Coinage Act of 1857
Encyclopedia
The Coinage Act of 1857 was an act of the United States Congress
which forbade the use of foreign coins as legal tender, repealing all acts "authorizing the currency of foreign gold or silver coins". Specific coins would be exchanged at the Treasury
and recoined. The act was approved on February 21, 1857.
Before this Act, foreign coins, such as the Spanish dollar
, were widely used and allowed as legal tender by the Act of 1806.
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
which forbade the use of foreign coins as legal tender, repealing all acts "authorizing the currency of foreign gold or silver coins". Specific coins would be exchanged at the Treasury
United States Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury is an executive department and the treasury of the United States federal government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue...
and recoined. The act was approved on February 21, 1857.
Before this Act, foreign coins, such as the Spanish dollar
Spanish dollar
The Spanish dollar is a silver coin, of approximately 38 mm diameter, worth eight reales, that was minted in the Spanish Empire after a Spanish currency reform in 1497. Its purpose was to correspond to the German thaler...
, were widely used and allowed as legal tender by the Act of 1806.
See also
- Coinage Act of 1792
- Coinage Act of 1834Coinage Act of 1834The Coinage Act of 1834 was passed by the United States Congress on June 27, 1834. It raised the silver-to-gold weight ratio from its 1792 level of 15:1 to 16:1 thus setting the mint price for silver at a level below its international market price...
- Coinage Act of 1849
- Coinage Act of 1864
- Coinage Act of 1873
- Coinage Act of 1965Coinage Act of 1965The Coinage Act of 1965, , eliminated silver from the circulating dimes and quarter dollars of the United States, and diminished the silver content of the half dollar from 90% to 40%...
External links
- Full text of act at the American MemoryAmerican MemoryAmerican Memory is an Internet-based archive for public domain image resources, as well as audio, video, and archived Web content. It is published by the Library of Congress...