The Redwood gazette., 1879-05-08
Finance; To coin Money.
Editor Redwood Gazette,
April 18th 1879.

None will question our constitu-
tional right to coin money as ma
ton, thus to create money let us see
what is ment by the term ''to coin."
Kings, Emperors and Potentates
coined, by creating, in ancient and
semi-barbarous as well as in modern
times, and surely the supreme law
making power Of forty millions of
freeman, where every man is king
in his own right, is as great as the
power of one king. There is a pop
ular idea, that the word coin, neces-
sarily means metal money. to the ex-
clusion of all other moneys. This
is a mistake. To coin, signifies to
stamp, having no reference what
ever to the material stamped. That
upon which the stamp is placed, is
called coin: the. act of stamping is
coming and as the practice of all
governments in modern times, using
currency. has been generally to place
its money stamp upon metal of some
kind, the common idea is therefore
of coin, that it must be metal Of
some kind, as substance distingu-
ished from other substances. But
this rests absolutely with the power
that stamps; Whether the coin shall
be metal, leather, parchment, paper,
wood, Or any other substance, is sim
plv a question of expediercv. of pO-
litical economy, and not of authority
in selecting the material, or SUBJ
stance to coin, if wise, will consider
the fitness, the adaptation, the econ
omy and the necessity for the public
u;e, and none other. The logic of
the foregoing is that the authority
which coins or stamps itself upon
the article, can select what substance
it deems suitable to receive the
stamp and pass as money; and it can
atiix what value it deems proper, in
dependent of the intrinsic value of
the substance upon which it is affix-
ed. The currency value is in the
st mp when used as money and not
in the metal for materially indeped-
ent of the stamp. Moreover, in
other words, the money quality, is
the authority which accomplishes
the purpose for which it was created
(the power to pay debts.) We quote
from Tiffany, standard work on
government and constitutional law.
"To coin or stamp money and regu
late, it's value includes the whole of
sovereignty in respect to currency
(current money! 1t includes the
authority to select the substance to
receive the impression, to determine
what immpression shall be stamped
thereon, what shall be its Office as a
medium of exchange, at what price
it shall be received, and what shall
be the penalty inflicted for dlscred-
it ing, counterfeitiAg, or in any man.
ner interfering with its legal and
authoritative value. Becsuse gold
and silver have usually been select
ed as the basis of currency, the pop
ular idea of value attaches to the
metals rather than the royal or SOW
er:gn authority stamped upon them;
and while they recognize the author
ity of the Government to change the
relations between the intrinsic value
of the metals, and the current value
of the coin, they are slow to under
stand that such relation is arbitrary,
depending solely on the will of the
law making power. BY keeping
constantly in the mind, that the
quality Of m money, or legal currency,
consists in the enstamped authority
of the government upon that which
is used as such; and that the author
ity to coin money and affix it's value
involves the whole power of sover-
| eighty over the subject of legal cur
rency-to select what substance, to
affiix what stamp, and ordain what
value, it pleases, the whole law upon
the subject of money, as a currency,
and money as commodity, becomes
comprehensive" It is therefore to
confound the legal quality of money
with the commercial value of the
material of which it is composed,
begets great difficulty, for the rea-
son, that there is no necessary rela-
ton between the two.. Government,
like the Spartan law giver, may put
Its stamp upon paper, affixing ite
| money va1no onA = t;vr;%s %ho