Complete issue of The Salem Gazette from Tuesday, August 17, 1784, Vol. III, No. 149, four pages, 11 x 17.25, printed and published by Samuel Hall. The second page of the newspaper contains Thomas Jefferson’s influential essay ‘Notes on the Establishment of a Money Unit, and of a Coinage, for the United States,’ with this newspaper errantly writing ‘Mint” instead of ‘Unit.’ A preamble to the transcription, as taken from the Providence Gazette, notes that “The following plan, for a MONEY-MINT, &c. was sent among other communications to the State, by its late Delegates in Congress. — It was shewn to several members of Congress, and met with their approbation; but the author of it being sent abroad on publick business, and an adjournment coming on, no measures were taken thereon.”
The essay begins: “1. That it be of convenient size to be applied as a measure to the common money-transactions of life. 2. That its parts and multiples be in an easy proportion to each other, so as to facilitate the money arithmetick. 3. That the Unit and its parts or divisions be so nearly of the value of some of the known coins, as that they may be of easy adoption for the people. The Spanish Dollar seems to fulfil all these conditions.” In fine condition, with scattered light staining and a fragile hinge.
Jefferson’s 11-page essay laid the groundwork for the establishment of the U.S. dollar and the decimal-based currency system that is still in use today. By outlining his ideas for a standardized monetary system, Jefferson — who would soon join Benjamin Franklin and John Adams in Paris as Minister Plenipotentiary for Negotiating Treaties of Amity and Commerce with Great Britain and other countries — the future American president helped to create a stable and efficient monetary system for the fledgling nation.
Key elements of Jefferson’s essay include sections dedicated to ‘convenient size’ for everyday transactions, with the Spanish dollar seeming a suitable unit due to its familiarity to the people; a decimal system that would simplify calculations and make the system more accessible; the creation of coins in different denominations, including gold, silver, and copper, to facilitate various levels of transactions; and a relative ease of adoption for the public. Jefferson’s ideas had a significant influence on the Coinage Act of 1792, which established the United States Mint and created the country's first standardized coinage system.
