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Webster 1913 Edition
Seigniorage
Seign′ior-age
,Noun.
[F.
seigneuriage
, OF. seignorage
.] 1.
Something claimed or taken by virtue of sovereign prerogative; specifically, a charge or toll deducted from bullion brought to a mint to be coined; the difference between the cost of a mass of bullion and the value as money of the pieces coined from it.
If government, however, throws the expense of coinage, as is reasonable, upon the holders, by making a charge to cover the expense (which is done by giving back rather less in coin than has been received in bullion, and is called “levying a
seigniorage
”), the coin will rise to the extent of the seigniorage
above the value of the bullion. J. S. Mill.
2.
A share of the receipts of a business taken in payment for the use of a right, as a copyright or a patent.
Webster 1828 Edition
Seigniorage
SEIGNIORAGE
,Noun.
Definition 2024
seigniorage
seigniorage
English
Alternative forms
Noun
seigniorage (plural seigniorages)
- (historical) All the revenue obtained by a feudal lord from his vassals.
- The revenue obtained directly by minting coin (difference between cost of metal and face value).
- (finance) The revenue obtained by the difference between interest earned on securities acquired in exchange for bank notes and the costs of producing and distributing those notes.