The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-11-10
SPANISH COINS.
Something About the Money in Cir.
Culation Years Ago.

mo one born in this generation In this
country knows anything about the old-time
fps and leyies that constituted large portion
OF The subsidiary com in circulation as late as
the breaking out OF the civil war" says Colonel
Z. A. Pine OF the Point Jervis Gazette, who re-
members everythipg.s "Tbese were Spanish
coins, and they got into circulation in this
country through some pecunary settlement
between the Government Of the United States
and Spain.
Fifty years ago very few silver coins from
our mint were In circulation, especially the
smaller ones. few half.dollars were in use.
The Spanish small coins were essentially the
D oUe'S money in those days.
The mp represented sixteenth of ia dollar
the levy one-eigth of dollar. Ftp was the ABB
breviation of an abbrevialion OF five penny biz.
When people spoke OF the whole OF what they
meant In talking OF hve-penny bit they called
IL a fipreny Bit but just ftp was sufficient for
ordinary everyday transactions. Similarly,
folks didn't often say eleven-penny bit; but
they contracted IL TO levy-that is, except in
New York, Southeastern PENNSYLVANIA and
Northern New Jersey and in New England.
where they had no use for either eleven penny
DIT or levy. In those localities levy was
shilling.
But in Southern New JERSEY. Southern
Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and other
border States II you said shilling people
wouldn't know what you meant. They called
1t levy. Further South levy became bit and
the fp was picayune. This was especially
The case at and about New Orleans, and this
nomenclature was carried mp the Mississippi
River by The popular means OF commun cation
III those days, the steamboat, to Rock slaDd,
Dubuque, Galena, 81. Paul and other river
points.
in the same way the terms were carried
from New Orleans up the Missouri River as lar
as the white people mad pursued their way, up
the Ohio TO Louisville and above, and even up
The Illinois River to Peoria and Peru, and they
look root In California when the Pacific Coast
was settled by people from the East. In the
West IL was easy TO tell from what part of the
county man had emlgrated, according To The
way he handled the names OF tile coins. II he
said levy lie was sure not to be from the New
England States, New York, Northern New Jer-
sey or Northern Pennsylvania.
These Spanish coins must nave been circu-
lated many years. for they were generally worn
very smooth Some of them we're smooth,
IN fact, that they would not pass current. The
rule was that If The pillars on them could be
plainly seen the coins were all righI. L have
seen hps that were so smooth and thin that
they resembled nothing more closely than a
shad scale and levies that had been so long IN
use that they were like smooth circles.
'In some parts OF the country notably IL the
Southwest, the tiis and leyIes were rated equal
with 5-cent and 10-ceDl pieces; but In the East
and particularly in Philadelphia and the Quaker
country about II, the people wouldn't have 1t
that way. They insisted that eight leYies made
dollar, while II required ten 10-eent pieces TO
make dollar. Hence, II the levy had been
recognized as on a par with the dime the frugal
PhIladelphian argued that he was out Just 20
cents on every deal OF that kind Then, again.
tNCbtg O-Ccul pieces udu 10 Dc Rollcu together
before a man had dollar, whereas he had only
10 accumulate sixteen fps TO have the same
amount. This was because the levy was valued
at 1919 cents and the fD at ga cents. The
same rule existed among those who called the
levy 4 shilling.
Down South. however there was more fieX-
lbllty IN the rule OF the value of these coins
aud they were passed Tor either their face value
or as umes and hsIf-dimes. This was owing 20
The contempt and Indifference with which the
SoutherneTs OF that DAY regarded small coins
1neY lelu pennies especially In
Back in The early days a Vcksburg gentleman
told me how the people OF that town scorned to
Ike pennies in change al he pOstoffice and
brushed them cOntemptuOusly off the counter
10 the floor, from which even the ringers
wouldn't cOndescend 10 pick them.
Those old Spanish pieces. worn as they
might b., contained more pure silver than tn
newest OF our own COINS, ana one OF them
would be great curiosity to-day"