Q. David Bowers
Treasury, Recirculates Dollars
The following Associated Press dispatch is dated March 21, 1964, at the end of the silver dollar bonanza:
Treasury Will Sell Newly Returned Coins:
WASHINGTON, March 21.-(A.P.)-The Treasury said today the silver dollars it will issue next week at its Cash Room will be coins issued in the past 10 days or so and then returned.
As the Treasury's silver dollar supply dwindles, the Department has been going farther back into its vaults to meet requests. Collectors evidently believe this means valuable older coins will be made available. The heavy return taken for examination andwhen found to be common, indicates coins are being returned.
The West in Uproar
The Missoulian Sentinel, Missoula, Montana, March 21, 1964, had the following to say:
West in Uproar Over Committee Proposal to Ban Silver Dollars.
By David C. Beeder.
HELENA.-The House Appropriations Committee could not have caused more of a fuss in Montana Friday if it had suggested melting down copper in the Capitol dome to make ash trays. What the committee recommended was to stop making silver dollars and melt down existing supplies.
"I can't believe it," Gov. Tim Babcock said and immediately telephoned Representative James F. Battin, Republican, of Montana, who was in Baker.
"1 hate the idea," said State Treasurer Mrs. Edna Hinman. "Paper dollars are just trash."
Angry cries came from as far away as California where Gov. Pat Brown, in a letter to Babcock, expressed "deep concern ... silver is vital."
There were verbal explosions up and down Last Chance Gulch, the name of Helena's main street.
"I don't want any of those shinplasters," the businessman said. "I was born and raised with a solid, silver dollar."
In a tavern, bartender Don Jenkins said customers were unusually restless because of the action in Washington. "They don't like it one bit and neither do I," he said. "The silver dollar is part of the West and we should have it."
Meanwhile, in response to Babcock's call for help, Battin was able to report that two million new silver dollars have been shipped to Montana by the Treasury Department. Despite the shipment, it was feared the Appropriations Committee action finally had put an end to the silver dollar and all the king's men can't save it. In addition to Battin, Senator Mike Mansfield, and Senator Lee Metcalf, Democrats, immediately announced they would take action in an effort to save the silver dollar. Mansfield said he would try to get the funds needed to mint 150 million new dollars.
Metcalf said he would recommend reducing the amount of silver in the dollar. There now is enough silver in a dollar to make it profitable for silversmiths to melt down, Metcalf said. "There's more silver in one dollar than in 10 dimes, four two-bit pieces or two four-bit pieces," Metcalf said.
"A silver dollar is something solid," Mansfield said. "You can throw it on a table or on a bar."
In Helena at the Federal Reserve bank, officials blamed coin collectors for the silver dollar shortage. John Heath, an assistant cashier, said 10 million silver dollars were distributed in Montana last year compared with an average of 6 million in previous years. "Some of the banks have been trying to keep them out of the hands of collectors," Heath said.
He said collectors have been more interested in silver dollars that have been shipped out of the state to coin dealers in the East. "I'm sure some of this is going on, but all we know is hearsay," he said.
Two coin firms, one in Great Falls and the other in Bozeman, confirmed they had silver dollars for sale in sacks of 1,000. In Bozeman, a dealer said the demand for sackfuls of 1,000 silver dollars had been high from out-of-state buyers until the Treasury in Washington began dispensing them recently to anyone who wanted to cart them away.
The Great Falls coin dealer gave some indication of why collecting silver dollars is popular. He has 13 silver dollars, minted in Carson City, worth $1,450.
Montana Wants Dollars
The Congressional Record, March 25, 1964, carried this item:
Montanans Like Silver Dollars:
Mr. Mansfield: Mr. President, in recent weeks there has been a great raid on the U.S. Treasury for silver dollars. There is speculation, with some reason, to believe that the silver dollar may disappear from the American scene. This is of particular concern to the western states, particularly to my home state of Montana, where the silver dollar is an everyday medium of exchange. We are proud of the silver dollar, and we do not want to lose them. If the present trend continues it is very likely that this will happen.
In recent months both my able colleague the junior senator from Montana (Mr. Metcalf), and I have conferred with Treasury officials and the committees of Congress about the need for minting additional silver dollars to discourage speculation and to keep them in circulation where it is now the custom.
We were quite disappointed when the House Committee on Appropriations refused to authorize the minting of additional dollars. It is our hope that this action can be reversed here in the Senate. We were, however, very pleased that President Johnson has recommended this legislation and the Secretary of the Treasury this week endorsed the issuance of additional silver dollars in his appearance before the House Committee on Banking and Currency. The use of silver dollars in Montana is of special importance this year because of our territorial centennial celebration. The dollar is a very important part of the Montana heritage.
Two million dollars were shipped to the Federal Reserve Bank at Helena over the weekend. Yesterday I received a request from Mr. Nels Turnquist of the First National Bank & Trust Co. of Helena for an additional $2 million in silver for their own use. A report from the Treasury Department this morning indicates that it is unlikely that their request can be filled since the supply of silver dollars is being rapidly depleted.
As senators can see, there is a great demand for these silver dollars in Montana. I am certain that if there is no other state in the Union that is interested in the silver dollar as a medium of exchange, the banks of Montana will pick up all available, on a cash basis, dollar for dollar.
As I indicated the silver dollar is a matter of great pride to my fellow Montanans, and the present situation has given rise to considerable comment in the mails and the press. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have a series of news stories and editorials printed at the conclusion of my remarks in the Congressional Record. The silver dollar situation is something that deserves the immediate and favorable attention of the Congress, most especially in this, Montana's centennial year.