The numismatic chronicle and journal of the Royal ... - IndianCoins.org

236 NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE.or in other words its purchasing power. It is often a verydifficult question to determine offhand what was the purchasingpower of say 20s. at a particular period, or what acertain sum of the fifteenth century would represent now.These and other like questions Miss Dodd has attempted toanswer period by period, and she has taken as her basis theprices of labour, of various articles of consumption such asmeat, wheat, barley, &c., clothes, and other commodities.Naturally as wealth increased there was a general tendencyto a rise in prices; but this upward tendency was oftenaffected by some temporary disturbance of an economicnature ;and phases like these are satisfactorily accounted for.It is on this account that this work will be useful, not only tothe numismatist, who may wish to burrow below the surface,but also to the economist, to whom some knowledge of theEnglish coinage is indispensable.The two chapters on the " "Adoption of the Gold Standardand on " Bimetallism " are exceedingly clearly written, andare most illuminating. In the first instance it is shown howvery gradually England was compelled to adopt a goldstandard, chiefly owing to the vicissitudes which the silvermoney experienced at various times, either from debasement,clipping, or exportation and in the; chapter on bimetallismthe writer has stated very impartially the views of themonometallist and the bimetallist, a question which a fewyears ago engaged a good deal of public attention but;which, since Germany has adopted a gold standard, has beenallowed gradually to subside. Bimetallism, generally, couldonly be adopted by a unity of nations : a union which iscapable of being disturbed at any moment.There are other chapters, such as those which deal withthe origin of paper money and its development, the establishmentof the early banking system, and the currency of India,which are quite deserving of careful study.No doubt many also will be interested in the origin anddevelopment of money in the United States ; thoughit doesnot possess the charm of antiquity which encircles that of themother-country .Miss Dodd has gone to the first authorities for her information,and she has used it to the best advantage. Her languageis very clear, and she has the great quality of expressing herthoughts in so plain and simple a manner that even to theuninitiated the most difficult problems seem quite intelligible.H. A. G.