![]() ![]() Learn How to Avoid Costly Rookie Mistakes & Invest in Gold Like a Pro! Get Free Gold Investor Guide Minting During the Civil WarĪs the thirteen colonies expanded into more and more states, the government began setting up new mints, and established two in North Carolina and New Orleans in 1838. Only the Philadelphia Mint produced copper and silver coins, while the southern mints produced only gold. This proved advantageous to the Union during the Civil War, for the ability to mint coins of smaller denomination stabilized the Union dollar, while the Confederate dollar experienced hyperinflation due to a failure to circulate small-value coins.īy 1862, both the Union and the Confederacy began printing paper money as a substitute for precious metals. Without metal to back up their money or any capability for buying gold, however, the Confederacy’s inflation spiraled further out of control: a pair of shoes that cost one dollar at the start of the war would cost almost one hundred dollars by the war’s conclusion. Not until the end of Reconstruction did the federal government permit the southern mints to start creating new currency. Some of the earliest American coins look decidedly unfamiliar to modern eyes: the 1792 half-disme piece made of four fifths silver features Lady Liberty rather than a Founding Father and reads “Liberty Parent of Science and Industry,” while the eagle on the reverse clutches neither arrows nor olive branches. The first director of the Philadelphia Mint, David Rittenhouse, volunteered $75 of his own silver to pump out the coinage at a time when a dollar would purchase about a week’s rent George Washington also donated personal funds to the cause 1. The government set out printing money in order to pay the bills as quickly as possible. Constitution, the federal government took control of the national currency in 1792. With the dissolution of the Articles of Confederation and the creation of the U.S. Each state under the Articles of Confederation minted their own money, and this lead to currency imbalances and trade disputes between each state. For instance, since no federal commission existed to determine how much a South Carolina dollar could purchase relative to a Pennsylvania dollar, each state could artificially increase the value of their cash through distribution or by setting up tariffs that made it more expensive to sell goods from out-of-state or buy gold. In the aftermath of the American Revolution, the federal government had no central bank. Read on for a glimpse into the fascinating history of the U.S. The story of Hamilton’s removal (though perhaps he will return to the $1,000 bill as he did during the 19th century, despite the scarcity of this large-denomination bill) ties in neatly to the founding of the United States Mint and the history of gold itself. ![]() One of the great ironies of political policy will take place when the Department of the Treasury removes Alexander Hamilton as the main subject of the ten-dollar bill, despite the Founding Father pushing harder than any other politician in US history to create a national banking system. ![]() Like many other aspects of our history, it started with a rather unique twist. Mint has supplied the country with coins and notes. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |