The first trade dollars were struck in 1873, and the majority of the coins were sent to China. The coins were officially demonetized in 1876, but continued to circulate until 1883. In 1965, the Coinage Act of 1965 was signed into law, making trade dollars legal tender up to five dollars. It is currently worth about $1.5 billion.
About Trade dollar (United States coin) in brief
The United States trade dollar was a dollar coin minted by the United States Mint to compete with other large silver trade coins that were already popular in East Asia. The idea first came about in the 1860s, when the price of silver began to decline due to increased mining efforts in the western United States. A number of designs were considered for the trade dollar, and an obverse and reverse created by William Barber were selected. The first trade dollars were struck in 1873, and the majority of the coins were sent to China. The coins were officially demonetized in 1876, but continued to circulate until 1883. In 1965, the Coinage Act of 1965 was signed into law, making trade dollars legal tender up to five dollars. The bill was amended in February 1872 to include authorization for a commercial dollar weighing 420 grains, which came to be known as the Coinages Act of 1873. While a provision for the production of a standard silver dollar weighing 384 grains was added to the bill, it was later voted to include provisions for a trade dollar of 420 grains. In February 1874, the House of Representatives approved the bill to include a provision to require a coin to be produced that weighed 420 grains, which was later added to a bill that was approved in the Senate. The coin was then in production for a few years, until it was demonetised in 1878, though the mintage of proof coins officially continued until1883.
The U.S. trade dollar is no longer legal tender, but it is still considered to be a valuable piece of American history and is still used as a symbol of the nation’s commitment to free speech and freedom of the press. It is currently worth about $1.5 billion. It has been used as the basis for a number of coins, including the $1 coin, the $2 coin and the $3 coin, as well as the $4 coin, $5 coin, and $6 coin, among other things. It was also used to pay tribute to former President Abraham Lincoln, who died in office in 1913. The trade dollar has been struck on the reverse of the obverse of the current obverse, with a design that was chosen by the Mint’s director of coin production, William Barber, in honor of the late Abraham Lincoln. The obverse design was designed by the same man who designed the reverse for the first American silver dollar in 1866. The design was changed to show the Emperor’s portrait, which caused widespread nonacceptance in China. In 1866, during the reign of Emperor Maximilian, the design of the Mexican peso was also changed. The Chinese were sensitive to any changes in the coin’s design, and were reluctant to accept newer coins due to a minor design change. The American silverdollar, 7.5 grains lighter than its Spanish counterpart, was unpopular in East Asian due to its light weight, forcing American merchants to purchase the Spanish or Mexican pieces to use in trade.
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This page is based on the article Trade dollar (United States coin) published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 03, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
