100 years ago -It appears consumers in 1920 were demanding the government mint silver dollars.

1630Boston

It appears the consumers in 1920 were demanding the government mint silver dollars. Apparently paper ones were becoming a thing of the past…back then.

ricko

Seems there was little faith in paper money at the time....Small wonder Now we don't even have silver 'money'....such a shame. Cheers, RickO

messydesk

Kind of a misleading headline ("the more things change..."), given nobody was making dollar coins in 1920.

1630Boston

Interesting point @messydesk

roadrunner

@messydesk said:
Kind of a misleading headline ("the more things change..."), given nobody was making dollar coins in 1920.

yes. I doubt that article is from 1920. Maybe 1922? Odd that with the 1920-1922 recession that "more" silver coins were needed. Actual money flows of gold and silver coins were probably very low in that 1921 recession/depression. The need for coinage was probably reduced. Now if we're talking the roaring 20's from 1923-1928 I could see the need for more silver coinage and silver dollars.

CaptHenway

Probably 1921.

BryceM

Well, the mint "needed" to make them based on congressional action. Did the public need them? That's a much larger debate. Certainly there were many, many produced that went straight into the vaults.

mothra454

Looks like this was the source for this article, supposedly from July 15, 1920. Also square coins mate!

https://kfgo.com/2020/07/15/coin-news-from-july-15th-1920-100-years-ago/

metalmeister

Ricko: I remember the "End of Silver Money" in 1964. It was a end of an era that lasted thousands of years.

Smudge

Can’t blame them.

johnny9434

@CaptHenway said:
Probably 1921.

This makes sense

roadrunner

@metalmeister said:
Ricko: I remember the "End of Silver Money" in 1964. It was a end of an era that lasted thousands of years.

Ended for the US? Except for the US Govt that vaults over 8000 tonnes of gold.....while the people have relatively little in their hands. The other nations' Central Banks around 25,000 tonnes. And in China, between the Central Bank and its people, they own about 20,000 tonnes total. That leaves much of the world's 190,000 tonnes not well accounted for. Don't look now but the more than 2 BILL people living in China and India consider gold and silver as money. The govt's may have tried to fool the people....not all of them took the bait.

JesseKraft

@roadrunner @CaptHenway @johnny9434
Here's the full page from July 15, 1920. The article doesn't exactly say "silver dollar" or "dollar coins," but "dollars" and "silver coinage."

mothra454

@BryceM said:
Well, the mint "needed" to make them based on congressional action. Did the public need them? That's a much larger debate. Certainly there were many, many produced that went straight into the vaults.

According to this blog the mint started churning out other silver coins first to replace the melted dollars. Could this be what the article was referring to in 1920? As for the claim that it was "preferred over paper money", maybe this was spin by the mint/govt to justify the cost of minting all the extra coins

https://www.gainesvillecoins.com/blog/1918-pittman-act-boondoggle-or-necessary-morgan-dollar-massacre

BryceM

The mint might have been gearing up to make all the 1921 Morgans, but they weren't actually making any in 1920. Just because a journalist in Alaska reported it doesn't mean it was actually happening.

coastaljerseyguy

WWI ended a year earlier and the 18th amendment just went into effect 6 months earlier. Folks needed all those nickels and dimes to buy their bootlegged beer and whiskey at the speakeasies.

JesseKraft

@BryceM said:
The mint might have been gearing up to make all the 1921 Morgans, but they weren't actually making any in 1920. Just because a journalist in Alaska reported it doesn't mean it was actually happening.

Again, the report says that the Mint was "trying to keep abreast of the demand for silver coinage." It doesn't mention silver dollars whatsoever.

BryceM

Look at the headline.

In 1920, more than a decade removed from dollar coinage, the readers might have inferred something different, but anyone reading it today would infer the production of silver dollars. YMMV.

johnny9434

so the aussies minted a square nickel?. its right there in the middle of the page, fwiw

JesseKraft

@BryceM said:
Look at the headline.

In 1920, more than a decade removed from dollar coinage, the readers might have inferred something different, but anyone reading it today would infer the production of silver dollars. YMMV.

Exactly. It doesn't say "silver dollars" or "dollar coins." It mentions "dollars," probably as a loosely-used term to mean a mass of coins, or something similar. As you mentioned, this is a journalist in Alaska in the early 20th century, not a modern numismatist who has very specific definitions of given words. It wasn't written for us.

JesseKraft

@johnny9434 said:
so the aussies minted a square nickel?. its right there in the middle of the page, fwiw

These coins never made it past the pattern stage.

Half penny: KM-Pn13, Pn19
One penny: KM-Pn8, Pn9, Pn10, Pn11, Pn14, Pn16, Pn17, Pn20, Pn21, Pn22

johnny9434

@JesseKraft said:

@johnny9434 said:
so the aussies minted a square nickel?. its right there in the middle of the page, fwiw

These coins never made it past the pattern stage.

Half cent: KM-Pn13, Pn19
One cent: KM-Pn8, Pn9, Pn10, Pn11, Pn14, Pn16, Pn17, Pn20, Pn21, Pn22

cool, thanks for sharing

1630Boston

@johnny9434 said:
so the aussies minted a square nickel?. its right there in the middle of the page, fwiw

A pattern sold on Ebay a month ago

Australian 1920 Square Pattern Coin Threepence 3, Nickel See original listing
Australian-1920-Square-Pattern-Coin-Threepence-3-Nickel
Item Ended
Condition:--
Ended:05 Jun, 2020 08:31:40 AEST
Price:AU $38.50
Postage:AU $35.00 Australia Post International Standard
Item location:North Queensland, Australia
Seller:
hobbyandtrade (9243 ) | Seller's other items

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Australian-1920-Square-Pattern-Coin-Threepence-3-Nickel-/254595462428?nma=true&si=g9WJ%2Fj0poacjL%2BC8EBPS1%2BPMqU0%3D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

CaptHenway

@JesseKraft said:

@BryceM said:
Look at the headline.

In 1920, more than a decade removed from dollar coinage, the readers might have inferred something different, but anyone reading it today would infer the production of silver dollars. YMMV.

Exactly. It doesn't say "silver dollars" or "dollar coins." It mentions "dollars," probably as a loosely-used term to mean a mass of coins, or something similar. As you mentioned, this is a journalist in Alaska in the early 20th century, not a modern numismatist who has very specific definitions of given words. It wasn't written for us.

I believe you are right, just a sloppy usage of "dollars" to include any silver coinage.

BTW, I checked the America's Cup records to verify that the date at the top of the page was not wrong. Sir Thomas Lipton (of tea fame) did compete in the 1920 Cup race with the boat shown. He lost.

SaorAlba

Someone in the editorial office of said news establishment must have had an interest in numismatics, three articles about coins - ie Yukon Territory the smallest denomination was 25c, the Aussie square coin article then the article on the mint striking silver coinage.

JBK

In 1920 Germany was not yet at the height of its hyperinflation, but things were going downhill fast. Americans might have been shocked by the way paper money could become worthless so quickly.