Hey Mister,
Do You Have Change for a Guinea?

                     Many collectors of United States coins collect items minted before 1857. Large cents are very popular as are half-cents and Bust Half-Dollars. But I am talking about not only colonial minted coins, but the coins of England, German Thalers, Pieces-of-Eight, and other European coins, as well, which circulated in the colonies and early republic.

          Until 1857, when Congress passed a law outlawing the use of foreign coins in the United States for the paying of public and private debts, foreign silver and gold coins circulated in the United States. When you reflect on the wisdom of Congress, maybe you will rejoice after sharing the following paragraphs.

          Just suppose that Congress had not passed that law excluding the use of foreign coins in 1857. Imagine that you walk into any store in the United States today to buy a newspaper. Let us say that you then attempted to pay for that newspaper with a Guinea.

          I am sure that you would get an argument right away from the clerk who would most likely say – at least if he’s reasonably polite – “Hey mister what the heck is this?”

          Of course you’ll reply, “It’s a gold guinea. That is to say, it’s an English coin of twenty-one shillings. That’s one shilling more than a pound. As you know, a pound is an English gold coin, otherwise known as a sovereign of twenty shillings, or four crowns, or ten florins, or 240 pennies. I won’t go into farthings (coins of 1/4 of a penny), half-pence (coins of 1/2 of a penny), groats (four penny coins), six pence (coins of six pennies), half-crowns (coins of two shillings and a six pence), double florins (coins of four shillings), or half-sovereigns (coins of ten shillings, or two crowns, or 120 pennies). After all, I don’t want to confuse you. Right?”

          By now, I’m sure that the clerk is ringing for the store security, because he’s convinced that he’s got a real headcase on his hands. After all, that’s the kind of money we would have been dealing with if the American Revolution had not been fought. Even the English abandoned this cumbersome monetary system in the early 1970’s themselves in favor of a decimal coinage. They didn’t want to drive unborn generations of little Englishmen crazy either.

          Until 1857, a shopkeeper in the United States would have to be able to convert the world’s coinage, including the English, into good old American dollars and cents, because silver and gold coins of the world were legal tender in the United States. German Thalers, Spanish and Spanish-American pieces-of-eight, French five franc pieces, ecus, and a whole run of even stranger coinage floated through United States commerce.

          In 1857, all of this stopped when the United States government only recognized coins minted at Philadelphia, New Orleans, Dahlonega, San Francisco, and Charlotte. Of these mints, only San Francisco and Philadelphia are in operation today.

          People living today might have been a little puzzled by the United States coins in circulation in 1857. In the pocket or purse of the typical middle class citizen, one could find: half cents, one cent pieces about the size of the modern half dollar, tiny and thin three cent silver pieces, slightly thicker silver half dimes, or five cent coins, dimes, quarters, half dollars, tiny one dollar gold pieces, two-and-a-half dollar quarter eagles, three dollar gold pieces, gold five dollar half-eagles, ten dollar gold eagles, twenty dollar gold double eagles, and tons of funny paper money issued by hundreds of banks.

          In fact, one of the most popular features of almanacs of the era was a list of “Bad Banks” whose paper money had no value at all.

          There is no doubt that a lot of people made a lot of money as money changers. Anyone who really understood international coinage could make out well in sharp trading. This no doubt was a reason for demonetizing foreign coinage in 1857.

          It is also interesting to note that the United States minted two cent bronze pieces from 1864 to 1873. We also minted three cent nickels from 1865 to 1889. The first five cent nickel was minted in 1866. Twenty cent pieces were minted from 1875 to 1878 at Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Carson City.

          Now are you confused? Don’t worry. As far as I know, the United States government does not intend to mint pounds, groats, shillings, pence, or even Guineas.

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 James C. Johnston Jr. was born in the historic Oliver Pond House in Franklin, Massachusetts where he has lived for 58 years. He holds B.A. and M.A. degrees in History and is the author of several books. He has also written more than 1,500 articles and monographs in The Numismatist, Linn’s Stamp News, The Regional Recorder, and other publications.

          Johnston was a teacher in the Franklin system for 34 years and has been associated with Johnston Antiques since 1962. He is a well known appraiser of antiques, books, fine arts, stamps, and coins. He is a founding member of the Massachusetts Suburban Antique Dealers Association, a member of the American Numismatic Association, and the American Philatelic Society. He has also been President of the Franklin Historical Society since 1985.

          Johnston is also a well known lecturer whose topics cover a wide range of social history, antiques, coins, stamps, and the fine arts, as well as, politics and political and military history.