1870 Silver Dollar Coin History

Did you know the first penney the u.S. has ever seen was created and produced in the year 1857? The penny we know of has been in the states for 161 years. In the year 2012 there was a proposal that the United States get rid of the penny, the least valuable coin in the money system. The penny has so little value, but cost too much to make. Although the U.S. loses millions of dollars a year to the production of pennies, American pennies should not be ceased minting because of the risk of economic changes,the piece of culture they each possess and their “ power in numbers”.

The Coinage Act of 1873 was one of the major reasons why the Populist movement started and began forming. There were no real instant effects of the Coinage Act, and not many citizens in America used silver anyway (Friedman). Long term however, the United States would never be the same economically thanks to this monumental legislation. Officially accepting the Gold Standard, the American economy raised the demand for gold immensely, and as a result many gold deposits within America became depleted (Friedman). Consequently, the dollar and employees of America at the time became connected and tied to gold (Friedman). This was not a beneficial relationship, and the United States had become dependent on gold. Add in the fact that gold was being depleted rapidly and the demand for it was growing exponentially

“A penny saved is a penny earned,” to quote Benjamin Franklin. Unfortunately a penny saved is not worth a whole lot anymore. Like many other once useful things the penny has become obsolete. The production and use of the penny in the United States monetary system should be abolished.

The U.S. penny has been a standard in our currency system for almost as long as our country has existed as a sovereign nation, but due to inflation, production costs, and the changing times we live in, it is no longer a sustainable unit of currency and only serves to increase our national deficit and waste our time. When the penny was produced for the first time in 1792 by the U.S. Mint, it was made of pure copper, featured a woman with flowing hair, and was inscribed with the words “Liberty”. Since then, the design and composition have changed numerous times to reflect our changing nation. Despite its fading glory, the penny has been kept alive by numerous false lobbying fronts and a stubborn ideology, but

The Penny is essentially a vital part of our money system. There has been many speculation about whether or not the United States should abolish the penny from being minted any longer. Although the penny has been a part of the American culture since 1787, it has such a small value, it will always be a part of American history. So as the years go on we should realize that the penny is everything to the United States. The penny should not be eliminated from the money system due to the fact that it is a part of the American culture and has earned its respect over the years.

The penny has a lot of history, through the 200 years the penny changed design and value. Based on the article “The Ever-Changing Penny.” The first pennies were minted in 1857, they were very large, larger than a modern day quarter and had different images of the statue of liberty on the front(4). With this example, one can see,there were several visions for the penny before the final product of the Abraham Lincoln penny in 1909. The history of the penny reveals more than just a coin, it exposes a piece of american culture. The penny has influenced our language, giving us a number of idioms, such as “A penny for your thoughts” And “Not one red cent”(4). Despite its cultural influences the penny is under attack currently, the reason? Because making the penny also costs money, more than its worth,in 2011, it costs the U.S. more than 2.4 cents to produce the penny. The History of the One-Cent piece is a curious one. How long it will remain a part of your spending currency is yet

There was pushback from the Federal Government, President Grover Cleveland included, wanted to keep the money supply fixed in gold, held in the hand of the government (Doc D). Monopolization of the wealth supply was pandemic in the United States in the late

The penny, also known simply as the one-cent coin, was first made about 230 years ago in 1787. The first penny ever made was 100% copper and it was heavier and larger than the usual penny today. The design itself was suggested by the famous Benjamin Franklin ("A Brief History of the U.S. Cent”). Lately, people have talked about the idea of abolishing the penny, but others disagree. The penny should not be abolished.

Plautus once said “You have to spend money to make money,” a quote made painfully true by the penny, a coin worth 1/100th of a dollar. The penny’s story starts in 1792 with the first U.S. Mint which produced the dime, quarter, nickel, penny and half penny which we will get back to later. Pennies were originally made of 100% copper, however, as prices of copper rose they soon started to make pennies out of 95% zinc and 3% copper, which is how they are made today. Soon after this, the raw material of pennies began to cost more than the penny itself was worth, therefore people began to melt them down and sell the material for profit. When this occurred, instead of the government getting rid of the pennies all together and being happy citizens where removing them from circulation they made melting the currency down illegal and continued producing 4 billion pennies a year! You can find these tiny useless coins anywhere from in your couch cushion to on the sidewalk. The reason we should stop minting pennies is that they cost money, waste time, are bad for the environment, and they are useless.

In 1811, when the first bank of the United States concluded, many banknotes were distributed, but banks were not keeping enough silver and gold to collect when requested. Large number of notes were handed out with different values and collections all at the same time as a result counterfeiting was easy. Congress handled and funded the second bank of the United States in 1816 which were allowed the state bank to issue money but its amount did not authorize

In document 3, Wang Xijue speaks to explain that the grain was always so cheap, they never paid attention to the silver coin, but since the government needs the silver to pay for their taxes, many of the tillers in the soil are lowered, and less land is put into cultivation. In document 5, a writer, Xu Dunqiu Ming, says that every time that you dye a cloth with rice, wheat, chickens, or other fowl, you must pay with silver from a moneylender. And lastly, in document 6, a spanish priest is emotional about the fact that the more than 3,000 Indians are put to work when there is 326 million coins that have been taken out of the silver

President Lincoln who is a great model of the USA, " would be ashamed to have his face on this specious specie"(Source C). Why would they put the face of a great president who did good things in the US on a piece of copper that has no value what so ever. He will feel no gratitude toward the country by repaying his hard work in a non-valuable piece of copper that should be helping but its really not. As years pass by, the economy is changing by how much money is worth by stating that, " you can't buy anything with a penny any more"(Source C). The penny was worth more back then but now you can't even buy a piece of gum with it. If the penny can't even buy a product why keep it around, its not like its being used. It can also be said that, " Two-thirds of them immediately drop out of circulation" (Source C). Meaning to say that approximately sixty-six percent of pennies disappear or just end up in a place where it will eventually be

silver coins, when it’s really only worth 100 silver coins. This could make the government more

Though some parties may claim that the penny holds value to the United States, majority of the arguments presented are invalid or out of date. Examples such as the man who has saved “90 pennies a day” (Source B) are an extreme case that cannot be used to argue for continuation of the penny. In the average lifespan of an American denizen, it is improbable that one will have the time to collect this many pennies. In addition, on order for this man to reach his grand total of $13,084.59 took about forty years, making this argument illogical as the process is time consuming and one can save even more by simply collecting larger denomination coins. In addition, arguments made those countries such as the “EU … and Canada” that have kept their “penny”

For Americans firsts 70 years private entities and not the federal government issued paper money. Notes that was printed by the states chartered banks which could of been exchange for gold and silver. From the founding of the United States passage of National Banking Act 8,000 different countries issued currency which created a widely money supply facilitated rampant counterfeiting. By establishing a single national currency the National Banking act eliminated the overwhelming variety of paper money circulating throughout the country and created a system of banks chartered by the federal government rather than by the states. The law also assisted the federal government in financing the Civil War. Before gold and silver was discovered in the west the United States lacked sufficient quantity of precious metals for minting coins. A 1793 law permitted spanish dollars and other foreign coins to be a part of the American monetary system. Foreign coins was not banned until 1857. The highest bill ever produced by the United States Bureau of Engraving and printing was the $100,000 gold certificate. The money was printed between December 18, 1934 and January 9, 1935 with the picture of President Woodrow on the front. The notes wasn’t available to the public they were only use for transaction