those ideas, the secretary is, upon the whole, strongly inclined to the opinion that a preference ought to be given to neither of the metals for the monetary unit ... because this cannot be done effectually without destroying the office and character of one of them as money and reducing it to the situation of mere merchandise, which, accordingly, at different times, has been proposed from different and very reputable quarters, but which would probably be a greater evil than occasional variations in the unit, from the fluctuations in the relative value of the metals, especially if care be taken to regulate the proportion between them, with an eye to their average commercial value. To annul the use of either of the metals as money is to abridge the quantity of circulating medium." Page 253
This scheme was accepted in its entirety by the Act of 2nd April 1792, with the slight change that the standard of silver was changed from 11⁄12 to 1 485⁄1664 fine. The silver dollar, therefore, weighed 416 grs. gross (371 1⁄4 grs. pure silver); on this basis, at a ratio of 15, the equivalent gold piece would contain 24.75 grs. (371 1⁄4/25 = 27 3⁄4). This was accordingly established as the basis of the gold eagle or ten-dollar piece, which was to contain 270 grs. gross (247.5 grs. pure gold).5 The Act was followed by another on the 9th February 1793, for regulating the rate of foreign coins. The gold coins of Great Britain and Portugal of their then standard were made a legal tender for the payment of all