第9章

Thesaleofthelinen，C？M，isatthesametimeitspurchase，M？C。Butthesaleisthefirstactofaprocessthatendswithatransactionofanoppositenature，namely，thepurchaseofaBible;thepurchaseofthelinen，ontheotherhand，endsamovementthatbeganwithatransactionofanoppositenature，namely，withthesaleofthewheat。C？M（linen？money），whichisthefirstphaseofC？M’？C（linen？money？Bible），isalsoM？C

（money？linen），thelastphaseofanothermovementC？M？C（wheat？money？linen）。

Thefirstmetamorphosisofonecommodity，itstransformationfromacommodityintomoney，isthereforealsoinvariablythesecondmetamorphosisofsomeothercommodity，theretransformationofthelatterfrommoneyintmmodity。 [21]

M？C，orpurchase。

ThesecondandconcludingmetamorphosisofacommodityBecausemoneyisthemetamorphosedshapeofallothercommodities，theresultoftheirgeneralalienation，forthisreasonitisalienableitselfwithoutrestrictionorcondition。Itreadsallpricesbackwards，andthus，sotosay，depictsitselfinthebodiesofallothercommodities，whichoffertoitthematerialfortherealisationofitsownuse—value。Atthesametimetheprices，wooingglancescastatmoneybycommodities，definethelimitsofitsconvertibility，bypointingtoitsquantity。Sinceeverycommodity，onbecomingmoney，disappearsasacommodity，itisimpossibletotellfromthemoneyitself，howitgotintothehandsofitspossessor，orwhatarticlehasbeenchangedintoit。Nonolet，fromwhateversourceitmaycome。Representingontheonehandasoldcommodity，itrepresentsontheotheracommoditytobebought。[22]

M？C，apurchase，is，atthesametime，C？M，asale;theconcludingmetamorphosisofonecommodityisthefirstmetamorphosisofanother。Withregardtoourweaver，thelifeofhiscommodityendswiththeBible，intowhichhehasreconvertedhis£2。ButsupposetheselleroftheBibleturnsthe£2setfreebytheweaverintobrandyM？C，theconcludingphaseofC？M？C（linen？money？Bible），isalsoC？M，thefirstphaseofC？M？C（Bible？money？brandy）。Theproducerofaparticularcommodityhasthatonearticlealonetooffer;thishesellsveryofteninlargequantities，buthismanyandvariouswantscompelhimtosplitupthepricerealised，thesumofmoneysetfree，intonumerouspurchases。Henceasaleleadstomanypurchasesofvariousarticles。Theconcludingmetamorphosisofacommoditythusconstitutesanaggregationoffirstmetamorphosesofvariousothercommodities。

Ifwenowconsiderthecompletedmetamorphosisofacommodity，asawhole，itappearsinthefirstplace，thatitismadeupoftwooppositeandcomplementarymovements，C？MandM？C。Thesetwoantitheticaltransmutationsofacommodityarebroughtaboutbytwoantitheticalsocialactsonthepartoftheowner，andtheseactsintheirturnstampthecharacteroftheeconomicpartsplayedbyhim。Asthepersonwhomakesasale，heisaseller;asthepersonwhomakesapurchase，heisabuyer。Butjustas，uponeverysuchtransmutationofacommodity，itstwoforms，commodity—formandmoney—form，existsimultaneouslybutatoppositepoles，soeverysellerhasabuyeropposedtohim，andeverybuyeraseller。Whileoneparticularcommodityisgoingthroughitstwotransmutationsinsuccession，fromacommodip;intomoneyandfrommoneyintoanothercommodity，theownerofthecommoditychangesinsuccessionhispartfromthatofsellertothatofbuyer。Thesecharactersofsellerandbuyerarethereforenotpermanent，butattachthemselvesinturnstothevariouspersonsengagedinthecirculationofcommodities。

Thecompletemetamorphosisofacommodity，initssimplestform，impliesfourextremes，andthreedramaticpersonae。First，acommoditycomesfacetofacewithmoney;thelatteristheformtakenbythevalueoftheformer，andexistsinallitshardreality，inthepocketofthebuyer。Acommodity—owneristhusbroughtintocontactwithapossessorofmoney。Sosoon，now，asthecommodityhasbeenchangedintomoney，themoneybecomesitstransientequivalent—form，theuse—valueofwhichequivalent—formistobefoundinthebodiesofothercommodities。Money，thefinaltermofthefirsttransmutation，isatthesametimethestarting—pointforthesecond。Thepersonwhoisasellerinthefirsttransactionthusbecomesabuyerinthesecond，inwhichathirdcommodity—ownerappearsonthesceneasaseller。[23]

Thetwophases，eachinversetotheother，thatmakeupthemetamorphosisofacommodityconstitutetogetheracircularmovement，acircuit:commodity—form，strippingoffofthisform，andreturntothecommodity—form。Nodoubt，thecommodityappearshereundertwodifferentaspects。Atthestarting—pointitisnotause—valuetoitsowner;atthefinishingpointitis。So，too，themoneyappearsinthefirstphaseasasolidcrystalofvalue，acrystalintowhichthecommodityeagerlysolidifies，andinthesecond，dissolvesintothemeretransientequivalent—formdestinedtobereplacedbyause—value。

Thetwometamorphosesconstitutingthecircuitareatthesametimetwoinversepartialmetamorphosesoftwoothercommodities。Oneandthesamecommodity，thelinen，openstheseriesofitsownmetamorphoses，andcompletesthemetamorphosisofanother（thewheat）。Inthefirstphaseorsale，thelinenplaysthesetwopartsinitsownperson。But，then，changedintogold，itcompletesitsownsecondandfinalmetamorphosis，andhelpsatthesametimetoaccomplishthefirstmetamorphosisofathirdcommodity。Hencethecircuitmadebyonecommodityinthecourseofitsmetamorphosesisinextricablymixedupwiththecircuitsofothercommodities。

Thetotalofallthedifferentcircuitsconstitutesthecirculationofcommodities。

Thecirculationofcommoditiesdiffersfromthedirectexchangeofproducts（barter），notonlyinform，butinsubstance。Onlyconsiderthecourseofevents。Theweaverhas，asamatteroffact，exchangedhislinenforaBible，hisowncommodityforthatofsomeoneelse。Butthisistrueonlysofarashehimselfisconcerned。TheselleroftheBible，whopreferssomethingtowarmhisinside，nomorethoughtofexchanginghisBibleforlinenthanourweaverknewthatwheathadbeenexchangedforhislinen。B’scommodityreplacesthatofA，butAandBdonotmutuallyexchangethosecommodities。Itmay，ofcourse，happenthatAandBmakesimultaneouspurchases，theonefromtheother;butsuchexceptionaltransactionsarebynomeansthenecessaryresultofthegeneralconditionsofthecirculationofcommodities。Weseehere，ontheonehand，howtheexchangeofcommoditiesbreaksthroughalllocalandpersonalboundsinseparablefromdirectbarter，anddevelopsthecirculationoftheproductsofsociallabour;andontheotherhand，howitdevelopsawholenetworkofsocialrelationsspontaneousintheirgrowthandentirelybeyondthecontroloftheactors。Itisonlybecausethefarmerhassoldhiswheatthattheweaverisenabledtosellhislinen，onlybecausetheweaverhassoldhislinenthatourHotspurisenabledtosellhisBible，andonlybecausethelatterhassoldthewaterofeverlastinglifethatthedistillerisenabledtosellhiseau—de—vie，andsoon。

Theprocessofcirculation，therefore，doesnot，likedirectbarterofproducts，becomeextinguishedupontheuse—valueschangingplacesandhands。Themoneydoesnotvanishondroppingoutofthecircuitofthemetamorphosisofagivencommodity。Itisconstantlybeingprecipitatedintonewplacesinthearenaofcirculationvacatedbyothercommodities。

Inthecompletemetamorphosisofthelinen，forexample，linen？money？Bible，thelinenfirstfallsoutofcirculation，andmoneystepsintoitsplace。ThentheBiblefallsoutofcirculation，andagainmoneytakesitsplace。Whenonecommodityreplacesanother，themoney—commodityalwaysstickstothehandsofsomethirdpersop;[24]Circulationsweatsmoneyfromeverypore。

Nothingcanbemorechildishthanthedogma，thatbecauseeverysaleisapurchase，andeverypurchaseasale，thereforethecirculationofcommoditiesnecessarilyimpliesanequilibriumofsalesandpurchases。

Ifthismeansthatthenumberofactualsalesisequaltothenumberofpurchases，itismeretautology。Butitsrealpurportistoprovethateverysellerbringshisbuyertomarketwithhim。Nothingofthekind。

Thesaleandthepurchaseconstituteoneidenticalact，anexchangebetweenacommodity—ownerandanownerofmoney，betweentwopersonsasopposedtoeachotherasthetwopolesofamagnet。Theyformtwodistinctacts，ofpolarandoppositecharacters，whenperformedbyonesingleperson。Hencetheidentityofsaleandpurchaseimpliesthatthecommodityisuseless，if，onbeingthrownintothealchemisticalretortofcirculation，itdoesnotcomeoutagainintheshapeofmoney;if，inotherwords，itcannotbesoldbyitsowner，andthereforebeboughtbytheownerofthemoney。Thatidentityfurtherimpliesthattheexchange，ifitdotakeplace，constitutesaperiodofrest，aninterval，longorshort，inthelifeofthecommodity。Sincethefirstmetamorphosisofacommodityisatonceasaleandapurchase，itisalsoanindependentprocessinitself。Thepurchaserhasthecommodity，thesellerhasthemoney，i。e。，acommodityreadytogointocirculationatanytime。

Noonecansellunlesssomeoneelsepurchases。Butnooneisforthwithboundtopurchase，becausehehasjustsold。Circulationburststhroughallrestrictionsastotime，place，andindividuals，imposedbydirectbarter，andthisiteffectsbysplittingup，intotheantithesisofasaleandapurchase，thedirectidentitythatinbarterdoesexistbetweenthealienationofone’sownandtheacquisitionofsomeotherman’sproduct。Tosaythatthesetwoindependentandantitheticalactshaveanintrinsicunity，areessentiallyone，isthesameastosaythatthisintrinsiconenessexpressesitselfinanexternalantithesis。Iftheintervalintimebetweenthetwocomplementaryphasesofthecompletemetamorphosisofacommoditybecometoogreat，ifthesplitbetweenthesaleandthepurchasebecometoopronounced，theintimateconnexionbetweenthem，theironeness，assertsitselfbyproducing？acrisis。Theantithesis，use—valueandvalue;thecontradictionsthatprivatelabourisboundtomanifestitselfasdirectsociallabour，thataparticularisedconcretekindoflabourhastopassforabstracthumanlabour;thecontradictionbetweenthepersonificationofobjectsandtherepresentationofpersonsbythings;

alltheseantithesesandcontradictions，whichareimmanentincommodities，assertthemselves，anddeveloptheirmodesofmotion，intheantitheticalphasesofthemetamorphosisofacommodity。Thesemodesthereforeimplythepossibility，andnomorethanthepossibility，ofcrises。Theconversionofthismerepossibilityintoarealityistheresultofalongseriesofrelations，that，fromourpresentstandpointofsimplecirculation，haveasyetnoexistence;[25]

B。Thecurrency[26]ofmoneyThechangeofform，C？M？C，bywhichthecirculationofthematerialproductsoflabourisbroughtabout，requiresthatagivenvalueintheshapeofacommodityshallbegintheprocess，andshall，alsointheshapeofacommodity，endit。Themovementofthecommodityisthereforeacircuit。

Ontheotherhand，theformofthismovementprecludesacircuitfrombeingmadebythemoney。Theresultisnotthereturnofthemoney，butitscontinuedremovalfurtherandfurtherawayfromitsstarting—point。Solongasthesellersticksfasttohismoney，whichisthetransformedshapeofhiscommodity，thatcommodityisstillinthefirstphaseofitsmetamorphosis，andhascompletedonlyhalfitscourse。Butsosoonashecompletestheprocess，sosoonashesupplementshissalebyapurchase，themoneyagainleavesthehandsofitspossessor。Itistruethatiftheweaver，afterbuyingtheBible，sellmorelinen，moneycomesbackintohishands。Butthisreturnisnotowingtothecirculationofthefirst20yardsoflinen;

thatcirculationresultedinthemoneygettingintothehandsoftheselleroftheBible。Thereturnofmoneyintothehandsoftheweaverisbroughtaboutonlybytherenewalorrepetitionoftheprocessofcirculationwithafreshcommodity，whichrenewedprocessendswiththesameresultasitspredecessordid。Hencethemovementdirectlyimpartedtomoneybythecirculationofcommoditiestakestheformofaconstantmotionawayfromitsstarting—point，ofacoursefromthehandsofonecommodity—ownerintothoseofanother。

Thiscourseconstitutesitscurrency（coursdelamonnaiep;

Thecurrencyofmoneyistheconstantandmonotonousrepetitionofthesameprocess。Thecommodityisalwaysinthehandsoftheseller;themoney，asameansofpurchase，alwaysinthehandsofthebuyer。Andmoneyservesasameansofpurchasebyrealisingthepriceofthecommodity。Thisrealisationtransfersthecommodityfromthesellertothebuyerandremovesthemoneyfromthehandsofthebuyerintothoseoftheseller，whereitagaingoesthroughthesameprocesswithanothercommodity。Thatthisone—sidedcharacterofthemoney’smotionarisesoutofthetwo—sidedcharacterofthecommodity’smotion，isacircumstancethatisveiledover。Theverynatureofthecirculationofcommoditiesbegetstheoppositeappearance。Thefirstmetamorphosisofacommodityisvisibly，notonlythemoney’smovement，butalsothatofthecommodityitself;inthesecondmetamorphosis，onthecontrary，themovementappearstousasthemovementofthemoneyalone。Inthefirstphaseofitscirculationthecommoditychangesplacewiththemoney。Thereuponthecommodity，underitsaspectofausefulobject，fallsoutofcirculationintoconsumption。[27]Initssteadwehaveitsvalue—shape？themoney;Itthengoesthroughthesecondphaseofitscirculation，notunderitsownnaturalshape，butundertheshapeofmoney。Thecontinuityofthemovementisthereforekeptupbythemoneyalone，andthesamemovementthatasregardsthecommodityconsistsoftwoprocessesofanantitheticalcharacter，is，whenconsideredasthemovementofthemoney，alwaysoneandthesameprocess，acontinuedchangeofplaceswitheverfreshcommodities。Hencetheresultbroughtaboutbythecirculationof—commodities，namely，thereplacingofonecommoditybyanother，takestheappearanceofhavingbeeneffectednotbymeansofthechangeofformofthecommoditiesbutratherbythemoneyactingasamediumofcirculation，byanactionthatcirculatescommodities，toallappearancemotionlessinthemselves，andtransfersthemfromhandsinwhichtheyarenon—use—values，tohandsinwhichtheyareuse—values;andthatinadirectionconstantlyopposedtothedirectionofthemoney。Thelatteriscontinuallywithdrawingcommoditiesfromcirculationandsteppingintotheirplaces，andinthuswaycontinuallymovingfurtherandfurtherfromitsstarting—pointHencealthoughthemovementofthemoneyismerelytheexpressionofthecirculationofcommodities，yetthecontraryappearstobetheactualfact，andthecirculationofcommoditiesseemstobetheresultofthemovementofthemoney。[28]

Again，moneyfunctionsasameansofcirculationonlybecauseinitthevaluesofcommoditieshaveindependentreality。Henceitsmovement，asthemediumofcirculation，is，infact，merelythemovementofcommoditieswhilechangingtheirforms。Thisfactmustthereforemakeitselfplainlyvisibleinthecurrencyofmoney。Thusthelinenforinstance，firstofallchangesitscommodity—formintoitsmoneyform。Thesecondtermofitsfirstmetamorphosis，C？M，themone;form，thenbecomesthefirsttermofitsfinalmetamorphosis，M？C，itsre—conversionintotheBible。Buteachofthesetwochangesofformisaccomplishedbyanexchangebetweencommodityandmoney，bytheirreciprocaldisplacement。

Thesamepiecesofcoincomeintotheseller’shandasthealienatedformofthecommodityandleaveitastheabsolutelyalienableformofthecommodity。Theyaredisplacedtwice。Thefirstmetamorphosisofthelinenputsthesecoinsintotheweaver’spocket，theseconddrawsthemoutofit。Thetwoinversechangesundergonebythesamecommodityarereflectedinthedisplacement，twicerepeated，butinoppositedirections，ofthesamepiecesofcoin。

If，onthecontrary，onlyonephaseofthemetamorphosisisgonethrough，ifthereareonlysalesoronlypurchases，thenagivenpieceofmoneychangesitsplaceonlyonce。Itssecondchangeofplacealwaysexpressesthesecondmetamorphosisofthecommodity，itsre—conversionfrommoney。

Thefrequentrepetitionofthedisplacementofthesamecoinsreflectsnotonlytheseriesofmetamorphosesthatasinglecommodityhasgonethrough，butalsotheintertwiningoftheinnumerablemetamorphosesintheworldofcommoditiesingeneral。Itisamatterofcourse，thatallthisisapplicabletothesimplecirculationofcommoditiesalone，theonlyformthatwearenowconsidering。

Everycommodity，whenitfirststepsintocirculation，andundergoesitsfirstchangeofform，doessoonlytofalloutofcirculationagainandtobereplacedbyothercommodities。Money，onthecontrary，asthemediumofcirculation，keepscontinuallywithinthesphereofcirculation，andmovesaboutinit。Thequestionthereforearises，howmuchmoneythissphereconstantlyabsorbs？

Inagivencountrytheretakeplaceeverydayatthesametime，butindifferentlocalities，numerousone—sidedmetamorphosesofcommodities，or，inotherwords，numeroussalesandnumerouspurchases。Thecommoditiesareequatedbeforehandinimagination，bytheirprices，todefinitequantitiesofmoney。Andsince，intheformofcirculationnowunderconsideration，moneyandcommoditiesalwayscomebodilyfacetoface，oneatthepositivepoleofpurchase，theotheratthenegativepoleofsale，itisclearthattheamountofthemeansofcirculationrequired，isdeterminedbeforehandbythesumofthepricesofallthesecommodities。Asamatteroffact，themoneyinrealityrepresentsthequantityorsumofgoldideallyexpressedbeforehandbythesumofthepricesofthecommodities。Theequalityofthesetwosumsisthereforeself—evident。Weknow，however，that，thevaluesofcommoditiesremainingconstant，theirpricesvarywiththevalueofgold（thematerialofmoney），risinginproportionasitfalls，andfallinginproportionasitrises。Nowif，inconsequenceofsuchariseorfallinthevalueofgold，thesumofthepricesofcommoditiesfallorrise，thequantityofmoneyincurrencymustfallorrisetothesameextent。Thechangeinthequantityofthecirculatingmediumis，inthiscase，itistrue，causedbythemoneyitself，yetnotinvirtueofitsfunctionasamediumofcirculation，butofitsfunctionasameasureofvalue。First，thepriceofthecommoditiesvariesinverselyasthevalueofthemoney，andthenthequantityofthemediumofcirculationvariesdirectlyasthepriceofthecommodities。Exactlythesamethingwouldhappenif，forinstance，insteadofthevalueofgoldfalling，goldwerereplacedbysilverasthemeasureofvalue，orif，insteadofthevalueofsilverrising，goldweretothrustsilveroutfrombeingthemeasureofvalue。Intheonecase，moresilverwouldbecurrentthangoldwasbefore;

intheothercase，lessgoldwouldbecurrentthansilverwasbefore。Ineachcasethevalueofthematerialofmoney，i。e。，thevalueofthecommoditythatservesasthemeasureofvalue，wouldhaveundergoneachange，andthereforeso，too，wouldthepricesofcommoditieswhichexpresstheirvaluesinmoney，andso，too，wouldthequantityofmoneycurrentwhosefunctionitistorealisethoseprices。Wehavealreadyseen，thatthesphereofcirculationhasanopeningthroughwhichgold（orthematerialofmoneygenerally）entersintoitasacommoditywithagivenvalue。Hence，whenmoneyentersonitsfunctionsasameasureofvalue，whenitexpressesprices，itsvalueisalreadydetermined。Ifnowitsvaluefall，thisfactisfirstevidencedbyachangeinthepricesofthosecommoditiesthataredirectlybarteredforthepreciousmetalsatthesourcesoftheirproduction。Thegreaterpartofallothercommodities，especiallyintheimperfectlydevelopedstagesofcivilsociety，willcontinueforalongtimetobeestimatedbytheformerantiquatedandillusoryvalueofthemeasureofvalue。Nevertheless，onecommodityinfectsanotherthroughtheircommonvalue—relation，sothattheirprices，expressedingoldorinsilver，graduallysettledownintotheproportionsdeterminedbytheircomparativevalues，untilfinallythevaluesofallcommoditiesareestimatedintermsofthenewvalueofthemetalthatconstitutesmoney。Thisprocessisaccompaniedbythecontinuedincreaseinthequantityofthepreciousmetals，anincreasecausedbytheirstreamingintoreplacethearticlesdirectlybarteredforthemattheirsourcesofproduction。Inproportionthereforeascommoditiesingeneralacquiretheirtrueprices，inproportionastheirvaluesbecomeestimatedaccordingtothefallenvalueofthepreciousmetal，inthesameproportionthequantityofthatmetalnecessaryforrealisingthosenewpricesisprovidedbeforehand。Aone—sidedobservationoftheresultsthatfolloweduponthediscoveryoffreshsuppliesofgoldandsilver，ledsomeeconomistsinthe17th，andparticularlyinthe18thcentury，tothefalseconclusion，thatthepricesofcommoditieshadgoneupinconsequenceoftheincreasedquantityofgoldandsilverservingasmeansofcirculation。

Hencemomentarilywheneverweestimatethepriceofacommodity。Onthissuppositionthen，thequantityofthemediumofcirculationisdeterminedbythesumofthepricesthathavetoberealised。

Ifnowwefurthersupposethepriceofeachcommoditytobegiven，thesumofthepricesclearlydependsonthemassofcommoditiesincirculation。

Itrequiresbutlittlerackingofbrainstocomprehendthatifonequarterofwheatcosts£2，100quarterswillcost£200，200quarters£400，andsoon，thatconsequentlythequantityofmoneythatchangesplacewiththewheat，whensold，mustincreasewiththequantityofthatwheat。

Ifthemassofcommoditiesremainconstant，thequantityofcirculatingmoneyvarieswiththefluctuationsinthepricesofthosecommodities。

Itincreasesanddiminishesbecausethesumofthepricesincreasesordiminishesinconsequenceofthechangeofprice。Toproducethiseffect，itisbynomeansrequisitethatthepricesofallcommoditiesshouldriseorfallsimultaneously。Ariseorafallinthepricesofanumberofleadingarticles，issufficientintheonecasetoincrease，intheothertodiminish，thesumofthepricesofallcommodities，and，therefore，toputmoreorlessmoneyincirculation。Whetherthechangeinthepricecorrespondtoanactualchangeofvalueinthecommodities，orwhetheritbetheresultofmerefluctuationsinmarket—prices，theeffectonthequantityofthemediumofcirculationremainsthesame。Supposethefollowingarticlestobesoldorpartiallymetamorphosedsimultaneouslyindifferentlocalities:

say，onequarterofwheat，20yardsoflinen，oneBible，and4gallonsofbrandy。Ifthepriceofeacharticlebe£2，andthesumofthepricestoberealisedbeconsequently£8，itfollowsthat£8

inmoneymustgointocirculation。If，ontheotherhand，thesesamearticlesarelinksinthefollowingchainofmetamorphoses:

1quarterofwheat？£2？20yardsoflinen？£2？1Bible？£2？4gallonsofbrandy？£2，achainthatisalreadywellknowntous，inthatcasethe£2causethedifferentcommoditiestocirculateoneaftertheother，andafterrealisingtheirpricessuccessively，andthereforethesumofthoseprices，£8，theycometorestatlastinthepocketofthedistiller。The£2thusmakefourmoves。Thisrepeatedchangeofplaceofthesamepiecesofmoneycorrespondstothedoublechangeinformofthecommodities，totheirmotioninoppositedirectionsthroughtwostagesofcirculation。andtotheinterlacingofthemetamorphosesofdifferentcommo。 [29]Theseantitheticandcomplementaryphases，ofwhichtheprocessofmetamorphosisconsists，aregonethrough，notsimultaneously，butsuccessively。Timeisthereforerequiredforthecompletionoftheseries。Hencethevelocityofthecurrencyofmoneyismeasuredbythenumberofmovesmadebyagivenpieceofmoneyinagiventime。Supposethecirculationofthe4articlestakesaday。Thesumofthepricestoberealisedinthedayis£8，thenumberofmovesofthetwopiecesofmoneyisfour，andthequantityofmoneycirculatingis£2。Hence，foragivenintervaloftimeduringtheprocessofcirculation，wehavethefollowingrelation:thequantityofmoneyfunctioningasthecirculatingmediumisequaltothesumofthepricesofthecommoditiesdividedbythenumberofmovesmadebycoinsofthesamedenomination。Thislawholdsgenerally。

Thetotalcirculationofcommoditiesinagivencountryduringagivenperiodismadeupontheonehandofnumerousisolatedandsimultaneouspartialmetamorphoses，saleswhichareatthesametimepurchases，inwhicheachcoinchangesitsplaceonlyonce，ormakesonlyonemove;ontheotherhand，ofnumerousdistinctseriesofmetamorphosespartlyrunningsidebyside，andpartlycoalescingwitheachother，ineachofwhichserieseachcoinmakesanumberofmoves，thenumberbeinggreaterorlessaccordingtocircumstances。Thetotalnumberofmovesmadebyallthecirculatingcoinsofonedenominationbeinggiven，wecanarriveattheaveragenumberofmovesmadebyasinglecoinofthatdenomination，orattheaveragevelocityofthecurrencyofmoney。Thequantityofmoneythrownintothecirculationatthebeginningofeachdayisofcoursedeterminedbythesumofthepricesofallthecommoditiescirculatingsimultaneouslysidebyside。Butonceincirculation，coinsare，sotosay，maderesponsibleforoneanother。Iftheoneincreaseitsvelocity，theothereitherretardsitsown，oraltogetherfallsoutofcirculation;forthecirculationcanabsorbonlysuchaquantityofgoldaswhenmultipliedbythemeannumberofmovesmadebyonesinglecoinorelement，isequaltothesumofthepricestoberealised。Henceifthenumberofmovesmadebytheseparatepiecesincrease，thetotalnumberofthosepiecesincirculationdiminishes。

Ifthenumberofthemovesdiminish，thetotalnumberofpiecesincreases。

Sincethequantityofmoneycapableofbeingabsorbedbythecirculationisgivenforagivenmeanvelocityofcurrency，allthatisnecessaryinordertoabstractagivennumberofsovereignsfromthecirculationistothrowthesamenumberofone—poundnotesintoit，atrickwellknowntoallbankers。

Justasthecurrencyofmoney，generallyconsidered，isbutareflexofthecirculationofcommodities，oroftheantitheticalmetamorphosestheyundergo，so，too，thevelocityofthatcurrencyreflectstherapiditywithwhichcommoditieschangetheirforms，thecontinuedinterlacingofoneseriesofmetamorphoseswithanother，thehurriedsocialinterchangeofmatter，therapiddisappearanceofcommoditiesfromthesphereofcirculation，andtheequallyrapidsubstitutionoffreshonesintheirplaces。Hence，inthevelocityofthecurrencywehavethefluentunityoftheantitheticalandcomplementaryphases，theunityoftheconversionoftheusefulaspectofcommoditiesintotheirvalue—aspect，andtheirre—conversionfromthelatteraspecttotheformer，ortheunityofthetwoprocessesofsaleandpurchase。Ontheotherhand，theretardationofthecurrencyreflectstheseparationofthesetwoprocessesintoisolatedantitheticalphases，reflectsthestagnationinthechangeofform，andtherefore，inthesocialinterchangeofmatter。Thecirculationitself，ofcourse，givesnocluetotheoriginofthisstagnation;itmerelyputsinevidencethephenomenonitself。Thegeneralpublic，who，simultaneouslywiththeretardationofthecurrency，seemoneyappearanddisappearlessfrequentlyattheperipheryofcirculation，naturallyattributethisretardationtoaquantitativedeficiencyinthecirculatingmedium。[30]

Thetotalquantityofmoneyfunctioningduringagivenperiodasthecirculatingmedium，isdetermined，ontheonehand，bythesumofthepricesofthecirculatingcommodities，andontheotherhand，bytherapiditywithwhichtheantitheticalphasesofthemetamorphosesfollowoneanother。

Onthisrapiditydependswhatproportionofthesumofthepricescan，ontheaverage，berealisedbyeachsinglecoin。Butthesumofthepricesofthecirculatingcommoditiesdependsonthequantity，aswellasontheprices，ofthecommodities。Thesethreefactors，however，stateofprices，quantityofcirculatingcommodities，andvelocityofmoney—currency，areallvariable。Hence，thesumofthepricestoberealisedjandconsequentlythequantityofthecirculatingmediumdependingonthatsum，willvarywiththenumerousvariationsofthesethreefactorsincombination。Ofthesevariationsweshallconsiderthosealonethathavebeenthemostimportantinthehistoryofprices。

Whilepricesremainconstant，Shequantityofthecirculatingmediummayincreaseowingtothenumberofcirculatingcommoditiesincreasing，ortothevelocityofcurrencydecreasing，ortoacombinationofthetwo。

Ontheotherhandthequantityofthecirculatingmediummaydecreasewithadecreasingnumberofcommodities，orwithanincreasingrapidityoftheircirculation。

Withageneralriseinthepricesofcommodities，thequantityofthecirculatingmediumwillremainconstant，providedthenumberofcommoditiesincirculationdecreaseproportionallytotheincreaseintheirprices，orprovidedthevelocityofcurrencyincreaseatthesamerateaspricesrise，thenumberofcommoditiesincirculationremainingconstant。Thequantityofthecirculatingmediummaydecrease，owingtothenumberofcommoditiesdecreasingmorerapidly;ortothevelocityofcurrencyrise。

Withageneralfallinthepricesofcommodities，thequantityofthecirculatingmediumwillremainconstant，providedthenumberofcommoditiesincreaseproportionallytotheirfallinprice，orprovidedthevelocityofcurrencydecreaseinthesameproportion。Thequantityofthecirculatingmediumwillincrease，providedthenumberofcommoditiesincreasequicker，ortherapidityofcirculationdecreasequicker，thanthepricesfall。

Thevariationsofthedifferentfactorsmaymutuallycompensateeachother，sothatnotwithstandingtheircontinuedinstability，thesumofthepricestoberealisedandthequantityofmoneyincirculationremainconstant;consequently，wefind，especiallyifwetakelongperiodsintoconsideration，thatthedeviationsfromtheaveragelevel，ofthequantityofmoneycurrentinanycountry，aremuchsmallerthanweshouldatfirstsightexpect，apartofcoursefromexcessiveperturbationsperiodicallyarisingfromindustrialandcommercialcrises，orlessfrequently，fromfluctuationsinthevalueofmoney。

Thelaw，thatthequantityofthecirculatingmediumisdeterminedbythesumofthepricesofthecommoditiescirculating，andtheaverageincreasingmorerapidly，thanpricesvelocityofcurrency[31]mayalsobestatedasfollows:giventhesumofthevaluesofcommodities，andtheaveragerapidityoftheirmetamorphoses，thequantityofpreciousmetalcurrentasmoneydependsonthevalueofthatpreciousmetal。Theerroneousopinionthatitis，onthecontrary，pricesthataredeterminedbythequantityofthecirculatingmedium，andthatthelatterdependsonthequantityofthepreciousmetalsinacountry;[32]thisopinionwasbasedbythosewhofirstheldit，ontheabsurdhypothesisthatcommoditiesarewithoutaprice，andmoneywithoutavalue，whentheyfirstenterintocirculation，andthat，onceinthecirculation，analiquotpartofthemedleyofcommoditiesisexchangedforanaliquotpartoftheheapofpreciousmetals。[33]

C。CoinandsymbolsofvalueThatmoneytakestheshapeofcoin，springsfromitsfunctionasthecirculatingmedium。Theweightofgoldrepresentedinimaginationbythepricesormoney—namesofcommodities，mustconfrontthosecommodities，withinthecirculation，intheshapeofcoinsorpiecesofgoldofagivendenomination。

Coining，liketheestablishmentofastandardofprices，isthebusinessoftheState。Thedifferentnationaluniformswornathomebygoldandsilverascoins，anddoffedagaininthemarketoftheworld，indicatetheseparationbetweentheinternalornationalspheresofthecirculationofcommodities，andtheiruniversalsphere。

Theonlydifference，therefore，betweencoinandbullion，isoneofshape，andgoldcanatanytimepassfromoneformtotheother。[34]Butnosoonerdoescoinleavethemint，thanitimmediatelyfindsitselfonthehigh—roadtothemeltingpot。Duringtheircurrency，coinswearaway，somemore，othersless。Nameandsubstance，nominalweightandrealweight，begintheirprocessofseparation。Coinsofthesamedenominationbecomedifferentinvalue，becausetheyaredifferentinweight。Theweightofgoldfixeduponasthestandardofprices，deviatesfromtheweightthatservesasthecirculatingmedium，andthelattertherebyceasesanylongertobearealequivalentofthecommoditieswhosepricesitrealises。

Thehistoryofcoinageduringthemiddleagesanddownintothe18thcentury，recordstheeverrenewedconfusionarisingfromthiscause。Thenaturaltendencyofcirculationtoconvertcoinsintoameresemblanceofwhattheyprofesstobe，intoasymboloftheweightofmetaltheyareofficiallysupposedtocontain，isrecognisedbymodernlegislation，whichfixesthelossofweightsufficienttodemonetiseagoldcoin，ortomakeitnolongerlegaltender。