CHAP. II.
Of the present Scarcity of Silver Coin in England.
Now let us consider, that if all the current Silver Coin of England were passable and unalterable, yet we have vastly too little in Tale for carrying on the Trade of the Nation.
And this will appear several Ways, but chiefly by the high Price or Guineas and the Causes thereof.
Guineas have risen from 21 s. 6 d. to 30 s. either because the intrinsic Value of Gold hath risen near in Proportion to the Diminution of the intrinsic Value of Silver Coin, or by reason of the Scarcity of the Silver Coin, or the Uncertainty of it, or partly by Reason of one, and partly t’other, which I believe is the Truth, that the Badness and Scarcity of Silver Coin hath occasioned an extravagant Rise of Gold.
Now if so much as concerns the Scarcity of Silver be granted me, then I have nothing to do upon this Article, but shew that the present high Price of Gold is dangerous to the Nation, and more dangerous will a farther Advance of the Price thereof be.
And to them who think the Badness of our Coin the greatest Reason of the present high Valuation of Gold, I shall in the mean time say, that if the Price of Gold hath risen, suppose 4 s. or 5 s. in a Guinea, upon the Account only of the Baseness of our Silver Coin; then in handling that Notion we must look upon Gold not so much a Coin as a Commodity, and so indeed it is at this Present; because the Price of Gold in the Oar or Ingott hath risen almost proportionably to that which is coin’d; so that a Man doth not take a Guinea rather than 29 clipp’d Shillings, because the King’s Impress is upon it; for so ’tis upon the Shillings; or because Authority has made it pass so, for that Authority is wanting; but because it is of a greater intrinsic Value than is in 29 Shillings of clipp’d or counterfeit Money, which is now most current: So that the Valuation of the Commodity Gold hath encreased as the intrinsic Value of our Silver Coin hath decreased.
And if so, then it is to be suspected that the Price of all staple Commodities have encreased in equal Proportion, or that they are in such a Proportion now higher than they wou’d have been; for Gold and Silver being reciprocally the Standards and Measures of Proportion of one another, are so of every thing else; and if I can now buy as many Ounces and Peny-Weights of Silver for a Guinea, as I could have done formerly, then is not Silver Risen more than Gold: and if I can buy as many Grains of Gold now with an Ounce of Silver as I could formerly, then is not Gold risen more than Silver. And this is, perhaps more than a Supposition: For when Silver was 5 s. an Ounce, I cou’d buy 4 Ounces 6 Peny-wt. with a Guinea, and so I can now, that Silver is 6 s. 6 d. per Ounce. Again when Gold was about 3 l. 14 s. an Ounce, I cou’d buy an Ounce of Gold with 15 Ounces of Silver, and so I can now, or near the Matter: So that the Commodities of Gold and Silver answer one another as they did, or near thereabout, abating only for the Portableness of Gold and its Coinage; whereas no Coinage is now allowable for those Pieces of Silver wherein the Coinage is defaced and spoiled; and if those two Commodities are so much higher than they would have been: For they are the Measure and Rule of Proportion of all. Then when the Value of Gold and Silver rises, the intrinsic Value of all Commodities rise with ’em:
For suppose an Eastland or Hamburgh Merchant brings over a Barrel of Mum, which he (when our Money was old Standard) sold for 3 l. he disliking our Money now, sells his Mum, not according to the extrinsic Valuation of our Money, which is risen since he was here last; because the Intrinsic is diminished, but according to the common Value of Gold and Silver in the World; and therefore requires now 4 l. because he judges our Silver to be a fourth Part worse than it was, or if at 5 l. he judges it to be 2 Parts in 5 worse.
Again, suppose he sells his Mum for Gold, or is to exchange his Silver for Gold, that which he was wont to sell for 3 Guineas, he expects 3 Guineas for still; or if you are to pay him in Silver, he expects as much as he can change for 3 Guineas, he wo’nt be fobb’d off with less: So the Merchant sells as cheap as ever; but we pay more, because what we pay, is dearer than it was.
You’ll object against this way of reasoning, and say ’tis the Risques of the Sea, and Obstructions of Trade now in Time or War, makes all foreign Commodities dearer.