issued under the act. The purchasing clause of the act of July 14, 1890, was repealed by the act of November 1, 1893.

The act of June 9, 1879, made the subsidiary silver coins of the United States legal tender to the amount of $10. The minor coins are legal tender to the amount of 25 cents.

MONETARY UNIT.

The unit of currency in the United States is the gold dollar, having a standard weight of 25.8 gains.

SOME FACTS FROM OFFICIAL SOURCES RESPECTING ITS

ADOPTION.

[R. E. Preston, Director of the Mint.]

COLONIAL PERIOD.

The unit of account was the Spanish "milled dollar" or piece of eight (pieza de ocho). Up to about 1775, however, accounts were kept in pounds, shillings, and pence-a pound consisting then, as now, of 20 shillings, and a shilling of 12 pence "Colonial" or "pound currency," 133 1-3 pounds of which were equal to 100 pounds sterling. Four pounds "Colonial currency" were, therefore, equal to 3 pounds sterling. This par of the Colonial and the sterling pound was established by the fact that the Spanish piaster, or milled dollar, was worth, in the Colonies, 6 shillings, while in England it was valued at only 4% shillings.

[From Morris's Report, January 15, 1782.]

The various coins which have circulated in America have undergone different changes in their value, so that there is hardly any which can be considered as a general standard, unless it be Spanish dollars; these pass in Georgia at 5 shillings, in North Carolina and New York, at 8 shillings, in Virginia and the four Eastern States, at 6 shillings, in all the other States, except South Carolina, at 7 shillings and sixpence, and in South Carolina at 32 shillings and sixpence. The money unit of а new coin, to agree without a fraction with all these different values of a dollar, except the last, will be the fourteen hundred and for tieth part of a dollar, equal to the sixteen hundredth part of a It has been already observed, that to have the money unit very small is advantageous to commerce; but there is no necessity that this money unit be exactly represented in coin; it is sufficient that its value be precisely nown. A dollar contains, by the best assays which I have been able to get, about 373 grains of fine silver, and that at the mint price

crown

***

* *

*

would be 1,440 units.

In like manner, if crowns contain from 414 to 415 grains of fine silver, they would, at the mint price, be worth 1,600 units.

[From Jefferson's Notes.]

In fixing the unit of money these circumstances are of a principal importance:

1. That it be of a convenient size to be applied as a measure to the common money transactions of life.

2. That its parts and multiples be in an easy proportion to each other so as to facilitate the money arithmetic.

3. That the unit and its parts or divisions be so nearly of the value of some of the known coins as that they may be of easy adoption for the people.

The Spanish dollar seems to fulfill all these conditions.

1. Taking into our view all money transactions, great and small, I question if a common measure of more convenient size than the dollar could be proposed. The value of 100, 1,000 and 10,000 dollars is well estimated by the mind; so is that of the tenth or the hundredth of a dollar. Few transactions are above or below these limits. The expediency of attending to the size of the money unit will be evident to anyone who will consider how inconvenient it would be to a manufacturer or merchant, if, instead of the yard for measuring cloth, either the inch or the mill had been made the unit of measure.

If we adopt the dollar for our unit we should strike four coins, one of gold, two of silver, and one of copper, viz:

1. A golden piece equal in value to $10.

2. The unit or dollar itself, of silver.

3. The tenth of a dollar, of silver also.

4. The hundredth of a dollar, of copper.

Supposed to have been sent to Congress, same date as that of Mr. Morris, January 15, 1782.] The suggestion of Mr. Jefferson was adopted, as shown by the following, from the Journal of the Continental Congress.

[In the Continental Congress.]

"Wednesday, July 6, 1785, Congress took into consideration the report of the grand committee on the subject of a money unit; and on the question, That the money unit of the United States of America be one dollar, the yeas and nays being required by Mr. Howell, every member answering yea, it was:

"Resolved, That the money unit of the United States of America be one dollar.

"Resolved, That the smallest coin be of copper, of which 200 shall pass for one dollar.

"Resolved, That the several prices shall increase in a decimal ratio." Journal of the Continental Congress, vol. x, pp. 157, 158. No mint was established by the Confederation, and no coinage was attempted until after the adoption of the Constitution.

"The Original Coinage Act, Section 9, in which the Money Unit was established.

"SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That there shall be from time to time struck and coined at the said mint coins of gold, silver, and copper, of the following denominations, values, and descriptions, viz: Eagles-each to be of the value of ten dollars or units, and to contain two hundred and forty-seven grains and foureighths of a grain of pure, or two hundred and seventy grains of standard gold. Half eagles-each to be of the value of five dollars, and to contain one hundred and twenty-three grains and six-eighths of a grain of pure, or one hundred and thirty-five grains of standard gold. Quarter eagles-each to be of the value of two dollars and a half dollar, and to contain sixty-one grains and seven-eighths of a grain of pure, or sixty-seven grains and four-eighths of a grain of standard gold. Dollars or units-each to be of the value of a Spanish milled dollar as the same is now current, and to contain three hundred and seventy-one grains and four-sixteenth parts of a grain of pure, or four hundred and sixteen grains of standard silver. Half dollars-each to be of half the value of the dollar or unit, and to contain one hundred and eighty-five grains and ten-sixteenth parts of a grain of pure, or two hundred and eight grains of standard silvger. Quarter dollars-each to be of one-fourth the value of the dollar or unit, and to contain ninety-two grains and thirteen-sixteenth parts of a grain of pure, or one hundred and four grains of standard silver. Dimes-each to be of the value of one-tenth of a dollar or unit, and to contain thirty-seven grains and two-sixteenth parts of a grain of pure, or forty-one grains and three-fifths parts of a grain of standard silver. Half dimes-each to be of the value of onetwentieth of a dollar, and to contain eighteen grains and nine-sixteenth parts of a grain of pure, or twenty grains and four-fifths of a grain of standard silver. Cents-each to be of the value of one-hundredth part of a dollar, and to contain eleven pennyweights of copper. Half cents-each to be of the value of a half cent, and to contain five pennyweights and half a pennyweight of copper.

GOLD VALUE OF LEGAL-TENDER NOTES, 1862-1879.

Premium on gold, and gold value of United States legal-tender notes from 1862 to January 1, 1879.

The total redemptions of notes in gold and the exports of that metal during each fiscal year since the resumption of specie payments have been as follows:

SUMMARY OF MONETARY EVENTS SINCE 1786.

1786. Establishment of the double standard in the United States with a ratio of 1 to 15.25; that is, on the basis of 123.134 grains of fine gold for the half eagle, or $5 piece, and 375.64 grains of fine silver for the dollar, without any actual coinage.

1792.-Adoption of the ratio of 1 to 15 and establishment of a mint with free and gratuitous coinage in the United States; the silver dollar equal to 371 grains fine, the eagle to 2471⁄2 grains fine.

1803.-Establishment of the double standard in France on the basis of the ratio of 1 to 15%, notwithstanding the fact that the market ratio was then about 1 to 15.

1810.

Introduction of the silver standard in Russia on the basis of the ruble of 17.99 grams of fine silver, followed in 1871 by the coinage of imperials, or gold pieces of 5 rubles, of 5.998 grams; therefore, with a ratio of 1 to 15. This ratio was changed by the increase of the imperial to 5 rubles 15 copecks, and later to 1 to 15.45.

1815. Great depreciation of paper money in England, reaching 26% per cent in May. Course of gold, £5 6s., and of silver, 711⁄2d. per ounce standard. In December the loss was only 6 per cent; gold at this period was quoted at £4 3s., and silver at 64d.

1816.-Abolition of the double standard in England, which had had as its basis the ratio of 1 to 15.21, and adoption of the gold standard on the basis of the pound sterling at 7.322 grams fine in weight.

Coinage of divisional money at the rate of 66d. per ounce. Extreme prices, £4 2s. for gold and 64d. for silver; in January, £3 18s. Cd., and 594d. in December.

1816. Substitution for the ratio of 1 to 15.5 in Holland, established by a rather confused coinage, of the ratio of 1 to 15%.

1819.-Abolition of forced currency in England. Price of gold. £3 17s. 10d., and of silver, 62d.* per ounce in October, against £4 1s. 6d. and 67d. in February.

1832. Introduction of the monetary system of France in Belgium, with a decree providing for the coinage of pieces of 20 and 40 francs, which, however, were not stamped. Silver, 593⁄4d.

1834. Substitution of the ratio of 1 to 16 for that of 1 to 15 in the United States by reducing the weight of the eagle, tendollar gold piece, from 270 grains to 258 grains.

In 1837 the fineness of the United States gold coins was raised from .899,225 to .900, and the silver coins from .892.4 to .900, giv

The price of silver given hereafter represents the average rate per ounce standard-that is, the mean between the highest price and the lowest price quoted during the year.