[iceskater]

I recently read The Tudors. This is exactly what Henry VIII did to finance his extravagant lifestyle and ill-advised wars. We have learned nothing in 500 years.

[JRandomFreeper]

And roman emperors 1500 years before Henry.

Politicians have been crooks since the beginning.

/johnny

[null and void]

He made coin of higher purity silver?

[palmer]

I think it’s the opposite. More silver makes the coin a better investment.

[DeaconBenjamin]

Sorry boss, this is running the opposite way. Silver quarters will be minted at 99% silver, not the historical 90%. But they are not being minted for circulation, as the historical coinage was.

As for Henry's debasement and Gresham's law (Gresham lived under QE I; his law says bad money chases out good); any pre-65 coin obtained in normal commerce is a windfall. A silver dime has $2.67 in silver; a silver quarter $6.69; a silver half $13.37; and a silver dollar $28.59.

Why does a silver dollar have more than 10 times the value of a silver dime? It all started in 1853.....