The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1892-01-30
Facts About Coins.


universal use on the continent of
Europe. Five nations-France, It.
ally, Belgium, Greece, Switzerland
-have formed monetary union,
and the silver and gold pieces of
one country are legal coins in each
of the other four. The copper coins
and small nickel pieces of Belgium
and Switzerland are not included.
The standard coins on the continent
are In France, the franc, worth
about s20c.; in Spain, the peseta,
20c.; in Iialy, the Ira, 20c.; in Hol-
land and Austria, the aorin, &c. !;
in Germany, the mark, 24c.; in
Russia, the rouble, 6Oc. Belgium
and Switzerland use the French
name for the piece of 20 sous. Each
of these pieces are, like the Ameri-
can dollar, divided into 100 parts,
called kopeck in Russia, pfennig in
Germany, kreutzer in Austria, cent
in Holland, and in Italy, France
and Spain by the word meaning
hundredth. These small copper
coins are used at the postofice in
France, and collectively in certain
industries, but are not in general
circulation. In Italy and Spain
they have a purchasing value with
the small shopkeepers and are seen
everywhere.
The origin Of the names of coins
in present use is curious. In many
cases they imply a standard of
weight that lost its significance long
ago. This is the case with the En-
glish standard, the pound. The
word shilling is of German deriva-
ton, like penny, which comes from
the German pfennig. The name
crown came from the image placed
on the coin. The name franc was
given by King John, who first coined
these pieces in 1860. They bore
the motto LIE Roi Franc { King of
the Franks) and were of two kinds,
one representing the king on horse
back, the other on foot. The franc
was formerly also called livre
(pound), though the connection
with any special weight is not evil
dent. The name of the German
coin, mark, meaning weight OF
eight ounces, was formerly in gen.
eral use in Europe. The name of the
Italian coin that corresponds with
the franc (lira) also means pound.
The coins in present use in Spain
have their names from other sources.
The five-peseta piece, which cores
ponds with the American dollar, is
called esuedo (shield). "Peseta, +"
the name of the small coin repre-
senting the monetary standard,
means simply "little piece Cru
BILE" is from the word meaning "to
cut" and was so called because
originally the coin was made with
an oramented edge. Few persons
have ever troubled themselves to
think of the derivation of the word
dollar. 1t is from the German thai
(valley), and came into use in this
way some three hundred years ago
There is little mining city or dis
trict in northern Bohemia called
Johchimsthal or Johchin's valley.
The reigning duke of the region
authorized this city in the sixteenth
century to coin a silver piece which
was called ''joachimsthaler.
The word Joachim" was soon
dropped and the name sthaler" only
retained. The piece went into gem
eral use in Germany, and also in
Denmark, where the orthography
was changed to "daler," whence it
came into English and was adopted
by our forefathers, with still further
changes in the spelling. The Mex
lean dollar is generally called "pi-
aster" in France, and the name is
sometimes applied to our dollar.
The appellation is incorrect In
either case, for the word plaster or
piastra has for the last fifty years
been only applied with correctness
to q small silver coin used in Tur-
key and Egypt, which is worth from
SC. to 8c.-S. F. Chronicle.
About Fools.
At the New York ChautauQua,