Theexchange—valueofthecommoditythusacquiresonlyaseeminglyindependentexistence。Wehaveseen,ontheotherhand,thatgold,whenitfunctionsonlyasspecie,thatiswhenitisperpetuallyincirculation,doesindeedrepresentmerelytheinterlinkingofthemetamorphosesofcommoditiesandtheirephemeralexistenceasmoney。Goldrealisesthepriceofonecommodityonlyinordertorealisethatofanother,butitneverappearsasexchange—valueinastateofrestorevenacommodityinastateofrest。Therealitywhichinthisprocesstheexchange—valueofcommoditiesassumes,andwhichisexpressedbygoldincirculation,ismerelytherealityofanelectricspark。Althoughitisrealgold,itfunctionsmerelyasapparentgold,andinthisfunctionthereforeatokenofitselfcanbesubstitutedforit。
Thetokenofvalue,sayapieceofpaper,whichfunctionsasacoin,representsthequantityofgoldindicatedbythenameofthecoin,andisthusatokenofgold。Adefinitequantityofgoldassuchdoesnotexpressavaluerelation,nordoesthetokenwhichtakesitsplace。
Thegoldtokenrepresentsvalueinsofarasadefinitequantityofgold,becauseitismaterialisedlabour—time,possessesadefinitevalue。Buttheamountofvaluewhichthetokenrepresentsdependsineachcaseuponthevalueofthequantityofgoldrepresentedbyit。Asfarascommoditiesareconcerned,thetokenofvaluerepresentstherealityoftheirpriceandconstitutesatokenoftheirpriceandatokenoftheirvalueonlybecausetheirvalueisexpressedintheirprice。InthecircuitC——M
——C,insofarasitexpressesmerelythedynamicunityofthetwometamorphosesorthedirecttransformationofonemetamorphosisintotheother——andthisishowitappearsinthesphereofcirculation,withinwhichthetokenofvalueoperates——theexchange—valueofcommoditiesassumesinthepricemerelyanominalexistenceandinmoneymerelyanimaginaryorsymbolicexistence。Exchange—valuethusappearstobesomethingpurelyconceptualoranimaginedentitybutpossessingnorealityexceptinthecommodities,insofarasadefiniteamountoflabour—timeismaterialisedinthem。
Thetokenofvaluethereforeseemstorepresentthevalueofcommoditiesdirectly,sinceitappearstobenotatokenofgoldbutatokenoftheexchange—valuewhichexistssolelyinthecommodityandismerelyexpressedintheprice。Buttheappearanceisdeceptive。Thetokenofvalueisdirectlyonlyatokenofprice,thatisatokenofgold,andonlyindirectlyatokenofthevalueofthecommodity。Gold,unlikePeterSchlemihl,hasnotsolditsshadow,butusesitsshadowasameansofpurchase。Thusthetokenofvalueiseffectiveonlywhenintheprocessofexchangeitsignifiesthepriceofonecommoditycomparedwiththatofanotherorwhenitrepresentsgoldwithregardtoeverycommodity—owner。Firstofallcustomturnsacertain,relativelyworthlessobject,apieceofleather,ascrapofpaper,etc。,intoatokenofthematerialofwhichmoneyconsists,butitcanmaintainthispositiononlyifitsfunctionasasymbolisguaranteedbythegeneralintentionofcommodity—owners,inotherwordsifitacquiresalegalconventionalexistenceandhencealegalrateofexchange。Papermoneyissuedbythestateandgivenalegalrateisanadvancedformofthetokenofvalue,andtheonlykindofpapermoneywhichdirectlyarisesfrommetalliccurrencyorfromsimplecommoditycirculationitself。Creditmoneybelongstoamoreadvancedstageofthesocialprocessofproductionandconformstoverydifferentlaws。Symbolicpapermoneyindeeddoesnotdifferatallfromsubsidiarymetalcoinexceptinhavingawidersphereofcirculation。Eventhemerelytechnicaldevelopmentofthestandardofprice,orofthemint—price,andlatertheexternaltransformationofgoldbarsintogoldcoinledtostateinterventionandconsequentlytoavisibleseparationofinternalcirculationfromthegeneralcirculationofcommodities,thisdivisionbeingcompletedbythetransformationofcoinintoatokenofvalue。Moneyasasimplemediumofcirculationcanafterallacquireanindependentexistenceonlywithinthesphereofinternalcirculation。
Ourexpositionhasshownthatgoldintheshapeofcoin,thatistokensofvaluedivorcedfromgoldsubstanceitself,originatesintheprocessofcirculationitselfanddoesnotcomeaboutbyarrangementorstateintervention。
Russiaaffordsastrikingexampleofaspontaneouslyevolvedtokenofvalue。
Atatimewhenhidesandfursservedasmoneyinthatcountry,thecontradictionbetweentheperishableandunwieldymaterialanditsfunctionasamediumofcirculationledtothecustomofsubstitutingsmallpiecesofstampedleatherforit;thesepiecesthusbecamemoneyorderspayableinhidesandfurs。Latertheywerecalledkopeksandbecamemeretokensrepresentingfractionsofthesilverrubleandassuchwereusedhereandthereuntil1700,whenPetertheGreatorderedtheirreplacementbysmallcoppercoinsissuedbytheState。[4]Inantiquitywriters,whowereabletoobserveonlythephenomenaofmetalliccurrency,amongtllemPlato[5]andAristotle[6]alreadyunderstoodthatgoldcoinisasymbolortokenofvalue。PapermoneywithalegalrateofexchangearisesearlyincountriessuchasChina,whichhavenotevolvedacreditsystem。[7]Lateradvocatesofpapermoneyalsoreferexpresslytothetransformationofthemetalcoinintoatokenofvaluewhichisbroughtaboutbythecirculationprocessitself。SuchreferencesoccurintheworksofBenjaminFranklin[8]andBishopBerkeley。[9]
Howmanyreamsofpapercutintofragmentscancirculateasmoney？Inthisformthequestionisabsurd。Worthlesstokensbecometokensofvalueonlywhentheyrepresentgoldwithintheprocessofcirculation,andtheycanrepresentitonlytotheamountofgoldwhichwouldcirculateascoin,anamountwhichdependsonthevalueofgoldiftheexchange—valueofthecommoditiesandthevelocityoftheirmetamorphosesaregiven。Thenumberofpiecesofpaperwithadenominationof£5whichcouldbeusedincirculationwouldbeone—fifthofthenumberofpiecesofpaperwithadenominationof£1,andifallpaymentsweretobetransactedinshillingnotes,thentwentytimesmoreshillingnotesthanpoundnoteswouldhavetocirculate。Ifgoldcoinwererepresentedbynotesofdifferentdenomination,e。g。,£5notes,£1notesand10s。notes,thenumberofthedifferenttypesoftokensofvalueneededwouldnotjustbedeterminedbythequantityofgoldrequiredinthesphereofcirculationasawhole,butbythequantityneededinthesphereofcirculationofeachparticulartypeofnote。If£14millionwerethelevelbelowwhichthecirculationofacountryneverfell（thisisthepresuppositionofEnglishBankinglegislation,nothoweverwithregardtocoinbuttocreditmoney）,then14millionpiecesofpaper,eachatokenofvaluerepresenting£1,couldcirculate。Ifthevalueofgolddecreasedorincreasedbecausethelabour—timerequiredforitsproductionhadfallenorrisenthenthenumberofpoundnotesincirculationwouldincreaseordecreaseininverseratiotothechangeinthevalueofgold,providedtheexchange—valueofthesamemassofcommoditiesremainedunchanged。
Supposinggoldweresupersededbysilverasthestandardofvalueandtherelativevalueofsilvertogoldwere1:15,then210millionpoundnoteswouldhavetocirculatehenceforthinsteadof14million,iffromnowoneachpieceofpaperwastorepresentthesameamountofsilverasithadpreviouslyrepresentedofgold。Thenumberofpiecesofpaperisthusdeterminedbythequantityofgoldcurrencywhichtheyrepresentincirculation,andastheyaretokensofvalueonlyinsofarastheytaketheplaceofgoldcurrency,theirvalueissimplydeterminedbytheirquantity。Whereas,therefore,thequantityofgoldincirculationdependsonthepricesofcommodities,thevalueofthepaperincirculation,ontheotherhand,dependssolelyonitsownquantity。
TheinterventionoftheStatewhichissuespapermoneywithalegalrateofexchange——andwespeakonlyofthistypeofpapermoney——seemstoinvalidatetheeconomiclaw。TheState,whosemintpricemerelyprovidedadefiniteweightofgoldwithanameandwhosemintmerelyimprinteditsstampongold,seemsnowtotransformpaperintogoldbythemagicofitsimprint。Becausethepiecesofpaperhavealegalrateofexchange,itisimpossibletopreventtheStatefromthrustinganyarbitrarilychosennumberofthemintocirculationandtoimprintthematwillwithanymonetarydenominationsuchas£1,£5,or£20。Oncethenotesareincirculationitisimpossibletodrivethemout,forthefrontiersofthecountrylimittheirmovement,ontheonehand,andontheotherhandtheyloseallvalue,bothuse—valueandexchange—value,outsidethesphereofcirculation。Apartfromtheirfunctiontheyareuselessscrapsofpaper。
ButthispoweroftheStateismereillusion。Itmaythrowanynumberofpapernotesofanydenominationintocirculationbutitscontrolceaseswiththismechanicalact。Assoonasthetokenofvalueorpapermoneyentersthesphereofcirculationitissubjecttotheinherentlawsofthissphere。
Letusassumethat£14millionistheamountofgoldrequiredforthecirculationofcommoditiesandthattheStatethrows210millionnoteseachcalled£1intocirculation:these210millionwouldthenstandforatotalofgoldworth£14million。TheeffectwouldbethesameasifthenotesissuedbytheStateweretorepresentametalwhosevaluewasone—fifteenththatofgoldorthateachnotewasintendedtorepresentone—fifteenthofthepreviousweightofgold。Thiswouldhavechangednothingbutthenomenclatureofthestandardofprices,whichisofcoursepurelyconventional,quiteirrespectiveofwhetheritwasbroughtaboutdirectlybyachangeinthemonetarystandardorindirectlybyanincreaseinthenumberofpapernotesissuedinaccordancewithanewlowerstandard。Asthenamepoundsterlingwouldnowindicateone—fifteenthofthepreviousquantityofgold,allcommodity—priceswouldbefifteentimeshigherand210millionpoundnoteswouldnowbeindeedjustasnecessaryas14millionhadpreviouslybeen。Thedecreaseinthequantityofgoldwhicheachindividualtokenofvaluerepresentedwouldbeproportionaltotheincreasedaggregatevalueofthesetokens。Theriseofpriceswouldbemerelyareactionoftheprocessofcirculation,whichforciblyplacedthetokensofvalueonaparwiththequantityofgoldwhichtheyaresupposedtoreplaceinthesphereofcirculation。
OnefindsanumberofoccasionsinthehistoryofthedebasementofcurrencybyEnglishandFrenchgovernmentswhentheriseinpriceswasnotproportionatetothedebasementofthesilvercoins。Thereasonwassimplythattheincreaseinthevolumeofcurrencywasnotproportionaltoitsdebasement;inotherwords,iftheexchange—valueofcommoditieswasinfuturetobeevaluatedintermsofthelowerstandardofvalueandtoberealisedincoinscorrespondingtothislowerstandard,thenaninadequatenumberofcoinswithlowermetalcontenthadbeenissued。ThisisthesolutionofthedifficultywhichwasnotresolvedbythecontroversybetweenLockeandLowndes。Therateatwhichatokenofvalue——whetheritconsistsofpaperorbogusgoldandsilverisquiteirrelevant——cantaketheplaceofdefinitequantitiesofgoldandsilvercalculatedaccordingtothemint—pricedependsonthenumberoftokensincirculationandbynomeansonthematerialofwhichtheyaremade。Thedifficultyingraspingthisrelationisduetothefactthatthetwofunctionsofmoney——asastandardofvalueandamediumofcirculation——aregovernednotonlybyconflictinglaws,butbylawswhichappeartobeatvariancewiththeantitheticalfeaturesofthetwofunctions。Asregardsitsfunctionasastandardofvalue,whenmoneyservessolelyasmoneyofaccountandgoldmerelyasnominalgold,itisthephysicalmaterialusedwhichisthecrucialfactor。
Exchange—valuesexpressedintermsofsilver,orassilverprices,lookofcoursequitedifferentfromexchange—valuesexpressedintermsofgold,orasgoldprices。Ontheotherhand,whenitfunctionsasamediumofcirculation,whenmoneyisnotjustimaginarybutmustbepresentasarealthingsidebysidewithothercommodities,itsmaterialisirrelevantanditsquantitybecomesthecrucialfactor。Althoughwhetheritisapoundofgold,ofsilverorofcopperisdecisiveforthestandardmeasure,merenumbermakesthecoinanadequateembodimentofanyofthesestandardmeasures,quiteirrespectiveofitsownmaterial。Butitisatvariancewithcommonsensethatinthecaseofpurelyimaginarymoneyeverythingshoulddependonthephysicalsubstance,whereasinthecaseofthecorporealcoineverythingshoulddependonanumericalrelationthatisnominal。
Theriseorfallofcommodity—pricescorrespondingtoanincreaseordecreaseinthevolumeofpapernotes——thelatterwherepapernotesarethesolemediumofcirculation——isaccordinglymerelyaforcibleassertionbytheprocessofcirculationofalawwhichwasmechanicallyinfringedbyextraneousaction;i。e。,thelawthatthequantityofgoldincirculationisdeterminedbythepricesofcommoditiesandthevolumeoftokensofvalueincirculationisdeterminedbytheamountofgoldcurrencywhichtheyreplaceincirculation。Thecirculationprocesswill,ontheotherhand,absorborasitweredigestanynumberofpapernotes,since,irrespectiveofthegoldtitlebornebythetokenofvaluewhenenteringcirculation,itiscompressedtoatokenofthequantityofgoldwhichcouldcirculateinstead。
Inthecirculationoftokensofvalueallthelawsgoverningthecirculationofrealmoneyseemtobereversedandturnedupsidedown。Goldcirculatesbecauseithasvalue,whereaspaperhasvaluebecauseitcirculates。Iftheexchange—valueofcommoditiesisgiven,thequantityofgoldincirculationdependsonitsvalue,whereasthevalueofpapertokensdependsonthenumberoftokensincirculation。Theamountofgoldincirculationincreasesordecreaseswiththeriseorfallofcommodity—prices,whereascommodity—pricesseemtoriseorfallwiththechangingamountofpaperincirculation。Thecirculationofcommoditiescanabsorbonlyacertainquantityofgoldcurrency,thealternatingcontractionandexpansionofthevolumeofmoneyincirculationmanifestingitselfaccordinglyasaninevitablelaw,whereasanyamountofpapermoneyseemstobeabsorbedbycirculation。TheStatewhichissuescoinseven1/100ofagrainbelowstandardweightdebasesgoldandsilvercurrencyandthereforeupsetsitsfunctionasamediumofcirculation,whereastheissueofworthlesspiecesofpaperwhichhavenothingincommonwithmetalexceptthedenominationofthecoinageisaperfectlycorrectoperation。Thegoldcoinobviouslyrepresentsthevalueofcommoditiesonlyafterthevaluehasbeenassessedintermsofgoldorexpressedasaprice,whereasthetokenofvalueseemstorepresentthevalueofcommoditiesdirectly。Itisthusevidentthatapersonwhorestrictshisstudiesofmonetarycirculationtoananalysisofthecirculationofpapermoneywithalegalrateofexchangemustmisunderstandtheinherentlawsofmonetarycirculation。Theselawsindeedapoearnotonlytobeturnedupsidedowninthecirculationoftokensofvaluebutevenannulled;forthemovementsofpapermoney,whenitisissuedintheappropriateamount,arenotcharacteristicofitastokenofvalue,whereasitsspecificmovementsareduetoinfringementsofitscorrectproportiontogold,anddonotdirectlyarisefromthemetamorphosisofcommodities。
FOOTNOTES[1。]Dodd,TheCuriositiesofIndustry,London,1854[p。16]。
[2。]TheCurrencyTheoryReviewed……ByaBanker,Edinburgh,1845,p。
69。"Ifaslightlyworncoinweretobeconsideredtobeworthlessthanacompletelynewone,thencirculationwouldbecontinuouslyimpeded,andnotasinglepaymentcouldbemadewithoutargument"（G。Garnier,Histoiredelamonnaie,tomeI,p。24）。
[3。]DavidBuchanan,ObservationsontheSubjectsTreatedofinDoctorSmith'sInquiryintotheNatureandCausesoftheWealthofNations,Edinburgh,1814,p。31。
[4。]HenryStorch,Coursd'économiepolitique……avecdesnotesparJ。B。Say,Paris,1823,tomeIV,p。79。StorchpublishedhisworkinFrenchinSt。Pctersburg。J。B。SayimmediatelybroughtoutareprintinParissupplementedbyso—callednotes,whichinfactcontainnothingbutplatitudes。Storch'sreactiontotheannexationofhisworkbythe"princedelascience"wasnotatallpolite（seehisConsidérationssurlenaturedurevenunational,Paris,1824）。
[5。]Plato,DeRepublica,L。II。"Thecoinisatokenofexchange"（Operaomniaetc。,ed。G。Stallbaumius,London,1850,p。304）。Platoanalysesonlytwoaspectsofmoney,i。e。,moneyasastandardofvalueandatokenofvalue;
apartfromthetokenofvaluecirculatingwithinthecountryhecallsforanothertokenofvalueservinginthecommerceofGreecewithothercountries（cf。book5ofhisLar~s）。
[6。]Aristotele,EthicaNicomachea,L。5,C。8[p。98]。"Butmoneyhasbecomebyconventionasortofrepresentativeofdemand;andthisiswhyithasthename'money'——becauseitexistsnotbynaturebutby'law',anditisinourpowertochangeitandmakeituseless。"[TheEnglishtranslationisfromAristotle,EthicaNicomachea,Oxford,1925,1133a。]
Aristotle'sconceptionofmoneywasconsiderablymorecomplexandprofoundthanthatofPlato。Inthefollowingpassagehedescribesverywellhowasaresultofbarterbetweendifferentcommunitiesthenecessityarisesofturningaspecificcommodity,thatisasubstancewhichhasitselfvalue,intomoney。"Whentheinhabitantsofonecountrybecamemoredependentonthoseofanother,andtheyimportedwhattheyneeded,andexportedwhattheyhadtoomuchof,moneynecessarilycameintouse……andhencemenagreedtoemployintheirdealingswitheachothersomethingwhichwasintrinsicallyusefulandeasilyapplicabletothepurposesoflife,forexample,iron,silverandthelike。"（Aristotele,DeRepublica,L。I,C。9,loc。cit[p。14]。[TheEnglishtranslationisfromAristotle,Politica,byBenjaminJowett,Oxford,1966,1257a。]）
MichelChevalier,whohaseithernotreadornotunderstoodAristotle,quotesthispassagetoshowthataccordingtoAristotlethemediumofcirculationmustbeasubstancewhichisitselfvaluable。Aristotle,however,statesplainlythatmoneyregardedsimplyasmediumofcirculationismerelyaconventionalorlegalentity,asevenitsnameindicates,anditsuse—valueasspecieisinfactonlyduetoitsfunctionandnottoanyintrinsicuse—value。"Othersmaintainthatcoinedmoneyisameresham,athingnotnatural,butconventionalonly,because,iftheuserssubstituteanothercommodityforit,itisworthless,andbecauseitisnotusefulasameanstoanyofthenecessitiesoflife。"（Aristoteles,DeRepublica[p。
15]。[TheEnglishtranslationisfromAristotle,Politica,1257b。]）
[7。]SirJohnMandeville,VoyagesandTravels,London,1705,p。105:
"ThisEmperor（ofCattayorChina）maydispendeolsmucheashewilewithoutenestymacion。Forhedespendethenot,normakethenomoney,butofletheremprendeth,orofpapyre。Andwhenthatmoneyhatheronnesolongethatitbegynethetowaste,thenmenberenittotheEmperoureTresorye,andthentheytakenneweMoneyfortheold。Andthatmoneygothethorgheoutallthecontree,andthorgeoutallhisProvynces……TheymakenomoneynoutherofGoldnorofSylver",andMandevilleadds,"thereforehemaydespendeynewandoutrageously。"
[8。]BenjaminFranklin,RemarksandFactsRelativetotheAmericanPaperMoney,1764,op。cit。,p。348:"Atthisverytime,eventhesilvermoneyinEnglandisobligedtothelegaltenderforpartofitsvalue;
thatpartwhichisthedifferencebetweenitsrealweightanditsdenomination。
Greatpartoftheshillingsandsixpencesnowcurrentarebywearingbecome6,10,20,andsomeofthesixpenceseven50%,toolight。Forthisdifferencebetweentherealandthenominalyouhavenointrinsicvalue;youhavenotsomuchaspaper,youhavenothing。Itisthelegaltender,withtheknowledgethatitcaneasilyberepassedforthesamevalue,thatmakesthreepennyworthofsilverpassforasixpence。"
[9。]Berkeley,op。cit。[p。81。"Whetherthedenominationsbeingretained,althoughthebullionweregone……mightnotnevertheless……acirculationofcornmerce（be）maintained？"
MoneyKarlMarx'sACONTRIBUTIONTOTHECRITIQUEOFPOLITICALECONOMY
MoneyMoneyasdistinguishedfromcoinistheresultofthecircuitC
——M——CandconstitutesthestartingpointofthecircuitM——C——M,thatistheexchangeofmoneyforcommoditiessoastoexchangecommoditiesformoney。IntheformC——M——Citisthecommoditythatisthebeginningandtheendofthetransaction;intheformM——C——Mitismoney。Moneymediatestheexchangeofcommoditiesinthefirstcircuit,thecommoditiesmediatestheevolutionofmoneyintomoneyinthesecondcircuit。Money,whichservessolelyasamediuminthefirstcircuit,appearsasthegoalofcirculationinthesecond,whereasthecommodity,whichwasthegoalinthefirstcircuit,appearssimplyasameansinthesecond。BecausemoneyitselfisalreadytheresultofthecircuitC——M——C,theresultofcirculationappearstobealsoitspointofdepartureintheformM
——C——M。TheexchangeofmaterialisthecontentofC——M——C,whereastherealcontentofthesecondcircuit,M——C——M,isthecommodityintheforminwhichitemergedfromthefirstcircuit。
IntheformulaC——M——Cthetwoextremesarecommoditiesofthesamevalue,whichareatthesametimehoweverqualitativelydifferentuse—values。
Theirexchange,C——C,isrealexchangeofmaterial。Ontheotherhand,intheformulaM——C——Mbothextremesaregoldandmoreovergoldofthesamevalue。Butitseemsabsurdtoexchangegoldforcommoditiesinordertoexchangecommoditiesforgold,orifoneconsidersthefinalresultM——M,toexchangegoldforgold。ButifonetranslatesM——C——Mintotheformula——tobuyinordertosell,whichmeanssimplytoexchangegoldforgoldwiththeaidofanintermediatemovement,onewillimmediatelyrecognisethepredominantformofbourgeoisproduction。
Nevertheless,inreallifepeopledonotbuyinordertosell,buttheybuyatalowpriceinordertosellatahighprice。Theyexchangemoneyforcommoditiesinorderthentoexchangetheseforalargeramountofmoney,sothattheextremesM,Marequantitativelydifferent,evenifnotqualitatively。Thisquantitativedifferencepresupposestheexchangeofnon—equivalents,whereascommoditiesandmoneyassucharemerelyantitheticalformsofthecommodity,inotherwords,differentformsofexistenceofthesamevalue。MoneyandcommodityinthecircuitM——C
——Mthereforeimplymoreadvancedrelationsofproduction,andwithinsimplecirculationthecircuitismerelyareflectionofmovementofamorecomplexcharacter。HencemoneyasdistinctfromthemediumofcirculationmustbederivedfromC——M——C,theimmediateformofcommoditycirculation。
Gold,i。e。,thespecificcommoditywhichservesasstandardofvalueandmediumofcirculation,becomesmoneywithoutanyspecialeffortonthepartofsociety。SilverhasnotbecomemoneyinEngland,whereitisneitherthestandardofvaluenorthepredominantmediumofcirculation,similarlygoldceasedtobemoneyinHollandassoonasitwasdeposedfromitspositionofstandardofvalue。Inthefirstplace,acommodityinwhichthefunctionsofstandardofvalueandmediumofcirculationareunitedaccordinglybecomesmoney,ortheunityofstandardofvalueandmediumofcirculationismoney。
Butassuchaunitygoldinitsturnpossessesanindependentexistencewhichisdistinctfromthesetwofunctions。Asthestandardofvaluegoldismerelynominalmoneyandnominalgold;purelyasamediumofcirculationitissymbolicmoneyandsymbolicgold,butinitssimplemetalliccorporealitygoldismoneyormoneyisrealgold。
Letusforamomentconsiderthecommoditygold,thatismoney,inastateofrestanditsrelationswithothercommodities。Allpricesofcommoditiessignifydefiniteamountsofgold;theyarethusmerelynotionalgoldornotionalmoney,i。e。,symbolsofgold,justas,ontheotherhand,moneyconsideredasatokenofvalueappearedtobemerelyasymbolofthepricesofcommodities。[1]Sinceallcommoditiesarethereforemerelynotionalmoney,moneyistheonlyrealcommodity。Goldisthematerialaspectofabstractwealthincontradistinctiontocommoditieswhichonlyrepresenttheindependentformofexchange—value,ofuniversalsociallabourandofabstractwealth。
Sofarasuse—valueisconcerned,eachcommodityrepresentsonlyoneelementofphysicalwealth,onlyoneseparatefacetofwealth,throughitsrelationtoaparticularneed。Butmoneysatisfiesanyneedsinceitcanbeimmediatelyturnedintotheobjectofanyneed。Itsownuse—valueisrealisedintheendlessseriesofuse—valueswhichconstituteitsequivalents。Allthephysicalwealthevolvedintheworldofcommoditiesiscontainedinalatentstateinthissolidpieceofmetal。Thuswhereasthepricesofcommoditiesrepresentgold,theuniversalequivalentorabstractwealth,theuse—valueofgoldrepresentstheuse—valuesofallcommodities。Goldis,therefore,thematerialsymbolofphysicalwealth。Itisthe"epitomeofallthings"（Boisguillebert）,thecompendiumofsocialwealth。Asregardsitsform,itisthedirectincarnationofuniversallabour,andasregardsitscontentthequintessenceofallconcretelabour。Itisuniversalwealthinanindividualform。[2]Functioningasamediumofcirculation,goldsufferedallmannerofinjuries,itwasclippedandevenreducedtoapurelysymbolicalscrapofpaper。
ItsgoldensplendourisrestoredwhenitservesasmoneyTheservantbecomesthemaster。[3]Themereunderlingbecomesthegodofcommodities。[4]a。HoardingGoldasmoneywasinthefirstplacedivorcedfromthemediumofcirculationbecausethemetamorphosisofthecommoditywasinterruptedandthecommodityremainedintheformofgold。Thishappenswheneverasaleisnotimmediatelyturnedintoapurchase。Thefactthatgoldasmoneyassumesanindependentexistenceisthusaboveallatangibleexpressionoftheseparationoftheprocessofcirculationorofthemetamorphosisofcommoditiesintotwodiscreteandseparatetransactionswhichexistsidebyside。Thecoinitselfbecomesmoneyassoonasitsmovementisinterrupted。Inthehandsofthesellerwhoreceivesitinreturnforacommodityitismoney,andnotcoin;butwhenitleaveshishandsitbecomesacoinoncemore。Everybodysellstheparticularcommoditywhichheproduces,buthebuysallothercommoditiesthatheneedsasasocialbeing。Howoftenheappearsonthemarketasasellerdependsonthelabour—timerequiredtoproducehiscommodity,whereashisappearanceasabuyerisdeterminedbytheconstantrenewalofhisvitalrequirements。Inordertobeabletobuywithoutselling,hemusthavesoldsomethingwithoutbuying。ThecircuitC——M——Cisindeedthedynamicunityofsaleandpurchaseonlyinsofarasitissimultaneouslythecontinuousprocessoftheirseparation。
Sothatmoneyascoinmayflowcontinuously,coinmustcontinuouslycongealintomoney。Thecontinualmovementofcoinimpliesitsperpetualstagnationinlargerorsmalleramountsinreservefundsofcoinwhichariseeverywherewithintheframeworkofcirculationandwhichareatthesametimeaconditionofcirculation。Theformation,distribution,dissolutionandre—formationofthesefundsconstantlychanges;existingfundsdisappearcontinuouslyandtheirdisappearanceisacontinuousfact。ThisunceasingtransformationofcoinintomoneyandofmoneyintocoinwasexpressedbyAdamSmithwhenhesaidthat,inadditiontotheparticularcommodityhesells,everycommodity—ownermustalwayskeepinstockacertainamountofthegeneralcommoditywithwhichhebuys。WehaveseenthatM——C,thesecondmemberofthecircuitC——M——C,splitsupintoaseriesofpurchases,whicharenoteffectedallatoncebutsuccessivelyoveraperiodoftime,sothatonepartofMcirculatesascoin,whiletheotherpartremainsatrestasmoney。Inthiscase,moneyisinfactonlysuspendedcoinandthevariouscomponentpartsofthecoinageincirculationappear,constantlychanging,nowinoneform,nowinanother。Thefirsttransformationofthemediumofcirculationintomoneyconstitutesthereforemerelyatechnicalaspectofthecirculationofmoney。[5]