COIN. 
by the Council of Ancients. It appears 
most eligible, that gold in pieees of deter- 
minate weight and fineness should constitute 
the effective coin of tlie state, or legal ten- 
der of payment ; that silver and copper 
should be formed into money for the pur- 
pose of representing fractions of the smallest 
gold coin ; and that the creditor or seller 
should have the option to refuse all pay- 
ments in these last metals of any sum ex- 
ceeding the smallest unity of the gold 
coin. 
By this distribution, though the coins of 
silver and copper would, in strictness, be 
subject to some fluctuations arising from the 
state of the market with regard to those 
metals, yet the difference would be disre- 
garded in the discharge of accounts, be- 
cause it would never amount to a sum- of 
any importance. Tlie only inconvenience 
which offers itself under such an arrange- 
ment is, that these subordinate coins would 
^ also be melted and sold when the metal was 
dear, and they would be fabricated if the 
metal ever happened to be so cheap as to 
afford an adequate motive of profit to the 
illegal coiner. The state, on its delibera- 
tions on this subject, might determine that 
the coins of silver and copper should pass 
cither for more or for less than the me- 
dium market price of the metal, or 
for that value precisely. It is evident that 
the first of these dispositions would afford 
coin which would continually vanish into 
the melting-pot, and is therefore altogether 
unadvisable. The medium rate of intrin- 
sic value would produce a similar effect 
whenever the market price was low. Whence 
it follows, that the metal contained in such 
auxiliary money ought to be of less value 
than the gold it represents ; and to prevent 
the introduction of a similar coinage from 
private manufacturers, it would be neces. 
sary that the difference between the value 
of the metal and that represented by the 
coin should be somewhat less than tlie cost 
of workmanship. Under these circum- 
stances the public would be supplied with 
an useful implement or ticket of exchange, 
which would operate as a pledge of value, 
very nearly to the amount of its denomina- 
tion, and would be afforded cheaper from 
the extensive manufactories of government 
than it could possibly be made by private 
workmen. 
Coin, like every other utensil or tool, is 
subject to wear, aniTwill, in process of time, 
be more or less deprived of its distinctive 
figure, and rendered less valuable by the 
loss of weight. When pew, it is the real 
pledge of measure it pretends to be ; but, 
if it be suffered to circulate after its weight 
is considerably diminished, it may become 
a desirable object to the coiner to fabricate 
new pieces apparently in the worn state, 
or otherwise he may exercise his industry 
in speedily reducing the new coin to that 
state, for the sake of the precious metal he 
may thus acquire. 
If,, on the contrary, the legislature should 
forbid the currency of pieces worn beyond 
a certain small or moderate loss, the conse- 
quence will be, tliat all such pieces will re- 
turn to the mint to be coined ; and the 
charge of coinage may become so heavy as 
to absorb a considerable part of the value 
of the whole circulating medium in the 
course of a few years. 
To diminish this last inconvenience as 
much as possible, it becomes necessary to 
attend to the nature of the metal, as well 
as tlie figure of the piece. Whether the 
Dutch ducat, of fine gold, or the English 
guinea, of 22 carats, may, under like cir- 
cumstances, be most disposed to lose by 
wear, has not, we believe, been deter- 
mined ; but it seems to be generally under- 
stood, that our standard gold, in watch- 
cases and other trinkets, is less durable 
than the coarser and harder gold allowed 
to be wrought in France and Geneva. If 
this be true, it should seem, that there ex- 
ists no motive for raising the standard of 
our gold ; and perhaps the same argument 
may apply still more to our silver ; and the 
advantage, if any, in lowering the standard 
without diminishing the intrinsic value, has 
not yet been shewn with sufficient evidence 
to Justify the offence against established 
use and public prejudice, which such a pro- 
ceeding might afford. Admitting the ob- 
servations to be conclusive against altering 
the standard, it would follow, that the 
greater durability of coin must be sought 
for in its figure. 
Let us imagine a coin to possess the fi- 
gure of an equilateral triangle; let it be 
tliin, in order that it may present a large 
surface ; let its edges have the figure of a 
saw, and its faces that of a file. Under 
these conditions, we should fabricate one 
of the worst or least durable coins that 
could be chosen : for tlie angles would be 
easily broken and worn, and the edges and 
faces would mutually operate on each other, 
with a degree of rapidity which, it may be 
concluded, would very soon take away aU 
the sharp prominences, and greatly dimi- 
