The daily gazette., 1878-01-26
OUR GOLD COINS.
A Historical Ske tch Of the Vnri-
Ous nominations.

Cs.H n>Ch hhAA ~ - hOAnSs
The following historical sketch Of our
gold coinage Is condensed from an ex-
haustive paper of Mr.. o. w. Wright in
the Milwaukee journal of Commerce, of
last week:
l. The Double eagle, or $40 gold piece.
Coinage of the double-eagle wa, author
lied by the act of March 3, 1849 Its
weight Is $40 grains. Its fineness is 300
(This technical form of expression means
that 900 parts in / 900 are pure metal, the
other 100 parts are .alloy.) The total
coinage of the $50 gold piece up to June
30, 1877, the close of the last fiscal year,
greater than that of all tho other coinage
Of the United States. 1t, in fact, is the
imperial coin of our country, at once
massive, weighty and regal In appear
ance. la..
2. The Eagle, or $40 piece. Its coinage
was authorized by the act of April 2, 1872
The weight was first established by law
at go grains, but was changed AZ years
afterward, by the act of JUNE %, 1884, to
25S grains, where it has remained ever
since. Its finepess was, in the beginning
made 9l6i but was changed by the act OF
June %, 1884, the same that lowered its
weight, to $780, .225. Two years and half
subsequently, its fneness was increased
less than one part in a thousand-to
800. Its weight and fineness have re-
manned thus fixed to the present day The
total coinage ofthis noble piece of Amer
ican money, up TO June 30, 1877, was $780,
707 ,220-less than one-fourteenth of
the total coinage of the imperial double
eagle.
3. The Half-eagle, or So piece. This
elegant coin has undergone the same
vicissitudes as the eagle. It's coinage
| a "A zad hx the n arf nf .,r;l
2, 1872. Its weight was 135 grains and its
fineness 916l. By the act of June %, 1884,
its weight was reduced to 129 grams and
lis fneness to $780, By the act ofJanu-
ary %, 1887, its fineness was slightly
raised TO the uniform standard of 900. Its
weight and fineness have thus remained
to our time. Its total coinage, up to the
close Of the last fiscal year, was sos, ,412, :
315.
4. The Quarter-eagle, or $3.50 piece
This fine coin belongs to the same family
was authorized, its weight and fineness
correspondingly altered by the same acts.
The statute of 1892 made its weight ~ o
grains and Its fineness 916t. Its weight
was reduced to GA 3 grains and its fneness
to 899 225 by the act of 1884. The act of
1887 raised its fineness to 800. It's total
coinage up to June 80, 1877, was S26, ,975,-
65O
8. The Dollar. This pretty little gold
piece was created by the act of March 3,
1849, the same act that authorized the
coinage of the double eagle. 1t has re-
mained unchanged. Its weight Is 25 8
grains and its fineness 800. The total
coinage up to the close of the last fiscal
year was S19, ,345, ,438.
6. Three Dollar Piece. An act of Feb
ruary 21, 1853, established this irregular
coin. Its weight, II grains, and its fine
ness, 800, are of the normal standard, and
have not been changed by subsequent
acts. Its total coinage, up to June 80,
1877, was 81 1,300,032.
1t Is hardly necessary to state that all
limited amount. The Federal statute re-
quires, however, that the weight should
not be materially reduced by attrition.
Thus 1t will be seen, there are six
pieces of gold coinage in the United
States. The double eagle, the three-dol-
lar piec,, the dollar piece-all of later
coinage have not been changed in weight
or fineness. One of the earliest acts of
Congress authorized the coinage of the
eagle, the half-eagle and the quarter
eagle. They remained of the same weight
By the Act of June %, 1884, the weight
duced.
Two years and half subsequently, by
the Act of January IS, 1887, the fineness
was increased by less than one part in q
thousand. The standard of weight and
fineness has remained the same ever
since for ALI gold coin. The tineness is
nine parts of pure gold and one part is
alloy or 900 parts in 1000, as it is gener-
ally expressed The standard of weight
including alloy with the gold-is % 8
grains to the dollar the double eagle is
twenty times that (516 grains the eagle,
ten times (25s grainsl the half eagle, five
times Q29 grains) !; the three dollar piece,
three times az 4 grains) the quarter
eagle, 81 times that ga 8 grains.
The question is sometimes asked: Of
what is the alloy made ? In gold coin it
was, at first, a compound of silver and
copper. 1t was forbidden by statute that
the alloy should be more than half silver.
1t is now nearly all copper, owing to ad-
vances in the art of assaying and i'm
proved methods of coinage.
The total amount of gold coinage, up
to June 80. 1877. was S9S3,159,6Y5.