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Show 56 ON TilE NATURE AND [cH. II. only kept \vithout difficulty or loss by those who may receive then1, but as they form the principal po.ssessions and 'veal th of society in this stage of its progress, they tnust naturally have been the subject of frequent exchanges, and their exchangeable value, in ccnsequencc, cotnpared with other comn1odities, '~ould be pretty generally known. It seen1s to be quite necessary indeed, that the commodity chosen for a 1nediun1 of exchange .should, in addition to the other qualities which may fit it for that purpose, be in such frequent use, as that its current value should be tolerably well established. A curious and striking proof of this, is that, not-withstanding the peculiar aptitude of the precious metals to perforn1 the functions of a medium of exchange, they had not been used for that purpose in Mexico at the period of its conquest by the Spaniards, although these 1netals \Vere in some degree of plenty as ornarnents, and although the want of some mediutn of exchange \vas clearly evinced by the use of the nuts of cacao for that purpose.* It is probable that as the practice of smelting and refining the ores of the precious tnetals had not yet been resorted to, the supply of then1 was not sufficiently steady, nor was the use of them sufficiently general to fit them for the purpose required. In Peru, where the precious metals \Vere found by the ·Spaniards in much g.reater abundance, the practice ·of smelting and refining the richest ores had begun to prevail, although no shafts had been sunk * Robertson's AJnerica, Vol. III. Book vii. p. 215. SEC. I.] l\iEASURES OF VALUE. 57 t~ any depth in the earth.:!(~ But in Peru the state of property was so peculiar, and so nearly approaching to a co1nmunity of goods, that a medium of exchange seen1s not to have been called for, at least, there is no account of the use of either of the precious metals or of any other comn1odity in the capacity of n1oney. In the Old World, the art of sn1elting and refining the ores of gold, silver, and copper, seems to have been known to some of the most improved nations of ""rhich \Ve have accounts, fi·om the earliest ages; .and as soon as the annual accumulations of these metals and the means used to obtain them had rendered their supply to a certain degree steady, and they had been introduced into common use in the shape of ornaments, instruments, and utensils, their other peculiar and appropriate qualities, such as their durability, .divisibility, uniformity of substance, and great value in a small compass, would naturally point the1n out as the best commodity that could be selected to answer the purpose of a 1neasure of value and medium of exchange. But when they were adopted as the general measure of value, it would follow of course that all commodities \Voulcl be most frequently compared ,vith this measure. The precious metals 'vould be, on aln1ost all occasions, the commodity named, and might properly, therefore, be called the notninal value of the comtnodities to the n1easure of which they were applied. * Robertson's America, Vol. III. Book vii. p. 252. |
