GOLD COINS FOR FRANCE

Evening Star, Issue 21073, 9 April 1932, Page 17

GOLD COINS FOR FRANCE

HELD UP BY FEAR OF HOARDING MINT’S HUGE SILVER OUTPUT. Preparations for striking gold coins of 100 francs (about £1 3s at present rate of exchange) each have been made by the French Mint. The design has already been chosen. The new coins will be very similar to the old pre-war louis of 20 francs. It has not yet been decided when the minting is to begin. At the moment the French Mint is busy striking 10-franc (2s 3d) silver pieces at the rate of 1J tons, or 150,000 coins, a day. There is now a stock of nearly 1,000,000,000 francs (£8,000,000 at par) of these silver coins; but it is hoarded in the vaults of the Bank of France, pending a decree which will release it for circulation. Asked when it was likely that these new silver coins would become currency, an official replied: “Not until after the elections.” BOTTLES AS MONEY-BOXES.

What chiefly causes hesitation about the issue of new coins is the fear that gold and silver will be hoarded instead of being circulated. Even the new 50 centime pieces in aluminium bronze, and worth about l£d each, are being hoarded. It has been discovered that these coins can bo passed through the neck of a wine bottle, and people all over the country are filling bottles with them. The Mint is turning them out at the rate of 200,000 a day owing to the hoarding habit, but there is still a shortage' of them. It is fully realised that gold and silver coins will have a similar fate and disappear from circulation almost as fast as they are issued.