People's Pilot, Volume 3, Number 41, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 March 1894 — WHAT IS COIN? [ARTICLE]

WHAT IS COIN?

The Question Is Answered from a Gold Standard View. A correspondent asks the New York Post the question what is the meaning of the word “coin” as used in the recent issue of United States bonds, and the Post replies that “there has been so much solemn fooling with this subject by congress during the past twenty years that any one may be excused for doubts in relation to it These bonds are issued under the act of July 14, 1870, which declares that they shall be redeemable in coin of the present standard value, at the pleasure of the United States, after ten years from the date of their issue and bearing interest payable semi-annually in such coin at the rate of five per cent, per annum.’ The coin then recognized by law was both silver and gold at the coinage ratio of 16 to 1, but practically it was gold only, silver dollars having been expelled from circulation by the laws of 1834 and 1837. In 1873 congress demonetized silver by forbidding’ the coinage of the standard dollar at the mint and by limiting the legal tender of other silver coins to five dollars in one payment In 1878 congress, by the Bland-Allison act, restored the silver dollar to the list of legal tender coins, but provided that silver should be coined only for the government and in limited amounts monthly. In 1890 congress repealed so much of the last mentioned act as required the monthly purchase and coinage of silver bullion, and substituted in lieu thereof the purchase of certain amounts of silver bullion and the issue of legal tender treasury notes for the same, and declared that it was the established policy of the United States to maintain the two metals at a parity with each other. In 1893 congress repealed the purchasing and issuing clauses of the last mentioned act.”

The Post continues: “The result of all this is that the new bonds are payable, principal and interest, in silver dollars or gold dollars, at the option of the government, but that this option is of no consequence, since the duty of keeping the two kinds of dollars at par with each other is incumbent on the secretary of the treasury'.” But it reaches the.conclusion that bondholders need have no apprehensions as all obligations of the government will be paid in gold, which is admitted to free coinage, to the exclusion of silver.