free coinage

American  

noun

1. the unrestricted coinage of bullion or of a specified metal, as silver, into money for any person bringing it to the mint, either with or without charge for minting.

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free coinage British  

noun

1. coinage of bullion brought to the mint by any individual

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Etymology

Origin of free coinage

An Americanism dating back to 1885–90

Example Sentences

Four years later, he told Democrats that he supported a gold standard for America's currency instead of a bimetallic one, thumbing his nose at the party's agrarian wing which wanted the "free coinage" of silver.

From Salon

From his front porch in 1896, he ran one of the most remarkable campaigns in American history, defeating the Democrat, William Jennings Bryan, who ran for the free coinage of silver—a campaign of inflation—by attacking the Jews.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Free silver” advocates also known as “Silverites” were in favor of an inflationary monetary policy using the “free coinage of silver” as opposed to the less inflationary gold standard.

From Forbes

Again later, when the free coinage of silver became a topic of prominence, the Reform Club of New York invited him to attend a banquet at which this question was to be discussed.

From Project Gutenberg

The question I want the Senator to answer is this: Will the people of this country, the financiers of this country, the banks, the moneyed men holding $500,000,000 of gold, with a certainty of the free coinage of silver and going to a silver basis, for that is what it means, put their gold in circulation, or will they hoard it?

From Project Gutenberg