Coinage Act of 1849

Coinage Act of 1849

Long title	An Act to authorize the Coinage of Gold Dollars and Double Eagles
Nicknames	Gold Coinage Act
Enacted by	the 30th United States Congress
Citations
Public law	30-108
Statutes at Large	9 Stat. 397, Chap. CIX
Legislative history
Introduced in the House as H.R. 746 by James Iver McKay (D–NC) on January 25, 1849 Committee consideration by United States House Committee on Ways and Means Passed the House on February 20, 1849  Passed the Senate on March 3, 1849  with amendment House agreed to Senate amendment on March 3, 1849 (passed) Signed into law by President James K. Polk on March 3, 1849

The Coinage Act of 1849 was an Act of the United States Congress passed during the California Gold Rush authorizing the Mint to produce two new gold coins in response to the increased gold supply: the small gold dollar and the large double eagle worth twenty dollars. The Act also defined permissible variances in gold coinage.