first time the
"_sovereign_," in 1489, of the value of twenty shillings. The "_crown_"
followed in 1527, of the value of ten shillings. "_Units_" and
"_lions_," were issued in 1603; the "_laurel_" 1633, and "_exurgats_,"
in 1642; all of the value of twenty shillings. The "_guinea_," of the
value of twenty-one shillings, was issued in 1663, of Guinea gold. In
1773 all gold coins, except the guinea, were called in and forbidden to
be circulated. The present sovereign was issued in 1817. The United
States "_half eagle_" was issued in 1793.

Gold, to the amount of $2,171,000,000, was obtained from the surface and
mines of the earth from the earliest times to the commencement of the
Christian era; from the date of the latter event, to the discovery of
America, $3,842,374,000 was obtained; from the date of the latter event
to the close of 1847 an addition of $3,056,000,000 was obtained; the
triple discovery of the California mines in 1848, the Australian in
1851, and the New Zealand in 1861, has added, to the close of 1884,
$5,558,626,000; making a grand total of $14,628,000,000, of which
$5,818,626,000 has been obtained since 1843. The average loss by
abrasion of coin is estimated by Professor Bowen at one-twentieth of one
per cent. per annum, and the loss by consumption in the arts, and by
fire and shipwreck, at $4,000,000 per annum. A cubic inch of gold is
worth, at 3L 17s. 10 1-2d., or $18.96 per ounce., $193; a cubic foot,
$333,504; and a cubic yard, $9,004,608.

Gold to the amount of $1,081,000,000, is estimated to have been in
existence at the commencement of the Christian era. At the period of the
discovery of America it had diminished to $135,000,000; after that
event, it gradually increased, and in 1600 it attained to $154,000,000,
in 1700 it reached $398,000,000, in 1800 it amounted to $1,156,000,000,
in 1853 it attained to $3,332,000,000, and at the present time the
amount of gold in existence is estimated to be $8,166,000,000; which, if
melted into one mass, could be contained in the basement of Bunker Hill
Monument, which is a cube of thirty feet. Of the amount of gold in
existence $6,000,000,000 is estimated to be in coin and bullion,
$1,000,000,000 in watches, and the remainder in plate, jewelry, and
ornaments. Of the amount of gold in existence $2,374,000,000 is
estimated to have been obtained from North America, $1,739,000,000 from
South America; $1,858,000,000 from Asia (including Australia, New
Zealand,