Uncle Sam: Yes, but I don't have to pay those National Bank Notes, do I?
Mr. Banker: Well, Uncle Sam, it's this way, you know, you have to pay them out of a 5% fund created by the bankers, but the bankers can turn right around and ask you to redeem the United States Notes which you pay them for the National Bank Notes, in gold.
Uncle Sam: Mr. Banker, tell me another thing. If these silver certificates are nothing but warehouse receipts calling for silver dollars, and the silver dollars are nothing but token coins, then all these silver certificates are nothing but token or subsidiary coins in another form.
Mr. Banker: That is literally true.
Uncle Sam: And you say I have $563,000,000 of silver dollars out good for nothing but token or subsidiary coin?
Mr. Banker: Precisely so.
Uncle Sam: Now, what I want to know is this. How much of this silver is needed today to supply the people with the token or subsidiary coin, up to and including the $2.00 bills; that is, the $2.00 bill, the $1.00 bill, 50, 25, 10 and 5 cent pieces?
Mr. Banker: There are in circulation today about $400,000,000 of these various forms of subsidiary or token coins, or about $4.00 for every man, woman and child in this country.
Uncle Sam: What is the total amount of silver in the country then, of all kinds, silver dollars and pieces of silver less than one dollar? Tell me that.
Mr. Banker: There are, as I just said a moment ago, $563,000,000 of silver dollars and $147,000,000 of silver pieces less than one dollar, or a total of $710,000,000.