THE STRANGE ADVENTURES OF A HALF-CROWN.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue III, 7 January 1890, Page 4

THE STRANGE ADVENTURES OF A HALF-CROWN.

- ■■■ »" ** Not long since one of a number of ball-crowns was submitted to the a'sayers of.the' Goldsmiths' Company on behalf of the Mint. The coin was apparently of good silver and true weight, but certain minute differences in the faces betrayed to practised eyes that it was not stamped at the mint The assay proved fhat the qimli'y of the silver was, if anything, rather superior to that which composes tlje^ geni/li" half-crown, and the Mip£ ofers were not wronsj in judging the weight to be correct. Nevertheless, place. The motive is of course to be found in the fall in the value of silver* and the appearance of these full weighted bnt illegitimate, cops has been dreqf<Md \ foe ;some '•- time. There ara place s notably India and Mexico where silver id of / as. little account as in the days of Solomon. At any rate silver for two half crown pieces can be had for a little over Bs. Clearly then there is a profit left, if they 5 cait b 6 made in 'sufficient numbers, to cover the expense of inanufactfurV. Trig" pretty ' certain that these are not made in. London. , ; jThe question is, Where they come from and how they. come. That they, will continue4eJi|£e^e<[fi^n?tet p&b&bie or there seems little chance^ of .a' rise in the price of silver, and* 'thai 1 alone would render the enterprise unprofitable. .;<• ■;;■-. -m > ■■< Meantime this particular halfcrown has caused a very pretty quarrel between three august bodies — the Mint, the Bank of England, and the Gold-smiths.. The Goldsmiths' Company refused to condemn the half-ciown submitted for assay, but sent it on to the Bank, with other momeys! at the same, time a memorandrifiS* w«6»4fors«tfrde& drawing the attfeimflh of the Bank to the coin in question. The Bank forwarfrd r\ish "tfaawohV to f jhe Mint., yJßitl the Mint impoutiied it as a base coin. The Bank thereon treated it as ?ucb, and deducted 2s 6d from the Go'dsmiths' baliroe. To thi^liHw M> (Company by no means assent, and great th|p r corregpondenoe on the subject of this good bad half crown. The GoUsmitbs naturally contend that ' as they Are tbe ABBftyer» of the Piyx' their decgiqrt Bhfyijcj be fjnal. Th& Mint officials say it is " no child of theirp/^afldsq (he mafrter remains Jhe^al ftue^tion >is < hove lon fftfoe T^^Ufgo/ on, , firojpcihg as' tender worth 2s 6d, a dac not! worth 2s. The whole profit of the Mint,bafl ( hi]l|hertQ bwn made on 1 tbe Bfje^ p ftJabrQq?e, coinage* Gold ,i^ n^ it is^no fecret tb'cf sinoe Ih'e drop in silver tbe pityfttoslrtnftfk*} Wint have bee,. abnpimf \ tl ;, / J?i»tebly i the bi-met i \ iß^.f|^i?ve wm '- ( hing to liy on t ' ' mitttri : , ;