Hello all, I'm writing a book that is set in New Orleans in 1812, and I would like my work to accurately reflect the kind of currency that would have been in circulation in the city at that time. I realize that, being a port and a new possession of the U.S., there were likely coins from France and Spain being circulated, in addition to U.S. dollars. Could someone give me a rundown of the kinds of coins my characters would be likely to encounter in this setting? And what was the value of a dollar, relative to today? Any help would be deeply appreciated!
As for Paper Currency... this is ~50 years prior to the forming the now known entity of the BEP. You will have Colonial and Obsolete Currency floating about until the Fed Issues starting in 1862. You can go here http://www.donckelly.com/obsolete/la_obs.html as a source for Obsoletes and here www.ha.com for Colonial's. Good luck on the book. RB
You can check out A Guide Book of United States Coins by R.S. Yeoman for US coinage of the era. The book has a brief description of and photographic illustrations of each type of US coin. Also, a new online tool that coin collectors use for determining coin grades called Photograde may be of use to you for quick visual reference to coins of the era you seek.
I think the biggest part of his question is were the coins French, Spanish, or American. That is a question I don't have the answer to, but a stab it the dark would be all of the above.
Think Draped/ Capped Bust everything. Classic head cents, half cents. For U.S. coins. Try the currency forum for more paper money info.
That would be correct, but the lion's share would be the Spanish colonial. US coinage would be the next most common with the French coinage bringing up the rear.
Yep, no paper money at all. Lots of Spanish coins, and a mixture of American, French, English and Dutch coins. The Spanish silver coins would be called "bits". Eight bits = 1 Spanish dollar, four = half dollar, two = quarter dollar, one = eighth dollar. Larger amounts of money might be in Spanish gold. The largest one would be 8 escudos (a "piece of eight") and be equal to sixty-four silver dollars. A dollar would be a decent day's pay. A piece of eight would be a lot of money, over two months average pay.
Thanks to you all. Special thanks to you, Texas John. This is very valuable information. Keep it coming! Am I correct in thinking that a relatively common American coin might be a half-eagle gold piece during the War of 1812? What denomination would that be--$20? Was there a $5 piece in circulation?
A piece of 8 (8 reales) was equal to a dollar. There were 16 reales in 1 escudo. So 2 escudos would be roughly 1 month's pay.
There were quarter eagles - $2.50. Half eagles - $5. Eagles - $10 and double eagles - $20. And gold was not common. In fact it was rarely seen outside of banks or for use in trade. For example, a ship comes into port at New Orleans. Vendors would pay the ship owner in gold for the cargo because of the size of sums involved. But ordinary people rarely even had a dollar let alone gold coins. Most public transactions were made with much smaller coins. There was the half reale, reale, 2 reales, 4 reales and 8 reales. In US coin that was roughly equivalent to the nickel, dime, quarter, half dollar and dollar. Then there was copper coinage, half cent and cent. And when small change was scarce, as it almost always was, people would cut the larger silver coins into smaller pieces called bits and use them. note - the Spanish coinage was not equal to the nickel and dime. A half reale was actuall 6 cents and the reale 12 cents. The others were equal.
Thanks, GDJMSP. That makes a lot of sense about the use of gold only for large sums. So would the escudo (16 reales) have been gold or silver? And what about the $5 American half-eagle?
Double eagles weren't minted until 1849, and American gold was issued in relatively small amounts until gold was discovered in North Carolina and Georgia (1830's). Usually it served as reserve specie for banks. Everyday commerce in New Orleans in 1812 would have involved mostly Spanish dollars and subsidiary coins.
The War of 1812 saw Andrew Jackson deeply embattled in the War at New Orleans..there were Treasury Notes issuesd in 1812 totaling 36 Million $$.. Who is to say that some of that "Paper Currency" did not find it's way into New Orleans to pay for goods or services or supplies for the War effort. As far as civilian circulating curreny in "Paper Money" form, well we know the "Dix Note" showed up in the early 1860's. Read about the Notes of the War of 1812 here: http://books.google.com/books?id=l7...nepage&q=circulating currency in 1812&f=false RickieB
Well, that issue was mostly sold to banks and related enterprises, who hoped to make a profit from them. While technically they were bearer's notes and could be used as a medium of exchange, they were mostly in strong hands and at any rate not something an everyday person would recognize and be willing to accept.
This is all very helpful information. Would the American 5 dollar half eagle have been a gold coin or silver?
