Quote:
Originally Posted by rld14  I'd imagine that they grabbed whatever was easiest and melted that, probably without any real concern as to date or mint mark. |
I agree with that.
from "Banking Principles And Practice"
The occasion of the Pittman Act was explained in Volume I, Chapter I, as the sudden and pressing need for a great quantity of specie to pay the adverse trade balance with India during the war, and the desire to conserve the gold supply for reserve purposes. There were other incidental purposes, such as the stabilization of the price of silver and the encouragement of its production.
... and according to wikipedia, they paid britain with the melted silver. Between 1920 and 1933, the mint took the same amount of silver from the mines to replace all the silver that had been melted, and coined silver dollars.
Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittman_Act http://chestofbooks.com/finance/bank...t-Of-1918.html 
