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# Smuggling of Precious Metals

## Definition

The illegal export of gold and silver across borders to avoid government restrictions, driven by private profit opportunities when the legal price differential between markets exceeds the risks and costs of illicit transportation.

## Source Chapter

Book IV, Chapter 1

## Context

Smith uses the inevitability of smuggling to demonstrate the futility of prohibitions on precious metal exports. He argues that when profitable opportunities exist, private individuals will find ways to circumvent legal restrictions, making such laws ineffective and merely adding unnecessary costs to legitimate trade.

## Economic Domain

Exchange

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