egyptian coin : worth, in Egypt, about 

 2s. 34^. ; in Turkey, Is. O^d. The beshlik in Syria is a mixed metal, 

 and is worth about lOrf. 



Bit, or Bitt, a small coin in the West Indies, worth 5\d. 



Candereen, a part of the currency of China, passing by weight; 

 1000 candereens = l tael, which is worth 6s. Id. 



Carlino, a small silver coin in the kingdom of Naples and in Sicily : 

 it contains 10 grani, worth 4d. There are mezza-carlini, of half the 

 value. In Piedmont the carlino was a gold coin : coined before 1785 

 it was of the assayed value of 51. 18s. 8d. ; subsequent to that year, 

 51. 12. 3d. ; the half, &c., in proportion. 



C'arolm d'Or, or simply Carotin, a gold coin of Bavaria, Hesse- 

 Darmstadt, and Wurtemberg, now disused, value 20s. 6d. 



Cat/i, a small coin in China, and India beyond the Ganges. It is the 

 only coin used in China. It is not coined, but cast. It is composed of 

 6 parts of copper and 4 of lead ; round, marked on one side, and rather 

 raised at the edges, with a square hole in the middle. These pieces 

 are commonly carried like beads on a string or wire. A tael in account 

 nf fine silver should be worth 1000 cash, or about 6s. Id. ; but, on 

 account of their convenience for common use, their price is sometimes 

 so much raised that only 750 cash are given for the tael. Cash is some- 

 times called Coxa. In Sumatra cash are small pieces of tin or lead, 

 25i M) of which go to a mace. 



Cent, or Centime, a coin and money of account in France, Holland, 

 Belgium, Switzerland, and in the United States of North America. In 

 France the centime is the fifth part of a soxis (about an English half- 

 penny), and hundredth part of the franc (worth Hid. English). In 

 Holland 100cents = l florin. In Switzerland the small coins consist 

 of pieces of 5, 10, and 20 centimes, in base metal, less bulky than the 

 English copper. Centimes are sometimes called rappen, which were 

 formerly the tenth part of a batzen. In the money of the United 

 States the cent is the hundredth part of a dollar. Half-cents are 

 coined in the same proportion. 



Christian d'Or, a former Danish coin, worth 16s. 5$d. 



Cnpavg, or Cuban, a Japanese coin. The old copangs weigh 371 

 Dutch asen, or 275 English grains, and the gold is said to be 22 carats 

 fine : this would give 21. 4s. Id. sterling for the value of the old eopang; 

 but it must be observed that the Japanese coins are reckoned at 

 Madras only 87 touch, which is 20 2 ; carats, and this reduces the value 

 nf the old eopang to 21. 1*. lOrf. sterling. The new copangs weigh 

 180 English grains, and the gold is about 16 carats fine, which gives 

 their value 21s. 8rf. sterling. 



i f> '/, MB 00cfi 



('"imts, a species of small sea-shells, which, as long as they remain 

 unbroken, are used in parts of Africa, India, &c., as money in small 

 payments : 2560 cowries are generally reckoned for a current rupee. 

 But they have intermediate divisions, thus : 4 cowries make 1 gunda ; 

 20 gundas, 1 punn ; 4 punnn, 1 ana ; 4 anas, 1 cahaun ; and 4 cahauns 



1 current rupee ; but the last proportion is variable. Cowries are also 

 used for money on the Malabar coast, at Siam on the farther peninsula, 

 and in Guinea, where 2000 of these shells are called a macuta. 



d-ore, a money of account in the East Indies, equal to 100 lacs, or 

 ten millions of rupees. 



Crown. In England, Henry VII. was the first king who coined a 

 crown in gold. He afterwards, as has been already noticed, struck 

 some patterns for a crown in silver; but Edward VI. was the first who 

 coined the silver crown and half-crown for currency. From Elizabeth 

 to Victoria the silver crown and half-crown have been struck in every 

 reign. It is now current for 5s., weighs 18 dwts. 4^ grs. The half-crown 

 is of half the weight and value. The croone, or crown, was formerly 

 a coin of the Netherlands ; those after 1755 were estimated at 2 florins 

 1 4 stivers of exchange, or 3 florins 3 stivers current. It was also a coin 

 of Denmark ; double, single, and half-crowns were reckoned at 8, 4, 

 and 2 marks crown money, or 8 marks 8 skillings, 4 marks 4 skillings, 

 and 2 marks 2 skillings current. 



Crusado, a silver coin in Portugal, of 480 rees, or 2s. 2d. 



Decime, a money of account, and coin in the Revolutionary system, 

 of France : 10 decimes make the franc, or 100 centimes. There were 

 copper pieces of 1 and 2 decimes. 



Denier was the 240th part of the livre, or French pound. 



Dime, a money of account and silver coin in America, is the 10th 

 part of a dollar. There are also half-dimes. 



Doblon, or DotMion, a Spanish gold coin, the ancient value of 

 which has been changed up to 1772, when the former pieces were 

 called in; the doubloon was of the value of 3?. Is. lOrf. The present 

 dMnn is worth SI. 4s. 8d. The double and the half of each in pro- 

 portion. 



Doppia,, or Pistole, an old Italian gold coin, of which the value varies 

 in different states. The Roman doppia was 15| lire, or 13s. 8|rf. ; that 

 of Parma \vas 26 lire 1 4 soldi. The doppia of Genoa was worth about 

 31s. 'Ad., but few are in circulation, as the Sardinian coinage is now 

 assimilated to that of France. ' 



Duit, or Dutyt, a small Dutch copper coin, now disused, the 8th part 

 of a stiver, in value half a farthing. 



Dollar. The dollar of the United States of North America, weighing 

 416 grains of standard silver, is valued at 4s. 4d. English. It has on 

 the edge, " ONE DOLLAR OR UNIT HUNDRED CENTS," and has its divi- 

 sions of half and quarter. By an Act of 1837, the silver dollar of the 

 United States is required to contain 412^ grains of standard silver, of 

 which one tenth is alloy, which is now the proportion in all coins of 

 the United States, whether of silver or gold. The Spanish dollar of 

 the old sort, before a new coinage took place in 1772, was of the sterling 

 value of 4s. 4^d. Till then there were dollars of two denominations, 

 the Mexican and the Sevillan dollar. That which is at present gene- 

 rally circulated as the Spanish dollar is really of the sterling value of 

 4s. 34<i The Greek silver dollar is worth 3s. G^d., and the five-dollar 

 piece is a gold coin of the value of 17s. 8^d. 



Drachma, a silver coin of the kingdom of Greece, worth about S^d. 



Dv.ca.dn, is an imaginary Spanish money, often used in estimating or 

 stating values; it is reckoned at something more than 2s. 



Ducat, Danish, a gold coin worth 7s. 5^d. ; the specie ducat is worth 

 9s. id. 



Ducat, Dutch, a gold coin, now called in, of the value of 5 guilders 

 2 stivers. English value, 9s. 4^d. 



Ducat, German, also a gold coin, the rate of coinage of which, 

 although each state has its own ducats, is nearly the same all over 

 Germany, in Hungary and Bohemia ; that is, about 9s. 4^d. or 9s. 5d. 

 The ducat of Holland is 9s. id. The Austrian double ducat is in 

 proportion. The ducat of Baden, however, of five gulden, coined 

 from 1819 to 1827, is only worth 8s. 5J. The ducat of Saxony is 

 current at 9s. 5d. 



Ducat, the Italian, is a silver coin and money of account at Naples 

 and other places. The Neapolitan ducat is worth 3s. id. The Venetian 

 ilver ducats of a former time varied both in weight and fineness. In 

 weight from 13dwt. 18 gr. to 14dwt. 19 gr. 



Dura, a gold coin of Spain, worth about 4s. ; with its double, the 

 dus duro. The old Spanish silver dollar is also known as the duro. 



Eagle, an American gold coin, of the value of 10 dollars, or units. 

 Its intrinsic value in English gold was nearly 21. 3s. 9d. Since 1834 it 

 has been reduced in value. It now contains 258 grs. The value is 

 now 41s. 



Ecu, a silver coin in the old system of France, and also at Geneva 

 and other places in Switzerland. In France it was of 6 livres ; and the 

 Petit Ecu, or half-crown, of 3 livres. The ecu, or patagon, of Geneva 

 was worth 3 livres or 104 florins. Those coined in 1796 were of the 

 English value of 4s. Qd. 



Escalin. The escalin, or shilling, was formerly a base silver coin in 

 the Netherlands, at 6 stivers of exchange, or 7 stivers current. Of the 

 English value of 6rf., and its double in proportion. 



l-'anam, a small coin in the East Indies, both of gold and silver, now 

 disused. The gold ones were alloyed with silver, and 24 of them were 

 reckoned for an old Negapatam pagoda, which went for 8s. The silver 

 fauam of Bombay was worth about 4Jti. ; that of Pondicherry S' f d, 



Farthing, an English copper coin, the fourth of a penny. It 'a 

 said to have been a round coin in the time of some of the later Saxon 

 kings ; they usually at that period" consisted of the fractious or parts 



