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History of Monetary Systems: Record of Actual Experiments in Money Made by Various States of the Ancient and Modern World, as Drawn From Their ... Archæology, Coins, Nummulary Systems,
Excerpt from History of Monetary Systems: Record of Actual Experiments in Money Made by Various States of the Ancient and Modern World, as Drawn From Their Statutes, Customs, Treaties, Mining Regulations, Jurisprudence, History, Archaeology, Coins, Nummulary Systems, and Other Sources of Informati
The origin and progress of Private Coinage has also been an object Of attention. Private coinage, or, as it is now euphemized, free coinage, namely, the license granted to private individuals to coin the precious metals without limit, or to compel the State to make coins for them and to confer upon such coins the legal functions Of money, coupled with license to export and melt down the coins, was unknown to the ancient world. In the great states of antiquity money was apillar of the constitution. In the republics Of Greece and Rome it was a social instrument, designed, limited, stamped, issued, and made current by the State, - in short, in vented, owned, and regulated by the State. It is now generally admitted that the so-called gentes coins of Rome were not of private fabrication, but issued by the State, and stamped with the gens mark of the State moneyers. There appears to have been no private coin age in Europe before the issuance of Mahomet's Koran and its scornful repudiation of the Roman religion and political system. The baronial and ecclesiastical mints of the middle ages, when not authorized by the German Em pire, or by the princes Of the Western States, were baronial or ecclesiastical only in name; they were really robbers' dens, and were so termed in the oflicial proclamations Of the time. Their trade Of private coin age was both surreptitious and unlawful, and was often expiated with the lives of the proprietors; The Plantag enet kings broke up some thousands of them.
After the fall of the Roman Empire in 1204 the prerog ative of the coinage was exercised for a brief period by the emperors of Germany, but soon afterward fell to the various independent states that rose upon the ruins of the Old Empire. In a process commenced by the procureur-general under Philip IV., against the Comte de Nevers, for melting down the coins of the realm, it was held that this was a royal prerogative which be longed to the king alone, and which in case of neces sity he might employ, not indeed for his private advantage, but in defense of the State. The prerogative was, however, much more fully and completely laid down by Sir Matthew Hale in the celebrated case Of the Mixed Moneys. Its unwilling surrender by the Crown took place under the Stuarts. Events have dem onstrated that the Act is wholly inconsistent With the safety of the State, and that it demands revision.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
The origin and progress of Private Coinage has also been an object Of attention. Private coinage, or, as it is now euphemized, free coinage, namely, the license granted to private individuals to coin the precious metals without limit, or to compel the State to make coins for them and to confer upon such coins the legal functions Of money, coupled with license to export and melt down the coins, was unknown to the ancient world. In the great states of antiquity money was apillar of the constitution. In the republics Of Greece and Rome it was a social instrument, designed, limited, stamped, issued, and made current by the State, - in short, in vented, owned, and regulated by the State. It is now generally admitted that the so-called gentes coins of Rome were not of private fabrication, but issued by the State, and stamped with the gens mark of the State moneyers. There appears to have been no private coin age in Europe before the issuance of Mahomet's Koran and its scornful repudiation of the Roman religion and political system. The baronial and ecclesiastical mints of the middle ages, when not authorized by the German Em pire, or by the princes Of the Western States, were baronial or ecclesiastical only in name; they were really robbers' dens, and were so termed in the oflicial proclamations Of the time. Their trade Of private coin age was both surreptitious and unlawful, and was often expiated with the lives of the proprietors; The Plantag enet kings broke up some thousands of them.
After the fall of the Roman Empire in 1204 the prerog ative of the coinage was exercised for a brief period by the emperors of Germany, but soon afterward fell to the various independent states that rose upon the ruins of the Old Empire. In a process commenced by the procureur-general under Philip IV., against the Comte de Nevers, for melting down the coins of the realm, it was held that this was a royal prerogative which be longed to the king alone, and which in case of neces sity he might employ, not indeed for his private advantage, but in defense of the State. The prerogative was, however, much more fully and completely laid down by Sir Matthew Hale in the celebrated case Of the Mixed Moneys. Its unwilling surrender by the Crown took place under the Stuarts. Events have dem onstrated that the Act is wholly inconsistent With the safety of the State, and that it demands revision.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
- GenresEconomics
446 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1896
About the author
Alexander del Mar
117 books8 followersAlexander del Mar, also Alex Delmar (1836–1926), was an American political economist, historian, numismatist and author. He was the first director of the Bureau of Statistics at the U.S. Treasury Department from 1866–69.
Del Mar was a rigorous historian who made important contributions to the history of money. During the mid-1890s, he was distinctly hostile to a central monetary role for gold as a commodity money, championing the cause of silver and its re-monetization as a prerogative of the state.
He believed strongly in the legal function of money. Del Mar dedicated much of his free time to original research in the great libraries and coin collections of Europe on the history of monetary systems and finance.
He died 7 Jan. 1926 in Little Falls, New York.
Del Mar was a rigorous historian who made important contributions to the history of money. During the mid-1890s, he was distinctly hostile to a central monetary role for gold as a commodity money, championing the cause of silver and its re-monetization as a prerogative of the state.
He believed strongly in the legal function of money. Del Mar dedicated much of his free time to original research in the great libraries and coin collections of Europe on the history of monetary systems and finance.
He died 7 Jan. 1926 in Little Falls, New York.
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September 14, 2025
In full disclosure I should have researched more about this book before I picked it up. I have a degree in economics and enjoy reading books on monetary systems however this book is really more about the history of coinage. He has an exhaustive knowledge of the types of coins, their values and so forth but it never actually talks about the monetary system. It covers exchange rates to a degree and if you really are interested in why coins have the names they do you can find a lot here. I got to around page 350 of the 450ish some pages and then gave up.
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