Lot 2545
1878 $20 Liberty. NGC graded MS-61. Quite lustrous if extensively bagmarked on both sides.
The Specie Resumption Act in 1879 was a triumph for the "hard money" forces over the "soft money" inflation advocates during the second Ulysses Grant administration.
The United States government had issued $450 million in greenbacks during the Civil War. These paper notes were not backed by specie (gold or silver) and maintained value only through trust in the government.
Despite opposition from the Greenback Party, as it was called, as 1878 drew to a close specie payments were resumed on the appointed date. The dire predictions of citizens storming the banks to demand gold for the greenbacks never occurred. During 1878 in particular, the government prudently increased its gold reserves and supply of $20 gold pieces, and the public became convinced that their paper notes were "as good as gold." America remained on a gold standard from that point until 1933.
Estimated Value $750 - 800.
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| Realized $920 |
