A traveler describes the different ways things were purchased and how prices were set in 1794.
The 1792 Coinage Act adopted the decimal system and combined Alexander Hamilton's idea of a bimetallic standard with Thomas Jefferson's proposal that the dollar be the standard unit of money. The denominations prescribed for silver coins were to be a half dime, dime, quarter dollar, half dollar, and dollar. Denominations for gold coins were to be a quarter eagle ($2.50), half eagle ($5), eagle ($10). Congress also provided for the coining of copper cents and half cents but did not give copper legal tender status; therefore, copper could be refused as payment.
