To laughter! The bright coinage of the bank of good will.

Antrim likens laughter to “coinage” minted by a figurative “bank of good will,” suggesting that humor functions as a kind of social currency. The metaphor emphasizes exchange: laughter circulates between people, easing interactions, paying small debts of awkwardness, and purchasing goodwill more effectively than solemnity. Calling it “bright” underscores both its cheerfulness and its value—something that glints, attracts, and is readily accepted. The exclamation “To laughter!” reads like a toast, elevating laughter from mere amusement to a civic virtue: a shared resource that enriches communities by making generosity, patience, and friendliness easier to extend and to receive.