to a certain share of real property existing in those
societies. The money is only genuine when the property it gives claim to
is real, or the advantages it gives claim to certain; otherwise, it is
false money, and may be considered as much 'forged' when issued by a
government, or a bank, as when by an individual. Thus, if a dozen of
men, cast ashore on a desert island, pick up a number of stones, put a
red spot on each stone, and pass a law that every stone marked with a
red spot shall give claim to a peck of wheat;--so long as no wheat
exists, or can exist, on the island, the stones are not money. But the
moment as much wheat exists as shall render it possible for the society
always to give a peck for every spotted stone, the spotted stones would
become money, and might be exchanged by their possessors for whatever
other commodities they chose, to the value of the peck of wheat which
the stones represented. If more stones were issued than the quantity of
wheat could answer the demand of, the value of the stone coinage would
be depreciated, in proportion to its increase above the quantity needed
to answer it.

149. Again, supposing a certain number of the men so cast ashore were
set aside by lot, or any other convention, to do the rougher labour
necessary for the whole society, they themselves being maintained by the
daily allotment of a certain quantity of food, clothing, etc. Then, if
it were agreed that the stones spotted with red should be signs of a
Government order for the labour of these men; and that any person
presenting a spotted stone at the office of the labourers, should be
entitled to a man's work for a week or a day, the red stones would be
money; and might--probably would--immediately pass current in the island
for as much food, or clothing, or iron, or any other article, as a man's
work for the period secured by the stone was worth. But if the
Government issued so many spotted stones that it was impossible for the
body of men they employed to comply with the orders,--as, suppose, if
they only employed twelve men, and issued eighteen spotted stones daily,
ordering a day's work each,--then the six extra stones would be forged
or false money; and the effect of this forgery would be the depreciation
of the value of the whole coinage by one-third, that being the period of
shortcoming which would, on the average, necessarily ensue in the
execution of each order. Much occasional work may be done in a state