The
Coinage Act of 1873 or
Mint Act of 1873,
17 Stat. 424, was a general revision of the laws relating to the
Mint of the United States. In abolishing the right of holders of silver bullion to have their metal struck into legal tender
dollar coins, it ended
bimetallism in the United States, placing the nation firmly on the
gold standard. Because of this, the act became contentious in later years, and was denounced by people who wanted inflation as the "
Crime of '73".