GOVERNMENT'S SILVER EXPERIMENT

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 412, 22 December 1932, Page 3

GOVERNMENT'S SILVER EXPERIMENT

THE present giut o£ bronze eoiq in j England, wliicli lias compelled : the Royal Mint to suspend tho| minting of pennies, is an instanee of thdse rninor troubles which eoutimi-j ously beset monetary authorities. A similar position arose in 1012. The Mint in order to meot tlm ircreased demand for eurrency due to higli wartime prices, had issued ahout 750,000.000 pexmies in eiglit yeai*s. The great post-war slump in prices, liowever, rendered xnuch of tliis coin supcrfluous. Banlcs, tramway companios, gas undertakings, and similar bodies throughout the country had their vaults crammed with unwanlcd coin. The Mint turned a deaf ear to the loud demands that it should buy back i its pennies — probably bceause tlielr j intrinsic value was al>out 2d a dozen, and to pay for them at their facje j value would have nieant the surrendel*- 1

ing of the handsome proiits previously made. However, as a concession, a few Yictorian pc-niik-s wero \vi:h drawn, but in .1020 a brisl: demand sprang from tlie publio and the sr.rplus pennies wero soon ahsnrhed The silver coinage, however, is t'le black slieep of the monatary family It is alwavs causing trouide. In 1920, in the interes's of eeon w y. the goverument d cHel't ) w'LLd aw the wliole of the silver c.v'iu;'r \ % h: h contained 021 jier ceut. flne silver, a » .] to replace it with oue su-iiik from an inferior alloy in which ihe prajiorii » t was onlv 5a p *v c at. The te > t coins wero owi'ul. Th •; d: mokai •! even hefore they weve i>:it i.iio • I* «•: 1 ■ tion. Some tuine.l j ellnw, iiurl othr: a red, grcen or lirowu. In 1927 a ucw irnprov r( ; I!ey c .*: taining silver, eopper. si:r*T: an 3 ::'!* • was intrudmvd, and tbi.*- !«•:• p:* e*- :] more satisfactory.. Tlie t-orns. b e.v ever, still discolour, and Uvir ii*u! h oxidised appearauee, alihuuvh i ot ; ii •• gether displeaaiiia, i.; va.aiy i..; *.»iito that of the good oi.-i pre !22 » e i.s The authoiities hav * now v.i lalr.'v.n the bulk of the 'TLY' eil*. : n.1, gretting their earl'er i .V rt *. lnf'e started on the ncw task «»f v. Lb - ing the dlscoloiired u.-,n i r* d I" tween 1920 and 1927k. TI'.4 * v-'i'l t ■'•e some years, aiul vh «•,) iv Mint will have withdniv n si .ce th

[\\ar soruething lihe 1,200,000,000 piecea iof silver. j The designs of the silver coins have also given much dissastisfaction. New [ patterns were introduced in 1927. j These, ugain, are the snbject of much ; advcrso criticism, chiefly, however, | iVuni the unknowing, for the new designs are of higli artistic merit. In- * deert, the five shilling pieces, reintroduced after an interval of 25 years is a partleularly fme picce, and although tlje disappearance of th'e faniiliar de-s-ign of St. Geoige and the Dragon may be regretted, few can deny that ihe new design, appropriately consisting of a crown, is both dignified and I strong. Possibly the most grotesque design that lias ever disiigured British money was that of the "head" of Queen Victoria on the 1SS7 issue. The Jubilee cojnage, indeed, was particularly

, troublesomo. The "Jubilee sixpence" j was so much Iike a half-sovereign that | n-imiimls immediately began to gild ; lliem in large numhers. The issue was vvithdrawn very quickly. Tlie four i •h.liing nicco was anotlior 1SS7 experij iuent. This pvoved unpopular and was i iooii discontimied. i