![]() grains in Virginia, Connecticut, Rhode island, Massachusets, and New Hampshire 1031 ¼ grains in Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey 966 ¾ grains in North Carolina and New York. ![]() I know of no Unit which can be proposed in competition with the Dollar, but the Pound. The course of our commerce too will bring us more of this than of any other foreign coin, and therefore renders it more worthy of attention. Our public debt, our requisitions, and their apportionments have given it actual and long possession of the place of Unit. It is already adopted from South to North has identified our currency, and therefore happily offers itself as an Unit already introduced. dollars.Ģ.The Unit or Dollar is a known coin, and the most familiar of all to the minds of the people. It will be readily estimated then by reference to either of them but more readily and accurately as equal to 10. coins proposed.ġ.The Golden peice will be ⅕ more than a half Joe, and 1/15 more than a double guinea. Let us examine in this point of view each of the 4. If this be not attended to, they will be very long in adopting the innovation, if ever they adopt it. ![]() The third condition required is that the Unit, it’s multiples, and subdivisions coincide in value with some of the known coins so nearly, that the people may, by a quick reference in the mind, estimate their value. golden peices, 8 units or Dollars, 6 tenths and 5 coppers pay it precisely. But an American, having the same sum to pay, thus expressed 38.D.65 will know by inspection only that 3. must find by calculation what combination of the coins of his country will pay this sum. The same difference arises in making paiment. 10 as the English do, and as we have done and the ease of subdivisions in a decimal ratio. Dollars.Ī bare inspection of the above operations will evince the labour which is occasioned by subdividing the Unit into 20ths. the Hundredth of a Dollar, of copper.Ĭompare the Arithmetical operations on the same sum of money expressed in this form, and expressed in the pound sterling and it’s divisions. If we adopt the Dollar for our Unit, we should strike four coins, one of gold, two of silver, and one of copper, viz. The Financier therefore in his report, well proposes that our Coins should be in decimal proportions to one another. Certainly in all cases where we are free to chuse between easy and difficult modes of operation, it is most rational to chuse the easy. Those who have had occasion to convert the Livres, sols and deniers of the French, the Gilders, stivers, and penings of the Dutch, the Pounds, shillings, pence and farthings of these several states into each other can judge how much they would have been aided had their several subdivisions been in a decimal ratio. Foreigners too who trade or travel among us 6 will find a great facility in understanding our coins and accounts from this ratio of subdivision. And even Mathematical heads feel the relief of an easier substituted for a more difficult process. These little perplexities are always great to them. The bulk of mankind are school boys thro’ life. But when he came to the pounds, where he had only tens to carry forward, it was easy and free from error. Every one remembers, that, when learning money arithmetic, he used to be puzzled with adding the farthings, taking out the fours and carrying them on adding the pence, taking out the twelves and carrying them on adding the shillings, taking out the twenties and carrying them on. Every one knows the facility of Decimal Arithmetic. The most easy ratio of multiplication and division is that by ten. The expediency of attending to the size of the Money Unit will be evident to any one who will consider how inconvenient it would be to a manufacturer or merchant, if, instead of the yard for measuring cloth, either the inch or the mile had been made the Unit of measure. Few transactions are above or below these limits. So is that of the tenth or the hundredth of a dollar. The value of 100, 1000, 10,000 dollars is well estimated by the mind. Taking into our view all money transactions, great and small, I question if a 5 common measure of more convenient size than the Dollar could be proposed. The Spanish Dollar seems to fulfil all these conditions. That the Unit and it’s parts, or divisions be so nearly of the 4 value of some of the known coins as that they may be of easy adoption for the people. ![]() That it’s parts and multiples be in an easy 3 proportion to each other, so as to facilitate the money arithmetic. That it be of convenient size to be applied as a measure to the common money transactions of life. In fixing the Unit of money, these circumstances are of principal importance. Notes on the establishment of a Money Unit, 1 and of a Coinage for the United States.
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