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American Monetary Standard

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Essays in Economic History

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Abstract

The U.S. unit of account changed from the states’ specific British-based system to national decimal accounting. There was no functioning national mint until 1794. The gold and silver contents of the dollar were altered several times over 1786–1934, and the effective monetary standard 1791–1973 was subject to change nationally and/or with geographic exception, as well as (ultimately) internationally. The legal-tender status of foreign coin and coinage of private bullion are issues of importance. Suspensions of specie payments (convertibility of paper money into gold or silver) on the part of banks or the Treasury or Federal Reserve gave rise to paper-standard episodes.

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  1. University of Illinois at Chicago, Glencoe, IL, USA

    Lawrence H. Officer

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Correspondence to Lawrence H. Officer .

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Officer, L.H. (2022). American Monetary Standard. In: Essays in Economic History. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95925-8_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95925-8_17

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