Page:Oregon, her history, her great men, her literature.djvu/130

128 scarcity of coin. When a farmer purchased goods, he usually offered in exchange a calf, or wheat, or a beaver skin, or something of the kind. In fact, wheat was made legal tender under the Provisional Government. Notwithstanding the scarcity of money, the people generally prospered. When gold was discovered in California, much of it came to Oregon, so that there was more gold per capita in Oregon than ever before or afterward. Because gold dust was so plentiful and somewhat difficult to handle, merchants allowed only $10 to $11 an ounce for it; although it was really worth about $18 an ounce. This led the Provisional Government to arrange for the coining of five and ten dollar gold pieces. "But the termination of the Provisional Government by the arrival of Governor Lane rendered the statute nugatory." As a remedial measure the Oregon Exchange Company was promptly organized, and immediately proceeded to the coining of gold pieces having the value of $5 and $10 respectively. This money was called "Beaver Money" for the reason that a beaver was stamped on each coin. Containing eight percent more gold than coins from the U. S. Mint, beaver money disappeared from circulation as soon as U. S. currency became plentiful. Therefore, with the exception of a few mementoes, the Oregon beaver coins exist only in history. It is somewhat singular that no one was ever