debase

WordNet

lower in value by increasing the base-metal content (同)alloy
a person who lowers the quality or character or value (as by adding cheaper metal to coins) (同)degrader
lowered in value; "the dollar is low"; "a debased currency" (同)devalued, degraded
used of conduct; characterized by dishonor (同)degrading

PrepTutorEJDIC

〈人格・評板など〉'を'落とす,卑しくする / 〈硬貨の質〉'を'低下させる
(品性・貨壁仮値などの)低下,悪化,下落

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出典(authority):フリー百科事典『ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』「2015/04/27 14:22:07」(JST)

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Debasement is the practice of lowering the value of currency. It is particularly used in connection with commodity money such as gold or silver coins. A coin is said to be debased if the quantity of gold, silver, copper or nickel is reduced.

Examples

For example, the value of the denarius in Roman currency gradually decreased over time as the Roman government altered both the size and the silver content of the coin. Originally, the silver used was nearly pure, weighing about 4.5 grams. From time to time, this was reduced. During the Julio-Claudian dynasty, the Denarius contained approximately 4 grams of silver, and then was reduced to 3.8 grams under Nero. The Denarius continued to shrink in size and purity, until by the second half of the third century, it was only about 2% silver, and was replaced by the Argenteus.^[1]

Because of huge wealth, the Vijayanagara empire issued large quantities of gold coins. Harihara-I and Bukka (the founders of the famous Vijayanagar empire in South India) minted gold coins using debased gold. Gold fanams (a type of coin) and its fractions were minted by them for medium end transactions. ^[2]

Reasons for debasement

One reason a government will debase its currency is financial gain for the sovereign at the expense of citizens. By reducing the silver or gold content of a coin, a government can make more coins out of a given amount of specie. Inflation follows, allowing the sovereign to pay off or repudiate government bonds.^[3] However, the purchasing power of the citizens’ currency has been reduced. Another reason is to end a deflationary spiral.

Debasement was also the result of the value of the precious metal content rising above the face value of coins. As the market price of precious metal rose, the intrinsic value of coins would eventually rise above the face value and so a profit could be made from using coins as bullion rather than monetary instrument. This gave an incentive to money changers and mint masters to practice illegal debasement via clipping and sweating. Coins would also be melted down and exported. To anticipate these illegal debasements and preserve the quality and quantity of coins, the king would either debase or cry up the coinage (i.e. raise the face value of coins). Thus, debasement had its legitimate purposes and was welcome by the population if done to preserve the stability of the coinage ^[4]

Effects of debasement

Debasement lowers the intrinsic value of the coinage and so more coins can be made with the same quantity of precious metal. Debasement was not by itself a source of inflation, but it could have been so if the King spent too quickly and unproductively the extra financing capacity. The cause of inflation in medieval times is found in the type of spending that Kings did rather than the ability to debase; wars, huge castles, and other extravagant and unproductive expenses strained the resources of the economy. If the debased currency had been used methodically to fund projects that promote economic growth, high inflation would not have occurred. If done too frequently, debasement may lead to a new coin being adopted as a standard currency, as when the Ottoman Akçe was replaced by the Kuruş (1 kurus = 120 akçe), with the para (1/40 kurus) as a subunit. The Kurus in turn later became a subdivision of the lira.

Methods of debasement

Methods of coin debasement
The mint starts issuing coins of a certain face value, but with less metal content than previous issues. There will be an incentive to bring the old coins to the mint for re-minting – see Gresham's law. A revenue, called seigniorage, is made on this minting process.

Related uses

"Debasement" is also sometimes used to refer to the tendency of silver or gold coins to be "shaved", that is, to have small amounts shaved off the edges of the coins by unscrupulous users, thereby reducing the actual silver content of the coin. In order to prevent this, silver and gold coins began to be produced with milled edges, as many coins still do by tradition, although they no longer contain valuable metals. For example, the U.S. quarter and dime have milled edges. Coins that have traditionally been made purely of base metals, such as the U.S. nickel or the penny, are more likely to have unmilled edges.

By analogy, "debased currency" is sometimes used for anything whose value has been reduced, such as "Stardom is an utterly debased currency" in this article [1]

References

^ http://www.tulane.edu/~august/handouts/601cprin.htm
^ http://www.forumancientcoins.com/india/vijayngr/vij_coinage.html
^ Milton Friedman (1990). Free to choose: a personal statement. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 269.
^ Ralph George Hawtrey (1919). Currency and Credit. Longmans, Green and Co. p. 280-281.

English Journal

Food safety challenges--a Pakistan's perspective.

Akhtar S1.
Critical reviews in food science and nutrition.Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr.2015;55(2):219-26. doi: 10.1080/10408398.2011.650801.
Biological, chemical, and physical contamination of foods is a terrifying threat for the health and economic growth in developing societies. Rampantly available literature on foodborne illnesses especially diarrhea among children exclusively depicts the intensified disease burden associated with foo
PMID 24915401

In which wretched part of the world? A glimpse into western drug- and device-makers (and others) behaving badly.

Gillon JJ Jr1.
Indian journal of medical ethics.Indian J Med Ethics.2013 Jul-Sep;10(3):164-71.
A bioethics colleague wrote of the efforts of those in India "who struggle each and every day in this wretched part of the world" to eliminate corruption from the clinical and research practice of medicine, and from medical education. Wretchedness is the human condition. Corruption is endemic- and i
PMID 23912729

Effect of Sertraline on Current-Source Distribution of the High Beta Frequency Band: Analysis of Electroencephalography under Audiovisual Erotic Stimuli in Healthy, Right-Handed Males.

Lee SH1, Hyun JS, Kwon OY.
Korean journal of urology.Korean J Urol.2010 Aug;51(8):550-6. doi: 10.4111/kju.2010.51.8.550. Epub 2010 Aug 18.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the cerebral changes in high beta frequency oscillations (22-30 Hz) induced by sertraline and by audiovisual erotic stimuli in healthy adult males.MATERIALS AND METHODS: Scalp electroencephalographies (EEGs) were conducted twice in 11 healthy, right-
PMID 20733961

Japanese Journal

クラウドコンピューティングを用いた大規模コンテンツ配信基盤の構築と運用

岡本慶大,寺田直美,赤藤倫久 [他],岡本裕子,関谷勇司,河合栄治,藤川和利,砂原秀樹
情報処理学会研究報告. IOT, [インターネットと運用技術] 2011-IOT-12(30), 1-6, 2011-02-21
インターネットにおける大規模コンテンツ配信では,突発的なアクセス増加によりリソースの不足が起こると,大幅に配信品質が低下してしまう.この問題に対して,クラウドから計算機資源を一時借用し,品質低下を防ぐという解決法が考えられる.本論文では,全国高等学校野球選手権大会のインターネット中継において実施した,クラウドを利用した大規模コンテンツ配信実験について報告する.
NAID 110008583061

独立成分分析によるMIMO受信荷重の直接推定に関する基礎検討

塩見英久,岡村康行
電子情報通信学会技術研究報告. A・P, アンテナ・伝播 108(5), 19-22, 2008-04-10
MIMO通信においてチャネル測定誤差は通信性能を劣化させる要因のひとつである。本報告では、チャネル測定精度に依存しないMIMO受信荷重の直接決定方法を提案する。独立成分分析によるブラインド信号分離技術により、複数のアンテナから送信された信号を干渉なく受信することが可能であることを示した。チャネル行列の逆行列を用いる方法と提案手法とをシミュレーションにより比較したところ、チャネル測定誤差が過大な環境 …
NAID 110006878444

20世紀初頭の海峡植民地における通貨制度の展開

西村雄志
歴史と経済 47(4), 33-49, 2005-07-30
… At the same time, it decided to debase the silver content of the Straits coin by 25 per cent, in order to prevent the coins from being melted down for ingot. …
NAID 110007030113

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