The amount of gold coin in a country is very far from being an indication, either of its wealth or of its business transactions; but these figures suffice to show that the sovereign does not hold the pre-eminence frequently ascribed to it. Even if the proceeds of the Sydney Mint are added in, the sovereign will still be found in the minority. The Sydney Mint was established in 1855. The coinage has been as follows:—
| Years. | Coinage. | Average per annum. |
| 7 years 1855 to 1861 | £ 8,438,162 | £1,205,451 |
| 5 " 1862 to 1866 | 11,889,838 | 2,377,967 |
| £20,328,000 |
And it must not be assumed that all these Australian sovereigns are in circulation now. An imperfection in the process of refining incident on carrying on that operation in a new country, left a certain portion of silver at all events in the earlier mintages, and this circumstance is believed to have made these coins favourites with the 'melters.' Sir A. Donaldson, formerly Colonial Secretary, and Colonial Treasurer to the Government of New South Wales, gave evidence before the Select Committee of the House of Commons on the Sydney Branch Mint, appointed in 1862; and, after stating that he believed that a considerable number of the Australian sovereigns have reached England, added, 'as a matter of fact, I think they all find their way to the refiner.' Mr. W. Miller, of the Bank of England, when examined before the same Committee, 'understood that upwards of 2,000,000 were sent to this country some time ago, and that they have been melted.' This was before the proclamation making these coins legal tender in this country. They have probably been less frequently melted since that proclamation. But it cannot be assumed that the whole twenty millions are still in circulation. Even including all of them, the sovereign would not be the preponderating coin as far as number is concerned.
Mr. Hendriks, a very eminent statistician, who has paid much attention to questions connected with the coinage (vide Journal of the Society of Arts, February 14, 1868), has given to the public the grounds upon which he bases his opinion that, although the sovereign and the dollar may be more widely diffused than the Napoleon, there are now current in the world twice as many Napoleons as sovereigns, four times as many as half-eagle or five-dollar pieces, and about one-third more than sovereigns and half-eagle pieces together. This writer has also made the following calculations, showing the relative importance of the United States, England, and France, as the chief manufacturing countries of coinage since 1792. The object of the division of the results into separate periods is to show the altered condition since the gold discoveries in California and Australia.
| PERCENTAGE OF THE COINAGE OF THE THREE NATIONS TO THEIR TOTAL COINAGE. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Years | Years | Years | |
| 1792 to 1851. | 1861 to 1866. | 1792 to 1866 | |
| United States | 181/3 | 311/2 | 271/3 |
| England | 482/3 | 211/2 | 301/3 |
| France | 33 | 47 | 421/3 |
| 100 | 100 | 100 | |
In further commenting, in the pages of the Economist, on these statistics, Mr. Hendriks observes:—
'It thus appears that whilst England coined 482/3 per cent., or nearly one-half, of the grand total from 1792 to 1851, her proportion has fallen from the first place to the last, in the subsequent period 1851 to 1866, her fresh coinage having therein sunk to 211/2 per cent., or a little more than one-fifth of the total. The proportion for France was 33 per cent. in the first period, and 47 per cent. in the second. From the second place she thus moved to the first. But the advance of the United States was equally marked, and from the smallest proportion, 181/3 per cent, in the period 1792 to 1851, there was an increase to 311/2 per cent., or to the second place, in the period 1851 to 1866.
'The report from the Secretary of the American Treasury for 1868 gives more recent statistics, namely, for the years ended 30th June, 1867 and 1868. These show a gold coinage of about forty million dollars in 1867, and of about twenty-four million dollars in 1868. But in England, in 1867, the gold coined was actually less than half a million sterling, or under two and a half million dollars' worth in American coin. And in 1868 the English Mint turned out only £1,653,384 sterling, or about eight million dollars' worth in American coin. The gold coinage of France has also declined below the rate of fresh production in America. Thus America is rapidly attaining the first place as a gold coining country. And it will be a question for future time to solve, whether the English and Australian Mints, in their united working, will exceed the manufacture by the United States' Mints at Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Denver.'
As some persons may say, 'Other nations need a larger gold coinage than we do, because their paper money and banking systems are not like ours; but their coinage is no proof of the extent of their business transactions,' it is best to mention that the united export and import trade of the European countries alone, who have already joined the Monetary Convention, or have signed preliminary treaties of adherence thereto, amounts to no less than five hundred million pounds sterling per annum at the present time, or to nearly one-fourth more than the aggregate exports and imports of the United Kingdom. It will now be desirable to mention the charges made for coining, or seigniorage, at the principal mints. In England no charge is made; but the 11/2d paid to the Bank on each ounce of standard gold bullion, amounts to about 0·1605 (say 3s. 21/2d.) per cent. In France it is different. When gold is carried to the mint there, coin is returned for it, with a certain deduction. This deduction is about 1/4 per cent. Beyond this there is some delay, practically, before the coin is returned. On an average the loss of interest on the money, caused by this delay, amounts to about 3/4 per cent. Altogether, the charge is about 1 per cent., or more than six times the charge now made in England. In Prussia the charge is 1/2 per cent., and the delay is about the same as in Paris. In America and India it is about the same.[7]
It appears from these statements that there is nearly a universal consensus of practice in charging a seigniorage. There is also a nearly universal consensus of opinion on the part of the leading authorities in political economy (such as Adam Smith and J. S. Mill) that such a seigniorage, when moderate, really enhances the value of the coin to the extent of the charge. If, therefore, this opinion is correct, it follows that the gold coinage of England, where no charge is made, will be depreciated—that is, will not obtain its real value in those countries where a charge is made. It is not difficult to show that this is the case in France; and if in one country where a seigniorage is charged, it follows, of course, in all of them.