To prevent such abuses, to facilitate exchanges, and thereby to encourage all sorts of industry and commerce, it has been found necessary, in all countries that have made any considerable advances toward improvement, to affix a public stamp upon certain quantities of such particular metals as were in those countries commonly made use of to purchase goods. Hence the origin of coined money, and of those public offices called mints; institutions exactly of the same nature with those of the ancient alnagers (inspectors) and stampmasters of woolen and linen cloth. All of them are equally meant to establish, by means of a public stamp, the quantity and uniform goodness of those different commodities when brought to market.