Circulation of Gold Coins?

hmm, I see.
But what about all those F graded morgan dollars and such? or even the walking liberties?

anyway, thanks for the info

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

ah, very true, very true.

 

That is a great point, there seems to be a ton of uncirculated Morgan and Peace Dollars. It seems like the rare examples are a result of combining low mintage and being melted down...not from circulation.

 

There are relatively more high grade gold coins around today simply because many, if not most, of the lower grade ones were melted down in the 30's.

Only the $1.00, $2.50 and $5.00 gold saw any appreciable circulation, and those only with the affluent. Remember, in 1850 the average working American made around $5/week. By 1900 this had risen to around $15/week. Most people simply didn't have the luxury of owning, holding or even touching a gold coin.

How many times have you seen a cowboy movie when the guy rides into town, goes straight to the tavern and slaps down a Double Eagle for a drink, and doesn't get any change back. That $20 would come close to buying the entire bar.

Probably 98% (a number I made up) of the American people never had the opportunity to even see someone else's gold. Rich people in big cities may have had opportunity or reason to use gold; nobody else did.

 

I'm not disagreeing but even where people bought more expensive items like a carriage or a house they were probably not going to pay in gold but in paper or silver. They used checks or bank drafts and these were usually backed by gold tucked safely in a vault.

Most heavily worn gold was probably carried as a pocket piece but older pieces may have seen some heavier circulation and handling.

 

Good reasons, all of the above. But in my paperback westerns the outlaws and good guys had $20 gold pieces, eagles I guess. Thought I'd add a chuckle to this thread. We were all born 100yrs. to late I reckon, shucks.
zg

 

One of my Great-Grandfathers was a wealthy farmer in Indiana in the mid to late 1800's. I have a diary he kept with some of his financial dealings in it. He paid temporary hired hands 50 cents per day (sunup to sundown) plus room and board. Aside from growing crops, he dealt largely in hogs. I know he must have been paid with gold coins occasionally because when he died in 1913, leaving an estate worth $30,000 (about $3 million today), one of his gold pieces went to my Grandmother and I got it from her. It was an 1838 half eagle. I say "was" because it was stolen from me in 1978.

 

I heard that during the building of the Panama canal , they paid the US supervisors in gold coin and all the others in silver , does anyone know anything about this ?
rzage

 

My deepest condolences for the loss of yor half eagle. I would have liked to see that very much.

 

Didn't the western states have an aversion to paper money? I understood low mintage; distrust of paper money; and release of the eintire mintage to circulation; as explanations why the 1893 S morgan is very scarce in grades above VF. I've heard others speculate that 5 years of average circulation degrades from BU to XF.

 

VF-20 , make that F-15
rzage

 

thats not your ms60 pocket coin?

 

Wonder what it weighs in at now , any idea ?
rzage

 

GD , What would you grade it ?
rzage