The River Falls times. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1894-1933, 1896-10-13

This was the first law enacted for the
coming of gold dollars" and it will
be noticed from the manner in which
they were bolstered up by the law spe-
cially declaring them ito be legal ten
der and 'of the value Of one dollar"
that the confidence in them was not of
the spontaneous kind accorded to the
silver dollar. 1t will also be noticed
that in tn, law, enacted in 1S49, the
silver dollar was acknowledged to be
the dollar, or unit
The next law affecting the dollar,
or unit" was the famous law of Feb.
Il, 1873, the two important sections of
which are as follows:
''Sec. IA. That the gold coins of the
United States shall be a one-dollar
piece, which at the standard weight
of twenty-five and eighteenth grains,
shall be the unit of value; quarter
eagle, or tWO-anda-half dollar piece;
three dollar piece; half-eagle, or five
dollar piece; an eagle, or ten dollar
piece; and a double eagle, or twenty
dollar piece. And the standard weight
of the gold dollar shall be twenty-five
and eight-tenths grains; Of the quar-
eagle, or NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. piece,
sixty-four and a half grains; Of the three
dollar piece seVenty-Seven and four
tenths grains; of the half eagle, or five
dollar piece, one hundred and twenty
nine grains; of the eagle, or ten dollar
piece, two hundred and fifty-eight
OH txy
dollar piece, five hundred and sixteen
grains; which coins shall be legal
tender in all payments at the nominal
value, when not below the standard
weight and limit of tolerance provided
in this act for the single piece, and
when reduced in weight below said
standard and tolerance, shall be legal
tender at valuation in proportion to
their actual weight; and any gold coin
of the United States, if reduced in
weight by natural abrasion and not
more than one-half of one per centum
below the standard weight prescribed
by law, after a circulation Of twenty
years, as shown by it's date of coinage,
and at ratable proportion for any
period less than twenty years, shall be
received at their nominal value by the
United States Treasury and it's offices,
under such regulations as the Secre-
tary of the Treasury may prescribe for
the protection of the Government
against fraudulent abrasion or other
practices; and any gold coins in the
Treasury of the United States reduced
in weight below this limit of abrasion
shall be recoined.
"Sec. Is. That the silver coins of the
United States shall be trade-dollar, a
half-dollar or fifty-cent piece, a quar-
ter-dollar or twenty-five-cent piece, a
dime or ten-cent piece; and the weight
Of the trade-dollar shall be four hun
dred and twenty grains, troy; the
weight of the half-dOllar shall be
twelve grams (grammes) and one-half
of gram (gramme); the ouarter-dollar
and the dime shall be respectively, one
half and one-ifth Of the weight of said
half dollar; and said coins shall be a
legal tender at their nominal value for
any amount not exceeding five dollars
i'll any one payment"
1t will be noticed that by the previous
coinage laws in which silver was the
recognized unit of value" all gold
coins were, by permission, unlimited
legal tender. In this law of '73, in
which the unit of value" was changed
from the silver dollar to the gold one
dollar piece, silver was not permitted
ta5 Nv
formerly accorded to gold.
The limited legal tender conferred
upon the trade-dollar by this act of '73
was taken away from it by a joint reso-
luton adopted by the house and senate
and approved July, %, 1876, which de-
clares:
'Sec. 2. That the trade-dollar shall
not hereafter be legal tender, and the
Secretary of the Treasury is hereby au-
thorized to limit from time to time the
coinage thereof to such an amount as
he may deem sufficient to meet the eX
port demand for the same"
The full legal tender power was re-
stored to the standard silver dollar by
the first section of the Bland-Allison
act adopted Feb. %, 1878, and which
reads in part as follows:
'Be it enacted by the Senate and the
House of Representatives of the United
States of America, in Congress as
sembled: That there shall be coined
at the several minis of the United
States silver dollars Of the weight
of four hundred and twelve and
half grains, troy, of standard
silver. as provided in the act Of