What party are you (in 1877) (had 1870 but that was a typo)

AUandAG

It was common of the day to think that Democrats were the party of silver and Republicans the party of gold coinage.

what are you? I'm definitely a Dem......

MorganMan94

No party here, just a guess of 7 posts before it becomes a political debate.

ctf_error_coins

I have many major silver error coins.

I have no major gold error coins.

Justacommeman

Bobsled ride to hell

m

Coinscratch

My 10' pole can't quite reach...

markelman1125

I am boath. I have a voracious apitite for shiny silver and gold YUMMY YUMMY 🤤🤤😋😋

Hydrant

The more things change the more they stay the same.

LJenkins11

Great year! Here is my only 1870 coinage and it is a silver dollar, courtesy of Mr. David Perkins.

BillJones

I am a bit surprised that this article is dated 1870. I thought that the silver versus gold debate really got started soon after the Coinage Act of 1873 (a.k.a. “The Crime of ‘73’).

It’s hard for us to believe, but from the mid 1870s to the first part of the 20th century silver was close to a “junk metal.” The Nevada mines were producing so much of it that the prices were depressed. The silver advocates were really “inflationists” who were looking to lower the value of the dollar. A lot of farmers were deep in debt. One way out of their dilemma was to have a round of price inflation which would allow them to increase their numerical income and pay back their debts in inflated dollars.

The trouble with that is that once inflation gets started, it’s hard to stop. We got a taste of that in the late 1970s. Americans have never seen situations as it has been in some “banana republics” when the value of the national currency can melt before your eyes.

The short answer was, I hope I would have been a gold standard Republican or Democrat. And yes, there were “gold Democrats.” Their most famous advocate was President Grover Cleveland.

denga

As noted by BillJones the date of 1870 is not probable. The language appears
to indicate a date some years later, perhaps 1877. In the early 1870s the main
discussion was about the Trade Dollar, which was never called “the dollar of
the fathers.”

AUandAG

@denga said:
As noted by BillJones the date of 1870 is not probable. The language appears
to indicate a date some years later, perhaps 1877. In the early 1870s the main
discussion was about the Trade Dollar, which was never called “the dollar of
the fathers.”

Ooops, my bad. Typo that should read 1877!

bob

LJenkins11

Meh, here is another try and thankfully I have a single 1877 coin but it is a quarter. Still an interesting article, thank you for sharing.

EagleEye

The silverites were asking for an expandable currency. All they knew back then was metal-backed money, so a silver-backed currency would have a near endless issue of currency. The gold backed currency was seen as stable, being a relatively constrained money supply. Since we can look back from 150 year hindsight we see the failures of both systems. Constrained money supplies could not deal with depressions very well, let alone wars.

The gold standard was re-instated in 1879. I believe it was part of the Tilden election deal of 1877. From that time until we officially went on the gold standard in 1900 the silver vs gold issue was a political football.

Timbuk3

Dem, but I love gold !!!

BillJones

Although a precious metal backed currency was deemed essential by many in the 19th century, there were some gadflies who supported the Greenback Party which was active from 1874 to 1889. One of their most famous candidates with Ben Butler, the Civil War general, among other things. Here is a satirical note which made light of Butler’s support for a fiat paper currency. It's quite amusing.

Butler's nickname was "spoons." It came from his time when he was in charge of the occupation of New Orleans during the Civil War. The local residents accused him of stealing silverware when he came into their houses. Oddly enough he seemed to like the idea. Here is one of his campaign pieces.

ricko

What a dilemma... I like silver and gold... well, I do lean more to the gold.....Just something about a hefty gold coin with that luster and shine.... and of course, gold does not tarnish Well, not pure gold.... get rid of those impurities I say... Cheers, RickO