SEIGNIORAGES
Noun
seigniorages
plural of seigniorage
Source: Wiktionary
SEIGNIORAGE
Seign"ior*age, n. Etym: [F. seigneuriage, OF. seignorage.]
1. Something claimed or taken by virtue of sovereign prerogative;
specifically, a charge or toll deducted from bullion brought to a
mint to be coined; the difference between the cost of a mass of
bullion and the value as money of the pieces coined from it.
If government, however, throws the expense of coinage, as is
reasonable, upon the holders, by making a charge to cover the expense
(which is done by giving back rather less in coin than has been
received in bullion, and is called "levying a seigniorage"), the coin
will rise to the extent of the seigniorage above the value of the
bullion. J. S. Mill.
2. A share of the receipts of a business taken in payment for the use
of a right, as a copyright or a patent.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition