Thefirstspontaneouslyevolvedformofwealthconsistsofanoverplusorexcessofproducts,i。e。oftheportionofproductswhicharenotdirectlyrequiredasuse—values,orelseofthepossessionofproductswhoseuse—valueliesoutsidetherangeofmerenecessity。Whenconsideringthetransitionfromcommoditytomoney,wesawthatataprimitivestageofproductionitisthisoverplusorexcessofproductswhichreallyformsthesphereofcommodityexchange。Superfluousproductsbecomeexchangeableproductsorcommodities。Theadequateformofthissurplusisgoldandsilver,thefirstforminwhichwealthasabstractsocialwealthiskept。
Itisnotonlypossibletostorecommoditiesintheformofgoldandsilver,i。e。,inthematerialshapeofmoney,butgoldandsilverconstitutewealthinpreservedform。Everyuse—valuefulfilsitsfunctionwhileitisbeingconsumed,thatisdestroyed,buttheuse—valueofgoldasmoneyistorepresentexchange—value,tobetheembodimentofuniversallabour—timeasanamorphousrawmaterial。Asamorphousmetalexchange—valuepossessesanimperishableform。Goldorsilverasmoneythusimmobilisedconstitutesahoard。
Inthecaseofnationswithpurelymetalliccurrency,suchastheancients,hoardingbecomesauniversalpracticeextendingfromtheindividualtotheState,whichguardsitsStatehoard。InAsiaandEgypt,duringtheirearlyperiod,thesehoardswereinthecustodyofkingsandpriestsandservedmainlyasevidenceoftheirpower。InGreeceandRomethecreationofStatehoardsbecameaprincipleofpublicpolicy,forexcesswealthinthisformisalwayssafeandcanbeusedatanymoment。Therapidtransferofsuchhoardsbyconquerorsfromonecountrytoanotherandtheirsuddeneffusioninpartintothesphereofcirculationarecharacteristicsoftheeconomyofantiquity。
Asmaterialisedlabour—timegoldisapledgeforitsownmagnitudeofvalue,and,sinceitistheembodimentofuniversallabour—time,itscontinuousfunctionasexchange—valueisvouchedforbytheprocessofcirculation。Thesimplefactthatthecommodity—ownerisabletoretainhiscommoditiesintheformofexchange—value,ortoretaintheexchange—valueascommodities,makestheexchangeofcommodities,inordertorecoverthemtransformedintogold,thespecificmotiveofcirculation。ThemetamorphosisofcommoditiesC——Mtakesplaceforthesakeoftheirmetamorphosis,forthepurposeoftransformingparticularphysicalwealthintogeneralsocialwealth。Changeofform——insteadofexchangeofmatter——becomesanendinitself。Exchange—value,whichwasmerelyaform,isturnedintothecontentofthemovement。Commoditiesremainwealth,thatiscommodities,onlywhiletheykeepwithinthesphereofcirculation,andtheyremaininthisliquidstateonlyinsofarastheyossifyintosilverandgold。Theyremainliquidasthecrystallisationoftheprocessofcirculation。Butgoldandsilverestablishthemselvesasmoneyonlyinsofarastheydonotfunctionasmeansofcirculation。Theybecomemoneyasnon—meansofcirculation。Thewithdrawalofcommoditiesfromcirculationintheformofgoldisthustheonlymeansofkeepingthemcontinuouslyincirculation。
Theownerofcommoditiescanrecoverasmoneyfromcirculationonlyasmuchasheputintoitintheformofcommodities。Lookedatfromthestandpointofthecirculationofcommodities,thefirstconditionofhoardingisconstantselling,theincessantthrowingofcommoditiesintocirculation。