GOLD COINAGE IN THE UNITED STATES. The Constitution having assigned to the Federal government exclusively the right of coinage, the Secretary of the Treas ury (Hamilton) in 1791 reported a plan for the establishment of a mint, and the Mint Act was passed 2 April 1792. In that act provi sion was made for the coining of gold, silver and copper—of gold eagles ( 10), half-eagles ($5) and quarter-eagles ($2.D0) ; of equiva lents of the Spanish dollar, designed to contain 371 4/16 grains of pure silver (416 grains of standard silver) ; and at the bottom of the list, copper cents, although the decimal system was adopted in principle, and that called for dimes and mills as well as for dollars and cents. Now, if we overlook, as is indeed customary, the smallest subsidiaries, it may be proper to say that a ((bimetallic" system was thus adopted. The ratio of gold to silver— the two metals then, and anachronistically still sometimes, called precious—was 15 to 1; and the standard of fineness of coins made chiefly of gold was 11/12. The mint was es tablished at Philadelphia: the opportunity for coinage was both free to all persons and gratuitous, exactly as instruction and training at a public school, turning the children taken there into scholars, was free and gratuitous.
So the coinage laws stood until 28 June 1834, when the weight and fineness of gold coins were reduced (the weight of an eagle from 270 to 258 grains, and its fineness from 916.66 to 899.225 in 1,000). Here we note the beginning of —or the recognition for utili tarian purposes of — the amended ratio of gold to silver; since under this act it became ap proximately 16 to 1 instead of 15 to 1. On 18 Jan. 1837 the fineness was made 900 to 1,000, at which standard it has remained ever since. A sufficient explanation of those changes (1834 and 1837) is found in the statement that gold was underestimated at the mint under the older mint-ratio of 15 to 1; in consequence of which little or no gold was taken thither for coinage; moreover the old coins, minted during the first part of the century, were with held from the general circulation.
A reversal of the above-mentioned policy of gratuitous coinage occurred 21 Feb: 1853, when a charge was imposed of one-half per cent for coining either gold or silver. Then, too, or during that mid-century period, important new coins were authorized: in 1849 the double-eagle and the gold dollar; in 1853 the gold three dollar piece. Twenty years later (1873) a thorough revision ,of the coinage laws had, as a noteworthy result, the establishment of the one-dollar gold-piece of 25.8 grains, 9/10 fine, in the post of honor — that of the unit of value. Again, after an interval of about 17 years, the purchase of silver was increased under the Sherman Act of 1890, although the coinage of silver dollars was conditioned upon the number of them required to redeem the treasury notes issued in compliance with that act's require ments; and in the same year the coinage of the one- and three-dollar gold pieces was discon tinued. But in 1893 the Sherman Act was
repealed. Seven years later the so-called Gold Standard Bill (14 March 1900) was enacted ((to define and Fix the Standard of Value, to Maintain the Parity of All Forms of Money Issued or Coined by the United States, to Refund the Public Debt, and for Other Pur poses." It provides that the dollar of 25.8 grains of gold, .9 fine, shall be the standard unit of value, and all forms of money issued or coined by the United States shall be main tained at a parity of value with this standard, and it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to maintain such parity. All United States notes and treasury notes issued under the act of 14 July 1890 shall be re deemed in gold coin as above, and to secure this the Secretary of the Treasury is directed to set aside a reserve of $150,000,000 in gold coin and bullion, to be used for such redemp tion purposes only. If this reserve falls below $100,000,000 despite certain assigned methods of replenishing it, the Secretary shall pledge the credit of the United States by issuing bonds at not exceeding 3 per cent ihterest, payable quarterly, exempt from all taxation. This is not to interfere with the legal-tender quality of silver money already in circulation. As fast as silver dollars are coined under pre vious acts, an equivalent amount of treasury notes shall be retired and silver certificates issued instead. The coinage of subsidiary silver coins, and the recoinage of such as are out of circulation, are provided for. This act is not to prevent international bimetallism if it is found possible to secure a stable relation be tween gold and silver.
The total coinage, 1793-1911, was $4,304, 288,083, divided as follows: Gold, $3,271,514, 410; silver, $971,904,364; subsidiary or minor, $60,869,308. The gold coins minted have been (in millions) : Double-eagles of the years 1850-1911, $2,350.0; eagles of the years 1793 1804, and again of 1838-1911, $492.1; half eagles of the years 1793-1911, $370.0; quarter eagles of the years 1796-1808, and again of 1821-1911, $38.1; dollars of the years 1849 1889, $19.8.
The coinage laws make careful provisions in relation to the abrasion of gold coins. Any coin which has been reduced in weight by natural abrasion more than one-half of 1 per cent below the weight required by law ceases to be legal tender for its face value. For example, a double-eagle, of which the standard weight is 516 grains, is not legal ten der after losing more than 2.58 grains. Con sult McLaughlin, A. C., and Hart, A. B., 'Cyclopedia of American Government' (New York and London 1914) ; and for lists of all countries wherein we find the gold standard or the gold exchange standard, and the gold units employed in those countries, with the value of each gold unit in terms of gold dol lars of the United States, consult Gonzales, V., 'Modern Foreign Exchange) (New York 1914).