Duties of a State Goldsmith in the High Roads

Duties of a State Goldsmith in the High Roads

Duties of a State Goldsmith in the High Roads include his duty to manufacture gold and silver coins for trade which has been elaborately discussed in chapter XIV of Book II in Arthashastra.

Duties of a State Goldsmith in High Roads talks of a state goldsmith who shall employ such artisans to manufacture gold and silver coins. The goldsmith of mint shall manufacture the coins in gold and silver and return to the owners in the same quantity and weight except those which are found defective. The artisans were supposed to manufacture these within the specified time limit during which if they spoil the coins they shall have to pay a fine of twice the amount of their wages as well as forfeit their salaries; and if postpone their work, they shall forfeit one-fourth of their salaries and pay a fine of twice the amount of their forfeited amount. Thus duties of a state goldsmith make full efforts to fulfil the job at the time specified.

Duties of state goldsmith empowers the state goldsmith to gather all information from the artisans employed in the mint concerning pure gold , metallic mass , coins and rate of exchange. Arthashastra specifies the levels of weights to be given by the state goldsmith during the manufacture of gold and silver coins. It further specifies the colour combinations provided for the manufactured products. The artisan manufacturing the coins will be punishable in the first amercement if the quality of the coin is less than the weight of the masha is lowered, he shall be punished in the second amercement if the weight is less than the standard weight, and deception of balance and weight shall be punished in the highest amercement. Besides this whoever is found manufacturing gold and silver coins other than the mint will be punishable.

Duties of State goldsmith further empowers the superintendent to demarcate the types of artisan work which includes compact work, compact and hollow work, soldering, amalgamation, enclosing and gilding. The state goldsmith also specifies the types of false balances which are used by the frauds to cheat the common man. False balances include removal, droping, folding and confounding. As with these methods efforts are made to deceive people it adds to the duty of the state goldsmith to specify the types of false balances in order to check the people from default. False balances include such manufactured products which have either broken parts or in which the pure gold has been replaced by two parts of silver and one part of copper. Some products may have hidden metallic pieces while some have folded pieces done during soldering .As such the state goldsmith will ascertain these verifications which will need rechecking .

Duties of state goldsmith as such allow the state goldsmith who is supposed to infer deception whenever the artisans are found to be paying more attention creating the products. In case of silver any mixture will leave strong smell which will be checked at once.

Thus, Duties of State Goldsmith is to examine new as well as old gold and silver, their colour and their purity and impose the fines as prescribed in the Arthashastra.

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