The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1894-05-16
The Ffnctuatlon of Silver.
From Harper's Weekly.

From Harper's Weekly.
Keseph, or the white metal, as it
was called by the Hebrews, has
known endless fluctuations. yet has
never ceased its vain rivalry with
gold. Solomon was the first appar-
emily to discredit it, and when silver
grew so abundant in the Holy City
that it was almost as plentiful as the
stones of it's streets, he very naturally
refused to receive it as currency. He
would take nothing but geld, we are
told by Josephus, for his merchandise,
but paid away his deprecated silver
to Egyptian traders for a chariot and
a pair ofhorses. On this he rode out
in state in the morning to his country
seat at Ethan, a paradise of rivulets
and gardens Nothing could be
bought or sold at Jerusalem for silver,
saysthe historian, and only gold was
valued.
The Greeks, when they first visited
Spain, made their anchors and CON-
mon utensils of silver. The white
metal lost it's value. But this could
not continue long, for the richest sill
yer mines at last grew reproductive,
and in the seventh century B. c. the
metal had once more risen to a higher
price II con}d once again compete
with gold, atleast at a distance. The
fret form of money was in stamped
bars or ingots, with the weight certi-
fed by an official seal. The earliest
known ingots were OF gold. But
about 700 B. c. Mr.. Headus tells US
money was first coined, and in the
British Museum may be seen a Baby
lonian slater of eiectruua, a mingling
of gold and silver, apparently the
oldest coin in existence. Silver was
for a time the common currency of
the Greeks, but at last &hey adopted
agold standard. The fine gold pieces
of Philip and Alexander have become
the models of all later coinage.
at Rome the earliest money was Of
bronze ; then silver came in as the
standard and when il grew too
abundant, the Roman emperors
borrowed the gold coinage of the
East. Tha Roman solidus was worth,
in gold, a sovereign ora balfeagle.
But nowhere did silver money
fuctuate more widely than at Rome ;
in the Hannibalic wars the currency
vas constantly debased ; in moments
of danger money was boarded. But
the victories of Caesar and his general
robbery made it so plentiful at Rome
that land doubled or trebled in price
and money sank in value. Under
Augustus, in the quiet of peace, it is
probable that silver was worth about
one,tenth its weight in gold. With
the decay of the empire a debased
currency filed the world with dis
aster, and aided in the general
destruction of commerce and the arts.
Silver III the Middle Ages rose in
value with rarity, and was at times
almost on an equality with gold. In
Richard the First's time in England
four shillings would buy a cow, q
bull, or a horse for ploughing, and
tenpence a sheep with fine wool.
Yet again, with the conquest of
Mexico and Peru, money fell, prices
o flabor and land increased; but the
rapid growth ef trade and commerce
at the same period revived the demand
for an honest currency. Silver and
gold moved on to together, and kept
up a certain ratio to each other that
vas never greatly disturbed. 1t is
only recently that the immense yield
of our Western mines has nearly
equalled that of ancient Spain when
silver sank into discredit. But it
will no doubt soon revive again. 1t
cannot take the place of gold in the
opinion of mankind-the source of
value. But it will always hold a
subsidiary position that no other
metal can fill.