Legislation to Regulate Legal-Tender Value of Foreign Coins in the U.S.

Act of April 10, 1806

Historic Legislation, April 10, 1806. Full text is duplicated in the body of this page.Regulating the legal-tender value of foreign coins in the United States.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That from and after the passage of this act, foreign gold and silver coins shall pass current as money within the United States, and be a legal tender for the payment of all debts and demands, at the several and respective rates following, and not otherwise, viz: The gold coins of Great Britain and Portugal, of their present standard, at the rate of one hundred coins, for every twenty-seven grains of the actual weight thereof; the gold coins of France, Spain, and the dominions of Spain, of their present standard, at the rate of one hundred cents, for every twenty-seven grains and two-fifths of a grain, of the actual weight thereof. Spanish milled dollars, at the rate of one hundred cents for each, the actual weight whereof shall not be less than seventeen pennyweights and seven grains, and in proportion for the parts of a dollar. Crowns of France at the rate of one hundred and ten cents, for each crown, the actual weight whereof shall not be less than eighteen pennyweights and seventeen grains, and in proportion for the parts of a crown. And it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury, to cause assays of the foreign gold and silver coins made current by the act, to be had at the Mint of the United States, at least once in every year, and to make report of the result thereof to Congress, for the purpose of enabling them to make such alterations in this act, as may become requisite, from the real standard value of such foreign coins. And it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury, to cause assays of the foreign gold and silver coins of the description made current by this act, which shall issue subsequently to the passage of this act, and shall circulate in the United States, at the Mint afore-said, at least once in every year, and to make report of the result thereof to Congress, for the purpose of enabling Congress to make such coins current, if they shall deem the same to be proper, at their real standard value.

SEC. 2. Repeals 1st section of act of February 9, 1793, and suspends operation of second section of same act for three years from April 10, 1806.

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