The Coinage of 1891

When George F. Heath issued his call in February 1891 for the creation of an “American Numismatic Association,” little did he realize what would come of this suggestion. The formal founding of the organization, which took place in Chicago in October 1891, was almost an anticlimax to all of the work done by Heath over the preceding several years. The choice of 1891 for Heath’s call is in itself of historical importance because that particular year is very interesting for both mint and coinage.

If one were to return to 1891, the question of coinage, especially that concerning the silver dollar, was a popular topic of the day. In 1878, the Western mining interests, together with populist elements in society, had forced through Congress a law to begin the coinage of silver dollars on a massive scale. The idea was not only to support the price of silver and keep the miners employed, but also to inflate the currency.

By 1889, it had become clear that the 1878 Bland-Allison Act had not been all that successful in supporting the price of silver, so the Silverites, as they were commonly called, once more gathered their forces. In the election of 1888, President Benjamin Harrison had defeated