CHAP. IX. 



GOLD AND SILVER. 197 



or less rapid circulation ; and any experiments 

 that may be made to ascertain this loss can only 

 lead to doubtful results, unless made upon a 

 very large number of pieces of money. In mo- 

 dern times the practice of issuing bills to repre- 

 sent money causes a large portion of coin to 

 rest inactive in deposit, ready to meet the de- 

 mand that may be made. In ancient times the 

 money was mostly in the hands of the several 

 governments, who only drew it forth in some 

 pressing emergencies. If it be difficult to cal- 

 culate the portion now existing in the coffers of- 

 our banks and bankers, it is still more difficult 

 to estimate what portion of ancient coin was in 

 a similar state of inactivity in the treasuries of 

 the several ancient governments. 



It is found that the loss by friction is very far 

 greater on the small than on the large pieces of 

 coin 1 ; thus the loss on our present sixpenny 

 pieces in the same space of time is found to be 

 more than three times as great as that on the 

 half crowns, and nearly double as great as on the 

 shillings. With regard to the ancients, we are 

 in utter ignorance of the proportion which the 

 larger and smaller coins bore to each other. The 

 loss by abrasion too is found to be much greater 

 on silver than on gold coins ; and of the pro- 

 portion of the latter which was circulated in 



1 See Appendix, No. 1. 



