Fifty Years of Debasing Money

WSJ ^ | July 21, 2015 | Seth Lipsky

[george76]

The Coinage Act of 1965 marked the end of silver coins, contrary to what LBJ promised. July 23 marks the 50th anniversary of the Coinage Act of 1965, which stripped U.S. coins of silver and made legal tender out of base metal slugs. It’s an anniversary that comes at an apt time, as Congress considers monetary reform.

...

The anniversary of the 1965 Coinage Act is a reminder of why reform is needed. Speaking from the White House Rose Garden, President Lyndon B. Johnson called the law he signed a “very rare and historic occasion.” It certainly was; it superseded the coinage act drafted by Alexander Hamilton and passed by Congress in 1792.

The original coinage act established the United States Mint and declared the dollar as the “money of account” for the new republic. It defined the dollar as 3711/4 grains of silver or the equivalent in gold; the penalty for debasing coins struck under the law was death.

When LBJ signed the 1965 act, the value of a dollar was almost exactly the same as it had been in 1792—0.77 ounces of silver. Despite some downs and ups, on average it had been remarkably steady for the long span.

That was because since Hamilton’s day, as the president noted, “our coinage of dimes, and quarters, and half dollars, and dollars have contained 90% silver.” Not any more: The new dimes and quarters would “contain no silver.”

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

T think that the U.S. should stop making pennies. Pennies have become so worthless that they are simply obnoxious, round pieces of zinc.

[Stentor]

Fiat money has NEVER ended well, anywhere in human history.

"It's different this time." Yes, there are people who actually believe that.

[george76]

After 1837, all dimes were exactly 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper. Starting in 1964, they contained an inner core of 100 percent copper with two outer layers of 75 percent copper and 25 percent nickel...

http://www.2020site.org/coins/what-is-a-dime-made-of.html