The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1879-10-15
me Growth of our Paper Money.

Al contemporary has compiled from a
report prepared by the Treasury Depart
ment, an official statement showing the
; amount of paper money In the United
States each year since 1860, affords an
interesting picture of the growth of the
paper money circulation. Prior to 1862
there were no greenbacks, and prior to
1864 there were no national bank notes.
the paper currency consisting entirely
of State bank notes. When it was
decided to issue greenbacks it became
necessary to expel the State bank paper
from the field that the government legal
tenders might take its place and this
was effected by imposing tax of 10 per
cent. on all bank notes issued by State
institutions. There is now only 1885,.
452 State bank notes outstanding, and
this consists of bills issued many wears
ago and probably lost or destroyed. In
1860 the total paper money in the
/ United States was s207, 100, Az, CON
! sisting, as we have said, entirely of
State bank notes. In 1868 the amount
had increased tos23S, 677, 213. In 1862
the first lot of greenbacks, SOC, 620. 600.
was issued, and two years later the first
lot of national bank notes, S31, 235, 30.
was issued. The breenbacks were in
creased till 1865, when they reached
their greatest circulation, S432 ,6S7 1866.
From that they have declined to
1916, 6S1 ,016, which is the amount in
circulation at the present time. The
national bank notes grew in volume
from S31 ,246, 270 in 1864 to 1854, 408,-
COS in 1915, which IS the largest circu-
latiOn they declined to S317, 048, 872 !;
but it is a singular fact that since 1877
they increased first to 1924, 514.2 84 in
1873, and then to 1929, 691, :
697, in the present year. The
fact is interesting because itshows that.
III addition to the coin set free from re-
sumption, the country has managed to
absorb about SO, 800, 900 more paper
money than it had use for two wears
ago. The total paper money circulation
increased from 1907, 102, AT state bank
notes in 1860 to 1888, 31S, $50 notes of
all kinds in 1865. From that time it
declined, and at the present time it
stands at S734, S01 1894, which is three
times the amount in 1860.
6o Io,r+
out i'll this official statement is the vari-
alton in gold value of this mass of paper
money in circulation from 1862. With
the suspension of specie payment in that
year the paper money of all kinds began
to depreciate in its purchasing power.
The lowest point was reached in 1864, |
when greenback dollar was worth on
ly thirty-eight cents in coin, and the
whole 1888, 1884 paper money in
had coin value of only
1922, 649, 246. This was the time when |
prices were most inflated, as it is called, |
it being necessary to initiate the prices |
OF property to correspond to the depre- |
ciated currency. But in 1864 there
began an appreciation of this paper
money, the process going steadily on
till the 1st of January last, when the
greenback dollar became at par in gold,
SO that the paper circulation, which in
1864 was worth only 1922, 649, 246 in
gold, is now worth 1874, SO1 1894. This
doubling the purchasing power of
money has been attended by an depre-
,iation of all other property which we
all ''shrinkage of values"