A General Table of the Gold and Silver Coins of different Countries, giving their national Denominations and Value, Weight in Duts. and Grammes, the Number of Parts of pure Metal which they contain, and their Value in English Money and in Dollars and Cents.* 1. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. * The weight of the coins has been given both in grammes and in dwts. It is very easy for any one to convert grammes into dwts., by means of the rule of three, knowing that 1 lb. troy weight, or 200 dwts., are equal to 373.095 grammes. The ratio of gold to silver, in the U. States, is as Any one, therefore, by deducing from the above table the weight of the pure metal, in the gold and sil ver coins, can obtain their precise relative value. 154 to 1. 3.143 875 07 6 1 74 7 3.519 979 0 9 42 2 18 9 6.735 903 0 16 7 3 86 4 29.126 875 046 1 48 26.800 833 040 0 93 2 6. FRANCE. The money unit, in France, is the franc, which, according to the decimal system, is divided into 100 parts, called centimes. In government accounts and legal deeds, all sums must be expressed in francs and centimes; but among the people, and in the purchase of goods sold by retail, and in small quantity, the denomination of sous is still in use. This practice does not create confusion, because the sou is a multiple of the centime,—that is, there are 20 sous to the franc, and each contains 5 centimes. The two sous piece may also be called décime, or tenth of a frane. Although the franc and the livre tournois now appear to be of equal value, there is, however, a slight difference in favor of the franc:-100 fr. = 101 livres 5 sous. Hence, if an individual had to discharge a debt contracted previously to the year VIII of the republic, and stipulated in livres tournois, he would be entitled, in making his payment in francs, to a deduction in the proportion above mentioned. Formerly, the livre tournois was the money unit of France. Its value has varied much, although it has retained the denomination which, originally, was the expression of its nature. Under Charlemagne, in the 9th century, its weight was 12 ounces, or 1 lb. troy weight, and its value 78 liv. 17 sous of present money. The weight and value progressively decreased down to the time of Louis XV, when it only amounted to 8 sous. Under Louis XVI, it rose again to 20 sous. Besides the new coinage issued during the republic, under the empire, and since the restoration, the old one is still in circulation. There is, however, but little of it extant. The value of the silver pieces was not only reduced in 1810, as will be seen here, but the pieces of 24, 12, and 6 sous are not to be taken in payment, except they have preserved some part of the stamp (empreinte); consequently, all those which were defaced have been withdrawn from circulation. There is also in France a coin composed of copper and silver, in the proportion of 4 to 1, called billon, and denominated, by the people, monnaie grise. Before the revolution, there were, of this mixture, pieces of six liards (the French sou being divided into four liards), and of two sous and a half, called pieces of six blancs: there are few of this value now extant, but there are pieces of two sous, or décimes. |