The Production and Waste of Money. 273 



the sums total, it may be gathered that the coins of all deno- 

 minations now doing duty in, and facilitating the trade, traffic, 

 and commerce of the country — leaving the colonies, most of 

 which have distinctive coinages, out of consideration — numbers 

 not less than sis hundred and fifty millions. This, too, is irre- 

 spective of the old copper coinage, considerable portions of 

 which still circulate in remote districts of Ireland and Scotland, 

 and in some parts of England. 



We may now touch upon the concluding division of our 

 subject, namely, that which relates to the speed at which the 

 deterioration of the coinage goes on by force of wear and tear. 

 Everybody has heard of " waste of money," resulting from 

 extravagance in a national, as well as in an individual sense, but 

 that there is another way in which money is wasted will be 

 presently shown. This, in truth, is a literal waste of money, 

 whilst that is simply a misuse of the circulating medium — a 

 diversion of it from its legitimate and proper purposes. 



From the moment that a newly- struck coin passes from the 

 Mint or the Bank with the bloom and lustre which the highly- 

 polished dies have given it, its deterioration commences. The 

 constant friction between loose pieces of money carried in the 

 pocket finally produces the effect of removing altogether their 

 engraved surfaces, whilst the serrated edges of gold and silver 

 coins, originally devised to prevent clipping, act upon each 

 other like files, and hasten the wasting process. If coins of 

 different dates are weighed, it will be found that they have 

 suffered a diminution in proportion to their respective ages, 

 although the first three months of their existence are usually 

 the most destructive. At first the fine and sharp lines and 

 angles, left as outlines to the devices, and upon which the artist 

 has devoted in the die so much care and skill, disappear, then 

 the legends, dates, and superscriptions grow faint, and even- 

 tually the uniformity of flat surfaces, entirely destitute of Mint 

 marks, is attained. The smaller the coins, the more rapid their 

 deterioration. This arises probably from the more active cir- 

 culation to which, as a rule, they are exposed. 



If, after the disappearance of the obverse and reverse 

 impressions of a genuine coin, it be heated to redness, the appa- 

 rently obliterated devices will again show themselves, and this 

 with some distinctness. The cause of this rather singular cir- 

 cumstance is less obvious than the effect. It is due to the 

 fact that in all struck coins the figures ornamenting them 

 have been produced by the necessary inequalities of the 

 surfaces of the dies, and hence certain parts of the coin 

 are more compressed than others. Take the sovereign 

 as an illustration. When the plain disc of gold intended 

 for stamping is placed on the die, it is as soft and plastic 



