Coinage of the United States: A Short History
By Doug West
()
About this ebook
The history of United States coinage is a story that parallels the rise of America. Starting from a humble beginning in a basement in Philadelphia in the first few years of the country to grow to a large highly sophisticated system that produces millions of coins per year. Due to a lack of silver, the first silver coins produced by the Mint came from silverware contributed by George and Martha Washington. Coins are something we take for granted today and put in jars and baskets on our night stands to accumulate for a rainy day when we need a few extra dollars. For more than half of the history of America, that wouldn’t have been possible for the average citizen. It wasn’t until after the Civil War that coinage became widely used for all types of transactions. Up until this time, barter and money substitutes, such as, tokens, script, and foreign coins, were used as a mediums of exchange. During the 1830’s and then again during the Civil War, coins were in such short supply that merchants and private individuals took to producing cent sized coins just to make change for the day to day transactions. In America, it was legal up until 1857 to use foreign money in transactions. The Spanish dollars and their fractional parts called “bits” were very common during colonial times up until the mid-1800s.
President Theodore Roosevelt sparked a change in the designs on coins from a standardized institutional theme to more artistic and attractive designs. The President enlisted the help of one of the country’s most prominent sculptures to create some of the most beautiful coins in the history of the country and perhaps the entire world. Up until recent times, the value of the silver and gold coins depended on their intrinsic metal value. This was a constant headache for the Mint, as the value of gold and silver would rise, the coins would disappear from circulation to be melted and sold for their bullion value. It wasn’t up until 1964 that the Mint totally abandoned precious metals for the day-to-day coinage and changed the composition to what we see today as modern copper-nickel clad coinage.
Come and take the journey into what seems so ubiquitous today, and learn the fascinated history of these little metal objects in our pockets and purses.
Doug West
Doug West is a retired engineer, small business owner, and an experienced non-fiction writer with several books to his credit. His writing interests are general, with expertise in science, history, biographies, numismatics, and “How to” topics. Doug has a B.S. in Physics from the Missouri School of Science and Technology and a Ph.D. in General Engineering from Oklahoma State University. He lives with his wife and little dog “Millie” near Kansas City, Missouri.
Read more from Doug West
The Great Depression: A Short History Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Astronomer Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin: A Short Biography Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBuying and Selling Silver Bullion Like a Pro Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Journey of Apollo 11 to the Moon Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Short Biography of the Scientist Sir Isaac Newton Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The History of the Jamestown Colony: America’s First Permanent English Settlement Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWilliam Penn: Founder of Pennsylvania: A Short Biography Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFranklin Delano Roosevelt: A Short Biography Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKing George III of Great Britain and Ireland: A Short Biography Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Make Your Money Grow with Dividend-Paying Stocks: Revised Edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLouisa Catherine Adams: A Short Biography - First Lady of the United States Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWilliam Henry Harrison: A Short Biography - Ninth President of the United States Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Formation of the 13 Colonies in America: A Short History Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPresident Ronald Reagan: A Short Biography Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The American Revolutionary War: A Short History Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Short Biography of the Astronomer Edwin Hubble Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Thomas Jefferson: A Short Biography Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Seven Kings of Ancient Rome: A Short Introduction Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDr. Wernher von Braun: A Short Biography - Pioneer of Rocketry and Space Exploration Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Joe Biden: A Short Biography - 47th Vice President of the United States Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Nicolaus Copernicus: A Short Biography: The Astronomer Who Moved the Earth Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Albert Einstein: A Short Biography Father of the Theory of Relativity Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDr. Robert H. Goddard: A Brief Biography - Father of American Rocketry and the Space Age Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Mathematician John Forbes Nash Jr.: A Short Biography Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Astronomer Tycho Brahe: A Short Biography Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDonald Trump: A Short Biography 45th President of the United States Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Religion in Colonial America: A Short History Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDr. Benjamin Rush: A Short Biography: Physician and Founding Father of America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Coinage of the United States
Related ebooks
Coin Collecting Book For Beginners Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Value A Coin Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Coin Collecting - A Beginners Guide to Finding, Valuing and Profiting from Coins: The Collector Series, #1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Illegal Tender: Gold, Greed, and the Mystery of the Lost 1933 Double Eagle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Coin Collecting - A Beginner's Guide To Coin Collecting And Make Money With Your Collection Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Tokens and Traders of Kent in the Seventeenth, Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA History of America in Thirty-Six Postage Stamps Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Forgotten Colorado Silver: Joseph Lesher’s Defiant Coins Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe United States Mint in Philadelphia Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMoney of South America: MONEY OF THE WORLD, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Postage Stamps of Canada Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMy Ancestor Left an Heirloom: Hunting Family History and Genealogy Treasure Through Metal Detecting Finds Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLost Countries: Exotic Tales from an Old Stamp Album Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Adhesive Postage Stamp Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAmerican Silversmiths and Their Marks: The Definitive (1948) Edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAmerican Silver Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIntroduction to Coin Collecting: The Every Day Coin Collector Series, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Ultimate Beginners Guide to the Basics of Coin Collection Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCoin Collecting: Learn How to Start Your Very Own Coin Collection Including Gold, Silver and Rare Coins Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Understanding And Mastering The Art Of Coin Collecting Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Everything Coin Collecting Book: All You Need to Start Your Collection And Trade for Profit Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Newbie Guide for Investment in Coin Collection: What You Need to Know About Gold, Silver, and Rare Coins Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Coins of England & The United Kingdom (2018): PreDecimal Issues Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Coin & Bullion Scams Exposed Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5English Coins and Tokens, with a Chapter on Greek and Roman Coins Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAll About the Coins of Australia: Their Stories and How to Collect Them Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Ultimate Guide to Finding Silver in Circulation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Standard Guide to Grading British Coins Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Coin Finds in Britain: A Collector’s Guide Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Americas (North, Central, South, West Indies) History For You
America is the True Old World, Volume II: The Promised Land Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hidden Nation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Summary of Roland S. Martin's White Fear Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Wager Disaster: Mayem, Mutiny and Murder in the South Seas Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fall and Rise: The Story of 9/11 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5"America is the True Old World" Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Delectable Negro: Human Consumption and Homoeroticism within US Slave Culture Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Not Stolen: The Truth About European Colonialism in the New World Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5101 Secrets of the Freemasons: The Truth Behind the World's Most Mysterious Society Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Outlaw Platoon: Heroes, Renegades, Infidels, and the Brotherhood of War in Afghanistan Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Southern Cunning: Folkloric Witchcraft In The American South Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Story of the Trapp Family Singers Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A History of the American People Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Everything American History Book: People, Places, and Events That Shaped Our Nation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsExtreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win | Summary & Key Takeaways Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A History of Magic and Witchcraft: Sabbats, Satan & Superstitions in the West Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The American Yawp: A Massively Collaborative Open U.S. History Textbook, Vol. 1: To 1877 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Constitution of the United States of America: 1787 (Annotated) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer: An Edgar Award Winner Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/518 Tiny Deaths: The Untold Story of Frances Glessner Lee and the Invention of Modern Forensics Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Profiles in Courage: Deluxe Modern Classic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for Coinage of the United States
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Coinage of the United States - Doug West
Coinage of the United States – A Short History
By Doug West, Ph.D.
~~~
Smashwords Edition
Copyright © 2015 Doug West
All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the author. Reviewers may quote brief passages in reviews.
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction
Chapter 1 – Coins in Colonial America
Chapter 2 - United States Coinage – Early Attempts
Chapter 3 – The United States Mint is Established
Chapter 4 - The Rush for Gold
Chapter 5 – Coinage During the Civil War
Chapter 6 – The Comstock Lode and the Push for Silver
Chapter 7 – The Morgan and Peace Silver Dollars
Chapter 8 – Twentieth Century Coinage
Chapter 9 – Modern Coinage
Chapter 10 - Gold and Silver Bullion Program
Glossary
Acknowledgments
Further Reading
About the Author
Preface
Welcome to the book Coinage of the United States – A Short History. This book is part of the 30 Minute Book Series and, as the name of the series implies, if you are an average reader this book will take around 30 minutes to read. Since this book is not meant to be an all-encompassing story of United States coinage, you may want to know more about this interesting subject. To help you with this, there are several good references at the end of this book. To assist you with terms you may not be familiar with, a glossary is included. Thank you for purchasing this book and I hope you enjoy your time reading about the history of United States coinage.
Doug West
October 2015
Introduction
The story of United States coinage is really just a reflection of the history of America. The young nation just being formed struggled to supply a steady stream of coinage to the citizens so they could go about their day-to-day lives, buying and selling their products, and purchasing the items they needed for their lives. Up until the end of the Civil War, the coins the typical American found in their pocket or purse could have as easily been from France, England, Spain, or the United States. Maybe at their local merchant they would pay with some paper money issued by the bank down the street, and receive as change some privately issued merchant tokens that were good for trade again with that storekeeper. For the first century of American life, having plenty of