Redeeming trade dollars drawing

Coin Finder

What was the payout? Anyone know?

lilolme

From NNP

https://nnp.library.wustl.edu/concern/articles/Article628386?locale=en

Article content
[HARPER’S WEEKLY
Vol. XXXL – No. 1589
New York, Saturday, June 4, 1887]

REDEEMING TRADE DOLLARS
The United States Sub-Treasury in Wall Street has been busy during the last two months with the redemption of those white-faced trade dollars which were so ignominiously dismissed from circulation several years ago. There were some seven million trade dollars in all, and by an act of the last Congress the New York Sub-Treasury was called upon to redeem the entire lot at one hundred cents apiece. The movement to redeem the trade dollars started in President ARTHUR’S time. When the dollars were forced of circulation by an interesting exercise of co-operative power on the part of the public, they passed into the hands of speculators, who bought them for eighty-five cents each, or less, and held them with fine faith in what the future could be made to bring forth. At one time, under President CLEVELAND, it ran down to seventy-seven cents. Their final redemption at one hundred cents leaves a fairly good profit to the holders.
Three or four million of the outcasts have returned and have been redeemed so far. Nobody knows, of course, when the last one will have been gathered into the Sub-Treasury. Not a few are in China, where square holes have been cut in them to make the resemble Chinese money. These the Sub-Treasury will not redeem, so it would be useless for any one send them over here. In fact, no trade dollar is redeemed which is mutilated, and it is because mutilated specimens must be looked out for that the redemption of the outcasts is attended with so much labor. Each one of the three or four million which have come in has been handled separately. The Sub-Treasury melts the trade dollars up for the silver which is in them-there is considerably less than a dollar’s worth in each –and the government pockets the loss.
Doubtless a good many person wonders how many dollars there are in the Sub-Treasury. There are about one hundred and forty million. Leading to the vaults in which this treasure is stored are two steel doors which have such an appearance of strength that one would think that thousand-ton trip-hammers could not prevail against them. One of these doors is behind the other, and to reach the vaults it is necessary to pass through both. It is a rule which has never been violated that the two doors shall never be opened at the same time. Even the Secretary of the Treasury, when he goes into the vaults, must wait for one of the steel barricades to swing to and be bolted and locked behind him before the other is opened for his advance. The roof of the Sub-Treasury also has apparatus for the protection of the gold and silver which are below. It is armed with Gatling-guns and repeating rifles.
Source URL
https://www.readex.com/content/americas-historical-newspapers
Date published
1887-06-04
Volume
31

lermish

Where is this picture found? Really neat!

Coin Finder

Found in a Thai restaurant of all places!!

airplanenut

"Redeeming trade dollars drawing"

Yes, please enter me in the drawing. This would go great in my office.

lilolme

A 'Harpers Weekly' image can be found here (along with 11 other W P Snyder drawings).

https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/wp-snyder

JCH22

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lermish

Thank you for posting this, somehow I hadn't come across it. I found a nice print of it and ordered it; it'll be hanging in my office soon.