The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1878-11-14
Trade Dollar.

that we publish for the information of our
readers the following letter written by Sec
rotary Sherman and addressed to O. Fl.
Booth, Mansfield, Ohio. 1t throws good
deal of light upon subject little understood
and we commend it to the careful perusal OF
all.
TREASURY DEPARTMENT,
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY,
Washington, D. c., Sept. 3, 1878.
O. II. BOOTH, ESQ.,,
Mansfield, Ohio.
SIR II hasten to fulfil the promise made
you, that upon my retarn to the Depart
ment l would write you fully concerning the
issue of the trade dollar, and the present de-
probation in its value.
The coinage of this dollar was authorized
by the coinage act of February u, 1873, in
words as follows:
"That any owner of silver bullion may de-
post the same at any mint to be formed into
bars or into dollars Of the weight Of four
hundred and Twenty grains trey, designated
in This act as trade dollars, $50 and
the charges for converting standard silver
into trade-dollars, for melting and refining,
when bullion is below standard, for toughen-
ing when metals are contained in it which
render it unfit for coinage, for copper used
for alloy, when the bullion is above stand
ard, for separating the gold and silver when
these metals exist together in the bullion,
and for the preparation of bars, shall be
fixed from time to time by the Director of
the Mint.] with the concurrence of the Sec
rotary of the Treasury, so as to equal, but
not exceed, in their judgment, the actual av-
| erage cost 10 each mint and assay Office OF
the material, labor, wastage, and use of ma
chinery employed in each of the cases afore-
mentioned"
| As its name indicates, the purpose of this
coin was for trade, not for circulation,
though by classifying it with other silver
| coins the law made it legal tender to the
amount of five ~ dollars in any one pay
ment.
| At the time of the passage OF the act the
actual value of this dollar, including the
charge of l. cents for coinage, was little
more than $l.04 in gold. q
| Under such circumstances there could be
no object for the owner to put the coins into
ulation, and consequently they were eX.
ported mostly to China, where, from lack of
circulating medium, these pieces, conven-
| lent in size, and bearing the guarantee of a
great Government as to their weight and
! fineness, obtained an extensive circulation,
and created market for the silver OF the
| Pacific States, as intended by the act.
| After few months, however, an unfore-
seen depreciation in the value of silver bull
| lion occurred, and in the early part Of 1876
! this depreciation reached such point that
one dollar in gold would purchase more than
| the necessary amount of silver for a trade
| dollar and pay for its coinage.
Under such conditions, dealers in bullion
| found a profit in putting trade-dollars into
circulation at par in the Pacific States
| where the currency was upon a gold basis,
but the coin being legal tender for only
five (5) dollars,it its circulation was necessarily
| limited in amount as we'll as restricted in
locality.
The people of the Pacific States, however,
objected to it's use at all for circulation, and
the attention of Congress having been called
to the matter, on the Sth of May, 1876, Hon.
Samuel j. Randall, of Pennsylvania, intro
iuced into the House bill the third sec.
ton of which repealed the legal tender quail
ity of these coins.
On the 10th of June following, Hon. S. S.
Cox, of New York, reported the measure to
the House, urging its adoption.
No objection was raised. and it became
law July %, 1876, without modification or
an opposing voice or vote in either House,
and is as follows:
'srhat the trade dollar shall not hereafter
be legal tender; and the Secretary of the
Treasury is hereby authorized to limit, from
time to time, the coinage thereof to such an
amount as he may deem sufficient to meet
the export demand for the same.'
Up to that time, excepting few days,)
and for several months thereafter, the trade
dollar cost more than paper currency dol
lar, and consequently none of the coins got
into circulation in other than the Pacific
States.
Owing to the appreciation of the paper
currency, however, IN the fall of 1877, the
trade dollar became CT less value than the
paper dollar. an in December of that year
a large number of them were put into circu-
lation, at their face value, at a profit to the
owners Of the bullion.
Apprehensve of such misuse of the coins.
on the 18th OF October in that year, 1 order
ed the discontinuance of their coinage at the
mint at Philadelphia, aud four days later at
the other mints. Meanwhile the Department
in reply to numerous inquiries, had uni
formly stated that the trade dollar possessed
only a commercial value depending upon the
price of silver bullion.
1t will be seen that the coins were put into
circulation months after the passage of the
character, and mainly after their coinage
had ceased.
But in their use as money the Department
has never had any interest or derived any
profit. For the expense of their coinage
the owner of the bullion reimbursed the
Government, and this ended the connection
of the Government with the transaction. At
no time and on no account have they ever
been received, or paid out, by tile Treasury,
and it is cause of regret that so many of
our people should have accepted them at
their face value, thus enabling their owners
to put them into circulation at a considera-
BILE profit.
Under date OF July 25, 1878. the Director
of the Mint published tables from which the
value of these coins can be ascertained and
the terms on which they are received at the
minis. He does not advise any one to dis
pose of them at such rates. The law under
which the Department buys bullion with
which to coin the standard silver dollar, re-
quires the same to be bought at the market
price, and it can purchase trade dollars only
as bullion. Possibly in time these coins W i'll
find a ready market in China at nearly or
quite their face value, for circulation as coin.
In this connection permit me to correct |
any misapprehension as to the purpose and |
effect OF the Directors circular. AS early as
August 81, 1CIos bHe OepdIIulcub luAOImcU |
an enquirer that the trade-dollar had only a |
bullion value, aud this information has been |
repeated scores of times. and published by |
the press throughout the country. Toavoid |
the labor OF preparing manuscript letters,
the Director embodied the informatio in
circular, adding thereto tables for the CON-
putation of such value. There was no new
decision involved in the circular, though pos
sibly its publication may have fastened the
depreciation of the coins to their true value
an event which was inevitable, and could
not have been much longer delayed.
Very respectfully.
JOHN SHERMAN,
Secretary.
ITCHING PILES.-The symptoms ingg
moisture, like perspiraton. il tense itching
bv scratching, very distress re
at night as if pin worms were
in aud about the rectum, the pri-
vate parts are sometimes affected if allowed
to continue, very serious results may follow.