Ruding's History of the Coinage, first edition about 30 years later than Wealth of Nations, gives a great deal of detail (from the English perspective) relating to efforts of mediaeval & early-modern European States to attract & retain precious metals.
Throughout the late mediaeval period, it appears that the transition from an economy in which exchange was not the predominant element, & exchanges were not necessarily performed in money, toward a money economy, led to currency famines — in other words, the supply of coins was not adequate for the transactions people wanted to perform. Similar phenomena recur until the early 20th Century (for instance, during the Presidential campaign of 1896, in New York City "money" was easy enough to obtain, but merchants were offering $105 or more in gold for 100 silver dollars, & so on downward), when significant changes in the operation of money economies made them far less significant. "Clearing house certificates" issued by associations of local banks, to circulate in lieu of currency, make a minor appearance in the USA during the early 1930s, but I have no more recent notice of them.
The severe inconveniences attendant upon such a shortage of circulating medium led to various attempts at encouraging the precious metals to flow into countries, & discouraging them from flowing out, as well as requirements to convert all money brought into a country into the coin of that country, et cetera. All of these were more or less ineffective, & many were actually counterproductive. For instance, the great shortage of circulating silver in England during the whole of the 18th Century is attributable in great part to the lack of a tax imposed on silver brought to the Mint. Despite the most sanguinary prohibitions, people would sort out the heavier coins issued out from the lighter (since they were by no means uniform), then melt them, take them back to the Mint, & get a larger sum of coin than they had before. A small seigniorage to cover the expence of coining would have greatly ameliorated the situation, especially as it would also have reduced the effect of the overvaluation of gold.
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Throughout the late mediaeval period, it appears that the transition from an economy in which exchange was not the predominant element, & exchanges were not necessarily performed in money, toward a money economy, led to currency famines — in other words, the supply of coins was not adequate for the transactions people wanted to perform. Similar phenomena recur until the early 20th Century (for instance, during the Presidential campaign of 1896, in New York City "money" was easy enough to obtain, but merchants were offering $105 or more in gold for 100 silver dollars, & so on downward), when significant changes in the operation of money economies made them far less significant. "Clearing house certificates" issued by associations of local banks, to circulate in lieu of currency, make a minor appearance in the USA during the early 1930s, but I have no more recent notice of them.
The severe inconveniences attendant upon such a shortage of circulating medium led to various attempts at encouraging the precious metals to flow into countries, & discouraging them from flowing out, as well as requirements to convert all money brought into a country into the coin of that country, et cetera. All of these were more or less ineffective, & many were actually counterproductive. For instance, the great shortage of circulating silver in England during the whole of the 18th Century is attributable in great part to the lack of a tax imposed on silver brought to the Mint. Despite the most sanguinary prohibitions, people would sort out the heavier coins issued out from the lighter (since they were by no means uniform), then melt them, take them back to the Mint, & get a larger sum of coin than they had before. A small seigniorage to cover the expence of coining would have greatly ameliorated the situation, especially as it would also have reduced the effect of the overvaluation of gold.
But I could discuss this at length…