The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1894-10-01
coNrINENrAL SILVER DOLLAR.

CONTINENTAL SILVER DOLLAR.
the legend, ssSomer Island, :" and ga
hogge on one SIDE in memory of the
abundance of hogges which were found
on their landing On the reverse was
a ship under sail, from which a gun
was being fired. In 1915 the assembly
of Virginia. whose inhabitants had
Heretofore been obliged to depend
wholly upon tobacco as circulating
medium, having lnaturely weighed
and considered how advantageous a
quoino current would be to this col
lony, decided to issue copper coins of
varying values from twopence to nine
pence, but for some reason the coins
never appeared Seven years later, in
1852, the colony of Massachusetts, did
actually Issue a coinage, the mint
howse, - at which the pieces were made,
being established at Boston by an order
of the general court promulgated on
May ~ of that year. The details of the
regulations for this coinage were very
quaint, it being provided that the
'tpeeces'' should be Of XII d, WI d
and III d, - which should 'tbe of forme
fatt ard stamped on one side with N.
E. for New England-and on the
other with the proper notation showing
the value of the coin.
They We're to be like new sterling
English money in fineness, each shilling
piece ''to weigh threepenny, troy
weight. and lesser peeces proportiona-
bly, For some reason these coins were
not at all satisfactory, and on Oct. / 8
of the same year provision was made for
the famous "Pine Tree coinage, " each
piece of which was to bear a double
ring on each side, with the inscription,
Massachusetts, and tree in the center
I Il.
date of the year on the other side > Ten
years later a twopenny piece was added
to the series, which lasted for "a years,
though none of the coins bore any date
save 1862 and 1862, only two sets Of
dies appearing to have been made.
In 1862 Maryland provided for "the
getting up Of a mint within the prov
ince,' but the mint never materialized,
and the same is true as to the colonial
mint of New Hampshire, which was
authorized in 1866. During much of
this time coinage for the colonies was
issued in the old country. One series of
coins so put forth was made by man
named William Wood, who secured a
royal patent for coming small money
for the plantations out Of the combi-
nations of metals known as pinch
beck. - One old time chronicler records
Indignantly that Wood had 1.-THE con-
science to make Is shillings out of
pound of brass. = This money was SO
little liked by the colonists that it had
to be withdrawn.
Subsequent to the Declaration of In
dependence, and especially during the
nine years from 1873 to 1887 inclusive,
coins were issued by direction both of
the continental congress and several of
the individual states, including Yer
mont, Connecticut, New Jersey and
Massachusetts,. In 1889 plan for ma
tional coinage was formulated and sub
mitted to congress by Robert Morris,
the head Of the finance department,
though the authorship Of this plan is
claimed by his relative, Gouverneur
Morris. The establishment Of mint
was approved by congress during the
following year, but nothing further was
done in the matter till 1855, when the
scheme for a national coinage presented
by Thomas Jefferson was adopted.
Eagles and half eagles of gold, dol
lars, half dollars, double dimes and
dimes of silver and cents and half cents
of copper were the pieces authorized
An ordinance for the establishment of
mint was adopted by congress in 1886,
but it was not till the next year that
anything more was done, when the board
of treasury, the authority of con-