![]() ![]() ![]() Congress also provided for “free coinage”: namely that “any person” mightīring to the * * * mint gold and silver bullion, in order to their being coined and the bullion so brought shall be coined as speedily as may be after the receipt thereof, and that free of expense to the person * * * by whom the same shall have been brought. And it made all the gold and silver coins * * * issued from the * * * mint * * * a lawful tender in all payments whatsoever, those of full weight according to the respective values * * * declared, and those of less than full weight at values proportional to their respective weights”. For, following Hamilton’s recommendation, Congress fixed the proportional value of gold to silver in all coins which shall by law be current as money within the United States” at “fifteen to one, according to quantity in weight, of pure gold or pure silver”. It reiterated the judgment of the Continental Congress and the Constitution that “the money of account of the United States shall be expressed in dollars or units,” and defined the “DOLLARS OR UNITS” in terms of weight, as “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 * * * silver.” Recognizing that to adopt Hamilton’s suggestion of a parallel “gold dollar” would cause confusion, Congress created no such coin, instead mandating the coinage of “EAGLES”, “each to be of the value of ten dollars or units, and to contain two hundred and forty-seven grains and four eighths of a grain of pure * * * gold”, the weight of fine gold then believed equivalent in the market place to 3, 712-½ grains of fine silver. Congress followed common-law tradition by continuing the use of silver, gold, and copper as “Money”. The Coinage Act of 1792 initiated a new statutory system, embodying the common-law and constitutional principles Hamilton had reaffirmed in his Report. Nowhere did the Act refer to a “gold dollar,” only to various gold coins of other names that it valued in “dollars.” Ģ.) An Act establishing a Mint, Act of 2 April 1792, § 9, 1 Stat. It explicitly defined the “dollar” as a fixed weight of silver, and “regulate the Value” of gold coins according to this standard unit (or money of account) and the market exchange-ratio between the two metals. (troy) of fine silver.” The Act did no such thing. For example, the Encyclopaedia Britannica erroneously reports that the “dollar * * * was defined in the Coinage Act of 1792 as either 24.75 gr. Thus, Congress did not establish a “gold dollar,” or enact a “gold standard,” as the popular misconception holds. Following Hamilton’s recommendation, though, it fixed “the proportional value of gold to silver in all coins which shall by law be current as money within the United States” at “fifteen to one, according to quantity in weight, of pure gold or pure silver.” And it made “all the gold and silver coins * * * issued from the * * * mint * * * a lawful tender in all payments whatsoever, those of full weight according to the respective values, and those of less than full weight at values proportional to their respective weights.” Recognizing that to adopt Alexander Hamilton’s suggestion of a “gold dollar” would cause confusion and require constant governmental supervision to “regulate * * * Value,” Congress created no such coin, instead mandating the coinage of “EAGLES,” “each to be of the value of ten dollars or units,” that is, of the weight of fine gold equivalent in the marketplace to 371.25 grains of fine silver. ![]() For a more extensive analysis on the significance of this, see What is a “Dollar”?: An Historical Analysis of the Fundamental Question In Monetary Policy ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |