| Show THE MONEY PHASES OF colf coif AND PAPER it is rather a curious fact that the only coin now in current use on this continent which is tot lot round is the fifty dollar gold piece struck for california which is octagonal in shape all the coin coins a in europe are round in japan they have oblong 0 bi ong wedges cf silver it is curious too toos that for many years money has been made out of paper papery when leather or cloah would seem to be more durable yet paper when representing co coid coin 1 id lasts a great awhile while and not the bank of england receives a ante m te of extraordinary age and the bank batik of bengal in india recently was called upon to pay several thousand pounds of notes so old that none of the present generation remembered the pattern it itis is also worthy ol 01 remark thal that gems or precious stones have never been used for 1 money nor has platinum or any other metal taken the he place of gold in n african africa a species j of shell forms the circulating medium the value of which fluctuates sometimes twenty per cent a week but all the civilized countries have gol I 1 as the standard of money value and all other media are but representatives of the great standard only the hindmo I 1 I 1 hab has ever learned to test coin accurately by 1 the hand band of all gold coinage that of england is perhaps the most beautiful A new f tiesh t esh gold sovereign is probably as graceful and attract 1 tive live a coin as exists next to it the ameri amerl 1 can eagle is the most elegant gold coin the twenty frknk frank apie ipie aple pieces ces of the present kingdom of or ita italy y a are re a also aiso 0 very neat P probably r bably babiy the smallest gold coin in use is the frech five frank piece although a few half dollar gold pieces have been struck t effin ff in california at present there are current in france in every day traffic coins bearing te ti e noble lace ot napoleon both as consul and I 1 I 1 Empo emperor the heay heavy beay round heads beads oc ot charles i X and louis the shrewd countenance of louis Pail phillippe lippe and the familiar features 1 of the present A emperor in some cases nai IH ili is represented with and in others without wit houta a laurel wreath the most beautiful silver coinage is that of russia each piece being in itself a work of art BO so finely and elaborately is the die cut out on the tb other hand the ugliest silver coinage a s that of jbf free city of hamburg each piece adulterated and poorly cut is usually to be found encrusted wih wib wih dirt and filth til all and looking like a refuse fragment of tin the silver coinage of germany is very verv very bad also in italy excepting the portions subject to the pope and the emperor of austria I 1 the ibe franc piece is taking the place e of former torn forn 1 coins though the local co coinage n g e of the former duchies of parma and modena still infests those portions of the country naples aio alo also retain retains in retail traffic the c complicated om eo coins ins in use under the boul bon rule perila perhaps pt s the n adest paper money in the wo world id is that lb at of 0 greece which is manufactured by american engravers eng ravers and ani workmen the old bank currency of this country is very often elegant the worst and most wretched paper money in the world ia is the five kreutzer note of austria printed on a botelh Bott sott thick lh ick lck grayish paper which has a faculty of washing and away tike like ordinary blotting paper but nearly as bad Is the postal currency with which for our eins sins R we are now afflicted he who steals a purse purge fall full of our five and ten cent notes frayed dirty worn wo and illegible doell doe indeed steal ll trash trashy r I 1 scientific american 1 |
