Thomas Joplin
(1718)
An Essay on Money & Bullion.
Wherein are considered, Value Intrinsick and Extrinsick. Money and
Bullion compared. Mr. Locke's Considerations concerning Raising the
Value of Coin. The Present State of our Coin. And a Scheme for Raising
the Value of our Coin, as well as Gold and Silver.
Nescis, quo valeat Nummus, quem paraebeat usum Argentum.
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About the print version:
London: Printed for B. Lintot, between the Temple-Gates. MDCCXVIII
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The Preface.
This first and small Essay of the Author proceeds from some late
Relections, on a proper Supply for the Scarcity of our Silver Coin.
Let not one Object at first View, that I meddle in Matters out of
my own Sphere; for tho' my Scene of Action has not been very large in
these Affairs, yet sometimes Standers-by see more than those that
Play: and a Man of the weakest Capacity may sometimes hit on a proper
Scheme.
The Scheme annex'd was not perfected, 'till the Day the
Resolution was made in the House of Commons, not to alter the Standard
of our Silver Coins, in Fineness, Weight, or Denomination: The
Consequence of that Resolution, whether this Scheme, a different or
any other founded upon it, shall be thought Expedient for the Publick
Good, Time will more fully shew; With a View to that I printed it, and
this I publish, because therein I made mention of it.
To prevent the Reader's Fatigue, I have omitted many Enlargments,
which now methinks the Discourse wants. Many Imperfections I review,
which now can't be alter'd, nor have I Time to express the Hurry in
which this Treatise was finished and wrought of by so young an Author.
I could no longer bear the Expectation of some,a nd the Ridicule of
others, who thought I talked of more than I could do.
Such as it is, I submit to the Publick, in Hopes my Friends will
put a Value upon it; for I can't depend on its Intrinsick Worth, to
carry it thro' the World.
Chapter 1
Of Value
Value is an Affection of the Mind, and signifies the Liking we
have to any Thing, from a Principle of Reason: Love is an Affection
like it, and sometimes accompanies it, but that generally proceeds
from Passion. There are many Things we Love without Reason, but
nothing we Value without, tho' very often with a wrong one.
When we speak of Value being in a Thing, as in a Horse, or Gold
or Silver we mean no more than that it stirs up that Affection in us;
to the Higher Degree it does it, the greater Value it has. When we say
a Bushel of Wheat is worth Five Shillings, we mean that it stirs up
this Affection in us, as much as Five Shillings.
Worth, in the Concrete, is a Compartive Term, and signifies the
Relation one Thing has to another in Value.
Value Intrinsick.
Value Intrinsick, is the Affectio we have for any Thing for what
it is in it self, or the Good it self may do us.
There is nothing in the World we Value for what it is in it self,
but the Virtues and Abilities of Mankind; as Integrity, Wisdom, and
Magnanimity; these we esteem, even in an Enemy. The Envious Man often
hates another for those very Virtues which he Values in him.
All other Things we Value for their Usefulnes, and that we Value
most which may do us the greatest service: Therefore, that is of the
greatest Intrinsick Value, which has in it self the most useful and
delightful Properties. Earth, Water, and Light, are Things of the
greatest Intrinsick Value, tho' the commenest in the World; the
Intrinsick value therefore of Things is not always the same, but
changes with our Circumstances. To a Man in a burning Fever, a Glass
of Small-Beer is of more Intrinsick Value, than a Bottle of Burgundy.
Fire and Water have their Value, as we are either Hot or Cold.
Value Extrinsick.
Extrinsick Value is that Value we put upon any thing, and then
regard it not according, to what it is in it self, but the Value we
have put upon it; and by that means we make it have a Use which before
it had not. The Value we set upon a Diamond makes the Possessor Rich,
and when worn upon his Finger, esteemed so. A Value put upon a Piece
of Paper by a Goldsmith's Hand, makes it useful in Exchange amongst
those who have that Value for it; but when that Value ceases, it
becomes in that respect useless, and like a common piece of Paper; And
should Mankind agree not to Value Pearls, or Diamonds, they would be
useless, and the Possessor as Poor as he who has so many Pepples of
the same size.
Extrinsick Value, is General and Particular. That thing has a
General Extrinsick Value, which the Generality of Mankind have put a
Value upon, as Diamonds and Pearls, gold and Silver; and the Value of
these Things alters with the Opinion People generally have of them.
Pealrs have not that Value which they formerly had, because they are
not so much esteemed. Whereas Food to Nourish us, and Cloaths to Cover
us, have a Value in themselves, and those Uses, whether we esteem them
or no; But Diamonds and Pearls could be of little or no Use, did we
not esteem them.
This General Extrinsick Value, is very commonly mistaken for
Intrinsick; hence you very often hear of the Intrinsick Value of Gold
or Silver, which have very little Usefulness in themselves, and
consequently little Intrinsick Value. But People think thy have,
because they are so generally valued; as some vain Lord, whom the
World puts a Value upon, because of his Title and the Figure he makes
in it, with his great Estate, imagines himself to be valued for his
Intrinsick Wealth; whereas that Fancy is the greatest Argument of his
Want of it. Nobility may give a Value to a Man, but it can no more put
Worth on him, than my Opinion of God or Silver will make them Hard or
Soft. He is Intrinsicklly the same he would be without it; but
sometimes neither he nor the common People know it. Courage, Wisdom,
Integrity, and Eloquence, all these are in a Man, and render him Useful and Valuable, even in the most low Condition of Life; but they
no where shine with that Lustre and Usefulness, as in the Person of
some Noble Peer, or Patriot.
Some, out of a vain Conceit of their own Intrinsick Worth, will
not pay that Respect which is due to another for his Quality, because
they imagine themselves to be really more worthy Persons: Whereas,
this is as necessary to preserve the Order of the World, as a Value
put upon Gold or Silver to maintain the Commerce of it. Good manners
always attend real worth.
Particular Value, is the Esteem some People or Nation have put
upon a Thing, amongst whom it has a Value which no where else it has.
As a Piece of Copper, or Leather, with a certain Stamp, which may be
of great Value in Exchange; but when carried to a strange Country, is
no more regarded than another Piece of the same Quantity and Goodness
without the Mark.
Herein Intrinsick and Extrinsick Value differ: In the first, a
Thing is regarded for the Good it has in it self, or it self may do
us, without respect to our Opinion, or any Thing without us: In the
latter, not for what it is in itself; but only according to the Value
we, or any other put upon it, and the Relation it bears to something
else.
The one changes with our Circumstances; the other with our
Opinion.
Chapter 2
Of Gold and Silver; Bullion and Money.
Gold and Silver, tho' the most valued of all Metals, have very
little Intrinsick Value in them, compared with the great Value that is
put upon them. Silver will serve us for very few Uses; and Gold yet
fewer. Were they esteem'd for their Intrinsick Worth, Silver would be
the most valued. Lead will serve for more than either: And Iron is so
useful, that we could hardly subsist without it. This, according to
the Rule before laid down, is a Metal, of all other, that has the
greatest Intrinsick Worth: Yet Gold and Silver being found by Mankind
to be the most proper for Commerce, they have generally put a Value
upon them, and so made them useful for that Purpose, for which in
themselves otherwise they could not have served. As Money has a Value
put upon it by a particular Nation, to fit it for Commerce there; so
Gold and Silver have a Value put upon them by all the World, to fit
them for Commerce around it.
Bullion ...
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