World Gold / Silver Price Ratio ( ounce of silver per ounce of gold ), 1793 to 1834
1793 |
15.00 |
1794 |
15.37 |
1795 |
15.55 |
1796 |
15.65 |
1797 |
15.41 |
1798 |
15.59 |
1799 |
15.74 |
1800 |
15.68 |
1801 |
15.46 |
1802 |
15.26 |
1803 |
15.41 |
1804 |
15.41 |
1805 |
15.79 |
1806 |
15.52 |
1807 |
15.43 |
1808 |
16.08 |
1809 |
15.96 |
1810 |
15.77 |
1811 |
15.53 |
1812 |
16.11 |
1813 |
16.25 |
1814 |
15.04 |
1815 |
15.26 |
1816 |
15.28 |
1817 |
15.11 |
1818 |
15.35 |
1819 |
15.33 |
1820 |
15.62 |
1821 |
15.95 |
1822 |
15.80 |
1823 |
15.84 |
1824 |
15.82 |
1825 |
15.70 |
1826 |
15.76 |
1827 |
15.74 |
1828 |
15.78 |
1829 |
15.78 |
1830 |
15.82 |
1831 |
15.72 |
1832 |
15.73 |
1833 |
15.93 |
1834 |
15.73 |
US silver dollars were undervalued , and the vast majority of them were shipped off to the West Indies and then to China . Mintage of silver dollars ended in 1803 and did not start again until 1840 .
From 1793 – 1833 , gold coins accounted for approximately 25 % of the Mint ’ s production . As discussed , the vast majority of those coins were exported as de facto bullion . The surviving coins today — many of which are great rarities — were the subject of hoarding and possible storage in banks . This begs the question of why , over the course of 40 years , did Congress not once modify the silver to gold ratio ? If gold merchants were regularly bringing gold bullion to the Mint to be converted into coins for the sole purpose of export , why did Mint officials not petition Congress to amend the law and charge seigniorage ?
Hamilton left the US Treasury in 1795 and died in 1804 , and no other financial minds stepped in to successfully confront these challenges . Congress and successive Mint directors discussed and complained about these problems for 40 years , yet nothing was done to fix them .
Eric Brothers has been a frequent contributor to The Numismatist , the publication of the American Numismatic Association ( ANA ), since 2006 . Several of his articles have covered financial history , including “ Alexander Hamilton and the Panic of 1792 ” ( January 2021 ). He has received five literary awards for his work in The Numismatist and also authored a nonfiction book on the German resistance , titled Berlin Ghetto : Herbert Baum and the Antifascist Resistance ( Spellmount : Stroud UK , 2012 ). This is his second article for Financial History .
Sources American State Papers . “ Finance .” Vol . 3 , pages
399 , 646 .
Brothers , Eric . “ Forging the US Mint from the Words of Alexander Hamilton .” Financial History , Issue 141 . Spring 2022 .
Greenfield , Robert L . and Hugh Rockoff . “ Gresham ’ s Law in Nineteenth-Century America .” Journal of Money , Credit and Banking . Vol . 27 , No . 4 , Part 1 , pp . 1086- 1098 . November 1995 .
Kleeberg , John M . “ The Silver Dollar as an Element of International Trade : A Study in Failure .” Coinage of the Americas Conference at the American Numismatic Society . New York , NY . October 30 , 1993 .
Lee , Alfred E . “ Bimetallism in the United States .” Political Science Quarterly . Vol . 1 , No . 3 , pp . 386 – 399 . September 1886 .
New American State Papers . “ Public Finance .” Volume 27 , pages 292 , 325 .
Officer , Lawrence H . and Samuel H . Williamson . “ The Price of Gold , 1257 – Present .” MeasuringWorth . 2022 . http :// www . measuringworth . com / gold /
PCGS CoinFacts . https :// www . pcgs . com / coinfacts
Sylla , Richard and David J . Cowen . Alexander Hamilton on Finance , Credit , and Debt . Columbia University Press , on behalf of The Museum of American Finance : New York . 2018 .
Taxay , Don . The U . S . Mint and Coinage : An Illustrated History from 1776 to the Present . Sanford J . Durst : New York . 1966 ( 1983 ).
Yeoman , R . S . A Guide Book of United States Coins . Whitman Publishing , LLC . 2021 .
Heritage Auctions , ha . com www . MoAF . org | Fall 2022 | FINANCIAL HISTORY 31