Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-06-14
THE SILVER DOLLAR.
How 1t Came Into Circulation and
Its Checkered Career.
THE SPANISH SILVER COIN.
The Dollar Of the Col0ntes-HOw u Was
Dividcsi in Different Statcs-Author.
ized Coinage of Gold and Si.ycr-rhe
Silver bill and What It Will Do,
Written for The EVENING STAR.


/6 States has got into the halls of legis-
wv lation, and both political parties are
~ anHiOusly nqulrns what is to be
Sdone with it, The silver dollar is
an ancient and eminently respectable piece OF
money. Long before its adoption as a coin
under the Constitution it had circulated freely
among the colonists, gaining high favor and
exercising an important influence on the future
monetary system of the country. This original
dollar was a Spanish silver coin containing
1865 grains of pure silver. From the impress
sion on one of its sides it was known as the
pillar" dollar. and with its eight pieces or
reals" furnished largely the monetary circula-
ton of the colonial settlements As early as
1645 Virginia adopted this dollar as a coin for
circulation and a unit OF account, and soon
after the other colonists adopted it for like
purposes.
Most of the colonists came from England and
had brought with them not only the habit of
Reckoning IN pounds. shilliugs and pence. but
many OF the coins of that realm Yet without
hesitation they adopted the coins of Spain in
preference to those of their mother country,
put they were slow in accepting new names in
thelr reckonlngs. and consequently, though
treating the Spanish dollar as a unit of value.
they reckoned largely IN shillings and pence,
accounting the dollar to be worth a certain
number of shillings.
SIX sHILLINGs IN A DOLLAR.
In 1862 Massachusetts set I'D a mint and
coined shilling piece containing about three
fourths as much silver as the shilling of Eng
land-the only coin in the world of that name
ana declared the Spanish dollar contained SIX
OF them, and this reckoning was not far wrong
But Massachusetts had no right to call this
piece shilling and the home government
promptly put stop to its coinage. At that
time the unit of English money was the pound
sterling of silver and it was of such weight
that 1t equaled 4 40 OF the Spanish dollars.
AS there were 20 shillings in pound and II
pence IN shilling pound would contain 240
pence and a Spanish dollar would therefore
contain as many pence as 40 was contained
! III 24O, or "a pence. BY the Massachusetts,
reckoning, however, the dollar contained 6
shliilngs or u pence, reduction of one-four;h
| IN the value of the shilling at once But the
reckoning of shillings to a dollar. false as it
was. got strong foothold in the eastern colo
mes and became eventually the established
method OF expressing values, but no coin cir
culated having the value of six to a dollar
Virginia, which had no shillings of any kind
adopted those of New England and declared
that the dollar in that colony also contained
6 shillings or ~ pence. South Carolina
thought differently, however. and declared
that the dollar contained only Az shillings or
"a pence, the true reckoning. PENNSYLVANIA
declared 1t contained shillinCs or 80 pence
while New York, Maryland and New jersey
with equal reason declared it contained shil-
lings or Sc pence, in this case making the
real piece shilling In those colonies.
| though 1t was but ''ninepence in Virginia
and New England and levy" (11 PENCE in
Pennsylvania and a 'sixpence" in South Caro-
lima.
DIVISIONS OF THE DOLLAR.
At this time no decimal division of the dollar
had been thought Of, and as divisions of some
kind were necessary the several colonies
divided the dollar for purposes of accounts
into as many parts as they had respectively de-
clared 1t contained of pence. Thus in New
England and Virginia accounts were expressed
in dollars and seventy-secOnds; in Pennsylvania
i'll dollars and ninetieths. and in New York,
New Jersey and Maryland in dollars and ninety
siXths; still using the real pieces with no rela-
ton to the system, in making fractional pay
ments. These different divisions of the dollar
gave rise to endless confusion in the monetary
transactions between the colonies. as is curl
ously illustrated in the account of George
Washington for expenses incurred in travelling
by chaise from his home at Mount Vernon. Va,
to take command of the army at Cambridge.
Mass, i'll 1775 The account is stated irAthe
| handwriting of the illustrious traveller and is
now on file in the Office of the register of the
Treasury. The entries for expenses incurred
in Virginia are stated in dollars and seventy
seconds; those in Maryland, in dollars and
ninety-sixths; in Pennsylvania. in dollars and
| ninetieths: in New York, in dollars and ninety
| sixths, and in Massachusetts, at the opening,
| in dollars and seventy-seconds. At the end the
| amounts are recapitulated and proper calcula-
| tions made to express correctly the amount
due in dollars and reals, the coins with which
he was to be paid-a feat in accounting to
which the historian has thus far done scant
justice.
As the congress of the confederation was
hald ialp
| that period still preserved in the Treasury
were kept in dollars and ninetieths-the sys-
| tenn of Pennsylvania.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE.
The confusion in domestic transactions
| arising from the false valuation Of the dollar
as expressed in shillings was even exceeded in
| conducting foreign exchanges. The pound
sterling for this purpose employed was equal
| to 40 dollars, and no human law could
change this relation without changing the
weight of silver involved, but the New Eng
| land and Virginia pound was declared worth
| but 31s dollars, the New York pound 24 dol
| lars, the Pennsylvania pound 2B dollars, yet
| each of these pounds was supposed to contain 20
shilings OF IL pence each. Amid all the con-
| fusion the silver dollar held its place and en-
joyed the distinction of being the unit of value
| throughout the colonies-the standard by
which all values, even those of foreign coins
| came to be measured and it held its place
largely owing to the reputation II had ever en-
| joyed as an honest coin issued by a nation
| whose commercial honor would permit the
| pillars on its coins to represent only metal of
standard weight and purity.
THE CONSTITUTIONAL DOLLAR
The Constitution was adopted in 1889, and
| soon thereafter, in accordance with the scheme
| of Alexander Hamilton and Thomas jefferson.
the silver dollar was legally accepted as the
| unit of account under the new government to
be divided decimally into tenths and hun
dredths, with fractional coins to correspond.
The silver dollar now to be coined in this coun-
try was to contain 37lX grains of pure silver,
about the average weight of the pure metal
| in one of the worn Spanish dollars in circula-
, ton, and the halves, quarters and dimes were
to contain OF pure metal an amount in the pro-
portion they bore to the dollar This arrange
ment would make no especial change in the
expression OF values in the colonies except for
the fractional parts of the dollar, and the uni
form, simple system Of reckoning in decimals
could hardly fail to be accepted in place of the
cumbersome method before existing. The con-
tinued circulation Of the Spanish pieces at their
full value and as a legal tender was authorized
by lava compliment paid to no other foreign
coins.
CONTRASTING ITS CIRCULATION.
Thus Tar the silver dollar had won its y-ay TO
popular favor and recognition ON its own
merits, legislation only establishing and de-
filming its position already won. But its circu-
! lation was now to be contested. Gold had be-
come in all countries more and more in use as
money and distinguished financiers thought
that both gold and all iobt