France adopted a gold standard in 1855; other countries followed.
The United States adopted it in 1900.
The sovereign is coined at full value without ‘seigniorage.’ In France and other gold-standard countries a charge is made for coining. In France this charge is 6 fr. 70 c. on the kilo of standard gold, 0·900 fine, value 3100 francs; this is equal to 0·216 per cent., so that 20-franc pieces lose 4·4 centimes or nearly a halfpenny each on being melted, besides assay charges.
The history of mint-weight will be further told in [Chapter XX], section ‘The Carat and the Grain.’
2. Guernsey Currency
In this curious relic of the old French monetary system the Livre is the equivalent of the louis d’or of 24 francs; the Sol or sou is a shilling, 1/20 of the livre; the Denier is a penny, 1/12 of the shilling, and it is divided into 8 doubles, each equal to the old French liard or quarter-sou of 3 deniers, not to the old French double of 2 deniers. The only Guernsey coins are the bronze pieces of 8, 4, 2, 1 doubles; that of 8 doubles being the penny.
The silver coins are French, counted 10 pence to the franc; so that the five-franc piece passes for 4s. 2d. Guernsey.
The Guernsey pound is either a bank-note for this amount, or 24 francs in French silver, equal to 240 Guernsey pence. Sovereigns are current, taken at the usual rate of 25 francs and 2 pence = 252 pence or 21 shillings Guernsey. So the English sovereign becomes a guinea in French silver and Guernsey bronze.
The people of Guernsey hold by their old system; they find no inconvenience in it; and it is decidedly advantageous to the English resident in the island.