In 1853 a "Branch of the Royal Mint" was established at Sydney in New South Wales, and another in 1869 at Melbourne. Gold coins issued at these places are legal tender throughout the British dominions. A Hong Kong mint was also established in 1864 for the issue of silver dollars and subsidiary coins, but was abolished in 1868.

In 1870 an act was passed "to consolidate and amend the law relating to the coinage and Her Majesty's Mint," and there has been no subsequent legislation on the sub-ject. The provisions of this Act are here exhibited in a concise form for the purpose of easy comparison with the systems of foreign countries.

(1.) The sole standard of value is gold.

(2.) The unit of value is the pound sterling.

(3.) The standard "fineness" of gold coin is - of fine gold to 1/12 of alloy, or 916 2/3 per mille.

The "remedy of fineness," or margin allowed on either side of mathematical accuracy in the composition of gold coin, is 2 per mille.

(4.) The standard weight of gold coins is such that 934 1/2 sovereigns weigh 20 lbs. troy. A sovereign therefore weighs 123.27447 grains troy, and contains 113.0016 grains of fine gold.

The "remedy of weight" for gold is 1.6 per mille, or 2 grains for a sovereign. Each individual piece must meet these requirements, a rule which holds also for the remedy of fineness, and for silver and bronze coins.

* 'Report of the Royal Commission, "Statement (A)," pp. 52.56.

(5.) The silver subsidiary coinage is only legal tender to the amount of 40s.

The " standard fineness " of silver is 11 oz. 2 dwts. of fine silver to 18 dwts. of alloy, or 925 per mille, and the remedy is 4 per mille.

The standard weight of silver coin is such that 66 shillings weigh 1 lb. troy. A shilling therefore weighs 87.272 grains troy, and contains 80.727 grains of fine silver.

The remedy of weight is 4.17 per mille.

The subsidiary bronze coinage is only legal tender to the amount of one shilling.

(6.) The expense of the gold coinage is borne by the state. Practically, however, the importer pays l 1/2d. per oz. for the coinage of his bullion, which he sells to the Bank of England at £3 17s. 9d. per oz. It is true that the Mint offers the full price of £3 17s. 10 1/2d., that is to say, the Mint will convert each ounce of bullion into that amount of coin, but the time occupied by the process occasions a loss of interest to the importer greater than his gain in principal, and he prefers therefore to pay the bank l 1/2d. per oz. for immediate payment.*

* The charge of l 1/2d. per oz. made by the Bank of England since 1844 is very analogous to that formerly levied by the king under the title of " Ex* change Seignorage." The issue of the coinage has, as already stated, from very early times belonged exclusively to the Crown; it thus came necessary that the sovereign should further possess the monopoly of exchanging coin for bullion, this also being a royal privilege of great antiquity (see 'Ruding,* vol. ii, p. 138). If now the importer was unwilling to "abide the time" requisite for minting, he could obtain immediate " payment and deliverance" by allowing the king's exchanger a seignorage in remuneration of the loss he was put to by his immediate advances. The amount of this seignorage was fixed by the indentures from time to time, together with that exacted by the Mint. In 1571, when the contract system was resumed, the Mint-master contracted to have £2000 in stock " for the readier payment of all such as shall nede present money for their bullion." (See the Secretary's 'Statement' in the * Report of the Royal Mint Commission of 1848/ p. 40). It may here be observed that an attempt was made in 1829 "to facilitate the importation

The charge for the coinage of silver is 4s. per lb. troy; the pound is divided into 66 shillings, of which 62 are returned to the importer. It must be remembered that the importer receives nearly or quite the full value for his bullion, as the silver coins are over-rated, and if their intrinsic value were equal to that at which he will be able to pass them, the pound troy would make little more than 62 shillings.

(7.) Gold coin which has been reduced by abrasion below the "least current weight" specified by the Act should be "cut, broken, or defaced" by the person to whom it is tendered, the last holder bearing the loss. The Bank of England pledges itself to receive light gold coin at £3 17s. 9d. per oz. or the same price at which it is obliged to purchase standard bullion; and the Mint allows the Bank the full price of £3 17s. 10 1/2. per oz.*

The withdrawal of the silver coin is undertaken by the State. The real difference is that the gold coinage is the property of the public, but the silver coinage is the property of the Crown, which is therefore liable for the loss occasioned by wear.

The following table gives the standard weight and "least current weight" of the gold coins now authorised.

of gold for coinage by private individuals" by the formation of a "Gold Coinage Fund" of £150,000. Three fourths of the value of the bullion imported was returned immediately to the importer, and the remainder as soon as the assays were completed. The importer thus gained the advantage of the full price for bullion paid by the Mint, but the arrangement fell through, probably because large capitalists, by monopolising the labours of the Mint, delayed importations of small amounts (see 'The Mint Report for 1870,' p. 22).

* This arrangement doubtless entails some loss on the Mint, which incurs the additional expense of melting the light coin down to bullion. A further loss arises if, as is possible, the coins issued below standard fineness, though within the remedy, arc more numerous than those above standard. Indeed, the Bank price for light gold was till 1870 only £3 17s. 6 1/2d. per oz. The Bank then undertook to reconvert the coin into bullion, for which the Mint paid the full price. The estimated cost to the Bank was therefore 2 1/2d. per oz. The new regulation was made with a view to induce the public to part with their light gold by the offer of more advantageous terms.