LSAT Explanation PT 25, S2, Q13: Numismatist: In medieval Spain, most gold

LSAT Question Stem

Which one of the following inferences about gold coins minted in medieval Spain is most strongly supported by the information the numismatist gives? 

Logical Reasoning Question Type

This is a Most Strongly supported question. 

Correct Answer

The correct answer to this question is B. 

LSAT Question Complete Explanation

This LSAT problem is a Most Strongly Supported (MSS) question, meaning we are looking for an answer choice that can be proven using the facts provided in the passage.

Let's first analyze and summarize the information in the passage. The numismatist states that in medieval Spain, most gold coins were made from gold mined in West Africa (now Senegal). This gold had a 92% gold content, which was the purest known at the time. Because of its purity, these coins could be minted without refining the gold. The passage also mentions that the mints could refine gold and produced other coins with purer gold content, but the Senegalese gold was never refined.

Now let's discuss the answer choices:

a) This answer choice suggests that coins minted from Senegalese gold had the same weight and proportion of gold. While we know that the gold content was 92%, the passage does not provide any information about the weight of the coins, so we cannot prove this statement.

b) This is the correct answer choice. Since we know that the mints produced coins with purer gold content than the 92% Senegalese gold, and that the Senegalese gold was never refined, it can be inferred that the source of some refined gold used for minting coins must have had a gold content of less than 92%.

c) The passage does not provide any information about the monetary value of the coins, so we cannot determine whether two coins with different gold content percentages could have the same monetary value.

d) This answer choice claims that no gold coins were minted with a gold content of less than 92%. However, the passage only states that the mints produced coins with purer gold content than the 92% Senegalese gold; it does not provide information about whether they minted coins with less than 92% gold content.

e) This answer choice suggests that Senegalese gold was the only unrefined gold from which coins could be minted. While the passage states that the Senegalese gold was the purest known and could be minted without refining, it does not explicitly state that it was the only unrefined gold that could be used for minting coins. There may have been slightly less pure gold that could also be minted without refining.