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Show KtCIS 11I0UT AMI.I1ICV lOIXKJl It It very dlfllcult lo arrlv at a conclusion eallifactory to on' self on Ih financial luueaofth pretent, e-l-rdally thetllver I'tue, without tome historical knowledge of tho monetary system of our country, Charlo 1. Dunbtr, tofeaor of lollllcal eonnomy In Harvard College, hum-etitly putillaheila very Instructive Instruc-tive llttl volume, containing th hlttoryof hlt-toryof the monetary tytteni of th United HUte front 1733 to 1S0I. Klnanc, rurrancy and banking are treated fully and accurately, Tho subject sub-ject of coin and coinage I alto exhaustively ex-haustively handled, and at lha present time thl part of the book inakte Interesting In-teresting reading. In th flutnclal history of th United Htateatbs first referenc mad to coinage In C'otigre, I found lu th Urlllaa of July .11, U10. Thai act fix til the rate at which foreign culm should b received In ptyinent of dutlet and fee. The act eitahllthlng tho Uullad Htatca mint aod regulating the coinage bectmo law April 2, 1702, llylhlt act the dollar wa made the unit. It provided for a gold and silver coluag,th ratio of valuo being filed at ilftrvn pounds of silver tuoupouud of gold. Th10 gold tagla must contain SCI grain ol irsgollorS70of atandard gold. Tho lower denomination of gold piece to I alto of corrouJlug wilghtandrliieur-M. Th silver dollar to li coined wa to corretpond with Ih Hpanltli milled dollar, aad looontaln till grain of puretllveror 410 grain of standard. Th amount of alloy a. lowed for standard gold and sliver wa carefully regulated and fre roluag wa 1 rovlded fur. If au Immediate excbmge of coin wa wauled, one-half of one per cent, of tho weight of pure gold or pure silver sil-ver In tho bullion wa charged. All gold and illver colli wero made legal teudtr. i'ronl 1701 to 1611 several acta wire pjuwd regulating the value of certain foreign coins, and determining determin-ing the purpwt fur which they might bo received a legal louder. On Juno m, 1811, a coinage act wa iMMid whllll tiled Ihe f 10 gold inglu at iXi grain of pur gold or Hi of ttaudard. l'rovlilou wasalto made for l-xxlvlug go) 1 i-olus minted prevlou to thl at rati conformable to tha new etaudard. The act of January 15th, 1837, pro. vldl that 0) -ur cut. of all coin should bo pur gold and tllvtr, nnd Iho alloy for gold to bo of tllvtr and ro-lr, ro-lr, that fur tllver to be of ropper alone. Hut till act flxl lb weight of theeagletob SS gralut and that of Ihe silver dollar 41S) grains. All thet coins were made legal Under Un-der for their nominal aineunt for any unit whatever. Thl act alto made coinage frio, exie t ct rUiu iharge fur toughening, reflulug and for Ihe metal used fur alloy, Hut thewcharget wero HHHjiHHBkjst AuJ--i. HrtHBZ2JI! not to excveil the actual exnre In currtil. Another act was pawed In 1811 regit lallng gold and silver ooln, and mtk Ing them legal tender for all debt and demnnd. Tha act of Mirch Sr J, 1910, aulhorlied the coinage of gotldollart and of double eagle. Un May 2!nl, ISM), another act wa patted providing fur the Irantferof publln monoi to the branch mint. The flrtt art providing for the coin age of illver dollars containing left than the real value wat patted Feb. 21, ISM. Thtt act pretcrlbed the weight nf the half dollar to be 102 grains, Inttea I ofiM, and tha smaller piece In like projiorllon. This fractional frac-tional coinage should be legal tender for turns not exceeding flvo dollar. InlM7andlaterou act wero pasted but they were not of a reform character. charac-ter. The general coinage act of Keb. IS, 1373 I denominated generally the liver ilemonetliatlon law. Thl act made no chang In the gold coinage. The tllver dollar of 4I1 gralnt nu abolliheil, and alw silver half dime and 5 cent piece. Trade dollai of OJ gialn were rovlded for, and made legal tender for sums not exceeding flvedoilars. The ligal tender powir of the tr I dollar wa taken away by the act of July:.', IS7u. In Feb. 1617 an act became lw without the signature signa-ture of the President, providing for Ihe retirement of Ihe trade dollar, and for 11 rrrolnagu Into the standard silver dollar of the llland bill of I-J79, which w a 1 asH-J over the veto of President Ilayr. The llland bill wat supposed to I a conciaston to the filter producing toe-tlons toe-tlons of Ih United HUttt, but II waa not enough. The act of July 1 1,1500. provided for lh purvhat of i,0a),i) ouncra of sliver bullion monthly at the market J rice, notexci-edlngil forSJII grain of puro silver, ImuIuk In iay-ment iay-ment tllver bullion trruury nutrt. It oho 1 rovlded for n monthly coinage of VXtyiOO ounce Into ttaudard dollar. It wueuppotedlhatlhle art would alltfy th demand ol th strongest fr tllver colntg advocate, but II bat not don so. Tho demand for free and unlimited rolnag of silver It at fierce ll not fltrcer than It wt rollout roll-out lo tho Mge of the law of UN. |