Civilized countries generally adopt gold or silver or both as money.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
It is important to realize that gold and silver are international commodities and that, therefore, when not prohibited by government decree, foreign coins are perfectly capable of serving as standard moneys.
As a precious metal, silver is also money.
Gold and silver, like other commodities, have an intrinsic value, which is not arbitrary, but is dependent on their scarcity, the quantity of labour bestowed in procuring them, and the value of the capital employed in the mines which produce them.
All the gold which is under or upon the earth is not enough to give in exchange for virtue.
Silver and gold are not the only coin; virtue too passes current all over the world.
Money, not morality, is the principle commerce of civilized nations.
When goods are exchanged between countries, they must be paid for by commodities or gold. They cannot be paid for by the notes, certificates, and checks of the purchaser's country, since these are of value only in the country of issue.
Gold, on the contrary, though of little use compared with air or water, will exchange for a great quantity of other goods.
Commodities such as gold and silver have a world market that transcends national borders, politics, religions, and race. A person may not like someone else's religion, but he'll accept his gold.
Gold is a great thing to sew into your garments if you're a Jewish family in Vienna in 1939, but I think civilized people don't buy gold, they invest in productive businesses.