232 ECONOMIC PRINCIPLES

more or less of their substance by wear and tear, and actual
coins would not yield the proportions calculated above.
Hence, if coin needs to be gathered from the mass in
circulation in order to provide gold for export, a small extra
cost may be involved, even if only heavy coins are selected
for export, and the lighter coins restored to internal
circulation. In the case of exchange between England
and other countries, it is worth noting that gold can
sometimes be procured in the London market at a price
somewhat below the mint value. The mint strikes coins at
the rate of £3, 17s. 104d. per ounce Troy of standard gold.
The market price sometimes sinks to as low as £ 3, 17s. od.,
the price at which the Bank of England buys gold. On the
other hand, it sometimes rises above the mint price, for
considerations of convenience, and the loss in handling coin
owing to the wear and tear involved, make it worth while to
pay up to £3, 18s. od. or even a fraction beyond, for bar gold
for export. The range is, however, small, so that there may
be said to be a practical fixity in the price at which gold can
be procured for export. Similarly, gold brings a practically
fixed price, which is substantially that at which it is turned
into coin, in Paris. Since the amount of gold in a sovereign
is equal to the gold whose mint value at Paris is 2 5 francs 22
centimes, and since it costs about 4 per mille, or 10 centimes
in the pound sterling, to cover cost of transport between
London and Paris, including insurance and commission, the
shipment nets 25 francs 12 centimes to the sovereign, If,
then, exchange reach this point, the shipment of gold will
yield the regular commission, and bills can be drawn against
such shipments as extensively as may be necessary to meet
the demand, or the metal may be otherwise used for the
settlement of payments due. Conversely, with exchange at
25 francs 32 centimes to the pound, a shipment of gold from
Paris to London becomes worth while. These are the
“gold points” which, as shown above, form the ordinary
limits to the fluctuations of exchange between Paris and
London. It was pointed out that gold is sometimes to be
bought at a rate somewhat cheaper than the mint valuation,
and this fact, with the fact that, under special circumstances.