The coinage of the standard silver dollar was first authorized by Act of April 2, 1792. Its weight was to be 416 grains standard silver; fineness, 892.4; which was equivalent to 3711/4 grains of fine silver, with 443/4 grains of pure copper alloy. This weight was changed by act of January 18, 1837, to 4121/2 grains, and fineness changed to 900, thus preserving the same amount of pure silver as before. By act of February 12, 1873, the coinage was discontinued. The total number of silver dollars coined from 1792 to 1873 was 8,045,838. The act of 1873 provided for the coinage of the "trade dollar," of weight 420 grains, and an act passed in June, 1874, ordered that all silver coins should only be "legal tender at their nominal value for amounts not exceeding $5." The effect of these acts was the "demonetization" of silver, of which so much has been said. February 28, 1878, the coinage of the standard dollar of 4121/2 grains was revived by act of Congress; $2,000,000 per month was ordered coined, and the coins were made legal tender for all debts, public and private.

From February, 1878 to November 1, 1885, 213,257,594 of these standard dollars were coined under the above act.