11 shillings. And this medium between the two standards of gold
and silver, we must consider as furnishing the true medium value of
the shilling. If the parliament should now order the pound of gold (of
one-twelfth alloy as before) to be cut into a thousand shillings instead
of nine hundred and fifty-six and three fourths, leaving the silver as
it is, the medium or true value of the shilling would suffer a change of
half the difference; and in the case before stated, to pay a debt of a
pound weight of gold, at Amsterdam, if he sent the pound weight of gold,
he would send 1090.9 shillings; if he sent fifteen pounds of silver,
he would send 1030.5 shillings; if half in gold and half in silver,
he would send 1060.7 shillings; which shows, that this parliamentary
operation would reduce the value of the shilling in the proportion of
1060.7 to 1037.11.
Now this is exactly the effect of the late change in the quantity of
gold contained in your louis. Your _marc d'argent fin_ is cut into 53.45
livres (fifty-three livres and nine sous), the _marc de l'or fin_
was cut, heretofore, by law, into 784.
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