Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1876-02-09
Where do the Coins Go.

Where do the Coins Go.
Most people know what coin-lnoncv is,
OF ut least think that they remember.
Many can tell YOU where it comes from
and where it is made but if any one has
solved the problem where it goes. he is
vet unknown to the world. One truth is
>clf-evident, that it is constantly changing
hands and moving from place to place. \
SILVER dime or an eagle that pays YOUR
debts to-day. passes on through many
hands, paying debts. going to the bank
vaults. old stockings. or money ,ills, only
To come out again for anolher circuit from
hand 10 hand or posi ly to make an ocean
voyage, and, like the wandering jew, keep
moving on forever. But an astonishing
fact meets us in the assertion that, sooner
or later All the money coined goes out of
sight. Every one is so anxious to obtain
money. an to keep it by him, that it is
hard to believe the positive assertion of the
economist and yet it is true. Where are
the denarii and the scstcrti;c Of Roman
coinage; the untold wealth of solomon,
Crn~uS and CYRUS; where the treasures
conquered from the Great Mogul by Shah
\idar; where the coins Of ancient Greece.
of Abyssnia. of Asia? We may 20 on Won
derlng forever, and become no wiser. All
that we can arrive at is the result of mere
speculation We learn from Blackwood's
Magazine that Il certain Russian gentle
man has written Il book. in which he as
scrts that the entire stock of prcciou, met
ais in the world, from the time of Noah to
that of Columbus amounted to 81 500. OOO,-
utO. An official document published in
1913 by the Monetary Congress, held at
H.
0oo,oJO represents the value of gold and
silver possessed by Great Britain from lhe
date OF the Discovery of America to the
present time.
Doubtless a great portion of this pre-
ciou> metal has gone into the shrine, of
temples, into altar> and slcristics ST.
Marks in Venice could show a LARGE share
of these. Vessels loaded with the precious
freight have sailed from ali parts of the
world for this port Images of the Virgin
in solid metal have been abundant in Rom
i>h countries. From tie time of Alcxan-
der the CopperSmith to the present dav
cunning artiticcr> have wrought gold and
silver into nnumerahle shapes for orna-
ments of the person. the temple. and for
secular use. The Tibrr and the sewers of
Rome could reveal countless treasures
McCulloughS Dictionary tells Us that a
vast quantity of silver has found it, WAY
: int a.. il vet;.n...-- ftnO nnG naO -,
India in coiI and trinketS. and assures us
that from lSJ2 to l>.I1 ut least tlUO 600.
0Do were buried in lIinIostan and China
alon', 50 extensively is this custom of
burvinT carried on in the East The
Phuncians exported to Arabia and India
vast quantities of the precious metal. and
the custom has been going on ever since.
We have no conception of the vast amo mt
of hidden treasure at Ihi> moment cAi>t-
inc in Eastern Asia. We might safely al
low one fifth of the whole amount in eN-
istcncc rs a fair proportion to credit to
loss by sea and fusion by fire, besides the
loss occA>ioncd hy war. Waste and fric-
tlOn.
Taking another view of this subject of
! money. Il writer in the .iHMttr says that ii
takes twcntv-tour hundred years to Wear
out Il coin hy constant friction of daily use.
Mcgllp atlirm> that the preciols metals
are iude>tructiolc. and the theory j. that
All the great and notable treasures of the
world exist somewhere, hidden from use
and sight. That beng the ease. some of
the thirty pieces of silver which Judas
threw down in the temple, must still be in
existence. perhaps in circulation. \ curl
on> account is given of them in Il quaint
old volume which we quote
- Now the >hchcl> were of the coinage
of Simon. tie high priest, which AutiochuS
authorized him to issue. They bore the
pot OF Mamma and The Towering rod Of
Aaron, the high priest. Bat he to whom
they Were given knew thtt they were the
/ price of blood. and WAS afraid. And he
stnmpel them with 4 mark in shape like i,
cross And q eat tribulation> came upon
/ him. and tribulation came upon all that
bought and sold with the money of .Ju-
dl~
The legend OF the existence of these
coins is very oil. and can be traced
through successive age in writings of
the twelfth and thirteenth cent uries. 1t
was believed that they would not melt and
would never be lost Moreover. thai:
they We're the foundation Of all bribcries.
betrayals of trust, trtasons. financial trou-
blcs and the like. They were believed to
exert IN evil influence over the life and
thoughts of :,ll into whose hands they fell.
Look well. then, To your treasures. II
among them You find Il Jewish shekel
stamped with 4 cross. be Slre it is the
Identical one of the thirty coins paid to
Judas. Perhaps the treasure houses of
Rom:>h churches have preserved some
among their other relics If they are not
exhibited somewhere in Europe, it is more
0 :. wolder than that they cannot lie found
What Rome does not exhibit to the super
sti'iouS, is not worth the looking fol
elsewhere.
SAND SHOWERS IN CUINA-Eycry year