The Value of Money in 1822

Two bits, four bits, six bits, a dollar!...  Why did we say that?...  Just what was that first dollar?...  What was it worth?...  Is there history in our cheers???

David Peelle, my G3-grandfather, died the same year as his wife Priscilla, 1807.  They were young, only 53 and 36 respectively.  They left four young children, James - almost 14, Polly - 12, Robert - 6, and Fletcher less than 2.  The odd thing is that David wrote his will in 1800, seven years before he died, so he must have had a lingering sickness.  At that time his oldest son James was only six, Polly was four and Priscilla was three months pregnant with Robert, my G2-grandfather.

But before David’s death, he and Priscilla had their fourth child, Fletcher Peelle born 14 December 1805.  David’s will was never changed to mention Robert by name or to reflect his youngest son Fletcher.  So Fletcher did not receive any inheritance from his father. An estate sale was held on November 25, 1807.  The last item sold was their dog, it sold for £2/12/0 to Theofelus Best. The sale brought a total of £267/18/2.  This was a sale held in 1807, several years after our freedom from the Crown, but we still using the Pound Sterling system!

What happened to poor Fletcher? David’s father Robert Peelle (1730-1808) wrote his will in September 1807, before David's wife Priscilla wrote hers.  Grandpa left his grandson Fletcher Peelle ONE HUNDRED SILVER DOLLARS to cover the fact that Fletcher had not received any inheritance from his father.  Then Priscilla left Fletcher $200 cash in her will written on November 9, 1807.  She died November 16, 1807.  Now here is where curiosity comes in, Fletcher was only sixteen months old when his father died, 23 months old when his mother died, and only 35 months old when his grandfather died in November 1808.  But he was quite weathly, he had inherited $300 before the age of three.

We became particularily interested in the SILVER DOLLARS left to Fletcher by his Grandfather Robert.  What coins were they? After some research, it is agreed that they were probably Spanish Eight Reale (Pieces of Eight) coins, the primary silver dollar used as the first American Silver Dollar.  These were the world trade standard because of its purity and used as legal money until 1845.  The coins were minted in Mexico City and were referred to as Pillar Dollars because of the two pillars on the back side.  The first Pillar Dollar was minted under Philip V from 1732 to 1772.  The second was minted under Carolus IIII from 1772 to 1821. The first American made silver dollars were the Flowing Hair Silver dollar coined from 1794 to 1796, the Draped Bust Silver Dollar from 1798 to 1803, and then the 1804 Silver Dollar.  Today, the Flowing Hair is worth about $2000, the Draped Bust about $2500, while the 1804 is worth $30,000.

I was still not satisified.  I wanted to know more.  Just what was, this money, this pillar dollar worth? My good friends Charles Ellis and his wife Elizabeth Gordon (now deceased), of Pikeville, NC gave me some insight to the answer to that question.  I want to share that with you.  By the way, Charles was then the President of the Northern Wayne Heritage Museum while Elizabeth was President of the Old Dobbs County Genealogical Society, what a husband and wife team! [Old "Dobbs" County was the forerunner of Wayne County, NC.]

Ready for a math lesson? The following is extracted from pages 122 and 123 of The Teachers Assistant or A System of Practical Arithmetic which was published in 1822 by Benjamin Parker of Richmond, VA.  But first some definitions...

Exchange is the reduction of the money of one state or country to that of another.

Par is equality in value;* but the course of exchange is frequently above, or below par.

Agio is a term used to signify the difference, in some countries, between bank and current money.

Domestic Exchange To change the currency of either state into that of any other, work by the Rule of Three; or by the following theorems:

Example. What is the value of £750 Massachusetts currency in New York?

Answer: £1000. The table tells us to add one third.  Therefore in this case, X =((750 ÷ 3) + 750).  In other words, divide the original amount 750 by 3 which yields 250, then add that 250 to the original amount of 750.

*Note. A Spanish dollar is valued at 4s. 6d. Sterling and at 7s. 6d. Pennsylvania currency: 4s. 6d. sterling is therefore equal to 7s. 6d. Pennsylvania currency, and £100 of the former is equal to £166/13/4 [166 and two thirds pounds] of the latter.  When Exchange between England and Pennsylvania is at this rate, it is said to be at par.

*The New England States are, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut.

Note - The value of the dollar in any state is found, either opposite to that state, or under it, in the table.