CHAP, xxvii. OF ASIA. 339 



three pounds five shillings, which, from its low de- 

 gree of purity, must be the correct price of such 

 gold, and the latter at five shillings, the value will 

 thus appear : 



380,000 ounces of gold at 3/. 5*. 1,235,000 

 260,000 ounces of silver at 5$. 65,000 



Silver in Turkey . .. 100,000 



Whole produce of Asia . . 1,400,000 sterling. 



From want of correct data, we find it necessary 

 to supply their place with conjectures, and how- 

 ever remote those conjectures may be from accu- 

 racy, or however near they may approach to it, we 

 entertain no doubt of the relative proportion of 

 the two metals to each other being very near the 

 truth, and that the value of the gold yielded by 

 Asia is from ten to twelve times as much as that 

 of the silver. From the earliest ages the exchange 

 of silver for gold was going on between the western 

 and the eastern world. Gold has been rarely used 

 in Asia as money, either coined or uncoined. It 

 was needed like precious stones to ornament the 

 persons, the palaces, or the thrones of the princes. 

 Its value was too great to be wanted in the usual 

 commerce of the country, and in large transactions 

 silver would be quite sufficient ; whilst for those 

 of smaller amount, brass coin or cowries were better 

 adapted. Where gold did not perform the func- 

 tion of money, it would be of less value when ex- 



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