The coinage ratio between gold and silver under the act of 1792 was 15 to 1, but by the acts of 1834 and 1837 it was changed first to 16.002 to 1 and finally to 15.988 to 1 (commonly called 16 to 1). This is the ratio under the present system of limited coinage.

Of the 458,100,347 standard silver dollars coined since February, 1878, there were held in the Treasury July 1, 1898, $404,736,731 and the amount in circulation on that date was only $57,259,791, showing that the silver dollar is not as popular as many suppose. Silver certificates to the amount of $390,830,650 have been issued against that amount of silver dollars held in the Treasury. The average commercial value of an ounce of fine silver in September, 1897, was $0.5689, and the commercial value in the silver dollar for nine months in 1897 averaged 47.1 cents, the highest being 50.5 and the lowest 40.

Paper Money.-The first paper money ever issued by the Government of the United States was authorized by the acts of July 17 and August 5, 1861. The notes issued were called "demand notes," because they were payable on demand at certain designated subtreasuries. They were receivable for all public dues, and the Secretary was authorized to reissue them when received; but the time within which such reissues might be made was limited to December 31, 1862. The amount authorized by these acts was $50,000,000. An additional issue of $10,000,000 was authorized by the act of February 12, 1862, and there were reissues amounting to $30,000. The demand notes were paid in gold when presented for redemption and they were received for all public dues, and these two qualities prevented their depreciation. All other United States notes were depreciated in value from 1862 until the resumption of specie payments, as shown by the table hereinafter following. The act of February 25, 1862, provided for the substitution of United States notes in place of the demand notes, and they were, therefore, canceled when received. By July 1, 1863, all except $3,770,000 had been retired, and nearly three millions of this small remainder were canceled during the next fiscal year. These notes were not legal tender when first issued, but they were afterwards made so by the act of March 17, 1862.

United States Notes.-The principal issue of United States paper money was officially called United States notes. These were the well-known "greenbacks" or "legal tenders." The act of February 25, 1862, authorized the issue of $150,000,000, of which $50,000,000 were in lieu of an equal amount of demand notes, and could be issued only as the demand notes were canceled. A second issue of $150,000,000 was authorized by the act of July 11, 1862, of which, however, $50,000,000 was to be a temporary issue for the redemption of a debt known as the temporary loan. A third issue of $150,000,000

was authorized by the act of March 3, 1863. The total amount authorized, including the temporary issue, was $450,000,000, and the highest amount outstanding at any time was $449,338,902 on January 30, 1864. There are still outstanding $346,681,016.

The reduction from the original permanent issue of $400,000,000 to $346,681,016 was caused as follows: The act of April 12, 1866, provided that United States notes might be retired to the extent of $10,000,000 during the ensuing six months, and that thereafter they might be retired at the rate of not more than $4,000,000 per month. This authority remained in force until it was suspended by the act of February 4, 1868. The authorized amount of reduction during this period was about $70,000,000, but the actual reduction was only about $44,000,000. No change was made in the volume of United States notes outstanding until after the panic of 1873, when, in response to popular demand, the Government reissued $26,000,000 of the canceled notes:

This brought the amount outstanding to $382,000,000, and it so remained until the resumption act of January 14, 1875, provided for its reduction to $300,000,000. The process was, however, again stopped by the act of May 31, 1878, which required the notes to be reissued when redeemed. At that time the amount outstanding was $346,681,016, which is the present amount. The amount of United States notes redeemed from the fund raised for resumption purposes since January 1, 1879, to June 30, 1898, was $516,821,507; but the volume outstanding is undiminished because of the provisions of the act of May 31, 1878, which require the notes so redeemed to be paid out again and kept in circulation.

Gold Certificates.-The act of March 3, 1863, authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to receive deposits of gold coin and bullion in sums not less than $20, and to issue certificates therefor in denominations not less than $20, said certificates to be receivable for duties on imports. Under this act deposits of gold were received and certificates issued until January 1, 1879, when the practice was discontinued by order of the Secretary of the Treasury. The purpose of the order was to prevent the holders of United States notes from presenting them for redemption in gold, and redepositing the gold in exchange for gold certificates. No certificates were issued after January 1, 1879, until the passage of the bank act of July 12, 1882, which authorized and directed the Secretary of the Treasury to receive gold coin and bullion and issue certificates.

This act, however, provided that "the Secretary of the Treasury shall suspend the issue of gold certificates whenever the amount of gold coin and gold bullion in the Treasury, reserved for the redemption of United States notes, falls below one hundred millions

of dollars."

The highest amount of gold certificates outstanding at the close of any fiscal year was $157,542,979, on July 1, 1890, and the amount now outside the Treasury is $37,420,149. The act of July 12, 1882, made them receivable for customs, taxes, and all public dues.

Silver Certificates.—The act of February 28, 1878, authorizing the issue of the standard silver dollar, provided that any holder of such dollars might deposit them in sums not less than $10 with the Treasurer or any assistant treasurer of the United States, and receive certificates therefor, in denominations not less than $10, said certificates to be receivable for customs, taxes, and all public dues. The act of August 4, 1886, authorized the issue of the smaller denominations of $1, $2, and $5. Silver certificates have practically taken the place in circulation of the standard silver dollars which they represent. The amount outside the Treasury July 1, 1898, was $390,659,080, while the amount of standard silver dollars outside the Treasury was only $57,259,791. Neither silver certificates nor silver dollars are redeemed in gold.

Treasury Notes, Act of July 14, 1890.-These notes were authorized by the act of July 14, 1890, commonly called the "Sherman act." The Secretary of the Treasury was directed to purchase each month 4,500,000 ounces of fine silver at the market price, and to pay for the same with Treasury notes redeemable on demand in coin, and legal tender for all debts, public and private, except where otherwise expressly stipulated in the contract. It was provided in the act that when the notes should be redeemed or received for dues they might be reissued; but that no greater or less amount of such notes should be "outstanding at any time than the cost of the silver bullion and the standard silver dollars coined therefrom, then held in the Treasury, purchased by such notes."

The authority for the purchase of silver bullion under this act was repealed by the act of November 1, 1893, up to which date the Government had purchased 168,674,682.53 fine ounces, at a cost of $155,931,002, for which Treasury notes were issued. The amount of silver bullion purchased under said act, and now held in the Treas ury, is 131,838,199.46 fine ounces, which cost $118,903,909.23. When coined it will produce $170,457,470, of which $51,555,560.77 will be gain or seigniorage. The amount of Treasury notes redeemed in gold up to the close of the fiscal year 1898 was $92,574,618, and the amount redeemed in standard silver dollars was about $45,000,000. Treasury notes redeemed in standard silver dollars are canceled and retired in accordance with the requirements of the act of 1890. Those redeemed in gold are reissued as required in the course of business.

Monetary System of the United States.-In 1786 the Congress of the Confederation chose as the monetary unit of the United States the dollar of 375.64 grains of pure silver. This unit had its origin in the Spanish piaster or milled dollar, which constituted the basis of the metallic circulation of the English colonies in America. It was never coined, there being at that time no mint in the United States.

The act of April 2, 1792, established the first monetary system of the United States. The bases of the system were: The gold dollar or unit, containing 24.75 grains of pure gold, and stamped in pieces of $10, $5, and $22, denominated, respectively, eagles, half eagles, and quarter eagles; the silver dollar or unit, containing 371.25 grains of pure silver. A mint was established. The coinage was unlimited and there was no mint charge. The ratio of gold to silver in coinage was 1 to 15. Both gold and silver were legal tender. The standard was double.

The act of 1792 undervalued gold, which was therefore exported. The act of June 28, 1834, was passed to remedy this, by changing the mint ratio between the metals to 1 to 16.002. This latter act fixed the weight of the gold dollar at 25.8 grains, but lowered the fineness from .916 2-3 to .899225. The fine weight of the gold dollar was thus reduced to 23.2 grains. The act of 1834 undervalued silver as that of 1792 had undervalued gold, and silver was attracted to Europe by the more favorable ratio of 1 to 152. The act of January 18, 1837, was passed to make the fineness of the gold and silver coins uniform. The legal weight of the gold dollar was fixed at 25.8 grains, and its fine weight at 23.22 grains. The fineness was, therefore, changed by this act to .900 and the ratio to 1 to 15.9884-. Silver continued to be exported. The act of February 21, 1853, reduced the weight of the silver coins of a denomination less than $1, which the acts of 1792 and 1837 had made exactly proportional to the weight of the silver dollar, and provided that they should be legal tender to the amount of only $5. Under the acts of 1792 and 1837 they had been full legal tender. By the act of 1853 the legal weight of the half dollar was reduced to 192 grains and that of the other fractions of a dollar in proportion. The coinage of the fractional parts of the dollar was reserved to the Government.

The act of February 12, 1873, provided that the unit of value of the United States should be the gold dollar of the standard weight of 25.8 grains, and that there should be coined besides the following gold coins: A quarter eagle, or 21⁄2-dollar piece; a 3-dollar piece; a half eagle, or 5-dollar piece; an eagle, or 10-dollar piece, and a double eagle, or 20-dollar piece, all of a standard weight proportional to that of the dollar piece. These coins were made legal tender in all payments at their nominal value when not below the

standard weight and limit of tolerance provided in the act for the single piece, and when reduced in weight they should be legal tender at a valuation in proportion to their actual weight. The silver coins provided for by the act were a trade dollar, a half dollar, or 50-cent piece, a quarter dollar, and a 10-cent piece; the weight of the trade dollar to be 420 grains troy; the half dollar 122 grams; the quarter dollar and the dime, respectively, one-half and one-fifth of the weight of the half dollar. These silver coins were made legal tender at their nominal value for any amount not exceeding $5 in any one payment. The charge for converting standard gold bullion into coin was fixed at one-fifth of 1 per cent. Owners of silver bullion were allowed to deposit it at any mint of the United States, to be formed into bars or into trade dollars, and no deposit of silver for other coinage was to be received.

Section 2 of the joint resolution of July 22, 1876, recited that the trade dollar should not thereafter be legal tender, and that the Secretary of the Treasury should be authorized to limit the coinage of the same to an amount sufficient to meet the export demand for it. The act of February 19, 1887, retired the trade dollar and prohibited its coinage. That of September 26, 1890, discontinued the coinage of the 1-dollar and 3-dollar gold pieces.

The act of February 28, 1878, directed the coinage of silver dollars of the weight of 4121⁄2 grains troy, of standard silver, as provided in the act of January 18, 1837, and that such coins, with all standard silver dollars, theretofore coined, should be legal tender at their nominal value for all debts and dues, public and private, except where otherwise expressly stipulated in the contract.

The Secretary of the Treasury was authorized and directed by the first section of the act to purchase from time to time silver bullion at the market price thereof, not less than $2,000,000 worth nor more than $4,000,000 worth per month, and to cause the same to be coined monthly, as fast as purchased, into such dollars. A subsequent act, that of July 14, 1890, enacted that the Secretary of the Treasury should purchase silver bullion to the aggregate amount of 4,500,000 ounces, or so much thereof as might be offered, each month, at the market price thereof, not exceeding $1 for 371.25 grains of pure silver, and to issue in payment thereof Treasury notes of the United States, such notes to be redeemable by the Government, on demand, in coin, and to be legal tender in payment of all debts, public and private, except where otherwise expressly stipulated in the contract. The act directed the Secretary of the Treasury to coin each month 2,000,000 ounces of the silver bullion purchased under the provisions of the act into standard silver dollars until the 1st day of July, 1891, and thereafter as much as might be necessary, to provide for the redemption of the Treasury notes