Other Issues of Silver Coin Various other silver coins have been issued. The trade dollar, issued by the Act of 1873, weighed 420 grains, or 7.5 grains more than the standard dollar. Though intended only for circulation in the Orient, the trade dollars circulated freely in our own coun try because when the price of silver fell it became profitable to take 420 grains of standard silver to the mint and have it minted into a circulating coin. With a view to stopping this circulation, their legal-tender quality was taken from them in 1876, and the Secretary of the Treasury was authorized to limit their coinage, from time to time, to such an amount as he might deem sufficient for the export demand. This he did in 1877, after $30,710,400 had been issued. In 1887 they were retired and discontinued. Special souvenir silver dollars, known as the "Lafayette dollar," were coined to commemorate the Pan-American Exposition at Buffalo in 1899. In 1892 and 1893 a limited number of souvenir Columbian halves and Isabella quarters were coined. By the law of 1918, provision is made for coining ioo,000 silver half-dollars of special design, commemorating the centenary of the admis sion of Illinois into the Union. Similar laws were passed in 1920 for Maine and Alabama; and the coinage of 300,000 half-dollars commemorating the landing of the Pilgrims was also authorized. In addition to these silver coins, the follow ing have also been coined for circulation: the 2o-cent piece, 1875-1878; the half-dime, 1792-1873; and the 3-cent piece, 1851-1873.
Nickel and Copper Coins The nickel 5-cent pieces of the present were first coined under the Act of 1866. They are composed of 75 per cent copper and 25 per cent nickel, and weigh 77.16 grams. The cent dates from 1792, the earliest being pure copper and weighing 168 grains, while those of the present time are bronze which is 95 per cent copper and 5 per cent tin and zinc, and weigh 48 grams. Between 1857 and 1864 the cent was of a nickel composition, 88 per cent copper and 12 per cent nickel; these coins are frequently found in circulation at the present time. Other minor coins issued have been : the nickel 3-cent piece, 1865-189o; the bronze 2-cent piece, 1864-1873; and the copper half-cent, 1796-1857.
The above lists contain the legal United States coinage. In addition certain coins have been issued by private persons—for instance, the 50-cent and 25-cent pieces issued in California.
Legal Tender of Coins Certain moneys of the United States are "lawful money." This term is used to denote the legal-tender quality of money, and dates from Legal tender is a quality given a circulating medium by act of Congress. A form of currency may have such attributes as to make it generally acceptable by custom and yet not possess the full legal-tender quality. Congress by jaw decrees that a circulating medium must, under specified conditions, be accepted by creditors from debtors in liquidation of debts which do not specify the form of money in which they are to be paid.
Gold coin is legal tender at its face value in payment of all debts, public and private, provided that the coin is not below the standard weight and limit of tolerance prescribed by law. When below such standard weight and limit of tolerance, gold coin is legal tender in proportion to its weight. Any gold coin, if re duced in weight by natural abrasion not more than I a per cent below the standard weight, after a circulation of twenty years as shown by its date of coinage, and at a ratable proportion for any period less than twenty years, is received at its nominal value by the United States Treasury, but any below this limit of tolerance are to be recoined. Any holder of coin below the limit is not likely to present it for recoinage if it is possible to circulate it, for he will lose its deficiency.
Silver dollars are legal tender at their face value in payment of all debts, public and private, without regard to the amount, ex cept where otherwise expressly stipulated in the contract. Gold
coins and silver dollars, being standard, are not redeemable.
Subsidiary silver coins are legal tender for amounts not ex ceeding $10 in any one payment. They may be presented in multiples of $20 to the Treasurer of the United States or the fed eral reserve banks for redemption into lawful money.
Minor coins of nickel and bronze are legal tender to the extent of 25 cents in one payment, and they are redeemable in multiples of $20, like subsidiary silver.
United States Mints and Assay Offices The place of coinage is called the "mint." There are eleven mint service institutions in the United States, situated as follows: coinage mints at Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Denver; mints at New Orleans and Carson City conducted as assay offices; an assay office at New York, which has a large trade in bars of fine gold and silver; and assay offices at Seattle, Boise, Helena, Salt Lake City, and Deadwood, which also function as bullion purchasing agencies for the large institutions.
The relative size and importance of the coinage mints are indicated by the following figures of the number (in millions) of pieces coined in the fiscal year 1918: No gold was coined in the year 1918, the banner year of the mint, when, besides 714.1 million pieces for the domestic coinage, some 52 million pieces were made for the Philippine and foreign governments. The domestic coinage for 1917 was 406.5 million pieces, and for 1916 it was 155 million. The value of the coinage for 1918 was: silver, $35 million; nickel, $4.1 million; bronze, $4.4 million; total, $43.6 million. The seigniorage on the coinage for the year amounted to $13.2 million on the subsidiary silver, and $7.2 million on the minor coins—total, $20.5 million; this con stituted a very large part of the total income realized by the Treasury from the mint service, which was $22.8 million. The operating expenses for the year were $2.2 million. To purchase metal for the manufacture of minor coins, Congress appropriates $200,00o as the minor coinage metal fund; there is an additional sum for the alloy metals.
Other Functions of the Mints Besides coinage, the mint institutions perform other functions: 1. The reduction, until recently, of silver dollars to bullion for shipment under the Pittman Act.
2. The reduction and recoinage of gold and silver coins that are unfit for circulation.
3. The making of assays at nominal cost for the mining industry.
4. The manufacture of gold and silver bars for shipment. In 1918 there were made 105,65o bars of gold weighing 14.8 million fine ounces and valued at $305.9 million, and 12,116 silver bars weighing 4.5 million fine ounces and valued at $3.6 million.
5. The receipt and determination of the values and payment for deposits of platinum, gold, and silver in the form of bullion, plate, and jewelry. These activities were very important during the war. The platinum was refined and made into shapes for the use of the government institutions. Refineries are located at New York, Denver, and San Francisco.
6. The testing of coins as to fineness, to see whether they come within legal requirements.
7. The manufacture of dies; this is done by the department of engraving at the Philadelphia Mint; in 1918 it made 11,029 dies.
8. The manufacture of medals; 14,531 medals of gold, silver, and bronze, were made in 1918.
9. The Philadelphia Mint is making a numismatic collection, by gift, purchase, etc.
The United States law (Revised Statutes, Section 3547) pro vides for an Assay Commission to examine and test the weight of the coins reserved at the several mints during the preceding year. This commission counts, weighs, and assays, and acts as a check and proof on the mint officials.