COIN, a piece of metal converted into money by the impression of certain marks or figures thereon.
COIN differs from MONEY as the species from the genus. Money is any matter, whether metal, wood, leather, glass, horn, paper, fruits, shells, or kernels, which have currency as a medium in COMMERCE. Coin is a particular species, always made of metal, and struck according to a certain process called COINING.
The precise epocha of the invention of money is too ancient for our annals; and, if we might argue from the necessity and obviousness of the thing, must be nearly coeval with the world.
Whether coins be of equal antiquity, may admit of some doubt; especially as most of the ancient writers are so frequent and express in their mention of leather-moneys, paper-moneys, wooden-moneys, &c. Some, however, notwithstanding this, are of opinion, that the first moneys were of metal: the reasons they give, and the firmness, neatness, cleanness, durability, and universality of metals; which, however, do rather conclude they ought to have been so, than that they actually were so.
In effect, the very commodities themselves were the first moneys, i. e. were current for one another by way of exchange; and it was the difficulty of cutting or dividing certain commodities, and the impossibility of doing it without great loss, that first put men on the expedient of a general medium. See EXCHANGE.
Indeed, thus much may be said in behalf of coins, that, on this view, it was natural for men to have their first recourse to metals, as being almost the only things whose goodness, and as it were integrity, is not diminished by partition; besides the advantages above expressed, and the conveniences of melting and returning them into a mass of any size or weight.
It was probably, then, this property of metals which first accustomed people, who traded together, to account them in lieu of quantities of other merchandises in their exchanges, and at length to substitute them wholly in their stead; and thus arose money; as it was their other property to preserve any mark or impression a long time, which confirmed them in the right; and thus was the first rise of coins.
In the first ages, each person cut his metal into pieces of different sizes and forms, according to the quantity to be given for any merchandise, or according to the demand of the seller, or the quantity stipulated between them. To this end they went to market loaded with metal in proportion to the purchase to be made, and furnished with instruments for portioning it, and scales for dealing it out, according as occasion required. By degrees, it was found more commodious to have pieces ready weighed; and as there were different weights required according to the value of the different wares, all those of the same weight began to be distinguished with the same mark or figure: thus were coins carried one step further. At length the growing commerce of money beginning to be disturbed with frauds, both in the weights and the matter, the public authority interposed; and hence the first stamps or impressions of money; to which succeeded
ed the names of the moniers; and at length the effigy of the prince, the date, legend, and other precautions to prevent the alterations of the species; and thus were coins completed.