"Money does not derive its value from the stamp of the government. Gold and silver were valuable before they were coined into money. It was their value, their universal value, a value less changeable than that of other articles of trade, which induced governments to coin them. They had value in every trading country, and in part of it, and their beauty made them precious, even with the barbarian and the savage. They were and are still a species of Universal Merchandize. Coining is measuring them. It facilitates trade in them, but does not their value otherwise than by increasing the for them."