Why did US citizens accept copper coins in 1793??

KingOfCoins

As the constitution states that no state shall make anything but gold and silver a tender in payment of debts, how and why did we have a copper cent and half cent starting in 1793??

I would have thought that at that point, the citizens would not approve of a copper coin.

Anyone have any knowledge to share about this time period??

I know that during this time, much of the circulating coinage was foreign. What was the composition of the foreign circulating coinage?

topstuf

I believe "legal tender" is just a term that makes that particular coin mandatory to accept in trade.

Therefore, the colonists did not want people to be paying large amounts in copper.

?????????

CaptHenway

Because a cent could buy a lot back then.

basestealer

I don't think most people did accept them. Copper cents and nickels were rejected for the most part, and nobody wanted them. They were similar to the dollar coins our government produces today, except they didn't have collector interest until a hundred years later.

DaveG

Copper large cents and half cents weren't legal tender during the time they were minted.

Most of the circulating coinage consisted of well-worn Spanish colonial silver coins.

Large cents and half cents filled a need for small change - mostly in the cities, though. They were rarely seen outside the larger cities of the Northeast.

edited to add: Base-metal coinage wasn't made legal tender until the law of April 22, 1864 (which created the bronze cent and two-cent piece). The cent was made legal tender up to the amount of 10 cents and the two-cent piece was made legal tender up to the amount of 20 cents. (The law of February 21, 1853, which had reduced their weight, also made half dimes through half dollars legal tender up to the amount of $5; the three-cent silver piece was only legal tender up to the amount of 30 cents.)

quickwing

Simple. Copper was a very valuable and hard to come by commodity during that early American time period.

Zoins

<< <i>I don't think most people did accept them. Copper cents and nickels were rejected for the most part, and nobody wanted them. They were similar to the dollar coins our government produces today, except they didn't have collector interest until a hundred years later. >>

Did people historically want dollar coins during all time periods? Dollar coins have been discontinued at various times during the history of the US, whether it was due to the price of silver, lack of silver, or something else.

DaveG

US silver dollars never really circulated all that much.

Large numbers of the Bust dollars were exported to the West Indies and subsequently melted; large numbers of Seated dollars were exported to China and subsequently melted; large numbers of Morgan and Peace dollars spent decades in Mint vaults (that's why uncirculated examples are so plentiful and inexpensive).

Americans wanted gold and silver - when they could get them, which wasn't often. What they mostly got was IOUs and paper money issued by state-chartered banks (many of dubious quality).

relicsncoins

<< <i>US silver dollars never really circulated all that much.

Large numbers of the Bust dollars were exported to the West Indies and subsequently melted; large numbers of Seated dollars were exported to China and subsequently melted; large numbers of Morgan and Peace dollars spent decades in Mint vaults (that's why uncirculated examples are so plentiful and inexpensive).

Americans wanted gold and silver - when they could get them, which wasn't often. What they mostly got was IOUs and paper money issued by state-chartered banks (many of dubious quality). >>



It depended on what part of the country you were in. In the Western states, specifically Montana where I am from, Silver dollars (morgan and peace) were used in everyday commerce, and circulated right up into the 50's and 60's. My Grandparents owned a pizza parlor in the 50's and 60's and would have a large bag of silver dollars at the end of every day.

JJ

AUandAG

Well, high school was a loooooong time ago but if I remember correctly the Congress was reserving the right
to mint coins and thus it was the Federal Government, not the states that could make pennies out of copper,
nickels out of nickel, as well as silver and gold coins. States were allowed to mint silver and gold coins without
the Feds approval and in fact this was done in the west and perhaps at other times too.

My mind my well be foggy on this so let's have a history teacher chime in.
bob

EagleEye

Just read what is on the coins. The copper coins give the denomination. The silver and gold denominations do not (except for the edge on the Half Dollar and Dollar) this is because the copper coins were for utility. They were full weight for their value, but they were not expected to be melted for profit either.

BTW, I would love to go though a typical coin purse from the 1790's. Has anyone made a display of the circulating coins from the various era's? 1795, 1837, 1852, 1856 all would be vastly different - and Federal coins would probably be in the minority, except for copper coins.

IndianHeadMan

copper was also used by England and other European countries, so it's not like it was some type of new coin.

mrcommem

As the constitution states that no state shall make anything but gold and silver a tender in payment of debts, how and why did we have a copper cent and half cent starting in 1793??

There seems to be a blatant denial that we even have a Constitution. Everyone of our limp-spined elected officials fails to uphold there oath to the Constitution of the United States. If our money was still made of gold and silver as deemed in the Constitution we would have a lot less problems with goverment runnaway spending.

mrearlygold

<< <i>As the constitution states that no state shall make anything but gold and silver a tender in payment of debts, how and why did we have a copper cent and half cent starting in 1793??

There seems to be a blatant denial that we even have a Constitution. Everyone of our limp-spined elected officials fails to uphold there oath to the Constitution of the United States.. >>



That position and attitude pretty much permeates the vast majority of the population.

Writersblock

Simple answer is convieniece. It provided a coin of low value and usable size. Imagine if they had insisted that coins could ONLY be made of silver or gold. Think of a silver half dime in 1795, five cents is a significant amount of money at the time. You need coins of even smaller denominations. But a silver cent the same thickness as a half dime would only be 7 mm in diameter and weigh .27 grams (You could but three of them edge to edge across the diameter of a Lincoln cent and it would take 9 of them to weigh as much as a current cent.). The half cent would only be 5 mm and weigh .14 grams. (Four of them across the diameter of a Lincoln cent and 18 to equal the weight. Don't sneeze, you'll never find them again.). Trying to use coins that small would be a nightmare!

Using copper allowed then to be a comfortable size, and they had close to the full value of the metal so that provided some faith in the coins (After all they could always be melted and sold for scrap for close to what the face value was.) And this heavier weight WAS important at the time because the people HAD been taken several times in the past by underweight, over valued copper coins. Most recently in 1790 when the value of many of the light weight copper in circulation dropped close to fifty percent in value.



<< <i>I know that during this time, much of the circulating coinage was foreign. What was the composition of the foreign circulating coinage? >>


Mainly European gold, Spanish and Spanish colonies silver, and British copper farthings and half pence, many of which were light weight fakes. But the fakes were used anyway because they needed SOMETHING they could use as small change. The coinage situation was so tight that at times anything round and metal was used as a coin including foreign coins, private tokens, medals, and even buttons.

lordmarcovan

<< <i>Why did US citizens accept copper coins in 1793?? >>

Ha. I would think that in the early days of this great nation, with the hodgepodge of foreign and exotic stuff floating around in circulation, somebody would've accepted a slug or washer if you tried hard enough.