CHAP. v. PRECIOUS METALS. 149 



came, who greatly adulterated the metal. Pliny 

 says l , " miscuit denario triumvir Antonius fer- 

 rum ;" and Pinkerton asserts, " I have tried a 

 denarius of Anthony Leg. vi. which flies to a 

 magnet like iron." 



The Egyptian coins struck under the Roman 

 emperors were at first of tolerable silver, but by 

 degrees they degenerated into a metal called by 

 the French metallic writers potin, being a mix- 

 ture of copper and tin with a very little silver. 



The greatest loss by wear in our money falls on 

 the smaller pieces. Thus our half sovereigns and 

 sixpenny pieces lose more than double their pro- 

 portion of weight in the same space of time as 

 our sovereigns and shillings 2 . This may be at- 

 tributed to their more rapid circulation ; to their 

 passing more frequently through various hands. 



In ancient times, when all necessaries could 

 be purchased with copper or with iron money, 

 on account of their very small metallic value, 

 when the precious metals were hoarded by 

 princes, and when there were scarcely any mid- 

 dle classes of society, the daily purchases of the 

 more numerous body of the people would be 

 made with money of the inferior metals, in 

 which they received their wages. There could 

 be little of what may properly be called circu- 

 lation of any other than copper and iron, and 



1 Book xxxiii. cap. 9. 



2 See Appendix, No. 1. 



