Reducing guineas to 20 shillings, is the same as making them a commodity.
It is the same thing as to this last supposition, whether the guineas be left as merchandize to seek their value, or be fixed at 20 shillings; for no man upon earth will give a heavy guinea for 20 shillings present currency; and if debtors were obliged to pay at that rate, the hardship would be exactly the same as in the foregoing supposition; for the difference in paying with heavy silver or with good guineas at 20 shillings, is no more than that of 1718.7 to 1719.9; a guinea, which weighs 118½ grains fine gold, being worth 1719.9 grains of fine silver, according to the proportion of 1 to 14½, and a pound sterling, according to statute, is worth no more than 1718.7 grains of the same metal.
We may therefore conclude, that the scheme of reducing guineas to 20 shillings must proceed upon the supposition of a new coinage of all the silver: without this, the same confusion as to the coin would remain as formerly; a new disproportion of the metals would take place; no body would pay in gold, as at present no body will pay in silver.
CHAP. XI.
Method of restoring the Money-unit to the Standard of Elizabeth, and the Consequences of that Revolution.
How to fix the pound sterling at the standard of Queen Elizabeth.
I come now to the proposal of restoring the standard to that of the statute of Elizabeth, which is in other words the same with what has been proposed in bringing down the guineas to 20 shillings; only that it implies a new coinage of all the silver specie and of all the old gold. Nothing is more easy than to execute this reformation.
I. The first step is to order all coin, gold and silver, coined preceeding a certain year, to pass by weight only.
II. To preserve the mint price of silver as formerly, at 5 s. 2 d. the ounce, and to fix that of gold at 3 l. 14 s. 2¼ d.
III. To order the pound troy standard silver to be coined as formerly, into 62 shillings, and the pound of gold into 44½ guineas.