V. owner till after a delay of feveral weeks. In the CHAP. present hurry of the mint, it could not be returned till after a delay of feveral months. This delay is equivalent to a fmall duty, and renders gold in coin fomewhat more valuable than an equal quantity of gold in bullion. If in the English coin filver was rated according to its proper proportion to gold, the price of filver bullion would probably fall below the mint price even without any reformation of the filver coin; the value even of the prefent worn and defaced filver coin being regulated by the value of the excellent gold coin for which it can be changed. A SMALL feignorage or duty upon the coinage of both gold and filver would probably increase ftill more the fuperiority of those metals in coin above an equal quantity of either of them in bullion. The coinage would in this cafe increase the value of the metal coined in proportion to the extent of this fiall duty; for the fame reafon that the fashion increases the value of plate in proportion to the price of that fashion. The fuperiority of coin above bullion would prevent the melting down of the coin, and would difcourage its exportation. If upon any public exigency it should become neceffary to export the coin, the greater part of it would foon return again of its own accord. Abroad it could fell only for its weight in bullion. At home it would buy more than that weight. There would be a profit, therefore, in bringing it home again. In France a feignorage of about eight per cent. is impofed F 2 BOOK imposed upon the coinage, and the French coin, I. when exported, is faid to return home again of its own accord. THE Occafional fluctuations in the market price of gold and filver bullion arife from the fame causes as the like fluctuations in that of all other commodities. The frequent lofs of those metals from various accidents by fea and by land, the continual waste of them in gilding and plating, in lace and embroidery, in the wear and tear of coin, and in that of plate; require, in all countries which poffefs no mines of their own, a continual importation, in order to repair this lofs and this waste. The merchant importers, like all other merchants, we may believe, endeavour, as well as they can, to fuit their occafional importations to what, they judge, is likely to be the immediate demand. With all their attention, however, they fometimes over-do the bufinefs, and fometimes under-do it. When they import more bullion than is wanted, rather than incur the risk and trouble of exporting it again, they are fometimes willing to fell a part of it for fomething less than the ordinary or average price. When, on the other hand, they import lefs than is wanted, they get fomething more than this price. But when, under all those occafional fluctuations, the market price either of gold or filver bullion continues for several years together steadily and conftantly, either more or lefs above, or more or less below the mint price: we may be affured that this steady and conftant, either fuperiority or inferiority of price, is the effect V. effect of fomething in the ftate of the coin, CHA P. which, at that time, renders a certain quantity of coin either of more value or of lefs value than the precise quantity of bullion which it ought to contain. The conftancy and fteadiness of the effect, fupposes a proportionable constancy and fteadiness in the cause. THE money of any particular country is, at any particular time and place, more or lefs an accurate measure of value according as the current coin is more or lefs exactly agreeable to its standard, or contains more or less exactly the precife quantity of pure gold or pure filver which it ought to contain. If in England, for example, forty-four guineas and a half contained exactly a pound weight of ftandard gold, or eleven ounces of fine gold and one ounce of alloy, the gold coin of England would be as accurate a measure of the actual value of goods at any particular time and place as the nature of the thing would admit. But if, by rubbing and wearing, forty-four guineas and a half generally contain lefs than a pound weight of ftandard gold; the diminution, however, being greater in fome pieces than in others; the measure of value comes to be liable to the fame fort of uncertainty to which all other weights and measures are commonly exposed. As it rarely happens that these are exactly agreeable to their ftandard, the merchant adjusts the price of his goods, as well as he can, not to what those weights and measures ought to be, but to what, upon an average, he finds by experience they actually are. In confequence F 3 BOOK I. quence of a like disorder in the coin, the price of goods comes, in the fame manner, to be adjusted, not to the quantity of pure gold or filver which the coin ought to contain, but to that which, upon an average, it is found by experience it actually does contain. Six By the money-price of goods, it is to be observed, I understand always the quantity of pure gold or filver for which they are fold, without any regard to the denomination of the coin. fhillings and eight-pence, for example, in the time of Edward I., I confider as the fame money-price with a pound sterling in the present times; because it contained, as nearly as we can judge, the fame quantity of pure filver. CHAP. VI. Of the component Parts of the Price of Commodities. N that early and rude ftate of fociety which IND precedes both the accumulation of stock and nation of hunters, for example, it change VI. change for or be worth two deer. It is natural CHA P. that what is usually the produce of two days or two hours labour, fhould be worth double of what is usually the produce of one day's or one hour's labour. IF the one species of labour should be more fevere than the other, fome allowance will naturally be made for this fuperior hardfhip; and the produce of one hour's labour in the one way may frequently exchange for that of two hours labour in the other. OR if the one fpecies of labour requires an uncommon degree of dexterity and ingenuity, the esteem which men have for fuch talents, will naturally give a value to their produce, fuperior to what would be due to the time employed about it. Such talents can feldom be acquired but in confequence of long application, and the fuperior value of their produce may frequently be no more than a reasonable compenfation for the time and labour which must be spent in acquiring them. In the advanced state of fociety, allowances of this kind, for fuperior hardship and fuperior skill, are commonly made in the wages of labour; and fomething of the fame kind muft probably have taken place in its earliest and rudeft period. In this ftate of things, the whole produce of labour belongs to the labourer; and the quantity of labour commonly employed in acquiring or producing any commodity, is the only circumftance which can regulate the quantity of labour F 4 |