On a treasure hunt.....well laid up for now but still trying to figure it out...
AUandAG
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Okay, here's the problem I'm trying to figure out. What kind of wages (coins) would a proprietor pay out to his employees in 1910?
Of course we have silver dollars, gold denominations and etc. Even paper money, but for the sake of this question lets talk coins only.
My friend says that they would pay out in silver dollars.
I say mostly gold and some silver.
The location of the enterprise is about 50 miles, as the crow flies, from the nearest bank. My thought is that all silver dollars to make a payroll of $10,000 would be way to cumbersome. Each employee would be receiving about $20-$30 in pay for the payroll period. Several hundred employees.
I've googled it and just don't find examples of what I need.
Anyone have any idea?
Was hard currency preferred over paper?
The business is a mine venture out in the bush and the paymaster would make the trip to the bank in town to get the funds to make it all work.
bob 
Oh, and blew my knee out while investigating so am laid up for now.
Comments
By 1910, US paper money was widely accepted in commerce and it was easily converted to gold or silver by the banks although gold and silver coins still circulated quite a bit out west.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
This is out west as I'm in Nevada. Silver was king and that's due to the NV production of the precious metal. When I was a kid growing up, most people preferred a silver dollar than a paper dollar and I was thinking that in 1910 it was probably the same.
bob
I would guess silver coins were the main currency back then in most of the West.
We drove out west on vacation in 1963, and got six silver dollars in change from a $10 bill when my Dad bought gas in Utah. That was my introduction to old coins!
30+ years coin shop experience (ret.) Coins, bullion, currency, scrap & interesting folks. Loved every minute!
Yes it depends on what part of the country you lived in. I recall reading a letter from the SF Mint Superintendent dated July of 1916
He told the Director of the Mint that he was running low on $5 gold pieces. He stated he had $200,000 in $10 gold pieces or eagles on hand. However he expected that they would be called for any day
He thought the shortages of both coins were due in part to the fact that coins of these denominations were largely used during the harvesting season in paying labor and moving crops. He wanted the Mint Directors permission to increase the SF Mints stock of eagles and half eagles