Smith referred to the habit of rulers to debase their coinage, e.g. see
https://www.cato.org/policy-report/julyaugust-2011/deficits-debt-debasement
and
https://fee.org/articles/inflation-money-and-freedom/
But Smith also famously thought the precious metals were “wasteful” in the sense that you had to devote real resources into their production as coins.