§ LORD GEORGE HAMILTONasked Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer, If he has any Estimate to show what is the yearly loss from abrasion or wear and tear of the coined gold in circulation?
§ THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER (Mr. CHILDERS)The most trustworthy recent Estimate of the loss from the wear and tear of the gold coins in circulation is that each sovereign and half-sovereign loses more than four hundredths of a grain of its weight every year, the half-sovereign losing twice as much proportionately as the whole sovereign. It follows that to make good the yearly deficiency of the 1313 metal in the present standard of gold coinage, if, as is estimated, that consists of £90,000,000 in sovereigns and £20,000,000 in half-sovereigns, the cost would approach £50,000 a-year, exclusive of the cost of re-coinage, and this amount would be increased by an increased circulation. The noble Lord will find some interesting particulars in the Joint Report of Mr. Graham, late Master of the Mint, and of Colonel Smith, the Master of the Calcutta Mint, laid before Parliament in 1869.