Page:Coin's Financial School.djvu/64

 46 "Secondly; When made money, it became a common medium of exchange and took the place of barter and trade. The stamp of the government upon it, became a certificate of its quality and quantity. Thus by making a commodity into money we had a medium of exchange that was both useful and valuable.

"After using many perishable commodities, experience and wisdom brought the people of the world to the use of silver and gold.

"If experience could suggest a commodity better adapted for money than metallic money made from silver and gold, it should be adopted.

"The merit of these two metals is that neither will rust, corrode nor stain, and both are odorless. As compared with other property, both are very durable. Of the two, silver is the most durable. Abrasion causes more loss to gold than to silver, and the latter may be carried in the pocket and subjected to great use with but little loss. One was the money of the people—the other, of the rich. As two legs are necessary to walk and two eyes to see, so were these two monies necessary to the prosperity of the people.

"It was considered that silver and gold were sufficient in quantity for use as primary money, but if at any time their combined quantity should become too small, then some other metal would have to be adopted and added to these two. The law of unlimited demand by free coinage, would tie a third metal to these two, and thus increase the quantity, if at any time it became necessary.