The E-Sylum:  Volume 8, Number 46, October 30, 2005, Article 10

ON THE CIRCULATION OF GOLD

Bob Leonard writes: "In response to Dave Ginsberg, Dave
Bowers has written on this subject in the Bass Sylloge (cannot
quote, since I don't have a copy). He needs to make a distinction
too between the money used east of the Rocky Mountains and
west of the Rocky Mountains, for the period 1862-79; gold
continued to be used in the West then, but was replaced by
paper in the East.

There are many accounts of the use of gold coins, and Dave
should broaden his search to include fiction. For example, in
Home Life; or, A Peep across the Threshold by Mrs. Caroline
A. Soule (Boston: A. Tomkins and B.B. Mussey & Co.,
1855), in the story, "'I Haven't the Change'" (pp. 101-113,
with illustration facing p. 101), the plot concerns a woman
who is unable to pay her Irish cleaning lady because she has
no change: "'I am sorry, Bridget, but really I forgot to ask
Mr. Mann for any change at dinner; and I haven't a cent
myself, nothing less than an eagle.'" (The rest of the story
describes the poverty of Bridget and her children, who
have no food and must have the money that day or go
hungry, and Mrs. Mann's awakening and repentance.)
This is interesting for two reasons: it shows that, in 1855,
the general public actually referred to a $10 gold coin as
an eagle, which was doubted by Alan Herbert in his "Coin
Clinic" column in Numismatic News, March 28, 1989, and
it is also another example of the preference of "cent" for
"penny" in Boston at that time.

Many, many other examples could be found, and Dave
just needs to focus on the period and region he is interested in."

[Dave has written on the subject in the newsletter of the
Southern Gold Society. According to the group's web site,
"The Southern Gold Society was formed to increase the
enjoyment and study of Southern gold coins and related history,
through an informal, relaxed mix of education and fellowship.
The society is reminiscent of those of a bygone era, in which
connoisseurship and a gentlemanly appreciation of Southern
gold coins is the order of the day."
southerngoldsociety.org/ -Editor]

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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