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  • Essay / A look at the value of gold and silver as illustrated by Adam Smith in his book, The Wealth of Nations

    In the first book of The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith discusses variations in the proportion between the respective values ​​of Gold and Silver. Throughout history, these two metals have been considered valuable currencies. Before the discovery of mines in America, the difference in value between silver and gold was generally considered proportional, with one ounce of fine gold being considered equivalent to ten to twelve ounces of fine silver. More recently, values ​​have changed up to one ounce of fine gold to be equal to fourteen or fifteen ounces of fine silver. Over the years, the value of silver and gold is said to have fallen, but the decline in silver happened more quickly, which explains why gold became proportionately even more valuable than in the past. Smith asserts, however, that the gold and silver mines of America exceeded in fertility any that had ever before been known; the fertility of the silver mines had, it seems, been proportionally even greater than that of the gold mines. Since silver is more abundant than gold, although it is considered less valuable, it is certainly more important in many cases. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essayAdam Smith says that it would be absurd to infer that because an ounce of gold generally buys fourteen to fifteen ounces of silver, there is ordinarily in the market only fourteen or fifteen ounces of silver for one ounce of gold. The amount of silver that can be found on the market is probably worth more than gold. Adam Smith believes that the cheaper of the two metals is both more valuable and greater due to the quantity accessible. He explains: There are so many more buyers for cheap goods than for expensive goods that not only a greater quantity, but a greater value, can generally be sold. The total quantity of the cheap commodity must therefore generally be greater in proportion to the total quantity of the expensive commodity than the value of a certain quantity of the expensive commodity is in relation to the value of an equal quantity cheap merchandise. Money can be considered more valuable in the sense that it is used more often and more commonly. Silver even outperforms gold in certain cases, for example in French currency where silver predominates. In another case, silverware is said to be worth more than gold. Another way in which Adam Smith shows the greater importance of money is through the Spanish market. Although he admits that gold will always be more expensive, he believes that it is also cheaper in some senses. He declares that the product is declared cheap or expensive, not only according to the absolute magnitude or smallness of its usual price, but according to the absolute magnitude or smallness of its usual price, but according to whether this price is more or less higher than the lower so that it is possible to put it on the market for a considerable time. In Spain, at that time, gold was closer to its lowest price than silver because the tax on gold was five percent, while the tax on silver was ten percent. . So silver miners in this country are much more successful. It is therefore understandable that silver still played an important role in the monetary system at this time and was more important than gold in many cases. Although the value may differ in favor of gold, other factors come into play that increase the importance of silver. In the European market, the value of silver increased slightly due to the decline in.