The second currency issue facing the Hayes…

The second currency issue facing the Hayes administration concerns United States Notes (commonly called greenbacks), a form of fiat currency first issued during the Civil War.

The government accepts these notes as valid for payment of taxes and tariffs, but unlike ordinary dollars, they are not redeemable in gold.

The Specie Payment Resumption Act of 1875 had required the treasury to redeem any outstanding greenbacks in gold, thus retiring them from circulation and restoring a single, gold-backed currency.

Treasury Secretary John Sherman agrees with Hayes's favorable opinion of the Act, and has stockpiled gold in preparation for the exchange of greenbacks for gold.