Non-fiction: Monetae cudendae ratio

Overview
Nicolaus Copernicus, better known for astronomy, composed a concise but influential Latin treatise on coinage and monetary reform dated to 1526. The work critiques contemporary practices of debasing coinage and articulates practical principles for restoring and maintaining a sound currency. It combines empirical observation, administrative experience, and clear economic reasoning to address a crisis of confidence in money that impeded trade and fiscal stability in Royal Prussia.

Historical context
Sixteenth-century Central Europe experienced frequent currency dislocations brought on by war, fiscal pressure, and opportunistic debasement by local authorities. Copernicus served in administrative and ecclesiastical roles in Warmia and was closely acquainted with the operations of regional mints and market behavior. Trade in the Baltic region relied on trust in coin standards, and widespread clipping, melting and debasement had produced price distortions and commerce disruptions that demanded a practical remedy.

Main arguments
Copernicus insisted that the integrity of coinage is a public good and that deliberate reduction of precious-metal content to produce more nominal coin undermines economic stability. He explained that increasing the quantity of coin without a corresponding increase in real value raises prices, thereby harming wage earners and creditors and eroding trust. He also made the core observation that when low-quality and high-quality coins circulate together at equal legal value, the inferior coins drive the superior ones out of active use, a formulation anticipatory of what came to be called Gresham's law.

Policy recommendations
The treatise advocates a program of practical, enforceable reforms: establishing clear standards for weight and fineness, recalling and reminting debased issues, and preventing unauthorized coin clipping or private token issues. Copernicus recommended uniformity across mints in the region, transparent accounting of seigniorage, and firm legal penalties for counterfeiters and dishonest mint officials. He favored restoring a reliable metallic standard rather than resorting to continual debasement as a source of revenue, arguing that stable money facilitates trade and ultimately increases real tax receipts.

Style and method
The writing is concise, administrative and empirically grounded rather than purely theoretical. Observations are illustrated with practical examples drawn from local minting practices and market reactions. The tone combines moral concern for the commonwealth with technical attention to measures that rulers and municipal authorities could implement without doctrinal innovation.

Economic significance and legacy
Copernicus's monetary reflections constitute an early and clear statement of key monetary principles: the connections among metal content, money supply and price levels; the perverse incentives created by debasement; and the mechanism by which inferior currency displaces superior currency. While not a systematic monetary theory in modern terms, the treatise influenced regional policy debates in Poland and Prussia and anticipated later canonical statements in monetary economics. Its practical prescriptions for standardization and honest mint administration resonated with policymakers confronting the recurrent temptations to generate revenue by debasing coin.

Concluding perspective
The treatise remains noteworthy for applying observational rigor and administrative insight to a pressing economic problem of its day. It demonstrates how careful analysis of incentives and institutional design can produce durable recommendations: maintain coin integrity, standardize procedures, and resist short-term fiscal expedients that damage long-term economic health. Copernicus's contribution to monetary thought endures as an early model of policy-oriented economic reasoning grounded in concrete institutional realities.