Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1868-08-20
Change.

Some FIVE years ago two French travellers in
Africa found, betweentthe Niger and Senegal,
negro tribes who made their prisoners Of war
take the place Of money in many transactions.
Prices Of valuable articles ware estimated in
captives: "What is your price for that horse?"
'Ihree captives. Ia How much for this OK ?"
Halt q captive, that is to say, a child or
an nold,man. They must, to be sure, have had
other money of some kind. CapGves and half
captives would be poor currency for making
change; and money is oftener needed for small
payments than for large ones. Even gold, easy
as it is to divide IS not convenient for coins of
small value; When gold and silver money
were in common use in this country, men pre-
ferred silver or bank bills to gold dollars. The
gold dollar is too small, too easily lost. For
smaller values than one dollar gold coins will
not do at all. 1t is just here that silver is
wanted And if nothing smaller than FIVE
cent pieces were required, there would be no
call for cheaper metel than silver for COIN
Where money IS plenty and prices are high,
men may feel able to pay five cents for the
worth at time When this IS the case there
is little use for copper coin Thus in California
and Australia copper money is of small account
But in the greater part of the world the people
have to reckon more closely. The poorer the
people and the cheaper articles of food are
ior poor people and cheap food are sometimes
found in the same country-the LESS must be
the value Of the cheapest coin. In this
country the laws provide for the coinage
Of half cents but we rarely see one, and our
smallest purchase is generally cents worth
The English have coined farthings, butt the
half penny is the smallest copper coin they
now have in common use.l The French coin OF
the least vaue-he centime, is not worth quite
the fifth part of d cent. yv5g3ys .g..
You wish to cross toll bridge in France
you give the toll-gatherer a sou equal to i've
centimes, and he gives you back in change two
or three centimes In several other countries
in Europe coins Of very small value are found
but the Chinese are, in this respect, ahead OF
all European nations. The Chinese copper
coin, known'to the outside barbarians as cash,
sworth less shan the tenth part of o cent.
Each cash has in the centre a small square hole,
in order that several may, be strung together.
ln China everything is sold by weight; and
meat and fish ere cut up into fragments, accor
ding to demand. The laborer goes to market
with his string Of cash, and buys his exact
modcum of rice, bis little ration Of vegetables,
handful of ground nuts, and perhaps, a
square inch Of fish, or pork, and returns home
to enjoy varied meal at the smallest possible
cost. aail: ~
In Hindostan, where man may live, it is
said, fora cent aday, copper is found to be
too costly q II etal for small change. The pie
css, if they were small enough, would cost
more eforcoinagethanto for the material. Through
out Hindostan, therefore, small payments are
made in cowry shells. These shells, the largest
OF which are an inch and a half in length. are
sometimes sold in quantities as low as three
cents pound. Their ordinary value in change
Is about twenty to cent. ef..