Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1891-03-21
COINS AND COINAGE.
Some Interesting Facts Regarding the Is
sue of CoiRs.

Age of Steel.
The head of the Caesar on Roman coin
was its authority and its Latin super scrip
ton an announcement to that effect. An
imperial profile could dignity the basest
metal. and an autocrat in toga decide the
fate Of a coin as he did the life or death of
"A slave, The right OF coinage in English
history was a royal peroganve, Authority
was the god Of the mint. 1t fixed the de-
nomination, design and Superseription.
and made the national coinage the etallic
tablet of the royal will. The gentlemen
with their heads in golden Skillets were
not always Gp to par in financial ability,
though seldom wanting in the gift of
knowing how to empty the national pocket
without going TO jail. Hence the debase-
ment of coins became a royal virtue, by
which the subjects suffered, but the sover
eign satisfied his ambition and his appe-
tite. In 1908 nearly all the silver coin IN
England was jehased 10y diminishing the
weight OF the metal nn;i 10 such au extent
was this kingly art put into practice thar
in the reign eff that delicate monarch
Snovn rs Henry VIII the profit in ex-
changing silver for gold was $50 per
cent
When England was being made into
minCemeat and blocks of real estate by the
Saxons and Danes silver and brass were in
use as currency, but the Normans subse-
quently installed the aristocratio metal,
and left the democratic brass to take care
of itself, Gold was first coined 10y Henry
III. and copper made into British coin in
1872. linwas issued for coinage in 1880,
and the national farthing was made of
this Cambrian product with a stud of cop
per let in the center. In 1890 and 1891 tin
half pence were issued in considerable
quantities. The only pure gold coins
issued in English history were those of
Henry I'LL.
In the reign of Edward l. the pound in
tale of silver coins was equal TO the pound
in weight of standard silver. The pound
in tale was divided into 20 shillings, the
shillings into u pence, and each penny
piece weighed a pennyweight or "a grains.
Before the mintagt Of gold coins in Eng
land, the hy2ant. valued at 10 shilhngs,
was imported from Constantnople and
forence3 of the same value from Florence.
Edward Ill subsequently minted
the noble, Edward Nv the rial, Henry VII
the doule rial James the laurel, and
Charles revived the old laurel coin under
the name Of the guinea. This guinea in
the reign OF Queen Anne originally issued
as 20 shilling piece, rose in value to 30
shilmgs, and was acrobatic in values till
Sir Isaac Newton secured authority order
ing the guinea TO pass for q shillings ster-
ling The present English sovereign WIS
issued in 1917, and weighed 1921 parts Of
guinea. The present standard of fine
ness for liver coin is II ounces or two
pennyweight silver and Is pemyweight
alloy,
From these facts in the evolution Of the
coinage Of u nation we see that where a
sovereign viii was the authorizing power
| .he intrinsic value Of the metal was not
The iuialibo rule Of its purchasing power.
| In autocratic and irresponsible hands
signature was supposed equivalent to "A
value and WAS without exposure or rebuko
| tai IN the turning Of the economic wheel
the tly OF the tire went into the mud.
As financial intelligence develops and
the Auotuatiug change in basic values can
be definitely placed with safe average Of
elastic margin Che coinage question will
be- loo. q problem, and us international
commerce will some day demand a stand
ard in coins as in weights the outlook is
hopeful! for uniform coinage.