Week # 85 - Who's feeling lucky??

[Danielle C.]

QUESTION: How was the Treasury able to continue issuing silver certificates after the coining of silver dollars was discontinued in 1935?

 

 

First post with the correct answer wins a brand new issue of the October census report.

 

Don't forget, we also draw for a runner-up prize from all remaining posts with a correct answer.

 

Good Luck!

 

 

REMINDER: The Numisma-Quest ends/ended on Saturday at midnight EST. Entries after that time will not be valid. See the Trivia Info post for more details.

 

 

When you post your answer, only the administrators can see it. Stop back each Monday. We will make all the posts visible and announce the winners.

 

 

[Wihlborg]

They had bags and bags and bags of silver dollars in the Treasury as a reserve of silver.

[reid1836]

exchange was for equivalent in small silver change.

 

[JamminJ]

Piles and piles of silver dollars remaining in the vaults were sufficient to cover redemptions.

 

-JamminJ

[chrisfuccione]

There were two reasons 1) Up until June 4 1963 there was enough back stock of old silver dollars to be able to redeem them 2) from June 4 1963 to March 26, 1964 the mint had the option of giving out silver dollars or silver bullion( bags of silver shavings if I can remember stuff I read a while ago). CHRIS

[truthteller]

Silver bullion backed silver certificates. You could go to the treasury and ask for silver in exchange for silver certificates. They either gave you either a silver dollar or silver shot pellets.

 

 

TRUTH

[Hoot]

The Treasury kept a supply of silver dollars on hand for many years after ceasing their mintage in 1935. This was in part to back the silver certificates that continued to be produced, so that payment could be made on demand.

 

I just made that up - was it right?

 

Hoot

[RGT]

The Series 1928 $1 silver certificates read "ONE SILVER DOLLAR PAYABLE TO THE BEARER ON DEMAND". In 1934 this clause was changed to "IN SILVER PAYABLE TO BEARER ON DEMAND". After this change the certificates could be exchanged for minor silver coins or even silver bullion (which actually happened in the late 1960s).

[dakra]

Basically, they changed the wording from Silver to "lawful money".

 

Thanks,

Dave

[nwcs]

Congress changed the obligation of the US with regard to silver certificates. They could be redeemed for silver and not specifically silver dollars.

[Danielle C.]

QUESTION: How was the Treasury able to continue issuing silver certificates after the coining of silver dollars was discontinued in 1935??

 

ANSWER: The redemption clause on the notes was changed from "one silver dollar" to "one dollar in silver"

 

 

The winner is: RGT!! Your prize is the new October Census Report.

 

There is no runner up winner

 

 

Thanks for playing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jtryka]

Very interesting! So how did the mint account for the difference in silver content between a silver dollar and $1 in smaller denomination silver coins, even as silver dollars continued to circulate? (a silver dollar was 412.5 grains .900 fine silver, but $1 in smaller silver coins added up to only 386 grains of .900 fine silver). Was this in fact a defacto devaluation of the dollar (not like you needed much else after Roosevelt's gold shenanigans in 1933)? Lots to think about with this one...