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U.S. Statutes at Large
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Historical SummaryIN his annual message of December 3, 1889, President Harrison called attention to the decline in the market price of silver, and expressed fear of the effect of a further decline on the value of gold and silver dollars in commercial transactions. The accompanying report of the Secretary of the Treasury proposed the issue of treasury notes "against deposits of silver bullion at the market price of silver when deposited, payable on demand in such quantities of silver bullion as will equal in value, at the date of presentation, the number of dollars expressed on the face of the notes at the market price of silver, or in gold, at the option of the Government, or in silver dollars at the option of the bolder"; together with "the repeal of the compulsory feature of the present coinage act." A bill authorizing the issue of treasury notes on deposits of silver bullion was introduced in the House January 20, 1890, by E. H. Conger of Iowa, and referred to the Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures. The bill was reported April 9. Another bill directing the purchase of silver bullion and the issue of treasury notes thereon was introduced by Conger April 24, and referred; June 5 an amended form of this bill was substituted for the bill already before the House, and the bill passed, the vote being 135 to 119, 73 not voting. In the meantime a bill prepared by the Secretary of the Treasury, in accordance with the recommendations of his annual report, had been introduced in the Senate January 20, by Morrill of Vermont, by request, had been taken up March 31, and was under consideration when the House bill was received. June 13 the House bill was substituted for the bill before the Senate. On the 17th a free coinage amendment, offered by Plumb of Kansas, was agreed to by a vote of 43 to 24, and the amended bill passed, the final vote being 42 to 25, 17 not voting. The House disagreed to the Senate amendments, and a conference committee settled the final form of the bill. The report of the committee was agreed to by the Senate July 10, by a vote of 39 to 26, and by the House July 12, by a vote of 122 to 90, 116 not voting. So much of the act as provided for the purchase of silver bullion and the issue of notes thereon was repealed by the act of November 1, 1893 [No. 183]. REFERENCES. — Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XXVI., 289, 290. For the proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 51st Cong., 1st Sess., and the Cong. Record. The texts of the bills of April 24 and June 5 are in the Record, June 7, House proceedings. On Conger’s bill of January 29 see House Report 1086. On the amount of coinage under the act see Senate Doc. 163, 55th Cong., 2d Sess.
No. 182.
Silver Purchase Act
July 14, 1890
An act directing the purchase of silver bullion and the issue of Treasury notes thereon, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted . . . , That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby directed to purchase, from time to time, silver bullion to the aggregate amount of four million five hundred thousand ounces, or so much thereof as may be offered in each month, at the market price thereof, not exceeding one dollar for three hundred and seventy-one and twenty-five hundredths grains of pure silver, and to issue in payment for such purchases of silver bullion Treasury notes of the United States to be prepared by the Secretary of the Treasury, in such form and of such denominations, not less than one dollar nor more than one thousand dollars, as he may prescribe. . . .
SEC. 2. That the Treasury notes issued in accordance with the provisions of this act shall be redeemable on demand, in coin, at the Treasury of the United States, or at the office of any assistant treasurer of the United States, and when so redeemed may be reissued; but no greater or less amount of such notes shall be outstanding at any time than the cost of the silver bullion and the standard silver dollars coined therefrom, then held in the Treasury purchased by such notes; and such Treasury notes shall be a legal tender in payment of all debts, public and private, except where otherwise expressly stipulated in the contract, and shall be receivable for customs, taxes, and all public dues, and when so received may be reissued; and such notes, when held by any national banking association, may be counted as a part of its lawful reserve. That upon demand of the holder of any of the Treasury notes herein provided for the Secretary of the Treasury shall, under such regulations as he may prescribe, redeem such notes in gold or silver coin, at his discretion, it being the established policy of the United States to maintain the two metals on a parity with each other upon the present legal ratio, or such ratio as may be provided by law.
SEC. 3. That the Secretary of the Treasury shall each month coin two million ounces of the silver bullion purchased under the provisions of this act into standard silver dollars until . . . [July 1, 1891] . . . , and after that time he shall coin of the silver bullion purchased under the provisions of this act as much as may be necessary to provide for the redemption of the Treasury notes herein provided for, and any gain or seigniorage arising from such coinage shall be accounted for and paid into the Treasury.
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SEC. 5. That so much of the act of . . . [February 28, 1878] . . . , entitled "An act to authorize the coinage of the standard silver dollar and to restore its legal-tender character," as requires the monthly purchase and coinage of the same into silver dollars of not less than two million dollars, nor more than four million dollars’ worth of silver bullion, is hereby repealed.
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Contents:
Chicago: "Silver Purchase Act," U.S. Statutes at Large in Documentary Source Book of American History, 1606-1913, ed. William MacDonald (1863-1938) (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1916), 594–595. Original Sources, accessed April 11, 2025, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=5VYZMU13UH1TEPQ.
MLA: . "Silver Purchase Act." U.S. Statutes at Large, in Documentary Source Book of American History, 1606-1913, edited by William MacDonald (1863-1938), New York, The Macmillan Company, 1916, pp. 594–595. Original Sources. 11 Apr. 2025. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=5VYZMU13UH1TEPQ.
Harvard: , 'Silver Purchase Act' in U.S. Statutes at Large. cited in 1916, Documentary Source Book of American History, 1606-1913, ed. , The Macmillan Company, New York, pp.594–595. Original Sources, retrieved 11 April 2025, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=5VYZMU13UH1TEPQ.
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