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A30882 A discourse concerning coining the new money lighter in answer to Mr. Lock's Considerations about raising the value of money / by Nicholas Barbon, Esq. Barbon, Nicholas, d. 1698. 1696 (1696) Wing B706; ESTC R12375 47,571 114

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the value of their Coins there had been very little Silver Money Coin'd and much less to be found now in England For in King Charles the First 's time by the Civil Wars of England the Plate was brought to the Mints to be Coin'd which was the cause of the great sum of Silver Money Coin'd in his Reign The Calling in the Parliament-Money in King Charles the Second's time and new Coining of it The Two or Three hundred thousand pounds that were yearly sent into England from France upon some particular occasions during his Reign with the Money that Dunkirk was sold for And the Act of Parliament for giving away the charge of Coinage to incourage the Merchants to bring Bullion to the Mint being almost Three and an Half per cent were the occasion of the Silver money Coin'd in his Reign And if the two Sums Coined in these two Kings Reigns which make about Twelve Millions with the Money that was Coin'd in Queen Elizabeth's Reign and a Million that was Coin'd in the Reign of King Iames the First before the Foreign Princes Rais'd the value of their Coins be put together they will make near eighteen Millions So that were it not for these accidental Causes there had not been Coin'd in the Mint of England Two Millions of Silver Money since the Foreign Princes Rais'd the Value of their Coins And had it not been for the wearing of some of the old Money lighter by often telling it over and Clipping of the rest by which they were made unprofitable to melt down by this time in all probability there had scarce been a Silver piece of Money to be seen in England And that the Raising the Coin in Foreign parts and the not Raising the Silver Coin in England was the cause of melting it down and Transporting it will plainly appear from the plenty of the Gold here compared with the Silver For since the Forty third of Queen Elizabeth being the last time that the Silver Money was rais'd here in England the Gold has been twice greatly rais'd by which means there is here double if not treble the quantity of Gold for Silver whereas in all other Kingdoms and States in Europe there is ten times more Silver Money than Gold For in the Forty third Year of Queen Elizabeth according to Mr. Lownds's account from the Records of the Mint which all men agree is very exact a pound weight Troy of Gold of the Standard of Twenty two Carats fine and Two Carats Allay was Coin'd into Thirty three Soveraigns and an half at Twenty shillings a piece making Thirty three pounds ten shillings In the Reign of King Iames I. the Gold was rais'd and the same pound weight and standard of Gold was coin'd into as many Units Double-Corowns and other pieces of Gold as made up Forty pound eighteen shillings and four pence And in King Charles the Second's time the Gold was again rais'd and the same standard and weight was coin'd into Forty four Guineas and an half at Twenty shillings a piece So that from Thirty three pound ten shillings in Queen Elizabeth's time to Forty four pound ten shillings in King Charles's Reign the Gold was rais'd near Three and thirty per cent since the Silver money has been rais'd which is the reason of the great plenty of Gold and scarcity of Silver What was the reason that these two Princes rais'd their Gold and not their Silver is not to be imagin'd unless it was from some powerful Argument offer'd by the Guiney Company whose Interest it is to have Gold rais'd which does not appear And that this raising the Gold is the cause that it is more plentiful here in England than Silver will appear yet more plain if the Records of the Mint be examin'd since King Charles the Second's Restauration For since that time there has been coin'd in the Mint of England 7263836 l. 1 s. 5 d. and in Silver but 4319585 l. 9 s. 5 d. which does not want much of double the quantity of Gold Money that has been coin'd more than Silver And when the Guineas had an extraordinary Rise here in England as to be currant at Eight and twenty and Thirty shillings a piece there was above Seven hundred and twenty thousand pounds in Gold coin'd in little more than Nine months time which was more than was coin'd in six or eight Years before which shews plainly that the raising the Value of the Gold money here in England is the cause that so much is imported and coin'd here And on the contrary the not raising of the Silver money in proportion as the Foreign Mints have done is the cause of its being cons●●ntly melted down and carried away notwithstanding the many Laws to prohibit it For there are severe Laws in all Kingdoms and States that prohibit the counterfeiting clipping melting and exporting the money In all Countries 't is death to counterfeit and clip the money In France England and several other Countries it is a high Crime to melt it down and forfeiture of the money to export it and in Spain 't is death to transport it And yet when ever it has been profitable it has been always melted down and carried away So that by experience Princes and States have found that there is no other way to preserve it in the Country but by raising the Value of their money so much above the price of Bullion that the Merchant may get more by carrying away the Bullion than the Money The cause of raising the Money here in Europe will always continue as long as the Europeans continue in Traffick and Commerce for Trade makes a People rich and Gold and Silver are Badges of Riches and therefore as the People grow rich the price of Gold and Silver will rise because the occasions for Gold and Silver will still increase Especially as long as the Trade continues to the Mogul's Country in the East-Indies For the Princes and great People there believe that the possession of Gold and Silver is not only an Honour to them while they are alive but that they shall have a Respect in the next World according to the quantity of Gold and Silver they die possess'd of And therefore what-ever Gold and Silver they get more than is absolutely necessary for Commerce and Traffick they from time to time melt into a Mass or Tank which is buried with them so that great part of what 's dug out of the West is buried in the East And altho' there have been great quantities of Gold and Silver brought into Europe since the Discovery of the West-Indies yet the price of them has always risen and will always continue so as long as the People grow rich by Trade which will make the occasions for them greater than the quantity which is the Rule by which all things are made dear This continual Rise of Gold and Silver will be no prejudice to the Princes and States if they do but observe to
every body refuses the Money in general for fear the loss should fall upon him that last takes it so that the Money becomes useless having lost the currancy and quality of Money and all the murmur and disorder ensues that usually attends a Nation that want Money to drive their Trade and Commerce Other Instances might be given but this with the common usage of not exceeding Ten or Fifteen per cent when the Money is rais'd may be sufficient to answer Mr. Lock 's Objection That the Governments cannot raise their Money as high as they please nor make themselves as Rich as they please The great Objection that Mr. Lock makes against the raising the Value of Money is That if the Government have a Power to give a Value of Ten per cent to their Money why not Twenty Fifty or as high as they please And then it would be in the Government 's Power at any time to make themselves as rich as they please Such a Power at this time were to be wish'd for when the Nation is engag'd in so chargeable a War But that 's the misfortune that attends us that such a Power can be only wish'd for For tho' Princes and States have a Power to give a Value to their Money yet that Power is limited And when ever they have attempted to exceed those Limits which upon an extraordinary emergency they have sometimes done they have fallen under greater mischiefs by reason the Money has been always counterfeited than the advantages they propos'd to themselves amounted to by doing of it and have always been forc'd to call in such Money and reduce the Value within its usual limits and bounds There are two Causes why Princes and States raise the Value of their money the one is Ordinary and the other Extraordinary The Ordinary and Common Cause of Raising the Value of the Coin is the Rise of Bullion Gold and Silver are Commodities for other Uses besides the making of money as for making of Plate Lace Gilding c. And besides it 's scarcer in some Countries and more plenty in others And the Value of all things arising from their Occasions and Plenty and Scarcity making things cheap and dear when ever the Goldsmiths and the Makers of Plate Lace c. and the Merchants to export it to the Indies or those Countries where 't is more scarce will give more for Bullion to supply such occasions than the Mints can afford to do according to the Value the money is at the Princes and States have been forced from time to time to raise the Value of their Coin to prevent it from being melted down and carried away The knowledge when Bullion is risen above the Value of the money is discover'd by the Mints For the Mints are the common Shops and Market place for the Merchants to carry in their Bullion And when ever they forbear the bringing of it thither it is certain it will yield them a better price in another place For Bullion never continues long in a place unalter'd because it yields no profit while it continues so But if it be carried to the Mint to be Coin'd it becomes useful for Trade and Commerce and saves the charge of borrowing money or else may be put out to Interest And if it be wrought into Plate Lace c. it pays for the fashion and workmanship And if it be transported to the Indies or some Country where it 's dearer it produces profit by the exchange of those Goods that are bought with it When ever any of the Princes and States in Europe Raise the Value of their Coin the rest generally follow It were too long to give particular Instances but if it be examin'd by the Records of the Mints of the Kings of France with those of the Mints of the Kings of England it will appear that they have Rais'd their Money from time to time as the Kings of England have done or rather higher For that since the time of St. Lewis who was co-temporary with Edward the IIId the Sols and Crowns contained then near six times more of fine Silver than the Sols and French Crowns do that are lately Coin'd which is a greater proportion than the Money has Risen in England since Edward the Third's Time being not quite four times lighter The reason is it 's almost a hundred years since the English have Raised the Value of their Silver Coin and in the same time the French have Rais'd theirs twice which would have made the English Money much of the same Rise with giving of allowance to the custom of the English who have always undervalued their Silver Money and overvalued their Gold in respect to their Neighbour Nations and have since twice Rais'd the value of their Gold to wit in King Iames the First 's time who Coin'd a twenty-Shilling-piece of Gold lighter by Two shillings than that which he Coin'd in the beginning of his Reign which rais'd the value of his first Iacobus's to Two and Twenty Shillings And in King Charles the Second's time who Coin'd the Guinea Two shillings lighter han the Broad-Piece So that when the Guinea was currant at Twenty shillings the Broad-Piece went for Two and Twenty There seems to be an absolute necessity for the Princes aud States of Europe to Raise the value of their Money much about the same time or else they cannot preserve it in their Countries notwithstanding any severe Laws to prohibit the Melting and Exporting of it For there being a constant Commerce and Traffick betwixt all the Countries of Europe If one Prince sets a much higher value on his Money than another the Merchants whose business it is to observe where they can get most profit will melt down the Coin of one Countrey and carry it to the Mint of another Countrey where the Money is Rais'd and will yield the greatest price This will appear plain by an Instance here in England For the Kings of England having not Rais'd their Silver Money since the Reign of Queen Elizabeth which is about a hundred years ago and the rest of the Princes and States of Europe having since that time twice rais'd their several Coins to wit in the Reign of King Iames the First and about Four or Five years since That although there has been since that time Coin'd in England with allowance of what was Coin'd in Queen Elizabeth's Reign the Sum of 19429061 l. 19 s. 6 d. as appears by the Records of the Mint yet by the Computation that Mr. Lownds makes there is not above Five Millions Six hundred thousand pounds remaining which in my opinion is more than will be found to be upon the new Coinage of the Money by the calculation he makes from the Worn and Clipp'd Money So that there has been near Fourteen Millions melted down and carried away within this space of time And had it not been for some accidental causes that brought Bullion to the Mint since the Foreign Princes have rais'd
the Plenty of one Commodity do's not make another Commodity dearer or cheaper that is not for the same use then the Plenty of Gold and Silver or a greater or lesser quantity of it in the money will no more alter the price of Goods than the Plenty of Lead or Iron can alter the price of Butter or Cheese which are not to supply the same Occasions And Mr. Lock in Page 52 seems to be of this opinion and answers himself tho' he concludes quite otherwise He says Corn it is evident do's not rise or fall by the difference of more or less plenty of Money but by the plenty and scarcity that God gives For our Money in appearance remaining the same the price of Corn is double one year to what it was the precedent But from thence infers we must certainly make account that if the Money be made a fifth Lighter it will buy one fifth less Corn Communibus Annis I must confess I cannot understand this consequence when in the beginning he says Corn do's not rise and fall from the difference of the Money For if the Lightness or Heaviness of the Money had any influence over the price of Commodities then all sorts of Commodities ought to be cheap when the Money is Heavy and dear when the Money is Light And the price of things could never alter but when the Money alters for the cause being the same the Effects ought to be the same Whereas it is plain some Goods never alter their price As the Beer and Ale that 's sold The Brewer runs the Risque of the dearness of the Coals Hops and Mault When those Goods are dear he gains less by Brewing but always sells his Beer and Ale at one price let the Money be what it will Other Goods such as all sorts of Grain Coals and other Commodities alter their price almost every Month And the Coals are sometimes but half the value to what they were the Month before So that if these different Alterations in prices arose from the value of the Money it will follow that both the good and bad Money makes things dear as well as cheap and the same cause at the same time to have two contrary effects which cannot be But to conclude with answering this Objection If the Arguments that have been already us'd to shew that Money has not its Value from the quantity of Silver in each piece do not satisfy I would advise such Gentlemen always to receive their Money by Weight and try if they can introduce such a custom For they can never have their Money equal by Tale For if any man receives and Hundred pounds and divides it into Five twenties there will be the difference unless it be all new Money of five or ten shillings in the Weight of some of the twenty pounds tho' by the Tale they are even As to the Objection that Mr. Lock makes from a simile when he says That Money is the Measure of Commerce and Traffick so that if the Money be made lighter 't would be the same thing as if the Government should cut their Yard shorter The Cloth that is measur'd by such a Yard would be so much less and so will the quantity of the Goods be that are bought with the Money that 's made lighter It is grounded upon the same supposition and would be true if Money were the measure of Commerce by the quantity of Silver in each piece But if it be the Measure of Commerce from the Authority of the Government if the Authority be the same the Measure will no more be alter'd by making the Money lighter than if the Yard were split in two so that the length be not alter'd it will then make two Yards and measure as much Cloth as if it had not been split tho' there be but half the quantity of Wood in each Yard As to the other Objection of the Landlords and Creditors That if the Money should be made lighter they 'l lose so much in their Rents Debts and Contracts The Answer is That the Money having its Value from the Authority of the Government is always of the same Goodness and Value And that the Money if it were made Lighter would be as good to all purposes as Money as it was in the Reign of Harry the Sixth when it had double the weight of Silver in it which would be no advantage but to those that melt it And therefore they cannot lose in t●eir Rents Debts c. if the Money be always of the same Value And if they are not satisfied with the Arguments that have been us'd to prove that Money has its Value from the Authority of the Government That such persons may not be losers in their imagination if the Parliament should think fit to alter the Standard and raise the Crown to Six shillings they shall have my Vote for a Proviso in the Act That all such persons that have let their Land or lent Money upon Mortgage Bonds or Contracts within these last one or two and twenty years which is as long as Leases are Let and longer then Mortgages or Bonds generally continue shall have the same weight of Money paid them out of the Exchequer as the Money Weigh'd when they Let such Land or Lent it upon Bonds Mortgages or Contracts And because such Gentlemen perhaps may not keep an account of what their money weigh'd then let the accompt be taken from the Teller's Book in the Exchequer it being their custom to weigh every Hundred pounds after 't was told and enter the weight in their Books and put a Ticket of the weight to the Bag to save 'em the trouble of telling the money twice By this Proposal such Gentlemen will have no reason to complain for according to their own opinion if they have the same weight of Silver they can't be losers And yet I believe the Government would be a gainer by the Proposition though the money were Coin'd a Sixth part lighter than according to the present Standard For if those Books were examin'd perhaps it will be found that an Hundred Pound has not weigh'd one Bag with another Seven and twenty Pound for these last One or two and twenty Years whereas it ought to weigh according to the Standard Thirty two Pound three Ounces By such a Proviso these Gentlemen being sav'd they may thereupon consent to the raising of the money to prevent those great Inconveniences which in my opinion will certainly follow if the money be not rais'd There is another Objection which some Gentlemen use against Raising the Value of the Money That it will be a Discredit to the Nation to make their Money lighter And in their Arguments contend much for the Honour of the Standard of England and think it is their Duty to defend it And that His Majesty's Money ought to be of as great Weight and Value as His Predecessors being of the opinion That the Money has its sole Value from the quantity of