The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Vol. 1 (of 9): Being His Autobiography, Correspondence, Reports, Messages, Addresses, and Other Writings, Official and PrivateJefferson, Thomas
History
The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Vol. 1 (of 9): Being His Autobiography, Correspondence, Reports, Messages, Addresses, and Other Writings, Official and Private
Jefferson, Thomas
United States -- Politics and government -- 1775-1783; United States -- Politics and government -- 1783-1865
4. The tenth, equal to a Spanish bit:
5. The five copper piece, equal to .5, or one-twentieth of a
dollar, or the half-bit.
The plan reported by the Financier is worthy of his sound judgment. It
admits, however, of objection, in the size of the Unit. He proposes
that this shall be the 1440th part of a dollar: so that it will
require 1440 of his units to make the one before proposed. He was led
to adopt this by a mathematical attention to our old currencies, all
of which this Unit will measure without leaving a fraction. But as
our object is to get rid of those currencies, the advantage derived
from this coincidence will soon be past, whereas the inconveniences of
this Unit will forever remain, if they do not altogether prevent its
introduction. It is defective in two of the three requisites of a Money
Unit. 1. It is inconvenient in its application to the ordinary money
transactions. 10.000 dollars will require eight figures to express
them, to wit 14,400,000 units. A horse or bullock of eighty dollars
value, will require a notation of six figures, to wit, 115,200 units.
As a money of account, this will be laborious, even when facilitated
by the aid of decimal arithmetic: as a common measure of the value of
property, it will be too minute to be comprehended by the people. The
French are subjected to very laborious calculations, the Livre being
their ordinary money of account, and this but between l-5th and l-6th
of a dollar; but what will be our labors, should our money of account
be 1-1440th of a dollar? 2. It is neither equal, nor near to any of the
known coins in value.
If we determine that a Dollar shall be our Unit, we must then say with
precision what a Dollar is. This coin, struck at different times, of
different weights and fineness, is of different values. Sir Isaac
Newton's assay and representation to the Lords of the Treasury, in
1717, of those which he examined, make their values as follows:
dwts. grs.
The Seville piece of eight 17--12 containing 387 grains of
pure silver
The Mexico piece of eight 17--10 5-9 " 385 1-2
The Pillar piece of eight 17--9 " 385 3-4
The new Seville piece of eight 14-- " 308 7-10
The Financier states the old Dollar as containing 376 grains of fine
silver, and the new 365 grains. If the Dollars circulating among us be
of every date equally, we should examine the quantity of pure metal in
each, and from them form an average for our Unit. This is a work proper
to be committed to mathematicians as well as merchants, and which
should be decided on actual and accurate experiment.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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