Gold, Silver and the Coin "Crime" of 1873 - 19th Century US Coins & Currency #2
Perhaps no 19th Century law relating to the coins and currency of the United States has been so widely discussed, or has borne more directly on the attitude and influence of political parties than the Coinage Act of 1873. This act grew out of a proposition to revise our coinage laws, made by John Jay Knox, in April, 1870. While the main focus of the bill was to revise several laws pertaining to the Mint’s gold and silver coin procedures, the Coinage Act of 1873 also recommended moving the United States off of bimetallism in favor of the gold standard.