of time when the Treasury will be obliged to pay out, for its regular disbursements on the public debt, silver in such amounts as will drive gold out of circulation. In February, 1884, it was feared that this was already at hand, and was practically reached in the August following. Unless a repeal of the law is reached very soon, the uncomfortable spectacle will be seen of a gradual disarrangement of prices, and consequently of trade, arising from a change of the standard.
In order that the alternate movements of silver and gold to the mint for coinage may be seen, there is appended a statement of the coinage239 during the above periods, which well shows the effects of Gresham's law.
| Ratio in the mint and in the market. | Period. | Gold coinage. | Silver dollars coined. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1:15 (silver lower in market) | 1792-1834 | $11,825,890 | $36,275,077 |
| 1:15.98 (gold lower in market) | 1834-1853 | 224,965,730 | 42,936,294 |
| 1:15.98 (gold lower in market) | 1853-1873 | 544,864,921 | 5,538,948 |
| Single gold standard. | 1873-1878 | 166,253,816 | ........ |
| 1:15.98 (silver lower, but no free coinage) | 1878-1883 | 354,019,865 | 147,255,899 |
From this it will be seen that there has been an enforced coinage by the Treasury, of almost twice as many silver dollars [pg 324] since 1878 as were coined in all the history of the mint before, since the establishment