In 1792, during construction of the new Mint, 1,500 silver half dimes were made in the cellar of a nearby building. ![]() Gold: quarter eagle ($2.50), half eagle ($5), and eagle ($10) Silver: half dime, dime, quarter, half dollar, and dollar This resulted in coins of the following metals and denominations: ![]() dollar to the already familiar Spanish milled dollar and its fractional parts (half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth). Congress chose decimal coinage in parts of 100, and set the U.S. The Coinage Act of 1792 established a national mint located in Philadelphia. However, the following year, a majority of states ratified the Constitution, establishing a new government and creating a new debate over national coinage. Called Fugio cents, the coins featured a sundial on the obverse and a chain of 13 links on the reverse. In 1787, after much debate about national coinage, Congress authorized the production of copper cents. This created a confusing situation, with the same coin worth different amounts from state to state. The Articles allowed each state to make their own coins and set values for them, in addition to the foreign coins already circulating. To make change for a dollar, people sometimes cut the coin into halves, quarters, eighths, and sixteenths to match the fractional denominations that were in short supply.Īfter the Revolutionary War, the Articles of Confederation governed the country. Spanish milled dollars became a favorite because of the consistency of the silver content throughout the years. The design of the 2019 San Antonio Missions Quarter reverse resembles the colonial Spanish milled dollar.ĭuring the Colonial Period, a variety of coins circulated, including British pounds, German thalers, Spanish milled dollars, and even some coins produced by the colonies. Finally, production numbers grew to meet the demands of a growing nation, providing some of the most beloved circulating coin designs. Mint in 1792, the Mint struggled for many years to produce enough coins. Before national coinage, a mix of foreign and domestic coins circulated, both during the Colonial Period and in the years following the Revolutionary War. circulating coins began long before the opening of a national mint in 1792. Thank you very much for reading and I hope to be making more soon.The story of U.S. Finally, resumption of silver coinage was authorized by the Act of and the weight and fineness of the coins were to conform to the act of Jan 18 1837. Also, many critics argued that the complete separation of silver would have detrimental effects on the economy and some thought the law was passed corruptly. The new limitations on silver coinage led to a shortage in this area. Those with large investments of silver were unable to turn them into money. Some problems did arise from this law though. Also, recent gold and silver rushes caused the government to view gold as the only reliable option to back up currency. This system was set up due to the large amount of dependence on silver earlier in the century. Furthermore, section seventeen stated "no coins, either of gold, silver, or minor coinage, shall hereafter be issued from the mint other than those of the denominations, standards, and weights herein set forth." In short, this meant that only the specially included coins stated within the coinage act could be used for legal tenders. Section 15 of the act set ramifications for the amount of future silver coins to be minted and their respective weights. The Coinage Law of 1873 changed the previous coinage act to regulate and limit all silver coinage. ![]() Today I am writing about one of the most important coinage laws passed: The Coinage Act of 1873. Hello, this is my first blog post, it may be short but I hopefully it is at least informative.
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