UNITED STATES TREASURY DEPARTMENT INFORMATION RESPECTING UNITED STATES BONDS, PAPER CURRENCY AND COIN, PRODUCTION OF PRECIOUS METALS, ETC. REVISED JULY 1,1915 WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1915 Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis T r e a s u r y D e p a r t m e n t , O f f ic e o f t h e S e c r e t a r y , Washington, July 1, 1915. This publication, containing general information regarding United States bonds, paper currency and coin, production of precious metals, etc., has been compiled under my direction by the Division of Loans and Currency of this office with the cooperation of other Treasury offices. It is a revision of similar circulars of information issued by the department in 1896, 1897, 1900, 1904, 1908, 1910, and 1912. All comparative tables have been brought down to June 30, 1915, and wherever other statistical information is set forth the latest available figures have been used. W . G . M cA d o o , Secretary. a d d i t i o n a l c o p ie s OP THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE PROCURED FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON, D. C. AT 15 CENTS PER COPY Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis TABLE OF CONTENTS. I. HISTORY OF UNITED STATES BONDS SINCE 1865. Page, Debt at close of Civil War..................................................................................................... 7 Credit-strengthening act........................................................................................................ 8 Refunding Civil War bonds.................................................................................................. 9 Resumption, gold reserve, and maintenance of parity................................................ 11 Bond issues of 1894, 1895, and 1896................................................................................... 12 Three per cent loan of 1908-1918........................................................................................ 13 Two per cent consols of 1930................................................................................................ 15 Refunding under department circulars of various dates, act March 14, 1900___ 16 Panama Canal bonds............................................................................................................... 17 Act of June 28, 1902, section 8 ..........................................................................*.____ 18 Act of August 5, 1909, section 39............................................................................... 18 Act of February 4, 1910, section 1............................................................................. 19 Act of March 2, 1911....................................................................................................... 19 Panama Canal statement....................................................................................................... 19 Postal savings bonds................................................................................................................ 19 Certificates of indebtedness.................................................................................................. 21 Refunding 2 per cent bonds................................................................................................. 21. Interest-bearing debt June 30, 1915................................................................................... 22 Average rate of interest paid on United States bonds................................................. 23 Pacific Railroad bonds and settlements........................................................................... 23 Insular bonds............................................................................................................................. 24 District of Columbia bonds................................................................................................... 25 Principal of public debt, increase and decrease, fiscal years 1860-1915................ 25 Principal of public debt, increase and decrease, annual periods March 1, 1885, to March 1, 1915......................................................................................................... 27 II. THE SINKING FUND. Statement of purchases and redemptions for.................................................................. 29 III. HISTORY OF COINS AND CURRENCY. Monetary system of the United States.............................................................................. 31 Denominations, fineness, and weight of United States coins.................................... 34 Legal-tender and redemption qualities of United States money............................. 35 Gold coins................................................................................................................................... 37 Standard silver dollars........................................................................................................... 37 Trade dollars.............................................................................................................................. 38 Subsidiary silver....................................................................................................................... 39 Demand notes............................................................................................................................ 40 United States notes................................................................................................................. 40 Gold certificates........................................................................................................................ 41 Silver certificates..................................................................................................................... 42 Treasury notes of 1890............................................................................................................ 43 (3) Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 4 Page. Fractional currency................................................................................................................. 43 Portraits, etc., on current issues of paper currency...................................................... 44 Paper currency of each denomination outstanding June 30, 1915........................... 45 Specie and bank-note circulation, 1800-1859, with amount per capita................. 45 Coin and paper circulation, 1860-1915, with amount per capita.............................. 46 Sales of gold.................................................. ............................................................................. 49 Premium on gold and value of United States legal-tender notes from 1862 to January 1, 1879..................................................................................................................... 49 Total redemptions of notes in gold and exports and imports of that metal each fiscal year 1879-1915............................................................................................................ 50 IY. THE NATIONAL BANK CURRENCY. Authorizing acts........................................................................................................................ 51 Profits on circulation............................................................................................................... 53 Profits on capital invested..................................................................................................... 53 Additional national bank currency.................................................................................... 53 National currency associations, with amounts additional circulation issued to each........................................................................................................................................... 55 Amount of national bank circulation................................................................................. 57 Amount outstanding each year, 1864-1915...................................................................... 57 Y. FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM AND CURRENCY. Organization of system........................................................................................................... 57 Federal reserve districts......................................................................................................... 58 Federal reserve notes............................................................................................................... 58 Federal reserve bank notes................................................................................................... 59 VI. STATISTICS OF COINAGE AND PRODUCTION OP THE PRECIOUS METALS. Table 1. Acts authorizing and discontinuing coinage, changes in weight and fineness, and amount coined........................................................................ 60 2. Coinage of the mints of the United States from their organization, by calendar years............................................................................................. 63 3. Coinage, by pieces and values, fiscal year 1915......................................... 72 Additional coinages, year 1915, for certain Governments....................... 73 4. Fine ounces and value, gold and silver coinage, by fiscal years, since 1873...........................................................................................................