CHAP. VII. Of the disorder in the British coin, so far as it 558 occasions the melting down or the exporting of the specie, Defects in the British coin, —— Of the standard of the English coin and money-unit, —— A pound sterling by statute contains 1718.7 grains troy 559 fine silver, The guinea 118.644 grains fine gold, —— Coinage in England free, —— The standard not attached to the gold coin till the 560 year 1728, Consequences of this regulation to debase the standard, —— That debtors will not pay in silver but in gold, —— That some people consider coin as money of accompt, 561 Others consider it as a metal, —— Operations of money-jobbers, when the coin deviates 562 from the market proportion of the metals, or from the legal weight, They melt down when the metals in it are wrong —— proportioned, And when the coin is of unequal weight, —— Why silver bullion is dearer than coin, —— Because that species has risen in the market price as 563 bullion, and not as coin, What regulates the price of bullion? 564 1. The intrinsic value of the currency, —— 2. A demand for exporting bullion, 565 3. Or for making of plate, —— Exchange _raises_, and the mint price _brings down_ —— bullion, Continuation of the operations of money-jobbers: their 566 rule for melting the coin, The price in guineas equal to the price of shillings of —— 65 in the pound troy, When guineas may be melted down with profit, —— Silver is exported preferably to gold, 567 This hurtful, when done by foreigners, ——