Piastre Maravedie *Rial Vellon Piece of four Pis * Rial Vellon is five cents, twenty of which make a dollar. EXCHANGES. EXCHANGE may be compared with barter; as it is the paying or receiving of money in one country for its equivalent in the money of another, by means of bills of exchange. Or it has been more fully defined as the reduction of different coins, or any denominations of money, from one to another: or, as the method of finding how many of one species or denomination are equal to a given number of another: in order to which it is necessary to know the value of the coins of different countries, and the proportion to each other, according to the settled rate of exchange. The several operations in this case, are only different applications of the rule of three. The par of exchange is the real or intrinsic value of the different species of foreign money equalized to those of England, and vice versa. Thus the par between England and Ireland is 8 per cent. or 108/. 6s. 8d. Irish are equal to 100%. English; the English shilling being current in that country for 13d. consequently the pound sterling is 17. 18. 8d. Therefore when the exchange from London on Dublin is 127. per cent, there is a profit or saving of 3l. 13s. 4d. per cent. on every 100/. sterling remitted to Ireland. The course of exchange is the current price of a sum of money between two places. This price is constantly fluctuating, according to the circumstances of trade, or as cash or bills are more or less plentiful; and fluctuating thus, it is seldom at par, but generally either above or below it. Usance is the usual term of bills between certain places; as, one, two, or three months after date; and double usance, treble, or half, means double treble, or half the usual time. When necessary to divide a month upon half usance, the division contains fifteen days. Days of grace are a certain number of days exceeding the term expressed, which are generally granted before the bill is paid. The number of these days varies according to the custom of different countries. In the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, three days grace are allowed: but, if the last of three days happen upon a Sunday, the bill becomes payable on the preceding day. In Holland there are two sorts of money, bank or banco, and |