Definition of "Free coinage of silver" - 1896
RogerB
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This "free coinage of silver" definition might be of interest to those unaccustomed to the term.
"RG104 E-235 vol 079
August 28, 1896
George J. Waters, Esq.
Poseyville, Indiana
Sir:
In reply to your letter of the 21st instant, I forward you by today’s mail a copy of Department Circular No. 123, and would respectfully refer you to page 11, in regard to the redemption of silver certificates, etc.
By the free coinage of silver, is meant that right of individuals to bring their silver to the Mints and receive in return the coining value of the same in full legal tender coins. At the ratio of 16 to 1, means that one ounce of gold in coinage shall be equal to 16 ounces of silver.
Free coinage does not necessarily imply that there will be no charge for stamping the coins. It would depend entirely upon the provisions of any Act that might be passed by Congress.
Respectfully yours,
R.E. Preston,
Director of the Mint"
Comments
To put it another way, in 1896 the average price of silver was about 66 cents. If you had a 100 ounce bar of pure silver you could sell it as bullion for about $66.
With "Free Coinage of Silver" in place, you could deposit it at the Mint and get back approximately 129 silver dollars, though as the letter said the Treasury might, if it were provided for in the law, be able to assess a small fee for the copper alloy and the cost of striking, shipping, etc. Still, it would be almost double what you could get for the silver on the open market as bullion.
The end result would be a huge increase in the supply of coined money, which would cause inflation. I have read that the farmers wanted this because many of them had borrowed money to buy their farmland, and with inflation they would be able to pay back the loans with cheaper dollars. The miners out here in Colorado certainly wanted it because it would almost double the value of their output.
In other words in 1896, a silver dollar really needed to be this big to reflect its true worth.
Given the above Bryan token, Bill should like this little note to the Philadelphia Mint....
This is an interesting bit of coin history and further shows why precious metal coinage will not work in today's volatile metals market. Cheers, RickO
I wonder what ever became of that copper disc?
For identification purposes, a pure copper disc of the exact volume of two silver dollars (825 grains of .900 fine silver) would weigh approximately 711.7 grains because of the lower density of the copper.
TD
It is interesting that the requested weight, 825 grains, is very close to the weight of this comparative Bryan dollar, which is struck in coin silver. The message on the piece explains that the political message.
That is a really cool piece Bill!
Collector, occasional seller
The director's request might have originated with the Bryan silver tokens.... Maybe the copper disc is in the hands of an heir of Robert Preston. Imagine linking that to the letter -- quite a numismatic story.
Wasn't he in "The Music Man"?
He played the tuba.