6 Grs.[Footnote:

This is the exact weight of the spanish milled dollar, which, as well as the divisions, are allowed to

Pass current; they consist of the half, quarter, eighth, and sixteenth, also the pistreen, or fifth, and the half pistreen, or tenth.], is fixed as the standard, divided into one hundred decimal parts; these are of copper, and called cents. All taxes, duties and imposts, that extend to the _whole Union_, are levied in these coins _only_. The other federal coins, like the english guineas and crowns, never appear on the public accounts.

Those of _gold_ are eagles, half eagles, and quarter eagles, value ten, five, and two and a half, dollars: of _silver_, the half, quarter, tenth, and twentieth of the standard dollar; or fifty, twenty-five, ten, and five cents: of _copper_, the half cent, or two hundredth part of a dollar. The principle on which this coinage is formed is so very simple, that the proportion they bear to each other, and the standard dollar may be found with the utmost facility. Indeed little else is wanted than the adding or cutting off figures or ciphers: for instance, the public accounts being kept in two columns, dollars, and cents; suppose in adding up the latter, you find they amount to 27621, you have only to cut off the two right hand figures, and their value stands thus; 276 dollars, 21 cents. To reduce eagles to dollars, add a cipher, and vice versa. To reduce half, and quarter eagles to dollars, you have only to divide by 2 or 4 previous to adding the cipher.

But though the federal government has succeeded in establishing it's coinage, the _people_ cannot be persuaded (the wholesale merchants, and a few enlightened citizens excepted,) to come into this scheme; _they_ obstinately insist on buying, selling, and keeping their accounts in the _good old way of their fathers!_ that is to say, in _currency_, by pounds, shillings, and pence; and nothing can be more complex, as they have not a single _coin_ in circulation of the _real_ or _nominal_ value of any of them. If you are to pay the sum of three shillings and fourpence halfpenny, (without having recourse to the federal scheme) you must provide yourself with three silver divisions of the Spanish dollar, viz. the fourth, eighth, and sixteenth, three english halfpence, two of George the Second, and one of his present majesty[Footnote: Owing to the quantity of counterfeit english halfpence of the present reign now in circulation in these states, those of king George the Third, whether counterfeit or not, are depreciated to the 360th part of a dollar.]; the nominal value of which, added together, make that sum within a very trifling fraction.

I am informed the federal government means to fix the weights and measures by a standard, which, like the coinage, will admit of the same _even_ division by decimals. I am often asked why the English, after having proved the great utility of this scheme in their chain of one hundred links for land measuring, do not extend it to their coin, &c.? If you can think of a good solution to this question, pray let me have it in your next to

Yours sincerely, &c.

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