U.S. GOLD COINS

Planning a New Monetary System

European expansion into the New World resulted in a jumble of colonies in the Americas, all of which were dependent on their mother countries for trade, commerce, goods and services, and money. Each colony had its own monetary system, usually dictated by royal decree. The right to coin money was awarded under a system of patents or private or public contracts.

Often, the money of one colony was valued by a completely different set of standards in another colony, resulting in a mish-mosh of coins and values. Traveling from one colony to another was difficult enough, but converting (or even spending) money from another colony was extremely inconvenient and sometimes impossible. Silver and gold coins were scarce because they were often required as payment for goods imported from overseas.

The dearth of natural ore sources in the colonies meant that "home-grown" gold simply did not exist. Thus, the colonists relied on imported coins that included the Spanish eight escudos (and its fractional counterparts), the Portuguese four escudos, and other foreign gold coins. As cumbersome and impractical as this system was, it worked.

However, the founders of the fledgling American republic knew they needed something better.

Courtesy Garrett and Guth: Encyclopedia of U.S. Gold Coins

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