The general public of the United States swapped goods and services via the barter system prior to the original Coinage Act in America.
October 19, 2011 - The general public of the United States swapped goods and services via the barter system prior to the original Coinage Act in America. During this period, the only coins available were overseas coins, which included the commonly exchanged and reliable Spanish real dollars. President George Washington’s Congress put forth the initial Coinage Act resulting from the approval of the constitution as well as a nation afresh that permitted Congress to coin currency.
The Commencement
April 2, 1792 — First Coinage Act approved
It ordained the United States Mint to supervise all mint procedures, including its employees, which consisted of:
- an engraver
- an assayer
- a chief coiner
Pre-hiring requirement for EVERY employee: $10,000 bond
The original United States coins were minted from gold, silver, or copper, with engravings of words and messages of liberty.
The gold to silver ratio was 1: 15, meaning one troy ounce of gold would get you fifteen ounces of silver.
The first coins minted with year of mint were the:
GOLD
$10 gold eagle with 270 grains (17.5 g) of pure gold
$5 gold half-eagles with 135 grains (8.75 g) of pure gold
$2.50 quarter-eagles 67 and 4/8 grains (4.37 g) of standard gold
SILVER
Dollars with 416 grains (27 g) of pure silver
Half-dollars with 208 grains (13.5 g) of standard silver
Quarter-dollars with 104 grains (6.74 g) of standard silver
Kevin Johnson
Senior Staff Writer – GoldCoin.net
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