Letter: Minted Gold. (1922)

Letter to the Editors from the October 1922 issue of the Socialist Standard

We have received the two following questions from Mr. W. A. Archer :—

1. Is minted gold, e.g., a sovereign, a commodity within the borders of the nation of issue?
2. What would be the attitude of the Executive of the S.P.G.B. towards the member of that party who disagreed with the explanation given in reply to question (1)?

Reply to W. A. Archer.

(1) A sovereign is issued for purposes of currency, under Government control, to ensure that fineness and weight of metal shall be constant in all new coins. To attempt to alter, or interfere, with either the fineness, weight or inscription of such coins is an illegal act. Technically the sovereign can only be used as currency inside the country of issue, and is, therefore, not a commodity.

It is true that on rare occasions jewellers take sovereigns and melt them down for use in their business, to save the time and trouble of assaying gold they might purchase in the ordinary way, but the quantity of sovereigns thus used is extremely small. Moreover, as it is impossible to distinguish minted gold after remelting from any other gold of the same fineness and colour, it is exceedingly difficult to detect such illegal occurrences unless the offender were “caught in the act.”

(2) The attitude of the Executive would be to judge any case brought before them on its merits, in the light of the declaration of principles and the constitution of the party.