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COINAGE.

THE following includes all the clauses of all the laws

of the United States (and the previous Confederation of States) from 1781 to 1876, as they relate to the Weight, Fineness and Legal-Tender Value of United States and Foreign Coins. This summary is intended as historic of the policy of the government in regard to gold and silver coins and the relative values of the two metals:

Articles of Confederation between the States, adopted March 1, 1781.

§ 1. The United States in Congress assembled shall also have the sole and exclusive right and power of regulating the alloy and value of coin struck by their own authority or by that of the respective States, fixing the standard of weights and measures throughout the United States.

[By act of the Congress of the Confederation passed August 8, 1786, and by the ordinance of October 16, 1786, a silver dollar, containing 375.64 grains of pure silver, was established as the "unit of account,” though the Confederation had not established any mint and no such coins as were specified by the act were coined anywhere. The dollar thus established was intended to be the equivalent of 4s. 6d. sterling, but fell short of it by about two per cent.]

The Constitution, adopted September 17, 1787.

The Congress shall have power—

§ 2. To borrow money on the credit of the United States.

§ 3. To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures.

No State shall coin money; emit bills of credit; make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts; pass any ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts,

ACTS OF CONGRESS.

Act April 2, 1792.

That the money of account of the United States shall be expressed in dollars or units, dimes or tenths, cents or hundredths, and mills or thousandths, a dime being the tenth part of a dollar, a cent the hundredth part of a dollar, a mill the thousandth part of a dollar, and that all accounts in the public offices and all proceedings in the courts of the United States shall be kept and had in conformity to this regulation.

§ 4. That a mint for the purpose of a national coinage be and the same is established; to be situate and carried on at the seat of government of the United States for the time being.

§ 5. There shall be, from time to time, struck and coined at the said mint, coins of gold, silver and copper, of the following denominations, values and descriptions, viz.: Eagles - each to be of the value of ten dollars or units, and to contain 2474 grains of pure or 270 grains of standard gold. Half eagles — each to be of the value of five dollars or units, and to contain 123g grains of pure or 135 grains of standard gold. Quarter eagles - each to be of the value of two dollars and a half dollar, and to contain 613 grains of pure or 67 grains of standard gold. Dollars or units—each to be of the value of a Spanish milled dollar, as the same is now current, and to contain 371 grains of pure or 416 grains of standard silver. Half dollars-each to be of half the value of the dollar or unit, and to contain 1851% grains of pure or 208 grains of standard silver. Quarter dollars each to be of one fourth the value of the dollar or unit, and to contain 9218 grains of pure or 104 grains of standard silver. Dismes each to be of one tenth the value of a dollar or unit, and to contain 37 grains of pure or 41% grains of standard silver. Half dismes - each to be of the value of one twentieth of a dollar, and to contain 18 grains of pure or 20 grains of standard silver. Cents - each to be of the value of one hundredth part of a dollar, and to contain 11 pennyweights of copper. Half cents — each to be of the value of half a cent, and to contain 5 pennyweights of

copper.

§ 6. The proportional value of gold to silver in all coins which shall, by law, be current as money within the United States shall be as fifteen to one, according to quantity in weight of pure gold or pure silver: that is to say, every fifteen pounds weight of pure silver shall be of equal value in all payments with one pound weight of pure

gold, and so in proportion as to greater or less quantities of the respective metals.

Act February 9, 1793.

§ 7. At the expiration of three years next ensuing from the time when the coinage of gold and silver, agreeably to the act entitled “An act establishing a mint and regulating the coins of the United States," shall commence at the mint of the United States (which shall be announced by proclamation of the President of the United States), all foreign gold coins and all foreign silver coins, except Spanish milled dollars and parts of such dollars, shall cease to be legal tender as aforesaid. (See § 13.)

§ 8. All foreign gold and silver coins, except Spanish milled dollars and parts of such dollars, which shall be received in payment for moneys due to the United States after the said time when the coining of gold and silver coins shall begin at the mint of the United States, shall, previously to their being issued in circulation, be coined anew, in conformity to the act entitled "An act establishing a mint and regulating the coins of the United States." (See § 19.)

Act March 2, 1799.

§ 9. All foreign coins and currencies shall be estimated at the following rates, viz.: each pound sterling of Great Britain at four dollars and forty-four cents ($4.44); each livre tournois of France at eighteen and a half cents (181⁄2); each florin or guilder of the Union Netherlands at forty cents (40); each mark-banco of Hamburg at thirty-three and one-third cents (33%); each rix dollar of Denmark at one hundred (100) cents; each real of plate and each rial of vellon of Spain, the former at ten cents and the latter at five cents each; each milree of Portugal at one dollar and twenty-four cents; each pound sterling of Ireland at four dollars and ten cents; each tale of China at one dollar and forty-eight cents; each pagoda of India at one dollar and ninety-four cents; each rupee of Bengal at fifty-five and one-half cents; and all other denominations of money, as nearly as may be to the said rates or the intrinsic value thereof, compared with money of the United States.

§ 10. All duties and fees to be collected shall be payable in money of the United States, or in foreign gold and silver coins at the following rates, that is to say: the gold coins of Great Britain and Portugal of the standard prior to the year 1792 at the rate of one hundred cents for every twenty-seven grains of the actual weight

thereof; the gold coins of France, Spain and the dominions of Spain, of the standard prior to the year 1792, at the rate of one hundred cents for every twenty-seven grains and two-fifths of a grain of the actual weight thereof; Spanish milled dollars at the rate of one hundred cents for each dollar, the actual weight whereof shall not be less than seventeen (17) pennyweights and seven (7) grains —and in proportion for the parts of a dollar; crowns of France at the rate of one hundred and ten cents for each crown, the actual weight whereof shall not be less than eighteen (18) pennyweights and seventeen (17) grains, and in proportion for the parts of a crown. Provided, that no foreign coins shall be receivable which are not by law a legal tender for the payment of all debts-except in consequence of a proclamation of the President of the United States authorizing such foreign coins to be received in payment of duties and fees as aforesaid.

Act March 3, 1801.

§ 11. The foreign coins and currencies hereinafter mentioned shall be estimated in the computation of duties at the following rates: each sicca rupee of Bengal and each rupee of Bombay at fifty cents, and each star pagoda of Madras at one hundred and eightyfour cents.

Act April 10, 1806.

§ 12. Foreign gold and silver coins shall pass current as money within the United States, and be a legal tender for the payment of all debts and demands at the several and respective rates following, and not otherwise, viz.: The gold coins of Great Britain and Portugal of their present standard at the rate of one hundred cents for every twenty-seven grains of the standard weight thereof; the gold coins of France, Spain and the dominions of Spain, of their present standard, at the rate of one hundred cents for every twenty-seven grains and two-fifths of a grain of the actual weight thereof. Spanish milled dollars at the rate of one hundred cents for each, the actual weight whereof shall not be less than seventeen (17) pennyweights and seven (7) grains, and in proportion for the parts of a dollar. Crowns of France at the rate of one hundred and ten cents for each crown, the actual weight whereof shall not be less than eighteen (18) pennyweights and seventeen (17) grains, and in proportion for the parts of a crown. And it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to cause assays of the foreign gold and silver coins of the

description made current by this act, and which shall issue subsequently to the passage of this act, and shall circulate in the United States-at the mint aforesaid, at least once in every year, and to make report of the result thereof to Congress, for the purpose of enabling Congress to make such coins current-if they shall deem the same to be proper at their real standard value.

§ 13. That the first section of the act entitled "An act regulating foreign coins and for other purposes," passed the 9th day of February, 1793, be and the same is hereby repealed, and the operation of the second section of the same act is hereby suspended for and during the space of three years from the passage of this act. (See § 7-8.)

Act March 3, 1823.

§ 14. The following gold coins shall be received in all payments on account of public lands at the several and respective rates following and not otherwise, viz.: the gold coins of Great Britain and Portugal of their present standard, at the rate of one hundred cents for every twenty-seven grains, or eighty-eight cents and eight-ninths (888) per pennyweight; the gold coins of France, of their present standard, at the rate of one hundred cents for every twenty-seven and one-half grains or eighty-s -seven and a quarter (874) cents per pennyweight, and the gold coins of Spain, of their present standard, at the rate of one hundred cents for every twenty-eight and a half grains, or eighty-four cents per pennyweight.

§ 15. It shall be the duty of the secretary of the treasury to cause assays of the foregoing coins to be made at the mint of the United States at least once in every year, and make report of the result thereof to Congress.

Act June 25, 1834.

§ 16. The following silver coins shall be of the legal value, and shall pass current as money within the United States, by tale for the payment of all debts and demands at the rate of one hundred cents the dollar, that is to say, the dollars of Mexico, Peru, Chili and Central America, of not less weight than four hundred and fifteen grains each, and those re-stamped in Brazil of the like weight, of not less fineness than ten ounces fifteen pennyweights of pure silver in the troy pound of twelve ounces of standard silver; and the fivefranc pieces of France, when of not less fineness than ten (10) ounces and sixteen (16) pennyweights in twelve ounces troy weight of

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