Mint ratio moves

Congress changes the gold content of the eagle. The mint ratio moves from 15 to 1 toward roughly 16 to 1.

Classic Head half eagle, 1834, the gold type that followed the change in the eagle’s gold content.Public domain.

In 1834 Congress reduced the gold content of the eagle. The official mint ratio moved from the 1792 relationship of 15 to 1 toward roughly 16 to 1, a gold-friendlier standard.

The law could change the ratio. It did not decide which metal the market would keep. The Second Bank’s charter is still alive until 1836.

Early U.S. coinage →