The post. [volume] (Middleburg, Snyder County, Pa.) 1864-1883, 1878-03-07
Our Gold Coin.
d Historical Sketch Of the rarious
Denominations.

The following historical sketch of
our gold coinage is condensed from
AN exhaustive paper of Mr.. o w
Wright, in the Milwaukee journal
of commerce, Of last week
]. The double eagle. or $40 piece
Coinage Of the double eagle was an.
thorized 10y the act of March 81.
1Si9. Its weight is GIG grains. It's
tiueness 900 (This technical form
.of expression means that 800 parts
in l.0l0 are pure metat. the Other
100 parts are alloy } The total coin
age of the $40 gold piece up to
June 30, 1877. the close Of the last
fiscal year, was ss09,59s. 44O. The
anoant is ier gres.sr than tblt y. I'll
tue other coinage Of the Vaited
states. II, 10 fact, is tho imperial
coin Of our country, Mt once mIssiye,
weighty and regal in appearance.
2, The eagle, or 80 piece. Its
coinage was authorized by tive act of
April Z, 1892 The weight was first
established by law at 270 grains,
but was changed forty>two years af
terwards, by the act Of June 2S,
1884. To 25S grains, where it has re-
NAMED ever since. It's tineness was.
in the beginning, made Glj , 3, but
was changed, 10y the act of June %
1884, the same act that lowered its
weight, to 500 25j. Two years and
n half subsequently, its iineness was
iucreased--less than one part in n
/ thousand to 9J) Its weight nm |
tiuencss have remlinel thus fixed to
the present day The totol coinage
Of this noble piece Of American
money. mp t. Jane 80, 1877, was
$50. .707 7,32).-lcss then one fourth =
teenth of the total coinage OF the
imperial double eagle.
3. The half eagle, or S5 piece.
This elegant coin has undergone the
same vicissidues as the eagle. Its
coinage was authorized by the sane
uct Of Apn! ,, 1902 Its weight
was l35 grains aud its iineness 9lGI
BY the net Of June 20. 1854, its
weight was rcauce to 100 grains
and it's tincness To 79J225 By the
act Of January II, 1887, its iiueness
was slightly raisel t. the uniform
STANDARD OF go. Its weight and
tineness have thus remliued To orr
time. Its total coinage. up to the
close OF the last iisc II year, WAS Sj6,.
il2,Sl5.
4, The quarter eagle, or 50 so
pivc6. Tho .iEe o;M helos.,af -
tue same iimiiy with tho eagle aud
half eagle. Its Coinage was authoriz.
ed its weight AMI tineness cores
pondinglv altered by the sinis acts
The statute of 1892 mtle itS Weight
5I5 Srains, aud It's finoness 9l6 l.6
IT'S weight was reduced to Gij
graius aud its tinenes to SO 22i,
by the act of 1884 The act Of 1887
raised its ilncnsss to 90 It's totll
coinage up to jane 30. 1917 was
$50 97j.75O
8. The dollar This pretty little
gold piece was created by the act of
March 3, 1919 the same act that au-
thCrized the coinage of the donble
eagle. IL has remained uuchnngel.
Is weight is 25,S grains anl it's
hneness go The total coinaye up
to the close cf the last fiscal year
was SI0,3i5.iiS.
6. Three dollar riece. An sct OF
February 81, 1855. established this
irregular coin. Its weight IT,
grains. and its fineness. 90, are OF
the normal standard. and have not
been changed by subsequent acts.
Its total cJinpge NJ to Jlns 3Jih,
1877, was sl,300.032
1t is hardly necessary to state that
all these gold coins are legal tender
to IN unlimited amount, The feis.
raj statute requires, however that
the weight should not bs mItsrially
reduced by attrition.
Thus it will be seen, there are six
pieces of gold coinage in the United
States. The double eagle, the hree
dollar pieces, the dollar piece all
of late coinage, have not been chang.
ed in weight or iineuess. One of the
earliest acts of Congress authorized
the coinage Of the eagle, tho half
eagle and the quarter eagle. They
remained Of the same weight and
fineness during more than forty
years. by the act of J June %. 1874,
the weight and hneness were both
materially reduced
Two years,and half subsequently,,
by theact of Jan. lS,lS37, the tineness
was increased by less than one part
IN thousand. Tho STANDARD of
weight aud tineness has remained
the same ever since for all gol coin.
The tineness is nine parts of pnre
gold aud one part of alloy or 90
parts i'll l,0J0, Us it is generally ex-
pressed. The standard Of weight -
Unloading alloy with tho gold lis
20 . grains To the dollar; the 4 Iubls
eagle is twenty times that (jl6
graius), the eagle ten times t45S
Iraius); the half eagle, five time,
li2S grain). the quarter eagle, "a
times that (54 8 graius)
The question is sometimes asteI
OF what is the ailoy male = In gold
coin, it was, ut first co,nPouni Of
silver aud copper 1t was trst for
bldden by statute that the alloy
should be more than half silver. It
is now nearly all copper owing to