Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1896-09-05
FACTS ABOUT COINS.
THEORIES ARE BEAUTIFUL, BUT
THEY ARE NOT RELIABLE.
An Unanswerable Argument Against
Free Coinage-Relation of Silver to
Gold The .Crime of 1873" was
Simply Declaration of Condition.

1. Silver has always been measured
by gold.
?. That by which something else
is measured is the standard of value.
The number of ounces of silver an
ounce of gold would buy has always
been the ratio.
5. Like all other values, the ratio
of silver to gold has been controlled
by supply and demand.
i. When this government was
founded, the commercial or true ratio
was believed to be IS to I.
S. At that ratio silver was admit
ted free and unlimited to the mint.
Gold dollar, "a grains fine gold;24A
ks equals 81 4 grains fine silver, the
"silver dollars of the daddies.'
s. The intent and belief Of the
"daddies' was that 37I4 grains OF
pure silver would buy as much ofany-
thing as 24}4 grains Of gold would
buy.
7. Or that fifteen ounces Of fine
silver would pay as much debt as
ounce of gold
SECOND.
/. The ratio of IS to /, fixed by
law, remained actually correct but a
very short time
2. Owing to admission OF foreign
coins which were inferior, no Ameri-
can gold or silver coins circulated.
Coinage of silver dollars was suspend
ed in 1904 and was not resumed until
1920. Then 1000 were coined.
3. In 1884 the dollars Of the dad
dies ceased to exist The weight OF
the silver dollar was changed to 4I2H
grains. This altered the ratio to Io
to 1.
4. Silver then became more profit
able to export than to coin.
5. Thus we went to the single
gold standard. on which we have been
down to the present time.
6. Dropping the silver dollar le-
gally from coinage in 1873 was only
making a mere record of what had
been actually true from 1884. Silver
declined to be coined during that en-
tire period except in small quantities.
Z. The whole number of silver
dollars coined from the foundation Of
the government to 1873 was about
$4,000, 900, although its coinage was
free and unlimited.
s. In the IS years from 1873 to
1896 the whole amount of silver coin
ed under limited coinage was s47I.-
OF, 7a9.
THIRD.
/. From 1873 10 July /, 1896, I'M
der limited silver coinage We coined,
in full legal tender silver dollars,
$42o. 28o.0I6 at the ratio of rs to i.
2. In the IS years prior to 1873
the whole amount of silver coined by
the United States under free silver
coinage was s2ae, 585.ozI.
). In the years from 1873 to 1896
the whole amount Of silver coined un
der limited coinage was S47I ,9a7, zao.
i. More than s24o, 900. 900 more
OF silver was coined in 8 ears Of
limited coinage than during the IS
years of tree silver coinage.
{. All the silver dollars in our
currency are full legal tender at 100
cents each except for redemption
of gold certificates. which are not le-
gal tender).
8. Subsidiary silver [half dollars,
quarter dollars and dines) are legal
tender to the amount Of $40 Id any
one transaction. -
I. The total limited legal tender
silver coined IS SIG. SOC. 1sssbe :.
5. Total silver coined By tEs-Iaj.
tied States down 70 July /. 1896 S6,z
A64, ). Io-
FOURTH &C.. I.
!. The reason 1 new denaad f,,r frsz
.-<x:s -. -. sf q, f<.<z. - - xs.. 3 & .u-S