seigniorage

or seign·or·age

[ seen-yer-ij ]

noun
  1. something claimed by a sovereign or superior as a prerogative.

  2. a charge on bullion brought to the mint to be coined.

  1. the difference between the cost of the bullion plus minting expenses and the value as money of the pieces coined, constituting a source of government revenue.

Origin of seigniorage

1
1400–50; late Middle English seigneurage<Middle French seignorage, seigneurage;see seigneur, -age

Words Nearby seigniorage

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use seigniorage in a sentence

  • What are the advantages and disadvantages of a seigniorage tax?

  • All commodities of export would fall in price at once, or fail to rise, to the extent of the seigniorage.

    Readings in Money and Banking | Chester Arthur Phillips
  • Now the immediate effect of a seigniorage would be, as Professor Fisher points out, a readjustment of the par of foreign exchange.

    Readings in Money and Banking | Chester Arthur Phillips
  • It is on this principle that paper money circulates; the whole charge for paper money may be considered a seigniorage.

    The Value of Money | Benjamin M. Anderson, Jr.
  • seigniorage is the right the ruler or state has to charge for coinage, or it is the charge made for coinage.

    The Principles of Economics | Frank A. Fetter

British Dictionary definitions for seigniorage

seigniorage

/ (ˈseɪnjərɪdʒ) /


noun
  1. something claimed by a sovereign or superior as a prerogative, right, or due

  2. a fee payable to a government for coining bullion

  1. the difference in value between the cost of bullion and the face value of the coin made from it

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012