Tables of relative values of gold and silver, Diagram showing the course of relative values from 1840 to 141, 142 1876, 151, 152 nations, The Latin Monetary Union, Demonetization of silver in Great Britain in 1816, The exclusive gold standard of values impossible for all Exclusive standards of either metal in different countries - 144, 145 145 145 - 137 inimical to the comity of nations, 138 Growth of national debts in the last twenty-five years, PRICES OF COMMODITIES IN GOLD. Cause of the great rise of prices from 1862 to 1867, 131 134 Traffic has nearly quadrupled in twenty-five years, Increase in the value of railroad tonnage, Revision of the laws of the United States in 1873, Coinage laws-all the clauses of all laws relating to the weight, fineness and legal-tender value of United Reduction in value of half dollars and other fractional coins. Legal method of computing the value of the pound sterling, Laws authorizing the issue and redemption of United States notes and bonds, chronologically arranged, from 1860 United States notes made legal-tender for all debts, except duties on imports and interest on the public Made receivable the same as coin for all loans nego- 186 Made receivable in payment of all loans made to the United States; Act July 11, 1862, 188 Authority of the Secretary to make interest-bearing treasury notes legal tender; Act March 3, 1863, [In addition to the above captions there are marginal notes which head.] Notes, with gold at any price not exceeding 285, - 257, 258 Tables 4 and 5.-Monetary Units of all Countries, with the declared values of their coins in United States Table 6.-Monetary Units of all Countries, and the declared values of their coins, January 1, 1876, THE MONEY SYMBOLS. N the cover of this book are grouped, in one design, lar symbol, $, and the pound-sterling symbol, £. The most prominent and interesting feature of the group is the two pillars, which were derived from the pillars of Hercules, one of the oldest symbols known to the human race. Their composition with the money symbols is due entirely to the emperor Charles the Fifth of Germany, who being also king of Spain adopted them as supporters on either side of his escutcheon, and also placed them in the device on the Spanish "pillar dollar" of the value of fifty-four pence sterling, which became the unit of Federal money in America, and upon the basis of which the pound sterling was valued at $4.44.44. Charles derived the idea from the poetic conceit which gave the name of "Pillars of Hercules" to the two mountains which stand on either side the Straits of Gibraltar, viz.: Calpe, or the Rock of Gibraltar, on the north, and Mount Abyla, in Africa, on the south. The scroll, which in the device on the dollar was twined about the pillars, has by long use been gradually modified, în making the symbol with the pen, so as to assume its present form in the dollar-mark. It is also presumed that in the pound-mark the L was substituted for the scroll, thus still retaining the two pillars which 13 |