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The reduction of the available Treasury balance during same period

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United States notes redeemed in coin during the fiscal year at the office of the Assistant Treasurer of the United States in New York, under the act of January 14, 1875, amounted to $6,863,699. The total redemptions under the above act to November 30, 1886, amount to $25,120,793.

The changes which have taken place in the various denominations of United States notes in circulation during the last three fiscal years, and for July, August, and September of the present year, appear in the following table:

CHANGES ↳ʼn DENOMINATIONS of UNITED STATES NOTES in CIRCULATION.

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Total

$8, 943, 236 7,808,000 23,420,000 12, 160, 000 9,280,000 4, 200, 000 5, 237, 000 4,900,000 10, 000, 000

$10, 019, 508 8,434, 508 19, 017, 170 15, 365, 870 13, 672, 280 4,877,000 5, 898, 400 3,084, 500 5,294, 000 185, 000 100,000

3,205, 870 4,392, 280 677,000 661, 400

185,000 100,000

40,000 30,000

10, 924, 330 10, 924, 330 84, 493, 153 84, 493, 153 10, 775, 073 10, 775, 073 63, 000, 000 63, 000, 000 20, 395, 689

20, 395, 689

$11, 895, 276 $1,708, 123

$7,348, 139

10, 458, 817

$397, 183

7,090, 700

$7,348, 139 7,090, 700

18, 855, 110

444, 890

$21, 320, 000

11, 688, 586

14, 627, 630

4, 987, 630

9, 960, 000

12, 688, 120

2,928, 120

7, 120, 000

7, 168, 130

4, 549, 000

251,000

2, 000, 000

2,168, 630

7,840, 725

48, 130 168, 630

$9,631, 414

2, 119, 275

6, 344, 200

744, 200

4,700,000

6, 237, 090

1,537, 090

2,707, 000

357,000

400, 000

4,533, 000

4, 133, 000

2,318, 000 30,000 20,000

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In the Appendix will be found tabular statements of the redemptions of legal-tender notes by denominations and fiscal years. Believing that the currency question will receive a large part of the attention of Congress during its coming session, an earnest endeavor has been made to furnish all the information bearing on this subject which comes within the province of this office.

Attention is again called to the fact that in the so-called "reserve vault" lies $147,898,000 of paper money, prepared for issue without authority of law, and legislation is requested that will permit of its legal disposition.

CERTIFICATES OF DEPOSIT, ACT OF JUNE 8, 1872.

The deposits of legal-tender notes by national banks during the year, for which they received certificates issued under authority of the act of June 8, 1872, amounted to $47,650,000; the amount of certificates redeemed was $58,825,000; the amount outstanding at the close of the year was $18,110,000.

The amount outstanding November 30, 1886, was $7,025,000.

The Treasurer again desires to call attention to the fact that these certificates are furnished at considerable expense and risk to the Government, without any benefit. This large amount of money, being held in trust for the banks, is liable to be paid out at any moment, and cannot be made available, under the law, for use in any of the financial transactions of the Treasury.

It simply adds to the already great responsibility of the Treasury, being subject to loss by peculation, carelessness, or fire.

It is recommended that all expense attending the issue of such certificates be borne by the banks who are benefited.

The following table shows the aggregate issues and redemptions and amounts outstanding for each year from the date of the first issue:

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NOTE. The amounts outstanding differ from those shown by the Public Debt Statements, for the reason that the reports of issues and redemptions of the last days of the fiscal year at the several ofliccs do not reach the Department until after the statements of the debt are made up.

GOLD CERTIFICATES.

The gold certificates of the old issue, under the act of March 3, 1863, outstanding at the close of the fiscal year, amounted to $82,427,420, the redemptions during the year having been $134,860.

Of the new issue under the act of July 12, 1882, there were nominally outstanding at the close of the fiscal year $128,746,825; the Treasury

offices held $55,129,870 (compared with $13,593,410 at the close of 1885), leaving actually in circulation 873,616,955, a decrease of $50,550,495 in the year.

On November 30, 1886, the amount of the certificates of the new issue outstanding had decreased to $122,581,607, but of this amount only $88,111,913 was actually in circulation, the certificates held in the Treasury offices having decreased to $34,469,694.

The issues and redemptions during the fiscal year, and the amounts outstanding at its beginning and close, are shown below:

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The remarks in regard to currency certificates apply with equal force to the issue of these certificates, with the further objection that the accumulation of the large amounts held in the Treasury renders it the constant object of attack, and at no remote day a great source of danger to the best financial interests of the country. If, as the result of the withdrawal of all notes under the denomination of ten dollars, the gold now in the Treasury were absorbed, as well as a subsidiary silver currency, into the general circulation of the country, it would render unnecessary the costly methods at present in use, and materially strengthen the credit of the currency now outstanding. It is upon the paper money, or credit system, of a country that the first effects of war, bad crops, or disastrous accidents fall, and no better guarantee of the stability of the monetary affairs of a nation has hitherto been found than the existence of a large mass of metallic moneys among the people, which can be drawn upon to sustain the credit of its paper indebtedness in time of need.

SILVER CERTIFICATES.

The amount of silver certificates nominally outstanding at the close of the fiscal year was $115,977,675, of which amount the Treasury held 7,861,450, leaving $88,116,225 in actual circulation; a decrease of $13,414,721 during the year. The table below gives the amount of those redeemed and issued during the year:

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The amount nominally outstanding on June 30, 1886, has since been added to by the demands of reviving business to the extent of $3,679,427, the amount held by the Treasury decreased to $14,137,285, and the amount now in circulation, November 30, is $105,519,817.

To measure the difference between the redemption of this class of money in times of depression and in and through a revival of business, I beg to call your attention to the table of percentages of kinds of money received through the customs on page 37 of this report. At the close of 1885, with an actual circulation of $101,530,946 of silver certifi cates, the custom-house receipts of this kind of money at New York were 35.6 per cent. of the total receipts at that point. At present, with a circulation of $105,519,817 and with larger customs receipts, the percentage received at New York is 12.2 per cent. With due care, regard being had to the denominations in which these notes are issued during the present revival of business, their use will be largely increased. This is true especially of the one, two, and five dollar notes, so far as the sphere of usefulness in business for these denominations permits; but any attempt to force them, or, in fact, any particular denomination, into use results in the discredit of the notes so issued and their rapid return into the Treasury. The only present limitation upon the issue of these denominations is that of the physical labor necessary to prepare and put them in circulation. In order to do this as rapidly as possible it will be necessary to increase the force at the Bureau of Engraving aud Printing and at this office to the extent necessary to produce these notes in sufficient amount to meet the public demand.

STANDARD SILVER DOLLARS.

The following table shows the amount of silver dollars coined, on hand, distributed, and outstanding at the close of each year since the enactment of the law authorizing their coinage. It also shows the percentage of the distribution to the annual coinage, and of the outstanding to the total amount coined.

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