The morning call., 1890-12-30
INTERNATIONAL COINAGE.

According to the dispatches, the several
Governments of the eighteen independent
American nations have agreed upon an inter-
nationaldollar, which shall circulate through
out the continent from Patagonia to the Cau-
adian border, and shall be nowhere at a dis
count 1t is to contain the same quantity OF
silver as the present Mexican dollar, namely,
AGA grains of metal of the fineness now
used at the Mint at Philadelphia, and will
therefore be worth in gold trile more
than the present standard dollar, which only
contains 1925 grains. 1t is expected that it
will resemble the standard dollar in appear
ance, though it will bear the face of Column
bus ON one side and on the reverse the
name and insig mia of the nation which is
sues it.
The object of the arrangement is to estab-
llsh uniform currency, to simplify mer-
camille exchanges, and to save travellers the
annoyance Of money-changing in each
country they visit. Its success will depend
on the willingness Of Americans to ase the
new International dollar in lieu of the
standard dollar. 1t was found impossible to
get the trade dollar into circulation though
it contains 420 grains Of silver, and the Next
can dollar, though intrinsically worth sew
eral cents more than the standard dollar,
is now only exchangeable for that coin at
heavy discount. 1t is possible that the
international dollar may prove more popu-
lar. But our experience with the two last
mentioned coins shows that its popularity
will not be increased by its containing more
silver
A uniform International coinage for the
American countries is rather snowy than
a substantial reform. Our mercantile ex-
IL. .4l. al.
tries are effected through bank drafts, not
with coin, and the volume of travel between
them and the United States is small. But
If the International dollar becomes the gen.
eral currency of the nations south of us,
they will cease to make their mercantile
calculations in pounds sterling. At the
present time the British pound is the real
standard of value at Rio, Buenos Ayres and
Valparaiso. The bulk of the trade of those
ports is with England, and they reckon in
English money. If they begin to make
computations of values and profits and per-
centages in International dollars, the change
may prove an entering wedge for a new
trade development between them and our
selves.
A uniform currency has been the dream
of finaneiers for generations. The present
the beginning of the century; was adopted
twenty odd years ago by the nations of the
Latin Union-Belgium, Italy and Switzer-
land. and has since been extended to Spain,
Greece, Roumania and Servia. But its
friends have never been able to introduce it
into England, Germany, Russia OF Turkey,
and the merchant who ships goods to those
countries or who travels therein has to
familiarize himself with pounds, shiliings
and pence, marks, thalers and pfennigs,
rixthalers and kroners. guldens, florins and
thalers, rubes and copecks, guilders,
piastres and what not 1t is hardly neces-
sary to say that much confusion results. In
scientific aspect the French system is the
most perfect in the world, though our
American system answers all purposes, and
approXimates as nearly to the decimal sys-
TEN as is required by commerce. The
French fiye-franc piece contains 1925 grains
of silver 300 fine; our standard dollar con-
tains thirty grains more. The French
twenty-franc gold piece contains 99.5 grains
Of gold 900 fine; our half-eagle contains 12g
grains of the same fineness. The British
sovereign, which. when exchange is at par,
is worth S4 81 here, contains 1888 grains of
gold 915 fine. Other European coins vary
curously from these weights and values.
Some day an International convention in
which all the commercial nations OF the
world will be represented will probably
agree upon an International coinage. The
will have to choose between the systeE, of
the Latin Union and the system which it is
now proposed to inaugurate with the Ameri-
can International dollar. Experience will
indicate what coins public convenience re-
quires, perhaps it would be premature at
this time to hazard predictions on the sub
ject. But 1t stands to reason that any new
scheme of metallic currency must be based
on the decimal system.