The Australian and California Gold Discoveries, and their Probable Consequences
Maker
Patrick James Stirling
Date1853
Object number00006156
NameBook
MediumLeather, hardboard, Ink on paper
DimensionsOverall: 194 x 131 x 27 mm, 0.45 kg
ClassificationsBooks and journals
Credit LineANMM Collection
Purchased with USA Bicentennial Gift funds
DescriptionA book by Patrick Sterling, F.R.S.E, titled 'The Australian and Californian Gold Discoveries, and their Probable Consequences; or, an Inquiry into the Laws which Determine the Value and Distribution of the Precious Metals: with Historical Notices of the Effects of the American Mines on European Prices in the Sixteen, Seventeenth, and Eighteenth Centuries. In a series of letters'. Published by Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh, 1853.HistoryPatrick James Stirling's book is an attempt to look at the effects on the world economy of the accelerated production of gold from the new mines in California and Australia. As an economist and lawyer, Stirling also looks at the nature and function of money in general, international exchange rates, the social effects of inflation and steps that government might take to lessen economic disturbances caused by changes in the value of money.
SignificanceThis is an early book linking Californian discoveries to the Australian goldfields and Sterling addresses the historical effects of American gold finds on European prices and considers the commercial potential of the 1850s discoveries on agriculture, commerce and manufacturing.
