History of money and its evolution across civilizations
An overview tracing money from hunting and fishing skins and shells to beaver pelts and wampum, then cattle and slaves, through agricultural and manufacturing stages, to stamped metal coinage and the gold standard in international trade, noting why certain items were demonetized and how gold became the global unit of value.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Indian Ocean
Persia
Ceylon
New England
Long Island
New Amsterdam
Norway
Europe
Mexico
Central America
Virginia
Maryland
Newfound- Bacco
Africa
Palestine
Sparta
West
China
Italy
Rome
B. C
Julian II
Florence
Western
Gold Standard Debate and Silver Prices Highlight Local Notice
The piece cites the shift to a gold standard as the world’s norm, arguing silver cannot match gold’s stability. It quotes Byron W. Hott promoting silver dollars for farm payments in Sherman, New York, with fixed prices for livestock and products. It notes A. B. Sheldon’s Aug 1 notice promising inflated silver dollar payments to farmers without government repudiation.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
A. B. Sheldon
Sheldon
Chautauqua
United States
Double Standard Maple Sugar and Political Quips
A syndicated piece recalls Dutch settlers in Mohawk Valley trading maple sugar with Yankee peddlers and a Dutch farmer who boasted he made sap into sugar using spring water. The second excerpt riffs on political conventions, noting a missed plank about property day laws and electoral half measures.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Mohawk Valley
F. G
New York Sun
Washington Star
Silverites Mislead On Coinage For Extra Money
The piece critiques the silverites claim of cheaper dollars and questions how a 16 to 1 free coinage law could boost money supply. It argues such a policy would devalue gold, lock up $600,000,000 in gold at a premium near 50 percent, and remove gold from circulation, offering doubt about the promised increase in money.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Silverites
Free coinage would injure farmers and markets
A threshold against free silver is argued, detailing how 16 to 1 coinage would trigger loan calls, mortgage foreclosures, scarce credit, and widespread farm bankruptcies. It warns of a financial panic, halted credit to merchants, factory shutdowns, unemployment, and collapsing farm demand, plus disrupted trade with gold-standard nations.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Europe
India
China
Japan
Free Silver and the Price of Cotton
An article from The Arena argues free silver decreased cotton prices. It compares 1865 bale value to 1896, cites price drops and silver coinage, and counters the claim that 1873 currency changes alone reduced cotton values. It warns farmers about mortgage risk under 16 to 1 silver standard and high interest.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
The
Arena
A Lesson From Egypt Onions and Cats Currency Tale
Whidden Graham in Puck recounts an ancient Egyptian tale where a 16 to 1 cat to onion ratio formed a papyrus currency. Nubian onion production surged by 968 B C, forcing a devalued ratio to 80 to 1 and a royal decree that cats remain the standard, while onions float at par with cats in value. Pharaoh Ram Bankshus II rejects onion coinage, telling onionites to return to farms as the first currency agitation ends.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Faque Hur
Upper Nile
Ram Bankshus II
Ram Bankshus
Egypt
Whidden Graham
Puck
Government Owns Silver Mines for Public Benefit
Debate centers on making silver mines government property to ensure free coinage profits benefit all citizens rather than a few mine owners. Critics warn of risks from concentrated control by a few, including potential manipulation of production to influence money supply and national economy.
Silver and coinage debate on restoring pre 1873 conditions
The piece questions free coinage advocates who seek to return to pre 1878 conditions. It cites 1873 world silver output of 61.1 million ounces with silver in a dollar worth $1.04 in gold, versus last year’s 165 million ounces and silver value at 50.7 cents. It asks if miners will push production back to 1873 levels as a first step.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Julian II
Trade Journal
Lumber Trade Journal
Richmondville
N. Y
Phoenix
Eminent Bimetallist Opposes Free Coinage By United State
Professor Edouard Suess the leading Austrian bimetallist argues briefly yet forcefully against free coinage by the United States He warns it would cost this country its gold and force buying in England to meet foreign obligations He says one nation alone is too weak for such a policy and could trigger financial or economic crisis The note also draws a parallel to Coxey army poverty and creditor property questions as moral contrasts to confiscation rhetoric
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Edouard Suess
Austria
England
Also Mentioned on This Page
Friends of Tobacco and Corn
Ching
Anam
Greece
Chautauqua News of
Sherman, N. Y
Sherman
Huntingdon
Germany
Coxey
This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!