New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-09-05
THE COUNTRYS CIRCULATION.
STATISTICS BY THE SECRETARY OF THE
TREASURY FROM 1850.
A PAMPHLET GIVING A STATEMENT FOR EACH
YEAR-1NTEREsT BEARING NOTES


washington Sent 4.-The Secretary Of the Treasury
has prepared n pamphlet in regard to the volume Vi
money I'm circulation in which nc says:
am response to many inquiries from different sec
ors NJ the country as 10 the amount Of the various
Kinds of money IN circulation IN the United States at
the present time and in former years. tables showing
ar fcts for each year since 1860 have been prepared
under nv instruction and published for the infor-
nation Of the people of the United States THESE
tables have been compiled from records Of the Depart
mem which were made on about the dates specied
They include everything properly belonging IN state
nent relative to circulation, except minor coins. which
are not stated because It Is difficult to estimate nc
curately the amount in use. The figures agree WIN
he reports published from year to year. ana an est-
mate has been added OF the amount OF specie In crcua-
ton on the Pacific Coast during the period OF sus-
penson OF specie payments Q962 to 1873 nclusveI'
II will be observed that no attempt has been made IN
the table for 1869 to estimate the quantity OF the
pondcscript currency. consisting Of pOsase stamps
tickets dne bills etc, which served small change
during the period subsequent TO the disappearance OF
subsidiary silver and prior 10 the issue OF the posul
currency and fractional currency authorized by the
acts OF July II, 1862, and March 3, 1863 Also, that
the one and two year notes Of 1863, ana compouDs
interest notes. supposed by many persons to nave
been in circulation, not included In any OF the
tables
-
bearing obligations which were IN circulation IS money
for few months when first issued had been absorbed
rs investment securities and withdrawn from clroua
ton before July /, 1865, which IS the date commonly
selected for comparison with the present time as 10
money IN circulation. The seventhfry notes arc alSo
excluded from the tables. They were not used as
money nor paid out as such by the Treasury but were
negotiated as loan and issued by the Government 70
investors in exchange for legalender notes. being sold
at par and accrued interest like any other loan.
small amount Of these however less than $1OOOOOOo
was issued to soldiers In the field but the notes were
taken only by those soldiers who desired to save ana
were, therefore, not placed in circulation Inc to'al
amount Of seventhrty notes negotiated In 1894 ana
1865 was $500 600 of which S44 500 900 were OF
the denomination Of $50 s137 1874 900 Of 300, and
the remainder S647 ,s4s 00o S500s, S1oOOs and
So o0Os The receipt Of legaltender notes by the DO
paFtment IN exchange for seven-thrty notes did not
cause contraction Of the currency, because the legal
tenders so received Immediately paid out by tho
Government in settlement of demand liabilities then
pressing.
"The one and two year notes and compound interest
notes wero sufficiently unlko the Ieealtenders to at
tract notice and cause an examination Of their terms.
In this way their Understanding quality was speedily
discovered and they were very soon retired. The
seventhrties unlike the egaltenders, except in
color being very much larger and having coupons at
tached. There two facts which prove cOncluslvey
that these obligations were not IN dcLNc
one Is that they were all redeemed within three wears
without creating monetary d .turbance the other Is
that nearly all of them back into the Treasury as
clean and as unworn as the day Of their issue condi
ton which they would not have presented had they
been In active circulation,
Tho omission of tho gold coin and colo certificates
from the tables for 1862 TO 1878 Inclusive and Of sub
sdtary silver prior 10 the act of April H. 1876, under
which the fractional paper money was retired. needs no
explanation other than say that they were not In
use as money but bought and sold at their mar
ket value Ike other commodities Tho foOtnote TO
the table for 1870 be explained by saying that the
tables 1852 to 1873 state separately the circulation OF the
Pacific coast and that of the remainder of the United
States because the latter consisted Of paper money and
the former Of CON- and it thought advisable to
preserve this distinction IN tho money Of the two sec
tons down to the time of the resumption Of specie pay
ments January /. 1870
"The amount Of money IN circulation July l, 1858,
as shown in the table for that date, S7147o2,-
oo5. OF this amount $3.50 702 9o5 was paper money.
During the calendar year 1865 the average market
price OF gold 157. So 1t required S157 In cur
renoy to purchase much Of any commodity as could
be purchased with 500 In gold. The S714,7O2,O9o
which was then IN circulation was therefore, equva-
lent average for the year, to only $64O3O121O
Of the money which has constituted the currency Of this
country since January l. 1870. This is an amount
per capita of S13 49,"
"The following is recapitulaton Of the tables re-
farrs IN.