Arizona silver belt., 1890-01-18
Currency Of .he Unised states.


 rent in>busineSs, whett,er it he gold, silver, or paper; but the term is often confined 10 paper money as distin- gulshed from coined money. Uslng ibe term in its widest meaning, there pass current in the United States coin issued from ihe United States hints comprising gold coin, standard silver dollars, >utsldidry silver {balves, quar- terS, and dimes}, and what is known Us minor currency, nickels and pen nieS. The paper money passing cur rem consists Of lrgal-tender notes, Ma. tlonuI bank notes, gold certificates, and silver certificates. Gold e0iu is full legal tender for all drits, public or private Standard silver dollar are a iull legal tender for all debts, public and private, except where payment ID some other form of money is stipu- lat'd expressly in the contract. The ,iVer cons of less denomination than Sl ar legal tender to the amonu, of Sl0 Tor all debis aud dues public and piyate The minor coins. niekeis aud cents, are q legal tender for any amount not e&ceeding twenty-five cents in oae payment. United States notes are a legal tender in payment of all deLts, pul,bc and private. in the tuIted States, except for dutles on unVosts and tue interest on the public asbt National bunk notes are uoi d legal tender, but they ata renewable at par for all debts and demand, owing by lbe Government 10 any person within the United States, and they are also receivable Ter aiI taxes and orhcl dybis aud @enanjs due toihe Govern, nent. except duties on imports. They are also legally receivable by all Ma }ianai banks. Gold and silver crrtih- cites, whila nei q legal tender between individual citt2ens are tcceiy bic for taEr. and debts to the 6overnmt nt, and for ati debts due lberefrom. The dollar the monetary ukit, and all Of tH. yr.au> lorms jfcurrenev described teIrcscat, one u. nor, dollars or dee ipal fractions of the dollar. The original coinage act of April ,, 1790 provided tbai iir guid dollar should consist uf 2 gf1ius ol standard gold i: That Is. aol, including alloy, lhe pure gold in ite same ,o be 24 75i00 eraus, tbe alloy icing l.12 of the Nl13le, a proportion sglilar 10 that in ihe gold cotn oi England. The silver 3ailaT ny this aci was to contain 4l6 graius ot standard silver, Or 37li grains of pure silver. the alloy amounting 10 Al arains. Under this act the coinaRa oi bolh gold and silver ~ th' mnts Of tie United States was trce; flat k, any holder of gold or sil
 vel builon might take either gold or ,lNe !u!lien 10 tbe hints and have t coined into dollars of the standard weight and iineness. By the acts Of Juur 2S, 1881. and January Is. 1857. Congress FedG cd the amount of pure gold in he gold dollar from PIE grams to 23 22 loo grains, leaving the amount of pure silver in the llver dollar inc saine as before. The pro portion ol alloy in both coins was changed making it in each case one tenth of the full weight of he coin.
 By The act of fpbruary F, 1873, tue co,nage ot the silver dollar was discon- tiuuad. and from 1873 until 1878 nc standard silver dollars were author- ized by law. During that perlod the coinage of the trade dollar was author lzed for purposes o} eyportation, hut they were not intended to circulate in the United States. The act of Febru. ary. 1875 authorized a restricted coin age of tue standard silver dollar, pro viding for the purchase of limited amount of bullion monthly by the Secretary of the Treasury and the coinage of snch silver into dollars by the hints on account of the Govern. ment The dollars so coined were made fuil legal tender. During the reipd from 1884 to l678 very few sll
 yer dollars were either coined or CIT culated in the United State, and the cpld dollar va the practical monetary unjtupon which fIl of thes financial operation, of lhe people and tbe Gov ernment were based. Tue issue of legal tender notes was first authorized in 1862 and the ftiih Of the Govern m4ni was pledged fot tlleir payment either n tonds of the Unted States bearing interest iu coin or m coin, by act. of variouS dates prior to 1878; and from 1873 to 1878 there was no other fpll legal-iender coin but gold com t~sned by the hints of the United Slates. Practically, ID to the present time, there has been 10 difference in