BIMETALLISM  . The very See also:

• GENERAL
• GENERAL (Lat. generalis, of or relating to a genus, kind or class)

general employment of both See also:

• GOLD
• GOLD [symbol Au, atomic weight 195.7(H = 1),197.2(0 =16)]

gold and See also:

• SILVER

silver for currency purposes (see See also:

• MONEY

MONEY) has given rise to serious See also:

• PRACTICAL

practical difficulties which have in turn led to keen theoretical discussion as to the proper remedies to be employed . Though every arrangement under which two metals See also:

• FORM (Lat. forma)

form the money of a region may be described as " bimetallism," the See also:

• TERM

term—as often happens in See also:

• ECONOMICS

economics—has received a specialized meaning . It denotes a See also:

• SYSTEM

system under which the two metals are freely received by the See also:

• MINT
• MINT (Lat. moneta; Mid. Eng. mynt)

mint and are equally available as legal See also:

• TENDER

tender . The last clause implies the See also:

• ESTABLISHMENT (0. Fr. establissement, Fr. etablissement, late Norm. Fr. establishement, from O. Fr. establir, Fr. etablir, Lat. stabilire, to make stable)

establishment of a definite ratio in value between the two metals (e.g. r oz. of gold= 151 oz. of silver) so that the See also:

• TITLE (0. Fr. title, mod. titre, from Lat. titulus)

title " rated bimetallism " may be given to it, in contradistinction to the " unrated bimetallism " which exists wherever two metals circulate together, but have their relative values determined, not by See also:

• LAW
• LAW (0. Eng. lagu, M. Eng. lawe; from an old Teutonic root lag, " lie," what lies fixed or evenly; cf. Lat. lex, Fr. loi)
• LAW, JOHN (1671—1729)
• LAW, WILLIAM (1686-1761)

law, but by " the higgling of the See also:

• MARKET (Lat. mercatus, trade or place of trade)

market." Further, the inventor of the term—H . See also:

• CERNUSCHI, HENRI (1821-1896)

Cernuschi in 1869—regarded it as properly applicable to an See also:

• INTERNATIONAL, THE

international arrangement by which a number of states agree to adopt the same ratio, rather than to the use of the two metals by a single See also:

• COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country, which may be described as See also:

• NATIONAL

national bimetallism . Inter-national bimetallism is at all events the form which has attracted See also:

• ATTENTION (from Lat. ad-tendo, await, expect; the condition of being " stretched " or " tense ")

attention in See also:

• RECENT

recent times, and it is certainly the most important . Regarded from the See also:

• HISTORICAL

historical point of view it appears that the failure of See also:

• SEPARATE

separate countries to maintain the two metals in circulation was the cause which produced the See also:

• IDEA (Gr. Ibia, connected with i&eiv, to see; cf. Lat. species from specere, to look at)

idea of bimetallism as an international system . We find first the upholders of a national See also:

• DOUBLE
• DOUBLE (from the Mid. Eng. duble, the form which gives the present pronunciation, through the Old Er. duble, from Lat. duplus, twice as much)

double See also:

• STANDARD
• STANDARD, BATTLE OF THE

standard, as in See also:

• FRANCE
• FRANCE, ANATOLE (1844– )

France and the See also:

• UNITED

United States, and these are followed by the See also:

• ADVOCATES, FACULTY OF

advocates of bimetallism set up by a See also:

• COMBINATION (Lat. combinare, to combine)

combination of countries . The theoretical considerations which underlie the controversy between the supporters and the opponents of bimetallism find their appropriate See also:

• PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place in the See also:

• ARTICLE (from Lat. articulus, a joint)

article MONEY, as does also the earlier See also:

• HISTORY

history of the double standard . The circumstances that have led to the prominence of the bimetallic question and the See also:

• PRINCIPAL

principal events that have marked the course of the mcvement form the subject of this article . In the earlier years of the 19th See also:

• CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century, when the monetary disturbances that resulted from the Revolutionary See also:

• WARS

wars had ceased, we find France (1803) and the United States (1792) with the double standard legally established .

See also:

• ENGLAND
• ENGLAND, THE CHURCH OF

England, on the other See also:

• HAND
• HAND (a word common to Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Hand, Goth. handus)
• HAND, FERDINAND GOTTHELF (1786-185r)

hand, had in 1816 accepted by law the gold standard, which had come into use in the 18th century . Silver formed the currency of the other See also:

• EUROPEAN

European countries . The See also:

• GREAT

great discoveries of gold in See also:

• CALIFORNIA
• CALIFORNIA, LOWER (Baja California)
• CALIFORNIA, UNIVERSITY OF

California (1848) and See also:

• AUSTRALIA

Australia (1851) brought about the displacement of silver by gold in France, and the continuance of gold as the principal currency See also:

• METAL
• METAL (through Fr. from Lat. metallum, mine, quarry, adapted from Gr. µATaXAov, in the same sense, probably connected with ,ueraAAdv, to search after, explore, µeTa, after, aAAos, other)

metal in the United States, where by the law of 1834 it had been somewhat over-rated (I :16), as compared with the ratio adopted in France (I :152), and had therefore expelled most of the silver previously in circulation . Between 1848 and 186o over 1oo,000,000 of gold was coined in France, while an See also:

• EQUIVALENT

equivalent amount of silver was exported, principally to the See also:

• EAST
• EAST, ALFRED (1849- )

East . At this See also:

• TIME (0. Eng. Lima, cf. Icel. timi, Swed. timme, hour, Dan. time; from the root also seen in " tide," properly the time of between the flow and ebb of the sea, cf. O. Eng. getidan, to happen, " even-tide," &c.; it is not directly related to Lat. tempus)
• TIME, MEASUREMENT OF
• TIME, STANDARD

time the See also:

• WEIGHT

weight of economic and See also:

• OFFICIAL (Late Lat. QJicialis, for class. Lat. apparitor, from officium, office, duty)

official See also:

• OPINION (Lat. opinio, from opinari, to think)

opinion was very decidedly in favour of the single gold standard as the best system . In 1865 the Latin See also:

• UNION
• UNION (known locally as Union Hill and officially as Town of Union)

Union was established, in which the See also:

• FRENCH
• FRENCH, DANIEL CHESTER (1850– )
• FRENCH, NICHOLAS (1604-1678)

French currency system was adopted and was followed by the international See also:

• CONFERENCE

conference of 1867 in See also:

• PARIS
• PARIS (also called ALEXANDROS)
• PARIS, ALEXIS PAULIN (1800-x881)
• PARIS, BRUNO PAULIN GASTON (1839-1903)
• PARIS, FRANCOIS DE (169o-1727)
• PARIS, LOUIS PHILIPPE ALBERT
• PARIS, TREATIES OF (1814-1815)

Paris (see MONETARY CONFERENCES), when gold was unanimously accepted as the standard for the proposed international system to be produced by co-ordinating the various currencies with that of the Latin Union . A See also:

• SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

series of See also:

• POLITICAL

political and economic events speedily changed this situation . The Franco-See also:

• GERMAN
• GERMAN, DUTCH AND SCANDINAVIAN

German See also:

• WAR
• WAR (O. Eng. werre, Fr. guerre, of Teutonic origin; cf. O.H.G. werran, to confound)

War (187o-71) deposed France from her leading position, and led to the establishment of a German gold currency with a different unit from the See also:

• FRANC

franc, accompanied by the See also:

• DEMONETIZATION

demonetization of the silver currencies previously in use in the German states . The United States, where an inconvertible See also:

• PAPER
• PAPER (Fr. papier, from Lat. papyrus)

paper currency had been introduced during the See also:

• CIVIL

Civil War, formally established the gold See also:

• DOLLAR

dollar as the standard See also:

• COIN
• COIN (older forms of the word are coyne, quoin and coign, all derived through the O. Fr. coing, and cuigne from Lat. cuneus, a wedge)

coin (1873) and arranged fora return to specie payments (1878) . At this time, too, the great See also:

• PRODUCTION (Lat. productionem, from producere, to pro-duce)

production of gold which had marked the See also:

• PERIOD
• PERIOD (Gr. irepioSos, a going or way round, circuit, aepi, round, and &Sis, way, road)

period 1850-187o diminished, while very productive silver mines were discovered in the Pacific states of See also:

• AMERICA

America . As a result of these combined influences the gold See also:

• PRICE
• PRICE, BARTHOLOMEW (1818–1898)
• PRICE, BONAMY (1807-1888)
• PRICE, RICHARD (1723-1791)

price of silver, which had risen a little during the height of the gold discoveries, began to fall rapidly, and the See also:

• REVERSE

reverse See also:

• PROCESS

process to that by which France had in the 'fifties acquired a gold currency came into operation . Silver, in accordance with See also:

• GRESHAM, SIR THOMAS (1519-1579)
• GRESHAM, WALTER QUINTON (1832-1895)

Gresham's Law, was imported and offered for coinage .

To obviate this the policy of limiting the coinage of silver (the Limping Standard) was adopted by the Latin Union . A further fall in the gold price of silver naturally resulted, and this made the position of Eastern See also:

• TRADE (O. Eng. trod, footstep, from tredan, to tread; in M. Eng. the forms teed, trod and trade appear, the last in the sense of a beaten track)
• TRADE, BOARD OF

trade and the finances of the See also:

• INDIAN

Indian See also:

• GOVERNMENT
• GOVERNMENT (0. Fr. governement, mod. gouvernement, O. Fr. governer, mod. gouverner, from Lat. gubernare, to steer a ship, guide, rule; cf. Gr. xv(3epvav)

government in-secure . See also:

• AMERICAN

American silver producers, and the German government, as holders of a large See also:

• MASS (O.E. maesse; Fr. messe; Ger. Messe; Ital. messa; from eccl. Lat. missa)
• MASS, IN

mass of demonetized silver, were also sufferers by the depreciation . The effect on public and official opinion was shown by the See also:

• ENGLISH

English See also:

• PARLIAMENTARY

parliamentary See also:

• COMMITTEE (from commute, an Anglo-Fr. past participle of commettre, Lat. committere, to entrust; the modern Fr. equivalent comite is derived from the Eng.)

committee on the depreciation of silver (1876), the American silver See also:

• COMMISSION (from Lat. commissio, committere)

commission of the same See also:

• YEAR

year, and the See also:

• APPEARANCE (from Lat. apparere, to appear)

appearance of many See also:

• WORKS

works on the subject, most of them advocating the double standard . On the initiative of the United States an international monetary conference met in Paris in 1878, but though the See also:

• NECESSITY (Lat. necessitas)

necessity of keeping a place for silver in the money of the See also:

• WORLD

world was recognized, the proposal to adopt the double standard for general use was rejected by the European states . By the Bland-See also:

• ALLISON, WILLIAM BOYD (1829-1908)

Allison See also:

• ACT (Lat. actus, actum)

Act (Feb . 1878) the United States had provided for the coinage of a certain amount of silver per See also:

• MONTH
• MONTH (a common Teutonic word, cf. Ger. Mond, Du. maand, Dan. maaned, &c., and cognate with Lat. mensis, Gr. µi7v, &c., in other branches of the Indo-Germanic family; all ultimately from the root seen in the word for the moon in nearly all those languages

month as a mode of keeping up the price of the metal, which notwithstanding See also:

• FELL
• FELL, JOHN (1625-1686)

fell to 48 pence per oz. in 1879 . The prolonged depression of trade in America and See also:

• GERMANY
• GERMANY (Ger. Deutschland)

Germany was attributed to the scarcity of money, due to what was described as " the See also:

• OUTLAWRY

outlawry of silver." By the See also:

• JOINT (through Fr. from Lat. junctum, jungere, to join)

joint See also:

• ACTION

action of France and the United States a fresh monetary conference was held in Paris in 1881, where the advocates of bimetallism were very strongly represented . After prolonged discussion no conclusion was reached, in consequence of the refusal of England and Germany to abandon the gold standard . Though an See also:

• ADJOURNMENT (through the French from the Late Lat. adjurnare, to put off until or summon for another day)

adjournment to the following year was resolved on, the conference did not reassemble, and the bimetallic See also:

• MOVEMENT

movement took the form of agitation, carried on in each country . The English inquiry into the depression of trade (1885-1886) See also:

• DREW
• DREW, SAMUEL (1765-1833)

drew from the commission a recommendation for a fresh commission to investigate the relation of gold and silver . This latter See also:

• BODY

body, appointed in 1886, obtained a great body of important See also:

• EVIDENCE (Lat. evidentia, evideri, to appear clearly)

evidence, and in 1888 closed its See also:

• WORK

work by a See also:

• REPORT (O.Fr. report or raport, modern rapport, from O.Fr. reporter, mod. rap porter, Lat. reportare, to bring back, in poetical use only, of bringing back an account, news, &c.)

report in which the views of the two sections of the commission were separately presented .

Six members supported the existing gold standard and six were in favour of the bimetallic system . This inconclusive result was soon followed in the United States by the See also:

• SHERMAN
• SHERMAN, JOHN (x823-1900)
• SHERMAN, ROGER (1721–1793)

Sherman Act (189o), providing for a larger monthly coinage of silver . A temporary rise in the price of the metal was followed by a further fall, making the situation still more See also:

• CRITICAL (in alphabetical order of authors)

critical . A new monetary conference was summoned by the United States and met in See also:

• BRUSSELS (Fr. Bruxelles, Flem. Brussel)

Brussels in See also:

• NOVEMBER (Lat. novem, nine)

November 1892 . To modify opposition the " desirability of increasing the use of silver " was the See also:

• RESOLUTION

resolution proposed; the actual method being See also:

• LEFT

left open . This conference also proved abortive and adjourned to 1893, but like that of 1881 did not meet again . International action having failed to secure any system of bimetallism, the United States and See also:

• INDIA
• INDIA, FRENCH

India sought to relieve their position by See also:

• LOCAL

local legislation . The former repealed the Sherman94 ? Act, and the latter closed its mints to the See also:

• FREE

free coinage of silver (1893) . As these See also:

• MEASURES

measures were opposed to bimetallism in that they restricted the use of silver, and were followed by a See also:

• LOWER

lower price for that metal than had ever been known, the agitation in the United States and See also:

• EUROPE

Europe continued . In America it took the form of advocating the free coinage of silver by the United States without waiting for other countries; and in this shape made the principal issue at the presidential elections of 1896 and 'goo, in each of which it was emphatically rejected . A further See also:

• ATTEMPT (Lat. adtemptare, attentare, to try)

attempt at securing international bimetallism was made by Senator See also:

• WOLCOTT, ROGER (1679-1767)

Wolcott's commission in 1897 .

The American envoys, in See also:

• CONCERT (through the French from Lat. con-, with, and certare, to strive)

concert with the French government, proposed to England (1) the reopening of the Indian mints, and (2) the See also:

• ANNUAL

annual See also:

• PURCHASE

purchase by England of £Io,000,000 of silver . The French See also:

• MINISTER (Lat. minister, servant)

minister claimed further concessions which were regarded as inadmissible by the English government; but the See also:

• FATE

fate of the See also:

• MISSION

mission was settled by the refusal of the Indian government to reopen its mints . After the American See also:

• ELECTION
• ELECTION (from Lat. eligere, to pick out)

election of 1900, bimetallism as a popular cause disappeared from view . The silver issue was withdrawn from the democratic See also:

• PLATFORM (Fr. plateforme, i.e. ground plan)

platform in 1904, and the bimetallic movement died out in England . Amongst the causes of this collapse the most important are: (1) the See also:

• ADOPTION (Lat. adoptio, for adoptalio, from adoptare, to choose for oneself)

adoption of the gold standard by so many countries—See also:

• AUSTRIA
• AUSTRIA, LOWER (Ger. Niederosterreich or Osterreich unter der Enns, " Austria below the river Enns ")
• AUSTRIA, UPPER (Ger. Oberosterreich or Osterreich ob der Enns, " Austria above the river Enns ")

Austria-See also:

• HUNGARY
• HUNGARY (Hungarian Magyarorszdg)

Hungary (1892), See also:

• RUSSIA
• RUSSIA (Rossiya)

Russia and See also:

• JAPAN

Japan (1897), India (1899), See also:

• MEXICO
• MEXICO (Span. Mejico, or Mexico,)
• MEXICO, FEDERAL DISTRICT OF
• MEXICO, GULF OF

Mexico (1904)—a movement which pointed to the See also:

• COMPLETE

complete See also:

• TRIUMPH (triumphus)

triumph of gold in the future; (2) the great increase in the output of gold . Australia and See also:

• SOUTH
• SOUTH, ROBERT (1634–1716)

South See also:

• AFRICA
• AFRICA, ROMAN

Africa so See also:

• DEVELOPED

developed their gold mines as to bring the yield for 1906 to £81,000,000 as contrasted with the less than 20,000,000 of 1883 . This growing See also:

• SUPPLY (through Fr. from Lat. supplere, to fill up)

supply removed all that dread of a " gold See also:

• FAMINE (Lat. fames, hunger)

famine " which served as a popular See also:

• ARGUMENT

argument with bimetallists . To these may be added (3) the knowledge that experience had brought of the difficulties surrounding any attempt to establish a See also:

• COMMON

common ratio where the interests of different countries are so opposed; and (4) the great expansion of trade and See also:

• INDUSTRY (Lat. industria, from indu-, a form of the pre, position in, and either stare, to stand, or struere, to pile up)

industry, concomitantly with the wider adoption of the gold standard . Therefore, to quote the words of perhaps the ablest See also:

• ADVOCATE (Lat. advocatus, from advocare, to summon, especially in law to call in the aid of a counsel or witness, and so generally to summon to one's assistance)

advocate of bimetallism, " The outcome of the prolonged controversy . . . appears to be that the commercial world will carry on its business principally and more and more on a gold basis, and that particular countries will endeavour in different ways to adjust their actual See also:

• MEDIUM

medium . . . to the gold standard " (See also:

• NICHOLSON, HENRY ALLEYNE (1844-1899)
• NICHOLSON, JOHN (1822-18J7)
• NICHOLSON, WILLIAM (1753-1815)
• NICHOLSON, WILLIAM (1784-1844)

Nicholson, Money and Monetary Problems, 6th ed.) . Perhaps the principal service rendered by the many able minds engaged in the movement will prove to be the See also:

• FULLER, ANDREW (1954-1815)
• FULLER, GEORGE (1822—1884)
• FULLER, M
• FULLER, MARGARET, MARCHIONESS
• FULLER, MELVILLE WESTON (1833-1910)
• FULLER, THOMAS (16o8-1661)
• FULLER, WILLIAM (1670--c. 1717)

fuller development of the more difficult parts of monetary theory and the additional See also:

• LIGHT

light thrown on the course of monetary history .

A proposal, sometimes confounded with bimetallism, is that for a standard composed of both gold and silver, which is better described as the Joint-standard or as Symmetallism .