April — sept. 1859.] Ancient and Modern times. 101 



from the time gold began to be coined in England, in 1257, till 

 1664 when the guinea, which was then first coined, and the other 

 gold coins were permitted to pass current, without any valuation 

 according to the relative worth of gold and silver in the market. 

 This practice continued till 1717, when the rate or value at which 

 a guinea should exchange was fixed at 21 shillings. From this 

 period till 1774 gold and silver coins were equally legal tender : 

 but from the circumstance of gold having been overvalued with 

 respect to silver, in the proportion fixed in 1717, almost all large 

 payments were made in gold, silver coins of full weight being ex- 

 ported as soon as they came from the mint, while none but those 

 that were worn and debased remained in circulation. In 1774 it 

 was enacted, that no tender made in silver coin by tale should be 

 legal for more than £25— and that any tender for a larger sum in 

 silver must be made by weight, at 5s. 2d. an ounce. And finally, 

 in 1816, the value of silver was raised above its just proportion 

 as compared with gold, by coining 66 shillings instead of 62 out 

 of the pound troy : but in order to prevent this overvalued silver 

 currency from driving the gold currency out of the country, and 

 becoming the sole medium of exchange, it was at the same time 

 enacted that silver should be legal tender to the extent of forty 

 shillings only : while to prevent its sinking in value from redun- 

 dancy, the power to issue it was placed exclusively in the hands 

 of Government. Under these regulations silver has become a 

 merely subordinate species of currency, occupying the same place 

 in relation to gold that copper occupies in relation to itself. This 

 system has been found to answer extremely well. In another 

 Note I find the following passage on the same subject. " This 

 overvaluation" [of gold in the mint regulation, of 1717] "was 

 estimated by the late Lord Liverpool to have been at the time 

 about equal to four pence on the guinea, or to 1^-f- P er cent., and 

 as the real value of silver with respect to gold continued to in- 

 crease during the greater part of last century. The advantage of 

 paying in gold in preference to silver became more decided ; and 

 ultimately led as has been previously observed, to the universal 



28s. 3d. in our present coin: 1601, 171 grs. about 27s. 2d. : 1604, 154 

 grs. ; 1625, 140 grs. ; 1675, 129 grs. 5 1815, 123 grs. nearly, as at pre- 

 sent. 



