Whereasduringthedeterminationofpricestheexchange—valueofallcommoditiesisnominallyturnedintoaquantityofgoldofthesamevalueandinthetwoseparatetransactions,M——CandC——M,thesamevalueexiststwice,ontheonehandintheshapeofcommoditiesandontheotherintheformofgold;yetgoldasamediumofcirculationisdeterminednotbyitsisolatedrelationtoindividualstaticcommodities,butbyitsdynamicexistenceinthefluidworldofcommodities。Thefunctionofgoldistorepresentthetransformationofcommoditiesbyitschangesofplace,inotherwordstoindicatethespeedoftheirtransformationbythespeedwithwhichitmovesfromonepointtoanother。Itsfunctionintheprocessasawholethusdeterminestheactualamountofgoldincirculation,ortheactualquantitywhichcirculates。
Commoditycirculationistheprerequisiteofmoneycirculation;money,moreover,circulatescommoditieswhichhaveprices,thatiscommoditieswhichhavealreadybeenequatednominallywithdefinitequantitiesofgold。
Thedeterminationofthepricesofcommoditiespresupposesthatthevalueofthequantityofgoldwhichservesasthestandardmeasure,orthevalueofgold,isgiven。Accordingtothisassumption,thequantityofgoldrequiredforcirculationisinthefirstplacedeterminedthereforebythesumofthecommodity—pricestoberealised。Thissum,however,isinitsturndeterminedbythefollowingfactors:1。thepricelevel,therelativemagnitudeoftheexchange—valuesofcommoditiesintermsofgold,and2。thequantityofcommoditiescirculatingatdefiniteprices,thatisthenumberofpurchasesandsalesatgivenprices。[2]Ifaquarterofwheatcosts60s。,thentwiceasmuchgoldisrequiredtocirculateitortorealiseitspriceaswouldberequiredifitcostonly30s。Twiceasmuchgoldisneededtocirculate500quartersat60s。asisneededtocirculate250quartersat60s。Finallyonlyhalfasmuchgoldisneededtocirculate10quartersat100s。asisneededtocirculate40quartersat50s。Itfollowsthereforethatthequantityofgoldrequiredforthecirculationofcommoditiescanfalldespiterisingprices,ifthemassofcommoditiesincirculationdecreasesfasterthanthetotalsumofpricesincreases,andconverselytheamountofmeansofcirculationcanincreasewhilethemassofcommoditiesincirculationdecreasesprovidedtheiraggregatepricesrisetoanevengreaterextent。ThusexcellentinvestigationscarriedoutingreatdetailbyEnglishmenhaveshownthatinEngland,forinstance,theamountofmoneyincirculationgrowsduringtheearlystagesofagrainshortage,becausetheaggregatepriceofthesmallersupplyofgrainislargerthanwastheaggregatepriceofthebiggersupplyofgrain,andforsometimetheothercommoditiescontinuetocirculateasbeforeattheiroldprices。Theamountofmoneyincirculationdecreases,however,atalaterstageofthegrainshortage,becausealongwiththegraineitherfewercommoditiesaresoldattheiroldprices,orthesameamountofcommoditiesissoldatlowerprices。
Butthequantityofmoneyincirculationis,aswehaveseen,determinednotonlybythesumofcommodity—pricestoberealised,butalsobythevelocitywithwhichmoneycirculates,i。e。,thespeedwithwhichthisrealisationofpricesisaccomplishedduringagivenperiod。Ifinonedayoneandthesamesovereignmakestenpurchaseseachconsistingofacommodityworthonesovereign,sothatitchangeshandstentimes,ittransactsthesameamountofbusinessastensovereignseachofwhichmakesonlyonecircuitaday。[3]Thevelocityofcirculationofgoldcanthusmakeupforitsquantity:
inotherwords,thestockofgoldincirculationisdeterminednotonlybygoldfunctioningasanequivalentalongsidecommodities,butalsobythefunctionitfulfilsinthemovementofthemetamorphosesofcommodities。
Butthevelocityofcurrencycanmakeupforitsquantityonlytoacertainextent,foranendlessnumberofseparatepurchasesandsalestakeplacesimultaneouslyatanygivenmoment。
Iftheaggregatepricesofthecommoditiesincirculationrise,buttoasmallerextentthanthevelocityofcurrencyincreases,thenthevolumeofmoneyincirculationwilldecrease。If,onthecontrary,thevelocityofcirculationdecreasesatafasterratethanthetotalpriceofthecommoditiesincirculation,thenthevolumeofmoneyincirculationwillgrow。Ageneralfallinpricesaccompaniedbyanincreaseinthequantityofthemediumofcirculationandageneralriseinpricesaccompaniedbyadecreaseinthequantityofthemediumofcirculationareamongthebestdocumentedphenomenainthehistoryofprices。Butthecausesoccasioningariseinthelevelofpricesandatthesametimeanevenlargerriseinthevelocityofcurrency,asalsotheconversedevelopment,lieoutsidethescopeofaninvestigationintosimplecirculation。Wemaymentionbywayofillustrationthatinperiodsofexpandingcreditthevelocityofcurrencyincreasesfasterthanthepricesofcommodities,whereasinperiodsofcontractingcreditthevelocityofcurrencydeclinesfasterthanthepricesofcommodities。
Itisasignofthesuperficialandformalcharacterofsimplemoneycirculationthatthequantityofmeansofcirculationisdeterminedbyfactors——suchastheamountofcommoditiesincirculation,prices,increasesordecreasesofprices,thenumberofpurchasesandsalestakingplacesimultaneously,andthevelocityofcurrency——allofwhicharecontingentonthemetamorphosisproceedingintheworldofcommodities,whichisinturncontingentonthegeneralnatureofthemodeofproduction,thesizeofthepopulation,therelationoftownandcountryside,thedevelopmentofthemeansoftransport,themoreorlessadvanceddivisionoflabour,credit,etc。,inshortoncircumstanceswhichlieoutsidetheframeworkofsimplemoneycirculationandaremerelymirroredinit。
Ifthevelocityofcirculationisgiven,thenthequantityofthemeansofcirculationissimplydeterminedbythepricesofcommodities。Pricesarethushighorlownotbecausemoreorlessmoneyisincirculation,butthereismoreorlessmoneyincirculationbecausepricesarehighorlow。Thisisoneoftheprincipaleconomiclaws,andthedetailedsubstantiationofitbasedonthehistoryofpricesisperhapstheonlyachievementofthepost—RicardianEnglisheconomists。Empiricaldatashowthat,despitetemporaryfluctuations,andsometimesveryintensefluctuations,[4]overlongerperiodsthelevelofmetalliccurrencyorthevolumeofgoldandsilverincirculationinaparticularcountrymayremainonthewholestable,deviationsfromtheaveragelevelamountingmerelytosmalloscillations。
Thisphenomenonissimplyduetothecontradictorynatureofthefactorsdeterminingthevolumeofmoneyincirculation。Changesoccurringsimultaneouslyinthesefactorsneutralisetheireffectsandeverythingremainsasitwas。
Thelawthat,ifthespeedofcirculationofmoneyandthesumtotalofthecommodity—pricesaregiven,theamountofthemediumofcirculationisdetermined,canalsobeexpressedinthefollowingway:iftheexchange—valuesofcommoditiesandtheaveragespeedoftheirmetamorphosesaregiven,thenthequantityofgoldincirculationdependsonitsownvalue。Thus,ifthevalueofgold,i。e。thelabour—timerequiredforitsproduction,weretoincreaseortodecrease,thenthepricesofcommoditieswouldriseorfallininverseproportionand,providedthevelocityremainedunchanged,thisgeneralriseorfallinpriceswouldnecessitatealargerorsmalleramountofgoldforthecirculationofthesameamountofcommodities。Theresultwouldbesimilarifthepreviousstandardofvalueweretobereplacedbyamorevaluableoralessvaluablemetal。Forinstance,when,indeferencetoitscreditorsandimpelledbyfearoftheeffectthediscoveryofgoldinCaliforniaandAustraliamighthave,Hollandreplacedgoldcurrencybysilvercurrency,14to15timesmoresilverwasrequiredthanformerlywasrequiredofgoldtocirculatethesamevolumeofcommodities。
Sincethequantityofgoldincirculationdependsupontwovariablefactors,thetotalamountofcommodity—pricesandthevelocityofcirculation,itfollowsthatitmustbepossibletoreduceandexpandthequantityofmetalliccurrency;inshort,inaccordancewiththerequirementsoftheprocessofcirculation,goldmustsometimesbeputintocirculationandsometimeswithdrawnfromit。Weshallseelaterhowtheseconditionsarerealizedintheprocessofcirculation。
FOOTNOTES1。Acommoditymaybeseveraltimesboughtandsoldagain。Itcirculates,inthiscase,notasamerecommodity,butfulfilsafunctionwhichdoesnotyetexistfromthestandpointofsimplecirculationandofthesimpleantithesisofcommodityandmoney。
2。Theamountofmoneyisamatterofindifference\"providedthereisenoughofittomaintainthepricesdeterminedbythecommodities。\"Boisguillebert,LedetaildelaFrance,p。209。
\"Ifthecirculationofcommoditiesoffourhundredmillionsrequiredacurrencyoffortymillions,and……thisproportionofone—tenthwastheduelevel……then,ifthevalueofcommoditiestobecirculatedincreasedtofourhundredandfiftymillions,fromnaturalcauses……thecurrency,inordertocontinueatitslevel,mustbeincreasedtoforty—fivemillions。\"
WilliamBlake,ObservationsontheEffectsProducedbytheExpenditureofGovernment,etc。,London,1823,pp。80,81。
3……
\"Itisduetothevelocityofthecirculationofmoneyandnottothequantityofthemetal,thatmuchorlittlemoneyappearstobeavailable\"（Galiani,op。cit。,p。99）。
4。AnexampleofaremarkablefallofthemetalliccurrencybelowitsaverageleveloccurredinEnglandin1858asthefollowingpassagefromtheLondonEconomistshows:\"Fromthenatureofthecase\"（i。e。,owingtothefragmentationofsimplecirculation）\"veryexactdatacannotbeprocuredastotheamountofcashthatisfluctuatinginthemarket,andinthehandsofthenotbankingclasses。But,perhaps,theactivityortheinactivityofthemintsofthegreatcommercialnationsisoneofthemostlikelyindicationsinthevariationsofthatamount。Muchwillbemanufacturedwhenitiswanted;andlittlewhenlittleiswanted……
AttheEnglishmintthecoinagewasin18559,245,0001856,6,476,000;
1857,5,293,858。During1858theminthadscarcelyanythingtodo。\"Economist,July10,1858。Butatthesametimeabouteighteenmillionpoundssterlingwerelyinginthebankvaults。
CoinsandTokensofValueKarlMarx\'sACONTRIBUTIONTOTHECRITIQUEOFPOLITICALECONOMY
c。CoinsandTokensofValueGoldfunctioningasamediumofcirculationassumesaspecificshape,itbecomesacoin。Inordertopreventitscirculationfrombeinghamperedbytechnicaldifficulties,goldismintedaccordingtothestandardofthemoneyofaccount。Coinsarepiecesofgoldwhoseshapeandimprintsignifythattheycontainweightsofgoldasindicatedbythenamesofthemoneyofaccount,suchaspoundsterling,shilling,etc。Boththeestablishingofthemint—priceandthetechnicalworkofmintingdevolveupontheState。
Coinedmoneyassumesalocalandpoliticalcharacter,itusesdifferentnationallanguagesandwearsdifferentnationaluniforms,justasdoesmoneyofaccount。Coinedmoneycirculatesthereforeintheinternalsphereofcirculationofcommodities,whichiscircumscribedbytheboundariesofagivencommunityandseparatedfromtheuniversalcirculationoftheworldofcommodities。
Buttheonlydifferencebetweengoldintheformofbullionandgoldintheformofcoinisthatbetweenthedenominationofthecoinanddenominationofitsmetalweight。Whatappearsasadifferenceofdenominationinthelattercase,appearsasadifferenceofshapeintheformer。Goldcoinscanbethrownintothecrucibleandthusturnedagainintogoldsansphrase,justasconverselygoldbarshaveonlytobesenttotheminttobetransformedintocoin。Theconversionandreconversionofoneformintotheotherappearsasapurelytechnicaloperation。
Inexchangefor100poundsor1,200ouncestroyof22—caratgoldonereceives£4,6721/2or4,6721/2goldsovereignsfromtheEnglishmint,andifoneputsthesesovereignsononesideofapairofscalesand100poundsofgoldbarsontheother,thetwowillbalance。
Thisprovesthatthesovereignissimplyaquantityofgold——withaspecificshapeandaspecificimprint——theweightofwhichisdenotedbythisnameintheEnglishmonetaryscale。The4,6721/2goldsovereignsarethrownintocirculationatdifferentpointsand,onceinthecurrent,theymakeacertainnumberofmoveseachday,somesovereignsmoreandothersless。
Iftheaveragenumberofmovesmadebyoneounceofgoldduringadaywereten,thenthe1,200ouncesofgoldwouldrealiseatotalofcommodity—pricesamountingto12,000ouncesor46,725sovereigns。Anounceofgold,nomatterhowonemaytwistandturnit,willneverweightenounces。Buthereintheprocessofcirculation,oneouncedoesindeedamounttotenounces。
Intheprocessofcirculationacoinisequaltothequantityofgoldcontainedinitmultipliedbythenumberofmovesitmakes。Inadditiontoitsactualexistenceasanindividualpieceofgoldofacertainweight,thecointhusacquiresanominalexistencewhicharisesfromthefunctionitperforms。
Butwhetherthesovereignmakesoneortenmoves,ineachparticularpurchaseorsaleitneverthelessactsmerelyasasinglesovereign。Theeffectisthesameasinthecaseofageneralwhoonthedayofbattlereplacestengeneralsbyappearingattendifferentplacesatthecrucialtime,butremainsthesamegeneralateachpoint。Thenominalisationofthemediumofcirculation,whicharisesasaresultofthereplacementofquantitybyvelocity,concernsonlythefunctioningofcoinswithintheprocessofcirculationbutdoesnotaffectthestatusoftheindividualcoins。
Butthecirculationofmoneyisanexternalmovementandthesovereign,althoughnonolet,[Itdoesnotsmell。——Ed。]keepsmixedcompany。Thecoin,whichcomesintocontactwithallsortsofhands,bags,purses,pouches,tills,chestsandboxes,wearsaway,leavesaparticleofgoldhereandanotherthere,thuslosingincreasinglymoreofitsintrinsiccontentasaresultofabrasionsustainedinthecourseofitsworldlycareer。Whileinuseitisgettingusedup。Letusconsiderasovereignatamomentwhenitsoriginalsolidfeaturesareasyethardlyimpaired。
\"Abakerwhotakesasovereignoneday,andpaysitawaytohismillerthenext,doesnotpaytheveritablesovereignitself;itisalittlelighterthanwhenhereceivedit。\"[1]
\"Itbeingobviousthatthecoinage,intheverynatureofthings,mustbeforever,unitbyunit,fallingunderdepreciationbythemereactionofordinaryandunavoidableabrasion……itisaphysicalimpossibilityatanytime,evenforasingleday,utterlytoexterminatelightcoinsfromcirculation。\"[2]
Jacobestimatesthatofthe£380millionwhichexistedinEuropein1809,£19millionhadcompletelydisappearedasaresultofabrasionby1829,thatisinthecourseof20years。Whereasthecommodityhavingtakenitsfirststep,bringingitintothesphereofcirculation,dropsoutofitagain,thecoin,aftermakingafewstepsinthesphereofcirculation,representsagreatermetalcontentthanitactuallypossesses。Thelongeracoincirculatesatagivenvelocity,orthemorerapidlyitcirculatesinagivenperiodoftime,thegreaterbecomesthedivergencebetweenitsexistenceasacoinanditsexistenceasapieceofgoldorsilver。Whatremainsismagninominisumbra,thebodyofthecoinisnowmerelyashadow。Whereasoriginallycirculationmadethecoinheavier,itnowmakesitlighter,butineachindividualpurchaseorsaleitstillpassesfortheoriginalquantityofgold。Asapsuedo—sovereign,orpseudo—gold,thesovereigncontinuestoperformthefunctionofalegalgoldcoin。Althoughfrictionwiththeexternalworldcausesotherentitiestolosetheiridealism,thecoinbecomesincreasinglyidealasaresultofpractice,itsgoldenorsilversubstancebeingreducedtoamerepseudo—existence。Thissecondidealisationofmetalcurrency,thatis,thedisparitybetweenitsnominalcontentanditsrealcontent,broughtaboutbytheprocessofcirculationitself,hasbeentakenadvantageofbothbygovernmentsandindividualadventurerswhodebasedthecoinageinavarietyofways。TheentirehistoryoftheMonetarySystemfromtheearlyMiddleAgesuntilwellintotheeighteenthcentury—isahistoryofsuchbilateralandantagonisticcounterfeiting,andCustodi\'svoluminouscollectionofworksofItalianeconomistsislargelyconcernedwiththissubject。
Butthe\"ideal\"existenceofgoldwithintheconfinesofitsfunctioncomesintoconflictwithitsrealexistence。Inthecourseofcirculationsomegoldcoinshavelostmoreoftheirmetalcontent,othersless,andonesovereignisnowindeedworthmorethananother。Sincetheyarehoweverequallyvalidwhiletheyfunctionascoin——thesovereignthatweighsaquarterofanounceisvaluednomorehighlythanthesovereignwhichonlyrepresentsaquarterofanounce——someunscrupulousownersperformsurgicaloperationsonsovereignsofstandardweighttoachievethesameresultartificiallywhichcirculationhasbroughtaboutspontaneouslyinthecaseoflightercoins。Sovereignsareclippedanddebasedandthesurplusgoldgoesintothemeltingpot。When4,6721/2goldsovereignsplacedonthescalesweighontheaverageonly800ouncesinsteadof1,200,theywillbuyonly800ouncesofgoldonthegoldmarket:inotherwords,themarket—priceofgoldhasrisenabovethemint—price。Allsovereigns,eventhoseretainingthestandardweight,wouldbeworthlessascointhanintheshapeofbars。Sovereignsofstandardweightwouldbereconvertedintobars,aforminwhichagreaterquantityofgoldhasagreatervaluethanasmallerquantityofgold。Whenthedeclineofthemetalcontenthasaffectedasufficientnumberofsovereignstocauseapermanentriseofthemarket—priceofgoldoveritsmint—price,thecoinswillretainthesamenamesofaccountbutthesewillhenceforthstandforasmallerquantityofgold。Inotherwords,thestandardofmoneywillbechanged,andhenceforthgoldwillbemintedinaccordancewiththisnewstandard。Thus,inconsequenceofitsidealisationasamediumofcirculation,goldinitsturnwillhavechangedthelegallyestablishedrelationinwhichitfunctionedasthestandardofprice。Asimilarrevolutionwouldberepeatedafteracertainperiodoftime;goldbothasthestandardofpriceandthemediumofcirculationinthiswaybeingsubjecttocontinuouschanges,sothatachangeintheoneaspectwouldcauseachangeintheotherandviceversa。Thisaccountsforthephenomenonmentionedearlier,namelythat,asthehistoryofallmodernnationsshows,thesamemonetarytitlescontinuedtostandforasteadilydiminishingmetalcontent。Thecontradictionbetweengoldascoinandgoldasthestandardofpricebecomesalsothecontradictionbetweengoldascoinandgoldastheuniversalequivalent,whichcirculatesnotonlywithintheboundariesofagiventerritorybutalsoontheworldmarket。
Asameasureofvaluegoldhasalwaysretaineditsfullweight,becauseithasservedonlynominallyasgold。WhenservingasanequivalentintheseparatetransactionC——M,goldrevertsfrommovementimmediatelytoastateofrest;butwhenitservesasacoinitsnaturalsubstancecomesintoconstantconflictwithitsfunction。Thetransformationofgoldsovereignsintonominalgoldcannotbeentirelyprevented,butlegislationattemptstoprecludetheestablishmentofnominalgoldascoinbywithdrawingitfromcirculationwhenthecoinsinquestionhavelostacertainpercentageoftheirsubstance。AccordingtoEnglishlaw,forinstance,asovereignwhichhaslostmorethan0。747grainofweightisnolongerlegaltender。
Between1844and1848,48milliongoldsovereignswereweighedbytheBankofEngland,whichpossessesscalesforweighinggoldinventedbyMr。Cotton。
Thismachineisnotonlyabletodetectadifferencebetweentheweightsoftwosovereignsamountingtoone—hundredthofagrain,butlikearationalbeingitflingsthelight—weightcoinontoaboardfromwhichitdropsintoanothermachinethatcutsitintopieceswithorientalcruelty。
Undertheseconditions,however,goldcoinswouldnotbeabletocirculateatallunlesstheywereconfinedtoadefinitesphereofcirculationwheretheywearoutlessquickly。Insofarasagoldcoinincirculationisworthaquarterofanounce,whereasitweighsonlyafifthofanounce,ithasindeedbecomeameretokenorsymbolforone—twentiethofanounceofgold,andinthiswaytheprocessofcirculationconvertsallgoldcoinstosomeextentintomeretokensorsymbolsrepresentingtheirsubstance。
Butathingcannotbeitsownsymbol。Paintedgrapesarenosymbolofrealgrapes,butareimaginarygrapes。Evenlessisitpossibleforalight—weightsovereigntobethesymbolofastandard—weightsovereign,justasanemaciatedhorsecannotbethesymbolofafathorse。Sincegoldthusbecomesasymbolofitselfbutcannotserveassuchasymbolitassumesasymbolicexistence——quiteseparatefromitsownexistence——intheshapeofsilverorcoppercountersinthosespheresofcirculationwhereitwearsoutmostrapidly,namelywherepurchasesandsalesofminuteamountsgooncontinuously。Acertainproportionofthetotalnumberofgoldcoins,althoughnotalwaysthesamecoins,perpetuallycirculateinthesespheres。
Thisproportionofgoldcoinsisreplacedbysilverorcoppertokens。Variouscommoditiescanthusserveascoinalongsidegold,althoughonlyonespecificcommoditycanfunctionasthemeasureofvalueandthereforealsoasmoneywithinaparticularcountry。Thesesubsidiarymeansofcirculation,forinstancesilverorcoppertokens,representdefinitefractionsofgoldcoinswithinthecirculation。Theamountofsilverorcopperthesetokensthemselvescontainis,therefore,notdeterminedbythevalueofsilverorcopperinrelationtothatofgold,butisarbitrarilyestablishedbylaw。Theymaybeissuedonlyinamountsnotexceedingthoseinwhichthesmallfractionsofgoldcointheyrepresentwouldconstantlycirculate,eitherassmallchangeforgoldcoinofhigherdenominationsortorealisecorrespondinglylowpricesofcommodities。Thesilvertokensandcoppertokenswillbelongtodistinctsoheresofretailtrade。Itisself—evidentthattheirvelocityofcirculationstandsininverseratiotothepricetheyrealiseineachindividualpurchaseandsale,ortothevalueofthefractionofthegoldcointheyrepresent。Therelativelyinsignificanttotalamountofsubsidiarycoinsincirculationindicatesthevelocitywithwhichtheyperpetuallycirculate,ifonebearsinmindthehugevolumeofretailtradedailytransactedinacountrylikeEngland。Arecentlypublishedparliamentaryreportshows,forinstance,thatin1857theEnglishMintcoinedgoldtotheamountof£4,859,000andsilverhavinganominalvalueof£733,000andametalvalueof£363,000。Intheten—yearperiodendingDecember31,1867,thetotalamountofgoldcoinedcameto£5S,239,000andthatofsilvertoonly£2,434,000。
Thenominalvalueofcoppercoinsissuedin1857wasonly£6,720,whilethevalueofthecoppercontainedinthemwas£3,492;ofthistotal£3,136wasissuedaspennies,£2,464ashalfpenniesand£1,120asfarthings。Thetotalnominalvalueofthecoppercoinstruckduringthelasttenyearscameto£141,477,andtheirmetalvalueto£73,503。Justasgoldcoinispreventedfromperpetuallyfunctioningascoinbythestatutoryprovisionthatonlosingacertainquantityofmetalitisdemonetised,soconverselybylayingdownthepricelevelwhichtheycanlegallyrealizesilverandcoppercountersarepreventedfrommovingintothesphereofgoldcoinandfromestablishingthemselvesasmoney。ThusforexampleinEngland,copperislegaltenderforsumsupto6d。andsilverforsumsupto40s。Theissueofsilverandcoppertokensinquantitiesexceedingtherequirementsoftheirspheresofcirculationwouldnotleadtoariseincommodity—pricesbuttotheaccumulationofthesetokensinthehandsofretailtraders,whowouldintheendbeforcedtosellthemasmetal。In1798,forinstance,Englishcoppercoinstotheamountsof£20,£30and£50,spentbyprivatepeople,hadaccumulatedinthetillsofshopkeepersand,sincetheirattemptstoputthecoinsagainintocirculationfailed,theyfinallyhadtosellthemasmetalonthecoppermarket。[3]
Themetalcontentofthesilverandcoppertokens,whichrepresentgoldcoinindistinctspheresofhomecirculation,isdeterminedbylaw;butwhenincirculationtheywearaway,justasgoldcoinsdo,and,becauseofthevelocityandconstancyoftheircirculation,theyarereducedevenfastertoamerelyimaginary,orshadowexistence。Ifoneweretoestablishthatsilverandcoppertokensalso,onlosingacertainamountofmetal,shouldceasetofunctionascoin,itwouldbenecessarytoreplacetheminturnincertainsectionsoftheirownsphereofcirculationbysomeothersymbolicmoney,suchasironorlead;andinthiswaytherepresentationofonetypeofsymbolicmoneybyothertypesofsymbolicmoneywouldgoonforever。Theneedsofcurrencycirculationitselfaccordinglycompelallcountrieswithadevelopedcirculationtoensurethatsilverandcoppertokensfunctionascoinindependentlyofthepercentageofmetaltheylose。
Itthusbecomesevidentthattheyare,bytheirverynature,symbolsofgoldcoinnotbecausetheyaremadeofsilverorcopper,notbecausetheyhavevalue,buttheyaresymbolsinsofarastheyhavenovalue。
Relativelyworthlessthings,suchaspaper,canfunctionassymbolsofgoldcoins。Subsidiarycoinsconsistofmetal,silver,copper,etc。,tokensprincipallybecauseinmostcountriesthelessvaluablemetalscirculatedasmoney——e。g。,silverinEngland,copperintheancientRomanRepublic,Sweden,Scotland,etc。——beforetheprocessofcirculationreducedthemtothestatusofsmallcoinandputamorevaluablemetalintheirplace。
Itisinthenatureofthingsmoreoverthatthemonetarysymbolwhichdirectlyarisesfrommetalliccurrencyshouldbe,inthefirstplace,onceagainametal。Justastheportionofgoldwhichwouldconstantlyhavetocirculateassmallchangeisreplacedbymetaltokens,sotheportionofgoldwhichascoinremainsalwaysinthesphereofhomecirculation,andmustthereforecirculateperpetually,canbereplacedbytokenswithoutintrinsicvalue。
Thelevelbelowwhichthevolumeofcurrencyneverfallsisestablishedineachcountrybyexperience。Whatwasoriginallyaninsignificantdivergenceofthenominalcontentfromtheactualmetalcontentofmetalliccurrencycanthereforereachastagewherethetwothingsarecompletelydivorced。
Thenamesofcoinsbecomethusdetachedfromthesubstanceofmoneyandexistapartfromitintheshapeofworthlessscrapsofpaper。Inthesamewayastheexchange—valueofcommoditiesiscrystallisedintogoldmoneyasaresultofexchange,sogoldmoneyincirculationissublimatedintoitsownsymbol,firstintheshapeofworngoldcoin,thenintheshapeofsubsidiarymetalcoin,andfinallyintheshapeofworthlesscounters,scrapsofpaper,meretokensofvalue。
Butthegoldcoingaverisefirsttometallicandthentopapersubstitutesonlybecauseitcontinuedtofunctionasacoindespitethelossofmetalitincurred。Itcirculatednotbecauseitwasworn,butitwasworntoasymbolbecauseitcontinuedtocirculate。Onlyinsofarasintheprocessofcirculationgoldcurrencybecomesameretokenofitsownvaluecanmeretokensofvaluebesubstitutedforit。
InsofarasthecircuitC——M——CisthedynamicunityofthetwoaspectsC——MandM——C,whichdirectlychangeintoeachother,orinsofarasthecommodityundergoestheentiremetamorphosis,itevolvesitsexchange—valueintopriceandintomoney,butimmediatelyabandonstheseformsagaintobecomeoncemoreacommodity,orratherause—value。