As a metaphor, it as almost too dynamic, and little can be considered as a general rule, except that money often works as a stand-in symbol for all that can be bought with it, for all that can be done with it, and for all the emotion that it can inspire. All this is implicit in coin, upon which our mind inscribes our desires like a royal bust. The hero of SJ, Yorick, likes money as a metaphor almost as much as Sterne does, and uses it to illustrate a point on a few occasions. But the French . There is some obvious irony in Yorick's choosing coins as the operative metaphor in this situation.
Coins are symbols of value and usefulness.
Yorick envisions the French as living in closer proximity to each other, or spending too much time together. The French are considered crude and overly sexual by the British, and Yorick seems to attribute their general lack of character to this habit. This theme of metal and mettle is a central one for Yorick, who perceives emotion as a thing of highest value. Later on in the narrative, he witnesses a beggar who begs only from women, and who never fails to get some money from them. Yorick is fascinated by this puzzle, and is restless with trying to work it out in his mind.