金本位制的基础是金平价。金平价说的是两种货币的含金量或代表金量之比。铸币平价是金平价的一种表现形式,说的是两种铸币的含金量之比。以下对铸币平价的描述摘自克**曼《国际经济学》第9版: in a bimetallic system,a country's mint will coin specified amounts of gold or silver into the national currency unit(typically for a fee).in the united states before the civil war,for example,371.25 grains of silver(a grain being 1/480th of an ounce)or 23.22 grains of gold could be turned into,respectively,a silver or a gold dollar.that mint parity made gold worth times as much as silver. 金平价是整个金本位制的基础。金币本位制下,金平价表现为铸币平价;金块本位制和金汇兑本位制下,金平价表现为法定平价。