Coinage Act of 1853
E11131
The Coinage Act of 1853 was a U.S. law that significantly reduced the silver content of small-denomination coins to keep them in circulation and effectively moved the country closer to a de facto gold standard.
Statements (46)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
United States federal statute
→
|
| amends |
Coinage Act of 1792
→
|
| appliesTo |
United States dollar
→
United States silver coins under one dollar → |
| changedSilverContentOf |
dime
→
half dime → half dollar → quarter dollar → |
| classification |
19th-century economic legislation
→
United States monetary law → |
| country |
United States
→
|
| dateEnacted |
1853-02-21
→
|
| economicImpact |
helped restore availability of small change in everyday transactions
→
reduced incentives to hoard or export small silver coins → |
| effect |
created a fiduciary subsidiary silver coinage
→
discouraged melting and export of small silver coins → moved the United States toward a de facto gold standard → reduced the intrinsic value of subsidiary silver coins → |
| historicalContext |
enacted during a period of gold inflows from the California Gold Rush
→
|
| introduced |
new weight standards for subsidiary silver coins
→
|
| jurisdiction |
United States federal government
→
|
| languageOfDocument |
English
→
|
| legalTenderLimit |
subsidiary silver coins legal tender only up to 5 dollars
→
|
| legislature |
United States Congress
→
|
| monetaryStandardImpact |
strengthened the role of gold as the primary monetary standard in the United States
→
|
| monetarySystem |
bimetallic standard with gold dominance
→
|
| policyChange |
limited legal tender status of subsidiary silver coins
→
maintained full silver content for the silver dollar → reduced silver content of subsidiary coins to below their face value → |
| precedes |
Coinage Act of 1873
→
|
| presidentDuringEnactment |
Franklin Pierce
→
|
| purpose |
to keep small-denomination silver coins in circulation
→
to reduce the silver content of small-denomination coins → |
| reason |
to address disappearance of silver coins from circulation
→
to correct the overvaluation of silver at the legal mint ratio → |
| regulates |
United States silver coinage
→
subsidiary coinage → |
| relatedTo |
California Gold Rush
→
United States Mint → |
| signedBy |
Franklin Pierce
→
|
| subject |
bimetallism
→
coinage → gold standard → monetary policy → |
| typeOfCoinageReform |
subsidiary silver coinage reform
→
|
| yearEnacted |
1853
→
|
Referenced by (1)
| Subject (surface form when different) | Predicate |
|---|---|
|
Coinage Act of 1834
→
|
followedBy |