RETURN FROM PITTSBURG 369 



Annapolis has the honor of setting up the first mint 

 for small silver coin in the United States. A gold- 

 smith here mints on his own account, but with the 

 sanction of the civil authorities. After the decadency 

 of the paper money, what with the general shortage of 

 small coin, it became customary and necessary all 

 over America to cut Spanish dollars into two, four, or 

 more parts and let the pieces pass as currency. This 

 divisional method soon led to a profitable business in 

 the hands of skillful cutters, who contrived to make 5 



V 



quarters, or 9 and 10 eights, from a single round dollar, 

 so that everybody soon refused to accept this coin un- 

 less by weight or opinion ; the perplexity how to get 

 rid of this cornered currency is an advantage to the 

 goldsmith mentioned, who takes them at a profit in ex- 

 change for his own round coin. On the obverse of 

 his shillings and half-shillings stands his name /. 

 Chalmers, Annapolis; in the middle two hands clasped; 

 on the reverse: One Shilling, 1783; and two doves 

 billing. 



Recently, after the Congress had fled from Philadel- 

 phia, and Trenton did not seem to it comfortable 

 enough, the proposal was made to invite it to An- 

 napolis. But the town having not sufficient trade or 

 provisioning capacity, nor being large enough to en- 

 tertain all the representatives of the United States 

 with their adherents, it occasioned no little joy when 

 a few days ago a courier brought the news that the 

 Congress had decided to hold its interim-session here, 

 and would assemble on the 25th of next October. But 

 it will remain here only until quarters for it have been 

 set up at Georgetown on the Potowmack and at 

 Trenton on the Delaware ; for at the same time this 

 24 



