The Facts Unravel. Sometimes interesting stuff hides behind mundane words, and a little research is required to expose what really happened. The first trace of my ancestor Jimerson (James Jr.) Liddell is April 18, 1800, when an unknown hand recorded his birth in the family Bible. The next certain trace of Jimerson is March 10, 1828, when he bought a farm in Jefferson County MS from Elisha and Mary Ann Trader. Jimerson paid $1200 "in hand," about $2.66 per acre. The 1828 sales contract specified "good and lawfull [sic] money of the United States." That means the same as "legal tender for all debts, public and private" on the Georges in your wallet. But Jimerson did not pay with paper. The young United States swore off paper money after the worthless "Continentals" and "shin-plasters" of Revolutionary times. Not until 1862 in the American Civil War did the U.S. Treasury begin issuing "greenbacks." Of course many states, cities, banks, railroads, etc. issued their own money, but none was legal tender. (My personal collection includes money issued by an ale brewery and a pie bakery, both in NYC.) In 1828 the only legal tender was gold and silver coin. (Pennies have never been legal tender.) The coin's mintage, U.S. or foreign, was not important, only the known weight and value. The gold Portuguese johannes or "joe" was worth $8.80, while the tiny silver Spanish real (ree-AL) was 2-1/2 cents. Ten years later the Dahlonega GA gold strike revealed the country's first large internal source, and since 1838 foreign coins are not U.S. legal tender. Born too late to enjoy gold and silver circulating coins, I wondered what $1200 actually meant to Jimerson. A reference book revealed that a $10 "gold eagle" of the 1820s weighs 17.5 grams, and a $1 "silver dollar" 27 grams. (With Metric there's no confusion between troy and avoirdupois.) A tussle with my calculator translated $1200 into 2.1 kg and 32.4 kg respectively. Jimerson paid 4 and 1/2 pounds of gold or 70-plus pounds of silver (over half a Biblical talent, the maximum load one man can carry on his head.) Surely Jimerson paid gold "in hand." My imagination balks at the idea of a strong man with a big wheelbarrow full of hard money. What would they say down at the Walmart? Grin. Liddell family research by Barbara Liddell Thornhill and her late father Jefferson Walter Liddell Sr. Bruce D. Liddell, BDLiddell@yahoo.com 07-Aug-2003 __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com