in the gold and silver currency. Shillings
were coined for the first time in the reign of Henry VII, a pound
weight of standard silver being coined into 37 shillings and 6 pence.
In 1527 Henry VIII had the same amount of metal coined into 40
shillings, and later in the year, into 45 shillings. In 1543 coin
silver was changed from the old standard of 11 ounces 2 pennyweights
of pure silver to 18 pennyweights of alloy, so as to consist of 10
ounces of silver to 2 ounces of alloy; and this was coined into 48
shillings. In 1545 the coin metal was made one-half silver, one-half
alloy; in 1546, one-third silver, two-thirds alloy; and in 1550,
one-fourth silver, three-fourths alloy. The gold coinage was
correspondingly though not so excessively debased. The lowest point of
debasement for both silver and gold was reached in 1551. In 1560 Queen
Elizabeth began the work of restoring the currency to something like
its old standard. The debased money was brought to the mints, where
the government paid the value of the pure silver in it. Money of a
high standard and permanently established weight was then issued in
its place. Much of the confusion and distress prevalent during the
reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI was doubtless due to this selfish
and unwise monetary policy.

At about the same time a new influence on the national currency came
into existence. Strenuous but not very successful efforts had long
been made to draw bullion into England and prevent English money from
being taken out. Now some of the silver and gold which was being
extorted from the natives and extracted from the mines of Mexico and
Peru by the Spaniards began to make its way into England, as into
other countries of Europe. These American sources of supply became
productive by about 1525, but very little of this came into general
European circulation or reached England till the middle of the
century. After about 1560, however, through trade, and sometimes by
even more direct routes, the amount of gold and silver money in
circulation in England increased enormously. No reliable statistics
exist, but there can be little doubt that the amount of money in
England, as in Europe at large, was doubled, trebled, quadrupled, or
perhaps increased still more largely within the next one hundred
years.

This increase of money produced many effects. One of the most
important was its effect on prices. These had begun to rise in the
early part of the century, principa