The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1883-09-05
The Functions of the Mint.

Oome people seem 10 think tnat Jne
United States mint. as established by
law, is an institution in which the govern
ment manufactures its own money. by
first buying the gold and silver and then
selling it as coin to the people at profit.
This supposes that governmental coinage
is a business in which the government be-
comes buyer of bullion and seller of
coins for the sake of the gain. Such is
not the fact at all. The real theory of a
mint is that of a coin-factory, to which
the people bring their bullion to have it
coined, and receive it back in the form of
coin, less the simple cost of the operation
and sometimes without any charge. Seign-
forage is simply the charge of the gov
eminent to cover the actual cost of turn
ing bullion into coin. The government
makes nothing by the process and does
not propose to do 80. What it does is to
take the bullion from its owners. put its
stamp upon it as certificate of weight
and fneness, and then return it to these
owners. 1t is not the owner of all the
bullion it coins, by any means and in
most instances is simply an agent to do
this work for the real owners, without
any profit to itself. 1t is important that
the government should do all the coming,
rather than leave it to be done by indi-
viduals, that the people may have reli-
able certificate as to the weight and fine
ness of the coins-in other words, as to
their value. For this reason congress is
authorized to coin money, regulate the
value thereof and of foreign coin" How
can congress CIRCULATE" the value of
money! Can it determine its purchasing
power and thus settle how much it will
buy of other commodities ? Not at all
Can it determine what shall be the ratio
of value, as between gold and silver
Not at all. Congress has no more con.
troll over the relative value of commod.
tiles than it has over the motions of the
tide. What it can do in regulating the
value of money is to regulate the quantity
and fneness of the bullion composing the
money according to its value in the mar
ket of the world. If it uses two metals
gold and silver, for example-then it can
regulate the value of the coins composed
of these different metals, by ascertainine
what is the relative commercial value OF
gold and silver and by adjusting the
weight OF the respective coins to these
facts. Surprising gold by the ounce to
be worth sixteen times as much as silver
and surprising further that congress thinks
it expedient to have two kinds of dollars
"a gold dollar and silver dollar-ther
the quantity of metal in these respective
coins must be determined by the relative
value of the two metals. If the gold dol
lar and the silver dollar are to be of equa
value, then the quantity of silver in the
latter must be sixteen times as great by
weight as the quantity of gold in the for
mer. This difference in weight expresses
corresponding difference in value; and
all that congress can do in regulating the
value of the two kinds of coin, so as tc
make them of equal value, is to determine
the quantity of metal which each shall
contain. When it has done this it has
exhausted its power in regulating the
value of money. If the metal composing
one of these coins rises in value above OF
sinks below the point at which it stood al
the time of coinage, then the relative
value OF the coin will be changed anc
the only way in which congress can make
them equivalents in value is to increase
the quantity of metal in the one or de
crease it in the other. One or the othel
OF the coins must be changed in cores
pondence with the difference in the value
of the metals. The real idea in regulat
ing the value of money is that of securing
an equicdlency of value, SO that golt
eagle, assumed to be the equivalent of ter
gold dollars, shall be so in point of fact
by containing ten times as much gold
or that silver dollar and a gold dola
shall be equivalent in value by differ
ence in the quantity of metal contained il
each equal to the difference between tn
value of the two metals. All changes il
coinage that are just and equitable res
upon the principle of equivalency; ant
the moment this is abandoned the who'll
system becomes one of fraud, by givin,
virtually false Independent.