A Brief Look at Currency Debasement
Ever since the first metal coins were produced, counterfeiting and debasement have always been lurking around the corner.
Once upon a time, coins actually contained precious metals such as gold and silver. Some of these old coins were made by using a mix of base metals along with the precious metals. The debasement of these coins became common practice.
Coin debasement is a process where precious metals are taken out of the coins and replaced with a lower value metal. The coins would keep the same face value and would remain in circulation, but the intrinsic value would be a lot lower.
Old Methods of Debasement
One method was known as “sweating”. This would involve a load of coins being placed in a bag and shaken vigorously until bits of the edges of the coins would come off and drop to the bottom of the bag. These bits and pieces would then be collected.
Another method of doing this was known as “clipping”. This would involve shaving or ‘clipping’ the edges of the coins to remove some of the metal. Once enough had been collected, new counterfeit coins could be made.
At times, this would happen so much that the coins ended up weighing a lot less. This would eventually mean that the coin itself was worth far less than its face value. You…
