CHAP. XXIII.

WEAR OF COIN.

183

country bankers, and that two-thirds of thosepieces on which the experiment was made hadscarcely or at all circulated, we shall come to theconclusion that the wear of the silver coin is aboutone part in two hundred annually; but this re-gards English standard silver alone, and not thecoins of inferior fineness.

This rate corresponds with that reported in theexperiments related in Lord Liverpool’s letter tothe King h It appears that the officers of theMint, in 1787, had made an experiment on thesilver coins of the kingdom which were then incirculation, and which were much depreciated bywear. The deficiency was ascertained to be at thefollowing extraordinary rates, viz.:—on the crownpieces, 3L4| per cent.; on the half-crown pieces,9 T tIt i °n the shillings, 24|f4|; and on the six-pences, 38|-|f^ per cent. 3

The same experiment was repeated again elevenyears after, in 1798, when the additional deficiencyin weight was found to be, on the crowns, ;on the half-crowns, 1; on the shillings, f -g-;and on the sixpences, 3-|-A--f-f- per cent.

The less increased deficiency on the crowns andhalf-crowns may be accounted for from the rarityof those pieces, especially of the former, which hadbecome so scarce that whoever got one of themwas disposed rather to retain it as a pocket-piece

1 Lord Liverpool’s Letter, p. 187. 3 Appendix, No. 1, C.