§
Motion made, and Question proposed,
That a Supplementary sum, not exceeding £100, be granted to His Majesty, to defray the Charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1929, for the Salaries and Expenses of the Mint, including the Expenses of Coinage, and the Expenses of the preparation of Medals, Dies for Post-age and other Stamps, and His Majesty's Seals.
Mr. SAMUELThe fineness of our silver coinage was reduced in 1920 from.925 to.500. The reason for this change 1510 in the coinage in the content of silver was this. For the first time in many generations the bullion value of silver coin on being melted was greater than the face value of the coin. We have therefore arranged to melt down the.925 coins and issue.500 in their place. This year a greater amount of silver coin has come in for recoinage than we had anticipated. We had anticipated £3,000,000, as will be seen on page 5 of the White Paper, and our revised estimate is for £2,500,000 more. As a matter of fact, no charge will fall upon the public, purse although the token vote of £100 is necessary owing to the larger withdrawal of the coins, and the increase of appropriations-in-aid. I ant bound to present these figures, and let the Committee know what is going on. The result of the recoinage will be that all the expenses will be paid, and although I cannot commit myself to the actual figures, I think that a sum of somewhere in the neighbourhood of £400,000 will eventually come into the public purse as the result of these operations.
§ Sir R. HAMILTONI do not quite understand whether it was intended to call in all the silver of the higher denominations gradually, and debased on this system gradually, and so make a large profit to the Treasury until we have got it all down to the.500 level.
Mr. SAMUELThe Act of 1920 answers my hon. Friend's question. The fineness of our silver currency was reduced by the Coinage Act of 1920. The whole of it has not yet been called in, but as it comes in, it will be dealt with in accordance with the Act of 1920.
§ Question put, and agreed to.