English Translation of Copernicus's Monetae Cudendae Ratio
I’ve been fascinated about Copernicus’s Monetae Cudendae Ratio ever since I found out that he had written about monetary theory. I had read excerpts before, but had never seen a full English translation. Now, with the power of ChatGPT, I was able to read the text in English in its entirety. One of the most interesting aspects of his work is how he used historical records to infer how exchange rates between different coins changed over time.
Below is a copy of ChatGPT’s full English translation using the Latin text found here: https://www.intratext.com/IXT/LAT0488/. All errors are ChatGPT’s.
On the Minting of Coin
Chapter 1
Although there are innumerable plagues by which kingdoms, principalities, and republics are accustomed to decline, these four, in my judgment, are especially so: discord, mortality, the sterility of the land, and the debasement of money. The first three are so evident that no one is unaware that this is so; but the fourth, which concerns money, is considered by few and only the most prudent, because it does not overthrow states by a single blow all at once, but gradually, by a certain hidden process.
Money, moreover, is gold or silver stamped, by which the prices of things to be bought and sold are reckoned according to the ordinance of each state or its ruler. Money, therefore, is as it were a certain common measure of values. But that which ought to be a measure must always remain firm and preserve a fixed standard. Otherwise, the ordering of the state must necessarily be thrown into confusion, and buyers and sellers alike be defrauded in many ways, just as if a yard, a bushel, or a weight did not maintain a definite quantity. This measure of value I consider to be the valuation of the money itself, which, although it is founded on the quality of the material, nevertheless its value must be distinguished from its estimation; for money can be valued at more than the material of which it consists, and conversely.
The reason for establishing coinage is a necessary one; for although the exchange of goods could have been carried out solely by the weight of gold and silver—since by the common agreement of mankind gold and silver are everywhere held in value—nevertheless, because of the great inconvenience of always having to bring weights, and because the purity of gold and silver cannot at once be recognized by everyone, it was instituted that money be stamped with a public seal, by which it is indicated that a proper quantity of gold or silver is present, and trust is given to the authority.
Copper is also accustomed to be mixed with coinage, especially silver coinage, for two reasons (as I think): namely, so that it may be less exposed to the plots of those who would clip or melt it down, which would happen if it consisted of pure silver; and second, so that a mass of silver, when broken into small parts and pieces of coins, may retain, with copper added, a suitable size. A third reason may also be added: that it may not perish too quickly when worn down by continual use, but, strengthened by the support of copper, may endure longer.
A just and fair valuation of money, however, is when it contains a little less gold or silver than that for which it is bought, namely only so much as must be deducted for the expenses of the minting. For the stamp ought to add some dignity to the material itself.
This usually becomes debased because of excessive quantity—namely, if such a great supply of silver has been turned into coin that the mass of silver is desired by people more than the coin itself. In this way, the dignity of money perishes, when by means of it one is not permitted to buy as much silver as the money itself contains, and greater profit is perceived in melting down the silver for the destruction of the coin. The remedy for this is to mint no more money until it has equalized itself and becomes more valuable than silver.
Its value is also corrupted in many ways: either because of a defect in the material alone, when under the same weight of coin more copper than is proper is mixed with the silver; or because of a defect in weight, although it has a proper mixture of copper with silver; or, what is worst, because of both at the same time. Value also diminishes of itself and is worn down by long use, for which reason it ought only to be restored and renewed. The sign of this is if noticeably less silver is found in the coin than that for which it was bought, in which case a scarcity of money is rightly understood.
These general points about money having been set forth, let us now turn in particular to the Prussian currency, first showing how it has come to such a state of debasement.
It circulates under the names of marks, scots, etc., and under the same names there are also weights. For a mark by weight is half a pound. But a mark by count consists of sixty shillings, all of which are commonly known. However, lest the ambiguity of number and weight produce confusion, whenever the mark is mentioned hereafter, it is to be understood as a number; but by the name of pound, take the weight of two marks, and by half-pound, a mark by weight.
We find, therefore, in old records and written documents that under the magistracy of Conrad von Jungingen, that is, shortly before the Battle of Tannenberg, a half-pound—that is, a mark of pure silver—was bought for two Prussian marks and eight scots, when, namely, to three parts of pure silver a fourth part of copper was mixed, and from half a pound of that mass they made 112 shillings. To these, a third part added—namely 37 shillings and a third of a shilling—makes the whole sum 148 shillings and two pence, the weight of one pound lacking a third part of a half-pound, that is, 32 scots of silver, which without doubt contain three parts (that is, half a pound of pure silver). But it has already been said that its price was 140 shillings per half-pound. The remainder, which was lacking in nine and a third shillings, the valuation of the coin made up. Thus its estimation was suitably aligned with its value.
Coins of this kind are those of Henry, Ulrich, and Conrad, which are still sometimes found in hoards. Then, after the disaster of Prussia and the aforesaid war, the decline of the state began to appear more and more in the coinage day by day. For the shillings of Henry, though in appearance indeed similar to those mentioned above, are found no longer to contain more than three-fifths silver. And this corruption kept increasing, until, with the proportions reversed, they began to mix a fourth part of silver with three parts of copper, so that it would now more properly be called copper money rather than silver, although it still kept the weight of 112 shillings to the half-pound.
Since it is by no means fitting to introduce new and good money while the old and inferior remains, how much greater was the error here, when, with the better old money still remaining, they introduced a new, inferior kind, which not only infected the old, but, so to speak, drove it out. When, under the magistracy of Michael Küchmeister von Sternberg, they wished to oppose this error and restore the coinage to its former better condition, they minted new shillings, which we now call groschen; but since the old, inferior coins did not seem able to be withdrawn without loss, they remained in circulation together with the new ones, to notable detriment.
And two old shillings passed for one new one, and it then came about that a double mark was imposed upon the common people—namely, of the new shillings and of the old. Of the former, the mark was called new or good; of the latter, old or light, sixty shillings in each case. The obols, however, remained in their use, so that only six were exchanged for an old shilling, but twelve for a new one. For from the beginning a shilling can easily be inferred to have consisted of twelve obols. Just as we commonly call the number fifteen a “mandel,” so in many regions of Germany the word “schilling” endures for the number twelve. The designation “new shillings” persisted down to our memory; how they later became groschen I shall explain below.
Therefore, eight marks of the new shillings, at sixty to the mark, contained one pound of pure silver, as is sufficiently clear from their composition. For they consist of half copper and the other half silver, and eight such marks at sixty weigh nearly two pounds. The old shillings, however, though equal to them in weight, were worth only half as much; for since they had only a fourth part silver, sixteen marks came from a pound of pure silver, weighing four times as much.
Later, however, when the condition of the land was changed and the cities were granted the power of minting coin, and they exercised this new privilege, money increased in quantity but not in quality. They began to mix a fifth part of silver with four parts of copper in the old shillings, until twenty marks were exchanged for a pound of silver. Thus those new shillings, since they were now more than twice as good as the recent shillings, became scots, so that twenty-four were now reckoned to the light mark: therefore a fifth part of the goodness of the coin perished in the mark.
Afterward, when the new shillings—now made into scots—disappeared because they were also accepted in the March, it was decided to restore them at the valuation of groschen, that is, at three shillings, by a grave error wholly unworthy of such a council of nobles, as if Prussia could not do without them, although they were no better than fifteen denarii of the coin then current, where already quantity also depressed their valuation. The groschen therefore disagreed with the shillings, being worth a fifth or sixth part less than their fixed and deceptive and unjust valuation, and they detracted from the dignity of the shillings. Perhaps the injury had to be avenged in this way, just as the shillings had earlier wronged the groschen and forced them to become scots. But woe to you, Prussia, which, alas, pay the penalty for the ruin of a badly governed state.
Thus, while both the valuation and the value of money were everywhere declining, minting nevertheless did not wholly cease; and since there were not sufficient funds to make the later coinage equal to the former, a worse coin was always introduced after the earlier one, which overwhelmed and extinguished the goodness of the preceding, until the valuation of the shillings corresponded proportionally with the value of the groschen, and twenty-four light marks went for one pound of silver.
But by now at least the small remnant of the coin’s dignity ought to have remained, since no plan for its restoration was undertaken. Yet the practice or license of adulterating, clipping, and debasing the coinage, which had taken hold in the meantime, could not be stopped, nor does it cease to this day. For what it later became and in what condition it now stands—it is shameful and painful to tell. It has fallen today into such worthlessness that thirty marks scarcely contain one pound of silver.
What then remains, if no remedy is provided, except that Prussia hereafter, empty of gold and silver, should have purely copper coinage? From this it follows that the importation of foreign goods and all trade will soon perish. For which foreign merchant would wish to exchange his goods for copper money? And who among our own people will be able, in foreign lands, to purchase foreign wares with the same coin? Yet this great calamity of the Prussian state is scorned and disregarded by those whom it concerns, and they allow their most beloved fatherland—to which, after piety toward God, they owe not only the greatest duty but even their very lives—to slip and perish day by day through shameful negligence.
Since, therefore, the Prussian coinage and through it the whole country suffer from such great defects, only the goldsmiths and those skilled in the quality of metal profit from its miseries. For they gather from the mixed money the old coins, from which they sell the silver that has been melted out, always receiving more silver together with the mixed coin from the unskilled populace. But after those old shillings have completely disappeared, the next better ones are selected, leaving the heap of inferior coins behind.
Hence that common and continual complaint that gold, silver, grain, household wages, the labor of craftsmen, and whatever is customarily used in human affairs exceed their proper price; but in our sluggishness we do not consider that the dearness of all things arises from the debasement of the coinage. For prices also rise and fall according to the condition of the money—especially gold and silver, which we value not in bronze or copper, but in gold and silver. For we say that gold and silver are, as it were, the foundation of money, on which its valuation rests.
But someone will perhaps argue that debased money is more convenient for human use: namely, that it relieves people’s poverty, makes grain cheaper, and supplies the other necessities of mortal life more easily at a low price; whereas, through good money, everything becomes more expensive, and peasants and those burdened with annual rents are weighed down beyond their customary measure. Those to whom the right of minting coin has hitherto been granted will praise this opinion, in the hope of private profit; merchants and craftsmen, perhaps, will not oppose it, since they lose nothing on that account, for they sell their goods and wares according to the value of gold, and the more debased the coin, the greater the number of coins for which they exchange them.
But if they consider the common good, they certainly will not be able to deny that sound money is beneficial not only to the state but also to themselves and to every class of men, whereas debased money is harmful. Although this is sufficiently clear from many arguments, we also declare it to be true from experience itself, the teacher of things. For we see that those lands chiefly flourish which have good money, while those that use worse decline and perish. Indeed, Prussia flourished at the time when one Prussian mark was bought for two Hungarian florins, and when, as was stated above, two Prussian marks and eight scots were exchanged for a half-pound, that is, a mark of pure silver. But meanwhile, as the coinage has grown more and more debased day by day, our country also declines and, through this plague and other calamities, has been brought almost to its final ruin.
It is further evident that the very regions which use good money abound in excellent crafts and artisans, as well as in a plentiful supply of goods; and, on the contrary, where debased money is in use, idleness, sloth, and lazy ease neglect the cultivation both of good arts and of talents, and even the abundance of all things perishes. It has not yet passed from human memory that grain and provisions in Prussia were bought for a smaller number of coins when it still used good money. But now, as the coinage has become debased, we experience the price of all things that pertain to sustenance and human use rising.
From this it can be clearly seen that debased money nourishes idleness more than it relieves people’s poverty; nor will the raising of the coinage greatly burden those who pay rents, since, if they seem to pay more than usual to their lord, they will also sell the fruits of the land, livestock, and other such goods at a higher price. For the reciprocal exchange of giving and receiving will be balanced by a properly proportioned measure of money.
If, therefore, it pleases at last to restore Prussia, hitherto afflicted, through the restoration of its coinage, confusion arising from the variety of different mints in which it is to be struck must above all be avoided. For multiplicity hinders uniformity, and it is a greater task to keep several mints in proper order than one. Therefore, at most two places should be designated: one in the lands of the royal majesty, the other in the domain of the prince. In the first, coin should be struck which on one side bears the royal insignia, and on the other the emblem of the lands of Prussia. In the second mint, however, it should bear on one side the royal insignia, and on the other the device of the prince, so that both coinages may be subject to royal authority and, by his command, be in use and accepted throughout the whole realm. This matter will carry no small weight for the conciliation of minds and the unity of trade.
It will moreover be worthwhile that these two coinages be of one standard, value, and valuation, and that by vigilant care on the part of the state they may forever continue according to the ordinance now to be established. And that the princes on both sides should take no profit from the minting of coin, but only so much copper be added that the valuation slightly exceed the intrinsic value, so that the loss of expenses may be made good and the opportunity of melting down the coin be removed.
So that we may not again fall into the confusion of our own time, which the mixing of new coin with old has produced, it seems necessary that, once the new coin has been issued, the old be withdrawn and wholly abolished, and, according to the proportion of its value, exchanged for the new at the mints. Otherwise, the labor of renewing the coinage will be in vain, and the later confusion perhaps worse than the former. For the old coin will again corrupt the dignity of the new: when mixed, it will render the total sum deficient in just weight and excessively multiplied, and the inconvenience mentioned above will follow.
If anyone should still think this can be prevented by valuing the remaining old coins at so much less, in comparison with the new coinage, as their value is worse or inferior, this cannot be done without great error. For there is now such manifold diversity among groschen and shillings, and also among pennies, that individual coins could scarcely be valued according to the condition of their worth and distinguished from one another. Thus the introduction of a variety of coinage would produce inextricable confusion and increase the labors, annoyances, and other inconveniences of merchants and those making contracts. Therefore, it will always be better, in restoring the coinage, to abolish the old money entirely. A small loss must be borne once with equanimity—if indeed it can be called a loss, from which richer profit and more lasting benefit arise and the state gains growth.
To raise the Prussian coinage to its original dignity is most difficult and, after such a downfall, perhaps impossible; and any restoration of it is no small undertaking. Yet, according to the condition of these times, it seems it could suitably be renewed, so that at least it may return to twenty marks to the pound of silver, in this way: for the shillings let three pounds of copper be taken, and one pound of pure silver, minus half an ounce, or as much as must be deducted for expenses. Let a mass be melted from which twenty marks are made, which in exchange will be worth one pound, that is, two marks of silver. In the same way, scots or groschen and obols can also be made, as shall be decided.
2. On the ratio of silver to gold.
It was said above that gold and silver are the foundation in which the goodness of money resides. And what has been set forth about silver coinage can for the most part also be applied to gold. It remains for us to explain, in comparison, the ratio for exchanging gold and silver. First, therefore, it is necessary to determine what is the ratio of valuation of pure gold to pure or refined silver, so that we may descend from the general to the particular and from simple things to composite ones. Moreover, the same ratio holds between uncoined gold and silver as between coined gold and silver of the same degree; and again, the same ratio holds between coined gold and uncoined gold as between coined silver and uncoined silver, under the same degree of alloy and weight.
The purest gold that is found coined among us is the Hungarian florin; for these have the least admixture, and only perhaps so much as ought to be deducted for minting expenses, so that they are rightly exchanged for pure gold at the same weight, the dignity of the stamp supplying the deficiency of the florins. It follows, therefore, that the same ratio holds between uncoined pure silver and uncoined pure gold, and between that silver and Hungarian florins, with the weights unchanged. Now 110 Hungarian florins of just and equal weight, namely 72 grains each, make one pound (and by pound I always mean that which contains two marks by weight). By this argument we find that, commonly among all peoples, one pound of pure gold is worth as much as twelve pounds of pure silver.
We also find that formerly eleven pounds of silver were given for one of gold, for which reason it seems to have been established of old that ten Hungarian gold pieces should weigh the eleventh part of a pound. If today the same price held at that weight, we would have an easy conformity between Polish and Prussian coinage according to the ratio explained: for if about twenty marks are made from one pound of silver, there would result exactly two marks for a gold piece, in place of forty Polish groschen. But after it came into use that twelve parts of silver are given for one of gold, weight no longer agrees with price, so that ten Hungarian gold pieces redeem one pound of silver and an eleventh part of a pound.
Therefore, if from one pound of silver and its eleventh part twenty marks are made, the Polish and Prussian coinages will be correctly equalized in proportion, groschen to groschen, and two Prussian marks for one Hungarian gold piece. But the price of silver will be, for each half-pound, eight marks and ten shillings, or thereabout.
But if, indeed, the debasement of the coinage and the ruin of the country should be preferred, and such a small restoration and adjustment should seem too difficult, and it should be decided that fifteen Polish groschen remain to the mark, and two marks and sixteen scots to a Hungarian gold piece, this too may be accomplished without great trouble by the methods already described, if twenty-four marks are made from a pound of silver. Thus, indeed, it happened recently, when twelve marks were still the price for each half-pound of silver, and for that sum they were exchanged for Hungarian florins.
These things have been said by way of example and for guidance. For there are countless ways of establishing a coinage, nor is it possible to explain them all; but common agreement, after mature deliberation, will be able to determine this or that arrangement, as shall seem most suitable for the state. And if the coinage is rightly aligned with the Hungarian florin and no error is made, other florins too will easily be valued in comparison with it according to their gold and silver content.
Let this suffice to have been said about the restoration of the coinage, so that it may at least be understood by what means its dignity has fallen and how it can be restored, which I hope is clear from what has been said above.
3. Epilogue on the reform of the coinage.
Concerning the restoration and preservation of the coinage, the following points seem to require consideration:
First, that the coinage not be altered without the mature counsel of the nobles and a unanimous decree.
Second, that only one place for the mint, if possible, be designated, where coin would be struck not in the name of a single city, but of the whole land with its insignia; the coinage of Poland shows the effectiveness of this view, for this reason alone it retains its valuation over so wide a territory.
Third, that upon the issue of the new coinage, the old be prohibited and abolished.
Fourth, that it be inviolably and unchangeably observed forever that only twenty marks, and no more, be made from one pound of pure silver, deducting what must be taken for minting expenses. In this way the Prussian coinage will be proportioned to the Polish, so that twenty Prussian groschen together with Polish ones will make a Prussian mark.
Fifth, that excessive quantity of coinage be avoided.
Sixth, that the coinage be issued in all its denominations at the same time: that is, that scots or groschen, shillings, and obols be struck together.
As to how great the admixture should be, whether groschen and shillings be made, and whether also silver pennies worth a ferton, half a mark, or even a whole mark—this lies in the decision of those concerned, provided only that a standard be set and so determined that it remain forever in the future.
Account must also be taken of the obols, which now are of so little value that a whole mark scarcely contains more than the silver of a single groschen.
The final difficulty, however, arises from contracts and obligations made before and after the reform of the coinage. In these a method must be found so that those making agreements are not excessively burdened, as was done in former times, as is clear from what is written on the other side of this page.