An Essay Upon Money and Coins. Part I. The Theories of Commerce, Money, and Exchanges. [bound with] Part II. Wherein is shewed, That the Established Standard of Money should not be violated or altered, under any pretence whatsoever. - Joseph Harris 1757-58 - Sold by G. Hawkins at the Middle Temple Gate, London - First Edition A finely bound first edition of ‘this influential 1757 work, considered by the Victorian economist J. R. McCulloch as 'one of the best and most valuable treatises on the subject of money that has ever seen the light', argues that it is vital to a country's economy that the value of precious metal in its coinage remains constant’ – Cambridge University Press.

‘One of the best eighteenth-century performances in the field of monetary analysis’. – Schumpeter,
History of Economic Analysis.
  Provenance: Marquess of Hertford, Ragley Hall, with their armourial bookplate (Fide et Amore).

Joseph Harris (1704–64) was equally distinguished as an astronomer and as an expert on coinage. From a humble background, he came to the attention of Edmond Halley, the Astronomer Royal. He spent some time making astronomical observations in South America and the West Indies, and familiarised himself with marine navigational practice, proposing improvements to measuring equipment and publishing a very popular instructional work on the uses of globes and orreries. He later observed the 1761 transit of Venus from Wales. Harris entered the Royal Mint in 1736, and became the King's Assay Master in 1749.’ - C.U.P.

Contents: Part I. The Theories of Commerce, Money, and Exchanges: Dedication; Preface; 1. Of the nature and origin of wealth and commerce; 2. Of money and coins; 3. Of exchanges. Part II. Wherein is Shewed, that the Established Standard of Money Should Not Be Violated or Altered, under Any Pretence Whatsoever: Dedication; Preface; 1. A summary account of all the adulterations that have been made in our standard of money; 2. The established standard of money.

References: Cambridge University Press (C.U.P.). Goldsmiths 9259, 10182. Higgs,
Bibliography of Economics 1516. Kress 5614, 6382. McCulloch, A Select Collection of Scarce and Valuable Tracts on Money 251. Schumpeter, History of Economic Analysis 291. ESTC T58105, T58106.

Two parts bound into one octavo volume (21 x 13 cm), pp. [2] viii 128; xiv 130 [2].
  Bound in contemporary full mottled calf, spine intricately tooled and lettered in gilt, title to brown morocco label, marbled endpapers and page edges   Condition: Near fine some toning to endpapers and pages, in very good binding with rubbing to corners, spine ends and spine edges.   Ref: 107492   Price: HK$ 13,000