THE COINAGE OF GOLD.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5538, 27 December 1878, Page 3

THE COINAGE OF GOLD.

(From the Insurance Record.) An article in the Economist discusses the 1877 report of the Deputy-Master of the (British) Koyal Mint. That gentleman attributes the smallness of the demand for gold coin from the establishment under his direct control to the importation of sovereigns from Australia. The net additions to the gold circulation of the United Kingdom from its home and colonial mints were in 1875, £854,239; in 1876, £6,147,884 ; in 1877, £3,289,241 ; total, three years, £10,291,364. Having regard to the growing magnitude of the coinage at the Sydney and Melbourne branches of the Royal Mint, it becomes an interesting inquiry whether We {Economist) may not now expect to find, in a short period of years, that the. Australian element, so far as regards the place where the coin was minted, will come to be the greatly preponderating one in the gold circulation of the United Kingdom. The gold coin which has been issued in Australia since the date when the Victoria (Sydney—Ed. Record) Branch Mint was opened in 1855, and the Melbourne Branch Mint in 1872, has amounted to no less than £49,706,000, divided as follows : s . ov “ r ff” 3 sovereigns Total, in value. in val u o , ' A C & Sydney (1855-77) .. 39,248,600 1,903,500 41,212,000 Melbourne (1872-77) 8,372,000. 122,600 8,404,500 ' ( , 47,620,500 2,086,000 49,700,600 Disregarding fractious, it may be said that from 1855 down to May, 1878, the coinage of sovereigns in Australia has been about fortyeight millions sterling, against ninety-eight millions sterling issued from the London mint; that is to say, of the whole coinage, English and Australian together, 146 millions of sovereigns,, one-third is of Australian, and twothirds are of English mintage. As regards half-sovereigns,, the coinage of Australia has been about 2J millions sterling iu value, against about 17 millions sterling of the same denomination of coin issued from the London mint; so that put of 19J millions value of halfsovereigns, about one-eighth is of Australian, and seven-eighths ore of English mintage. During the last three years the relative proportions of the Australian and English coinagoof sovereigns have been almost reversed. The increase of Australian coins among the money passing from band to hand, among the mass of the people may not be without important re- . suits. We have long thought the Australian sovereign the moat powerful emigration agent that a group of colonies can possess in the way of attracting fresh inhabitants to their shores.