A change in the value of gold, and so of ¼ ounce gold coin, changes its proportional relation to all other commodities, so that the gold/money prices of these commodities change, but they do so all by the same proportion so that the relation to each other remains constant. It is this change in the value of the money commodity, which is the basis of inflation/deflation, i.e. a change in the prices of all commodities, and so of the general level of prices. Inflation is a monetary phenomena. As Marx points out, if gold is replaced by silver, as the standard of prices, then the prices of commodities would appear much higher, even though their values and exchange values, one to another, remain unchanged. That is because an ounce of silver has much less value than an ounce of gold. It represents much less social labour-time. In order to perform the function of universal equivalent form of value, i.e. to be the equal to the social labour-time represented by all other commodities, many more silver coins are required than gold coins.
And, similarly, if the value of gold remains constant, but the gold content of a coin is halved, it represents only half the social labour-time as before, and so twice as many must be put into circulation, with prices then doubling. Of course, this does not change the fact that the value of the individual commodities may also change, and so their money prices change. If 1 metre of linen has a value of 10 hours labour, equal to 1 gram of gold, with the name £1, if the value of linen rises to 20 hours of labour, then its proportional relation to gold will also change. It will be equal to 2 grams of gold or £2. But, this is not inflation. It is not a proportional change in all commodities' prices resulting from a devaluation of the currency. The proportional value of linen would change as well as its relation to gold. If the value of wine remained constant, for example, the wine price of linen would also double. It implies no proportional increase in the general price level.
Of course, the two things accompany one another. A general inflation of prices goes along with continual changes in the values of individual commodities, which affects their prices. So, as well as changes in the general price level, there will also be changes in the exchange values of one commodity measured in some other commodity. If the currency is devalued by 50% then the general price level would double, but if the value of linen fell by 75%, its money price would fall. In other words, if a metre of linen has a value of ten hours labour, equal to a gram of gold (£1), then, if the £ falls to 5 hours, the price of linen rises £2. However, if the value of linen falls by 75% to 2.5 hours, its price will fall to £0.50.
At the same time, if the value of a litre of wine was ten hours of labour, and remains the same, its money price rises to £2, but, now, where previously a litre of wine had the exchange-value of 1 metre of linen, it now has the exchange-value of 4 metres of linen. That proportional change has nothing to do with money, or inflation, which is a monetary phenomenon, but is solely a result of the proportional change in value of linen and wine.
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