What references are there to gold, silver, and currency in the U.S. Constitution?
A.Article 1, Section 8 states that “Congress shall have Power … To coin Money [and] regulate the Value thereof.” Article 1, Section 10 states that “No State shall … coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; [or] make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts.” Additionally, the word “dollar” is used two times in the Constitution, once with reference to a cap on the amount of duty that could be charged on “Migration or Importation of … Persons” (Article 1, Section 9), and once with reference to the minimum amount in controversy necessary to trigger trial by jury in civil cases (Seventh Amendment). The “dollar” circulating at this time in the Colonies was the Spanish Silver Dollar. In the Coinage Act of 1792, Congress created a US Dollar with the same weight and fineness of silver, containing 371.25 grains fine silver. This indicates that the “dollar” has a Constitutional definition as a coin containing a fixed amount of silver equal to that found in the Spanish Silve
Related Questions
- The Constitution provides that no State shall "…make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts…" Doesn’t that statement render paper currency unlawful?
- Is it permitted to wear jewellery made of the two metals of currency, gold and silver?
- Other than currency devaluation, whats driving the price of gold and silver?
