Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1819-02-06

where remittance is 10 be made in sps
Gle. the foreign and national coin will b
sent to many countries almost Indifferent
~, except that coin Of the nation (
which the remittance is to be made, wi
be pseferred, whenever il can be procui
ed. On the other hand, If a remittanc
IN specie Is 10 be made TO the u. States
the coins of half of Europe serve the pul
poses OF money here as well as our own
!his variety of current coin results i'm
ueed from temporary law but Will
the dollar of Spain and that of the Unite,
States are of exactly the same value with
In The United States, and Of nearly TN
same value IN many OF the foreign coun
tres 10 which our remiltances of speci,
take place, ii wOsId be unreasonable Il
expect that the merchant should not of
ten make them iudifferently the subject,
OF expectation.
tbs, however, true. that i'm Canton, anu
many parts of the East Indies, the Spa.
nIsh dollar is valued much higher than
that OF the United States, or than any 9th.
er coin, IN proportion to the quantity OF
pure silver which il contains. In many
parts OF the East Indies, indeed. 10 Other
coin is current. But, in such as have
minis OF their own, as in the British pos.
sessions, our COINS are estimated at their
real value, or nearly so. The annual ex
portation OF silver from Canton TO British
India, Is known 10 he very large, and this
circumstance can hardly fail TO raise the
price OF American silver, even i'm Canton.
slowly as customs and opinions change
there; at any rate, we cannot calculate
on the preference of Spanish dollars lead
ing exclusively 10 their expectation ::
while Of the articles which we import from
the East Indies, including China, nearly
one-half iS-drawn from countries in which
our coins are all valued nearly in the lust
proportion TO their purity and weight :;
and such was the proportion i'm our i'm
poriatlons at least during The year 1917.
he equal proportion between The le-
gal and intrinsic value of American and
foreign COINS, which tends TO produce
Their indlscrimiDate expectation, has also
an uniavorable effect upon their use i'm
The difference between
the quantity Of pure silver i'm the Ameri-
can and Spanish dollar, is not such as te
form any obstacle 10 the employment of
The former, by The manufacturer OF plate.
fortunately, however, an objection 10 il
rs frequently found i'm the quality of the
alloy, which makes il more difficult to be
worked. As TO our gold coins, thew are
employed with as much advantage by the
as any foreign coins, and
with more advantage than some of those
which are made current by law. Nor is
The quantity of gold and silver annually
employed IN the manufactures ofthe u.
States, now an incousiderable one.
10 preserve the coins which are issued
from The mint from being melted and ex-
ported, The laws must give them some adj
vaDtages in internal commerce over TO-
reign coins of equal purity and weight.
In respect 10 the gold coinage of the u.
States, the mint depends for It's supply
OF bullion upon banks or individuals, as
II does IN the coinage Of silver. But.
there is difficulty in the operations Of
tie mint, which ispecuiar TO the coinage
OF gold. The relative value Of gold 10 silver
is fixed BY our law at TO l5, which is
much below The relative value which is
assigned 10 it in all those countries from
WHICH we might have expected TO pro.
cure II. In Spain and Portugal, the le-
gal value of gold is 10 that of silver as |
to 10; and in that colony of Spain with
which our intercourse is most FREQUENT
and valuable (Cuba,) lis price i'm com.
merce is at least II for /. Hence. we
are not only precuded in the common
course Of trade from obtaining geld from
ihese rich sources of supply, bu, lie LIT
tie which finds lis way into The country
rom other quarters, is drawn from us by
The higher estimate which is there placed
upon 1t. In France, The legal value Of
sol1 is 10 that OF silver nearly as TO
10 i-2. In most parts fItaly, it is some
"hat higher. In England, silver coin is
only current In small sums but if spe-
Gle circulation shall be restored in that
country on the basis of lis present mint
regulations, the relative value Of gold 10
silver will be about for ID s. The
exac,Ion OF a scigneurage on lis silver
coin makes The comparison less easy, but
The merchant who shall carry bullion 10
! he English mint, will obtain very nearly
HE same amount of current money for
one ounce of pure gold, or 10 Is Of pune
silver. In Holland, thr relative value Of
gold TO silver is estimated ct there have
been no recent changes in respect 10 I'D
al 10 about il 4. In Germany and
the north of Europe, the value may be
stated as rather below an average of 10
Is. The West Indies, which are proba.
bly, our most considerable bullion mar
ke', esilnr.,e gold in proportion TO sill
yer, very little, il at all, below AN average
st TO 10. And this is done, allho' some
OF tie most considerable colonies belong
TO powers whose laws assign TO gold a
lower relative value in their European do
mlnions. This estimate, which VAS fore.
ed upon many of the colonies by the ne
cessity of giving for gold the price which
1t commanded in iheirneigIbOrhood, and
particularly i'll the countries which form
ed ihe great sources oflbeir supply, seems
TO indicate the fair proportion between
The metals III the West Indies, since it is
believed TO have been, in most instances.
confirmed by The colonial laws, rather
than introduced by them. The differ
euce established by custom in the United