DOLLAR (Germ. Thaler). The money unit of the United States.
It was established under the confederation by res olution of congress, July 6, 1785. This was originally represented by a silver piece only ; the coinage of which was authorized by the act of congress of Aug. 8, 1786. The same act also established a decimal system of coinage and accounts. But the coinage was not effected until after the passage of the act of April 2, 1792, establishing a mint, 1 U. S. Stat. L. 246: and the first coinage of dollars commenced in 1794. The law last cited provided for the coinage of "dollars or units, each to be of the value of a Span ish milled dollar, as the same was then current, and to contain three hundred and seventy-one grains and four-sixteenth parts of a grain of pure silver, or four hundred and sixteen grains of standard sli ver." The Spanish dollar known to our legislation was the dollar coined in Spanish America, North and South, which was abundant in our currency, in con tradistinction to the dollar coined In Spain, which was rarely seen in the United States. The intrinsic value of the two coins was the same ; but, as a gen eral (not invariable) distinction, the American coin age bore pillars, and the Spanish an escutcheon or shield ; all kinds bore the royal effigy.
The milled dollar, so called, is in contradistinction to the irregular, misshapen coinage nicknamed cob, which a century ago was executed in the Spanish American province's,—chiefiy Mexican. By the use of a milling machine the pieces were figured on the edge, and assumed a true circular form. The pillar dollar and the milled dollar were in effect the same in value, and, in terms, the same coin ; though there are pillar dollars ("cobs") which are not milled, and there are milled dollars (of Spain proper) which have no pillars.
The weight and fineness of the Spanish milled and pillar dollars is eight and one-half pieces to a Cas tilian mark, or four hundred and seventeen and ffiteen-seventeenths grains Troy. The limitation of four hundred and fifteen grains in our law of 1806, April 10, 2 U. S. Stat. L. 374, was to meet the lose by wear. The legal fineness of these dollars was ten dineros, twenty granos, equal to Mine hundred and two and seven-ninths thousandths: the actual fine ness was somewhat variable, and always below.
The Spanish dollar and all other foreign coins are ruled out by the act of congress of Feb. 21, 1857,, 13 U, S. Stat. 1856-57,.163, they being no longer a legal tender. But the statements herein given`are Useful for the sake of comparison: moreover, many con tracts still in' existence provide for payment (of ground-rents, for example) in Spanish milled or pil lar dollars. The following terms, or their equiva lent, are frequently used in agreements made about the close of the last and the beginning of the present century: "silver 'milled dollars, each dollar weigh ing seventeen pennyweights and six grains at least." This was equal to lour,hundred and fourteen.grains. The standard fineness of United States silver coin from 1792 to 1836 was fourteen hundred and eighty five parts fine silver in sixteen 'hundred and sixty four. Consequently, a piece of coin of four hun dred and fourteen grains should contain three hun dred and sixty-nine and forty-six hundredths grains pure silver.
By the act of Jan. 18, 1837, § 8, 6 U. S. Stat. 137, the standard weight and fineness of the dollar of the. United States was fixed as "of one thousand parts by weight, nine hundred shall be of pure"Metal and one hundred of alloy," the alloy to consist of copper ; and it was thrther provided that the weight of :the silver dollar should he four hun dred and twelve and one-half grains (412 1-2).
The weight of the silver dollar has not 'been changed by subsequent legislation ; but the propor tionate weight of the lower of silver coins has been diminished by the act of Feb. 21, 1853, 11 U. S- Stat. L. 160. By this act the half-dollar (and the lower coins in proportion) is reduced in weight fourteen and one-quarter grains below the Previous coinage: so that the silver dollar which was embraced in this act weighs twenty-eight and one-half grains more than two half-dollars. The silver dollar then, consequently, ceased to he cur rent in the United States ; hut it continued to be coined to supply the demands of the West India trade and 'a local demand for cabinets, eto.