A brief description of the coinage systems of the chief commercial countries of the present day may serve as an illustration of the principles which we have been discussing and as an aid to the study of many topics which will be taken up in the succeeding chapters.

A. The United States. - The coins at present in circulation in the United States may be classified as gold coins, silver dollars, subsidiary silver, and minor coins. The gold coins are the double-eagle, the eagle, the half-eagle, and the quarter-eagle, weighing respectively 516, 258, 129, and 64 1/2 grains of standard gold; that is, of a mixture consisting of nine parts of pure gold to one part of copper. The pure gold in the eagle weighs, therefore, 232 2/10 grains. These coins are legal-tender in unlimited quantities for twenty, ten, five, and two and one-half dollars respectively, and they are minted free of charge for whoever brings metal to the mint of the requisite degree of fineness. For nearly half a century after the establishment of the first United States mint in 1793 the eagle contained 270 grains of standard gold. 916 2/3 fine, and the alloy consisted of silver and copper mixed. The change to our present system was authorized by the acts of June 28, 1834, and January 18, 1837. For a time also a seigniorage charge of one-fifth of one per cent was imposed, but this regulation was repealed by an act passed January 14, 1875.

The silver dollar of the United States has had a very interesting and eventful history. It was one of the coins authorized by the mint act of 1792, and at that time contained 416 grains of standard silver or 371 1/4 grains of pure metal. The alloy consisted of copper, and the proportions were 892.4 parts of pure metal to 107.6 parts of copper. When the gold coins were modified as indicated in the preceding section the weight of the silver dollar was reduced to 412 1/2 grains by diminishing the amount of alloy and raising the standard to nine-tenths fine, its content in pure silver thus remaining unchanged. From the beginning this coin has been invested with full legal-tender power, and to 1873 it was coined freely in unlimited quantities, but since that time it has been coined on government account only, and the amount issued has been strictly regulated by law. For example, an act passed in 1873 discontinued its coinage completely, omitting it from the list of coins authorized to be issued from the mints. The so-called Bland Act of 1878 again restored it, and ordered the coinage of such a quantity as would consume not less than two nor more than four million dollars' worth of silver monthly. This act was repealed in 1890, and the coinage of silver dollars limited to such a quantity as might be needed for the redemption of certain treasury notes, the issue of which in the purchase of silver bullion was at the same time authorized. Indeed, the battle of the standards in the United States has been waged over this coin, and the fortunes of the combatants have been reflected in the laws which have fixed the quantity which might be minted, the bimetal-lists fighting for its free and unlimited coinage and the gold monometallists for its reduction to the rank of a subsidiary coin. While it would be premature, perhaps, to declare this controversy ended, it is proper to record the fact that since 1893 the monometallists have controlled legislation on this subject, and in an act passed in 1900 practically accomplished their purpose.

Our subsidiary silver coins are the half-dollar, quarterdollar, and dime, weighing respectively 192.9, 96.45, 38.58 grains of standard, or 173.60, 86.805, 34.725 grains of pure silver. The amount of the issue was limited by the acts of July 14, 1875, and April 17, 1876, to about forty-two million dollars, the sum needed to retire the so-called fractional paper currency of that time.* This limit has been increased from time to time by special legislation. These coins are legal-tender to the amount of ten dollars only, and are redeemable at the treasury or any subtreasury of the United States in sums or multiples of twenty dollars. They are issued in like quantities for lawful money to any person desiring them, and delivered by the government free of charge. At one time half-dimes and three-cent pieces of silver were issued from the mint, but their coinage was ordered discontinued by the mint act of 1873.

It will be observed that the amount of pure metal in these coins is not proportionate to that in the silver dollar. Two half-dollars, for example, contain 347.25 instead of 371.25 grains of pure silver. This difference is explained by the fact that in 1853, when the act was passed establishing and regulating our subsidiary currency, it was not the intention to put the dollar coin in the subsidiary class, and hence no change was made in its weight. Precisely what was the intention of Congress at that time regarding the silver dollar it is difficult now to determine. Since this coin had not been in active circulation for many years, and since its metallic value at the time was considerablv more than its face value, some writers* have claimed that Congress regarded it as an obsolete coin, and did not desire to reintroduce it into the currency. Others claim that the framers and advocates of the act of 1853 were still believers in bimetallism and intended to retain the silver dollar as a standard coin side by side with the gold coins. However this may be, the metallic content of the fractional coins was reduced in order to prevent their disappearance from circulation through the operation of Gresham's law. Inasmuch as the value of silver measured in gold has fallen very much since that time, the disparity between the face and metallic value of these coins is much greater now than it was then.

* From 1862 to 1875 our currency consisted almost exclusively of government notes not redeemable on demand. The fractional currency to which reference is here made consisted of small notes of denominations below a dollar, and for which was substituted the forty-two millions of fractional silver.