distinction becomes, or at least seems to become, something more than
nominal again. If the regulated value of a guinea, for example, was either
reduced to twenty, or raised to two-and-twenty shillings, all accounts being
kept, and almost all obligations for debt being expressed, in silver money,
the greater part of payments could in either case be made with the same
quantity of silver money as before; but would require very different
quantities of gold money ; a greater in the one case, and a smaller in the
other. Silver would appear to be more invariable in its value than gold.
Silver would appear to measure the value of gold, and gold would not appear
to measure the value of silver. The value of gold would seem to depend upon
the quantity of silver which it would exchange for, and the value of silver
would not seem to depend upon the quantity of gold which it would exchange
for. This difference, however, would be altogether owing to the custom of
keeping accounts, and of expressing the amount of all great and small sums
rather in silver than in gold money. One of Mr Drummond's notes for
five-and-twenty or fifty guineas would, after an alteration of this kind, be
still payable with five-and-twenty or fifty guineas, in the same manner as
before. It would, after such an alteration, be payable with the same
quantity of gold as before, but with very different quantities of silver. In
the payment of such a note, gold would appear to be more invariable in its
value than silver. Gold would appear to measure the value of silver, and
silver would not appear to measure the value of gold. If the custom of
keeping accounts, and of expressing promissory-notes and other obligations
for money, in this manner should ever become general, gold, and not silver,
would be considered as the metal which was peculiarly the standard or
measure of value.

In reality, during the continuance of any one regulated proportion between the respective
values of the different metals in coin, the value of the most precious metal regulates the value
of the whole coin. Twelve copper pence contain half a pound avoirdupois of copper, of not the