1826 US coins

I am trying to collect 1826 US coins, and I saw in the red book that the only non gold coins were the half dollar, cent, and half cent listed. Why is this?

 

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Interesting question...from what I've read, there was little demand for fractional silver coins during that period. Paper currency (even fractional currency) circulated. When a depositor withdrew bullion, they preferred that largest denominated silver coin available. Until 1830, most coins in the US were foreign coins. In fact, cents and half cents rarely circulated more than a few hundred miles from Philadelphia and many silver and gold coins were shipped overseas.

There was strong opposition to the Mint from 1800-1830. In fact, when the US Capitol moved from Philadelphia to Washington DC, that's why the Mint wasn't moved. The Mint's authorization to operate was only renewed for five (5) year periods until 1830. I'm not sure the exact reason why 1826 was skipped by dimes and quarters, but given the large number of Half dollars minted, my guess is that there just wasn't the demand for the lower denominated pieces.

 

Several factors to consider here
1) According to the Redbook, half dollars during this time were generally traded among banks and didn't really circulate so much among the citizenry.
2) The Redbook also states that it was estimated that in 1830, there was only 1 domestically-produced silver coin for each person in the country-- so the demand was apparently there.
3) The amount of silver coinage depended on the amount of silver that was brought in to the Mint. Since worn Spanish Empire coins circulated alongside US coins during that time on a face value (rather than silver weight) basis, it wouldn't have made sense for someone with, say, old worn 2 reales pieces to take them to the Mint for recoinage into US quarters of standard weight, since the holder would be losing money on the deal. Also, there weren't too many silver mines in the US at that time (I can't think of even one offhand), so there wasn't a lot of fresh silver coming into the Mint.
4) Paper currency circulated, but it wasn't government currency, and the banks that issued it weren't always reliable. Also, paper currency often was accepted at a discount (if at all) outside of its area of issue. People would rather have had gold and silver coinage, but had to make do with what was available.

I think the most likely reason for the paucity of silver issues in 1826 was that there was little silver being brought in to the Mint that year, and the silver that was brought in was set aside for banks to meet their demand for half dollars, rather than for meeting the commerce needs of the average citizen.

 

All excellent points! ...like I said, interesting question.

 

And the Chinese are still making 1826 halves:

 

Once again-- the silver coinage depended on the amount of silver that was brought in to the Mint.

Assume that the amount of silver that was brought into the Mint in 1824, 25, and 26 was constant:

The amount of quarters produced in 1824 and 25 combined: 168,000, or $42,000, or $21,000 average each year. (No mintage figures available for individual years)
The amount of dimes produced in 1824 and 25 combined: 510,000, or $51,000, or $25,500 average each year (No mintage figures available for individual years)
The amount of half dollars produced in 1824: 3,504,594, or $1,772,297
The amount of half dollars produced in 1825: 2,943,166, or $1,471,583

So the total $ silver coins produced for 1824-25 =$3,336,880, or average for each year= $1,668,440
Demand for silver halves alone in 1826: 4,004,180= $2,002,090.

If the silver supply was constant or even grew slightly during this time period, then there would not be enough silver to meet the demand for both halves and smaller coins in 1826. The banks got priority for silver coinage production, and the banks preferred half dollars. I believe this may have been one of the reasons why Andrew Jackson was so angry with the banks-- they were apparently hogging the silver to produce coins that only banks and wealthy persons were using, while restricting the supply of smaller silver coins that could have facilitated commerce among average citizens.

 

All interesting history of coins. I suppose then any 1826 coins I buy will need to be certified before buying. Shame that cons big and small lay so many pitfalls for honest people to fall into (and preventing the honest dealer from making the sells they deserve).

 

[/QUOTE]The banks got priority for silver coinage production, and the banks preferred half dollars. I believe this may have been one of the reasons why Andrew Jackson was so angry with the banks-- they were apparently hogging the silver to produce coins that only banks and wealthy persons were using, while restricting the supply of smaller silver coins that could have facilitated commerce among average citizens.[/QUOTE]
I was wondering how the history of the time would work into this. While I am not a fan of Andrew Jackson, on this he would probably be correct.

 

I find it interesting that the half dime was reintroduced in 1829 (after a hiatus of 24 years), which was the first year of Jackson's administration, and that it was produced in large numbers (more than a million in the first year alone). The half dime represented the lowest denomination legal tender coin at the time, and it was low enough in value that it could easily be used in daily commerce by the average person. I also find it interesting that 1.2 million dimes were produced in 1827, which was more than twice the total of 1824-25, and of course 1.2 million more than the 1826 total (of zero). If there was no demand for dimes in 1826, why the huge surge in demand in 1827?

 

Very true. People have this misconception that even in the earliest days of the mint that it only coined PM brought into it by citizens. Its true that a citizen COULD bring PM into the mint to have it coined, the mint itself was the largest owner of PM coins, and this ratio grew every year after 1794 so that by 1800-1810 the amount of PM brought into the mint for coinage was almost insignificant.

Btw collector1966, if you ever saw small change finds that metal detectorists find you will have your answer I believe. Its extremely common I am told for foreign coins from the early 1800's to be found with a US coin in metal detector fields of the period. The simple fact is that Spanish half, 1, 2, and 4 reales really served as out small change for a long period. The reason foreign coins were not abolished as legal tender until I believe 1853 was because our mint simply did not have the resources to produce enough change for out economy. Having the resources does not mean access to copper, silver, or gold, but the money to fund the striking of these denominations.

Great point about Jackson. I had never read about it, but half dimes do coincide with his Presidency. Being half American Indian whose ancestors were on the trail of tears means I do not much care to read about the man, but still an interesting point.

Chris

 

Another twist to this conversation. If so few 1826 coin types exist, why are they not worth more today. The three existing coin types are listed in the red book as being worth approximately the same as the year before and the year after.

 

Sounds like they survived well. How many types in a year has no bearing on price. It is how many there are of that year versus other years, and demand, that create the price. You could have a year where only cents were struck, and if they struck a normal amount of them they would be an average price. The only other demand would be from people collecting their birth years, but how many born in 1826 do you think there are today?

Chris

 

I'll bet he would have herded up all the Bankers and marched them off to Oklahoma...if Congress let him.

http://www.allthingscherokee.com/articles_culture_events_020201.html

 

This is not correct. The mint was dependent on depositors for the silver and gold coinage they produced. The Mint was not authorized a bullion account that would let them go out onto the open market and buy silver to coin on the governments account until 1837. Now the government did collect gold and silver as excise taxes and customs duties. This bullion was deposited with the Bank of the United States and they were the source of most of the gold and silver deposited with the mint for coinage. Under the law the choice of what coins the bullion would be struck into was left up to the depositor. The bank would normally order half dollars unless they could be prevailed upon to order smaller denominations to alleviate the needs of commerce. This was one of the benefits of the 1837 bullion fund. It allowed the mint to purchase bullion and strike coins for which there was a shortage.

 

As one who grew up along the old Trail of Tears, had a drama teacher who played John Ross in the Trail of Tears pageant in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, worked alongside Cherokees in Lincoln, Arkansas, and have family members who are members of the Oklahoma Tsa-la-gi, I got a good education about Jackson and his treatment of the Indians

 

This is really interesting question as such no one has asked this kind of question. This shows you have deep study and knowledge of coins..

 

Not really knowledge just a curiosity about unusual things that do not make sense. I am collecting the 50 and 100 (centennial) year's coins, and I ran across this strange inconsistency and wondered why. I am glad I asked now. I have learned much more about the history of coins and the United States.