The Act allowed the United States to mint silver dollars for export as Trade Dollars .
The Act moved the United States to a 'de facto ' gold standard , which meant it would no longer buy silver at a statutory price or convert silver from the public into silver coins ( though it would still mint silver dollars in the form of Trade Dollars ) Unger ( 1964 ) ch 8The Act had the immediate effect of depressing silver prices .
Panic of 1873