Coinage Act of 1849
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The Coinage Act of 1849 was an Act of the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
passed during the California Gold Rush authorizing the
Mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaA ...
to produce two new
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...
coins in response to the increased gold supply: the small
gold dollar The gold dollar or gold one-dollar piece is a gold coin that was struck as a regular issue by the United States Bureau of the Mint from 1849 to 1889. The coin had three types over its lifetime, all designed by Mint Chief Engraver James B. Longa ...
and the large
double eagle A double eagle is a gold coin of the United States with a denomination of $20. (Its gold content of 0.9675 troy oz (30.0926 grams) was worth $20 at the 1849 official price of $20.67/oz.) The coins are 34 mm x 2 mm and are made from ...
worth twenty dollars. The Act also defined permissible variances in gold coinage.


Background


Legislation

House Bill No. 746 was introduced by
James Iver McKay James Iver McKay (July 17, 1792September 14, 1853) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina. He was born in 1792, near Elizabethtown, North Carolina. He pursued classical studies and then law. He was appoin ...
on January 25, 1849. On February 20, 1849, the bill was reported by the
United States House Committee on Ways and Means The Committee on Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee has jurisdiction over all taxation, tariffs, and other revenue-raising measures, as well as a number of other progra ...
and taken up by the House for debate. The bill passed the House the same day and moved to consideration in the Senate. On March 3, 1849, the bill was reported by the
United States Senate Committee on Finance The United States Senate Committee on Finance (or, less formally, Senate Finance Committee) is a standing committee of the United States Senate. The Committee concerns itself with matters relating to taxation and other revenue measures general ...
and taken up by the Senate for debate. The bill passed the Senate the same day with amendments and was sent back to the House for consideration. The House agreed to the amendments and the bill was signed into law by President
James K. Polk James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He previously was the 13th speaker of the House of Representatives (1835–1839) and ninth governor of Tennessee (183 ...
.


Effects


See also

*
Coinage Act of 1792 The Coinage Act of 1792 (also known as the Mint Act; officially: ''An act establishing a mint, and regulating the Coins of the United States''), passed by the United States Congress on April 2, 1792, created the United States dollar as the countr ...
* Coinage Act of 1834 *
Coinage Act of 1853 The Coinage Act of 185310 Stat. 160 was a piece of legislation passed by the United States Congress which lowered the silver content of the silver half dime, dime, quarter dollar, and half dollar, and authorized a three dollar gold piece. Althoug ...
*
Coinage Act of 1857 The Coinage Act of 1857 (Act of Feb. 21, 1857, Chap. 56, 34th Cong., Sess. III, 11 Stat. 163) was an act of the United States Congress which ended the status of foreign coins as legal tender, repealing all acts "authorizing the currency of foreig ...
*
Coinage Act of 1864 The Coinage Act of 1864 was a United States federal law passed on April 22, 1864, which changed the composition of the one-cent coin and authorized the minting of the two-cent coin. The Director of the U.S. Mint developed the designs for thes ...
*
Coinage Act of 1873 The Coinage Act of 1873 or Mint Act of 1873, was a general revision of laws relating to the Mint of the United States. By ending the right of holders of silver bullion to have it coined into standard silver dollars, while allowing holders of go ...
*
Coinage Act of 1965 The Coinage Act of 1965, , eliminated silver from the circulating United States dime (ten-cent piece) and quarter dollar coins. It also reduced the silver content of the half dollar from 90 percent to 40 percent; silver in the half dollar was s ...


References


External links


Full text of act
An Act to Authorize the Coinage of Gold Dollars and Double Eagles. 30th Congress, 2d Session, Ch. 109. 9 Stat. 397 {{authority control United States federal currency legislation 1849 in law 1849 in the United States 1849 in economics