SILVER IN THE FIFTY-FIRST CONGRESS, Preceded by a Summary of the Coinage Laws of the United States, PRIOR TO 1873, And a History of the Act of 1873 and the 332.41 N278 442950 NATIONAL SILVER COMMITTEE. ALABAMA-ALONZO IRWIN. ARIZONA-W. J. CHEYNEY. ARKANSAS-JOHN G. FLETCHER. CALIFORNIA-JAMES MCCADDEN. COLORADO-C. G. HATHAWAY. CONNECTICUT-JOSEPH SHELDON. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA-LEE CRANDALL. GEORGIA-N. J. HAMMOND. IDAHO-F. P. CAVANAGH. KENTUCKY-YODER POIGNARD. MASSACHUSETTS-E. M. BOYNTON. MINNESOTA-JAMES MCARTHUR. MISSOURI-JOHN DONIPHAN. MONTANA-CHAS. F. MUSSIGBROAD NEBRASKA-ALLEN ROOT. NEVADA FRANCIS G. NEWLANDS. NEW MEXICO-SAMUEL D. BALDWIN. PENNSYLVANIA-JOHN A. GRIER. SOUTH CAROLINA-JOHN E. BRADLEY. TENNESSEE-ANDREW J. KELLAR. TEXAS-CHARLES LONGUEMARE. UTAH WM. F. JAMES. VIRGINIA-JOHN L. COCHRAN. WASHINGTON-THOMAS FITCH. WYOMING-M. N. GRANT. MICHIGAN-BENJAMIN COLVIN. CHAIRMAN, A. J. WARNER, Marietta, Ohio. VICE-CHAIRMAN, THOMAS FITCH, Seattle, Washington. SECRETARY, LEE CRANDALL, Washington, D. C. NATIONAL EXECUTIVE SILVER COMMITTEE. EDWARDS PIERREPONT, New York. L. M. RUMSEY, Missouri. FRANK M. PIXLEY, California. H. B. CHAMBERLAIN, Colorado.. OFFICERS: A. J. WARNER, CHAIRMAN. FRANCIS G. NEWLANDS, VICE CHAIRMAN. GEORGE B. WILLIAMS, TREASURER. LEE CRANDALL, SECRETARY, OFFICE: 1202 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE WASHINGTON, D. C. SILVER IN THE FIFTY-FIRST CONGRESS, Including a Summary of the Coinage Laws of the United States prior to 1873, with a History of the Act of 1873 and the Act of 1878. CHAPTER I. THE ACT OF 1792.-THE FIRST COINAGE LAW. The first act of the Congress of the United States respecting coinage was the act of April 2, 1792, entitled "An act establishing a Mint and regulating the coins of the United States." The ninth section of this act provided "That 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 two hundred and fortyseven grains and four-eighths of a grain of pure, or two hundred and seventy grains of standard gold." Then, after providing for half eagles, each to be of half the value of the eagle, and quarter eagles, each to be of one-fourth of the value of the eagle, the section continues, as follows: "DOLLARS OR UNITS-each to be of the value of a Spanish milled dollar as the same is now current, and to contain three hundred and seventy-one grains and four-sixteenth parts of a grain of pure, or four hundred and sixteen grains of standard silver." The act also provided for half dollars, quarter dollars, dimes and half dimes, each to contain, respectively, one-half, one-fourth, onetenth and one-twentieth of the pure silver contained in the dollar. The coinage of cents and half cents of copper were also provided for. It will thus be seen that in this first coinage act the words "dollar or unit" are applied equally to dollars of gold and the dollar of silver— that is, "dollar" is the name of the unit of money in our system, and the gold eagle was to be of the value of ten dollars, or units. The coin, however, which represented exactly the unit was the silver dollar, and the act provided that it should be of the value of the Spanish milled dollar, as that piece was then current. The assay of a number of Spanish dollars, then in common use, showed them |