COIN OF U. S.-Continued. THREE CENT (NICKEL).. Authorized to be coined, act of March 3, 1865. Weight, 30 grains; composed of 75 per cent. copper and 25 per cent. nickel. Coinage discontinued, act of September 26, 1890. Total amount coined..... TWO CENT (BRONZE). Authorized to be coined, act of April 22, 1864. 941,349.48 Weight, 96 grains; composed of 95 per cent. copper and 5 per cent. tin and zinc. Coinage discontinued, act of February 12, 1873. Total amount coined. CENT (COPPER). 912,020.00 Authorized to be coined, act of April 2, 1792. Weight, 264 grains. Weight changed, act of January 14, 1793, to 208 grains. Weight changed by proclamation of the President, January 26, 1796, in conformity with act of March 3, 1795, to 168 grains. Coinage discontinued, act of February 21, 1857. CENT (NICKEL). Authorized to be coined, act of February 21, 1857. 1,562,887.44 Weight, 72 grains; composed of 88 per cent. copper and 12 per cent. nickel. Coinage discontinued, act of April 22, 1864. CENT (BRONZE). Coinage authorized, act of April 22, 1864. 2,007,720.00 Weight, 48 grains; composed of 95 per cent. copper and 5 per cent. tin and zinc. Total amount coined to June 30, 1896..... HALF CENT (COPPER). Authorized to be coined, act of April 2, 1792. Weight, 132 grains. Weight changed, act of January 14, 1793, to 104 grains. 8,073,910.34 Weight changed by proclamation of the President, January 26, 1796, in conformity with the act of March 3, 1795, to 84 grains. Coinage discontinued, act of February 21, 1857. Total amount coined.... Total minor coins.. 39,926.11 27,830,048.67 COIN OF U. S.-Continued. Coin-Summary. Total gold coined to June 30, 1896... .$1,814,692,253.00 696,464,343.10 Total gold and silver coined to June 30, 1896... 2,511,156,596.10 Total minor coins to June 30, 1896.... Grand total No. 80. .... COIN-Weight and Fineness of. An ounce of gold 1000 fine is worth $20.671834+. 27,830,048.67 2,538,986,644.77 An ounce of silver 1000 fine is worth (coining value) $1.292929+. A gold dollar weighs 25.8 grains, pure gold, or 23.22 grains. A pound sterling weighs 123.274+grains, pure gold, or 113.0016+ grains. A pound sterling is worth $4.8665635287+. One ounce of silver, English standard, is .925 fine=444 grains pure silver. One ounce of silver, American standard, is .900 fine=432 grains pure silver. One ounce of silver, "fine," is 1000 fine 480 grains pure silver. A silver dollar of the United States weighs 412 grains, .900 fine, contains 371 grains pure silver. A dollar of fractional silver weighs 25 grams=385.80 grains, .900 fine, contains 347.22 grains pure silver. An English shilling weighs 87.273 grains, 925 fine, contains 80.729 grains pure silver. The alloy in gold coin of the United States is pure silver and copper. The alloy in the silver coin of the United States is pure copper. The pure gold in gold coins of the United States is worth the face value of the coin. COIN-Weight and Fineness, with Amount of Alloy. No. 81. In both gold and silver coins we now use 900 parts of pure metal to 100 parts of alloy. This is what the inscription 900 fine means. In our first gold coinage we adopted the proportion of alloy used by our mother country, England, which, as they express it, is 11-12 fine, or as we would express it now, as 916 2-3 fine. English standard silver was then, as now, 925 fine. The United States adopted the odd standard of 892 89-208 fine for our silver. In 1837 we adopted for both gold and silver the more elegant and exact deci COIN-WEIGHT, ETC.-Continued. mal, French system of alloy .900 fine. In 1834 w adopted this system for gold very nearly, but accurately in 1837. As most all newly found gold contains some silver, and as it was formerly more troublesome and expensive to drive it all out, the alloy for the gold coins was allowed to contain one-half of its weight in silver and the remainder in copper. Since 1873 only one-tenth of the alloy is allowable of silver. The value of the alloy in coìn is so slight as to be practically disregarded. The total weight of the old standard gold dollar was 27 grains→→ composed of 244 grains of pure gold and 24 grains of alloy. The present weight of the standard dollar is 25.8 grains, of which 23.22 is pure gold, 2.58 grains alloy. The former weight of the silver dollar was 416 grains of the then standard silver, of which 3714 grains were pure silver and 444 grains of alloy or copper. The copper in our dollar since 1837 is, as we have observed before, 31⁄2 grains less, leaving 3714 grains of pure silver. A cent's worth of copper will furnish enough alloy for about fifteen silver dollars, or about two hundred and fifty gold dollars. This alloy is not put in to add to the weight or value, but only to harden the metal and preserve the coin from excessive wear. In 1853, finding that we could not retain in use our small silver coins-our fifty, twentyfive, ten, and five cent pieces-the Government gave an opportunity to the people to bring all the old ones that remained in the country to the mint and issued new ones with about 6 per cent. less silver in them. Since then they have been named subsidiary coins, and were a legal tender for sums not greater than five dollars. Since 1879 they have been a legal tender up to ten dollars. They were no longer money, but became token coins. The changes we have mentioned are all that have been made in the weight of metal or fineness in our coins since the organization of the mint. COINAGE EXPLAINED-Silver and Gold at 16 to 1. No. 82. [By R. E. Preston, Director of the Mint.] All standard silver dollars coined by the mints of the United States since the passage of the act of January 18, 1837, have been coined at the ratio of 1 to 15.9884-, generally called the ratio of 1 to 16, 15.9884-, being very nearly 16. Still, to reach accurate results, the former, and not the latter, figure must be used in calcula tion. The ratio is obtained in this way: The silver dollar contains 3714 grains of pure silver and the gold dollar 23.22 grains of pure COINAGE EXPLAINED-Continued. gold. If you divide 371.25 by 23.22 you will get the ratio of weight between a gold dollar and a silver dollar, that is 15.9884-. It is true that to be on a par with gold silver would (at our ratio) be worth $1.2929. The reason is this: A gold dollar contains 23.22 grains of pure gold. In an ounce, or 480 grains, of gold there are as many dollars as 23.22 is contained times in 480, or one ounce, If you divide 480 by 23.22 you get $20.67, the number of dollars that can be coined out of an ounce of pure gold; in other words, the money equivalent of one ounce of gold or of 15.9884 ounces of silver at the ratio of 1 to 15.9884. Now, if 15.9884 ounces of silver be worth $20.67, one ounce will be worth $1.2929, as you can prove by simple division. The same result is obtained by dividing 480 grains or one ounce of silver by 371.25, the number of grains of pure silver in a standard silver dollar, at the ratio of 1 to 15.9884, which gives $1.2929. Sixteen ounces of pure silver will coin a little more than one ounce of gold; 15.9884 ounces of silver will coin exactly the same amount of money as one ounces of gold, that is, $20.67. You can prove this by dividing 15.9884 ounces by 371.25 grains. The opera tion is as follows: 15.9884 multiplied by 480 divided by 371.25 equals $20.€74. It is not true that 16 ounces of silver will coin only $16.80 at the ratio of 1 to 16. As will be seen above, one ounce of silver will coin $1.2929. Multiplying $1.2929 by 16 gives $20.68. You can make the same result in another way; sixteen ounces Troy or 7,680 grains divided by 371.25 gives the number of silver dollars that can be coined out of sixteen ounces of silver; 7,680 divided by 371.25 equals $20.68. (See also Gold and Silver.). No. 83. COINAGE OF SEIGNIORAGE. [Bill for coinage of seigniorage, 53d Congress, 2d Session. In House, March 2, 1894 Be it enacted, etc., That the Secretary of the Treasury shall im mediately issue silver certificates of the same denominations and monetary functions as is now provided by law for silver certificates, amount equal to the seigniorage of the silver bullion purunder the provisions of the act of July 14, 1890, entitled "An in the chased act directing the purchase of silver bullion and the issue of Treas ury notes thereon, and for other purposes," to wit, the sum of $55.156.681. That such silver certificates shall be immediately avail COINAGE OF SEIGNIORAGE—Continued. able for the payment of the current expenditures of the Government; and all laws relating to silver certificates, as far as practicable, shall be applicable to the silver certificates herein authorized. That said seigniorage shall be coined as fast as possible into legaltender standard silver dollars and the coins held in the Treasury for the redemption of the silver certificates. Sec. 2. That the remainder of the silver bullion purchased in pursuance of said act of July 14, 1890, shall be coined into legal-tender standard silver dollars as fast as practicable and the coin held in the Treasury for the redemption of the Treasury notes issued in the purchase of said bullion. That as fast as the bullion shall be coined for the redemption of said notes, the notes shall not be reissued but shall be canceled and destroyed in amounts equal to the coin held at any time in the Treasury, and silver certificates may be issued on such coin in the manner now provided by law. Sec. 3. That a sufficient sum of money is hereby appropriated to carry into effect the provisions of this act. The House having proceeded to consider the foregoing bill, Mr. Bland moved to strike out ali after the enacting clause and insert the following: That the Secretary of the Treasury shall immediately cause to be coined as fast as possible the silver bullion held in the Treasury, purchased under the act of July 14, 1890, entitled "An act directing the purchase of silver bullion and the issuing of Treasury notes thereon, and for other purposes," to the amount of the gain or seigniorage of such bullion, to wit: the sum of $55,156,681, and such coin or the silver certificates issued thereon shall be used in the payment of public expenditures, and the Secretary of the Treasury may, in his discretion, if the needs of the Treasury demand it, issue silver certificates in excess of such coinage: Provided, That said excess shall not exceed the amount of the seigniorage as herein authorized to be coined. Sec. 2. After the coinage provided for in the first section of this act, the remainder of the silver bullion purchased in pursuance of said act of July 14, 1890, shall be coined into legal-tender standard silver dollars as fast as possible, and the coin shall be held in the Treasury for the redemption of the Treasury notes issued in the purchase of said bullion; that as fast as the bullion shall be coined for the redemption of said notes the notes shall not be reissued, but shall be canceled and destroyed in amounts equal to the coin heid |