Barbara Villiers: A History of Monetary Crimes

"The insidious crime of secretly or surreptitiously altering the monetary laws of a state - than which no more dastardly or fatal blow can be dealt at its liberties - is not a new one. There is a suggestion in the decree of B.C. 360, concerning the ancient iron money of Sparta, that Gylipus was not unfamiliar with this grave offence. In a later age, Pliny, who justly calls it 'a crime against mankind,' evidently refers to that alteration of the Roman mint code by which what remained of the nummulary system of the Republic was subverted, about B.C. 200, in favor of the authorised private coinages of the gentes." Despite its title, referring to a mistress of Charles II of England, this 1899 work mainly deals with America. Contents: The Crime of 1666 Silver The Coining Mill and Press The East India Company Barbara Villiers The Cattle and Coinage Bill Surrender of the Coinage Prerogative Bribery and Corruption The Crime of 1742 The Crime of 1868 The Crime of 1870 The Crime of 1873 Equitable Money At the time of original publication in 1899, Alexander Del Mar, M.E., was formerly Director of the Bureau of Statistics of the United States; Mining Commissioner to the United States Monetary Commission of 1976; and the author of a number of books, including: A History of Precious Metals, and The Science of Money.