The Coinage Act of 1849 or the Gold Coinage Act was an act of the United States Congress

United States Congress

The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

 which allowed for the minting of two new denominations of gold

Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...

 coins, the gold dollar and the gold $20 or double eagle. It further defined the variances which were permissible in United
States gold coinage. The act was approved on March 3, 1849.

This was enacted largely due to the California Gold Rush.

See also

• Coinage Act of 1792
• Coinage Act of 1834
  Coinage Act of 1834
  The Coinage Act of 1834 was passed by the United States Congress on June 27, 1834. It raised the silver-to-gold weight ratio from its 1792 level of 15:1 to 16:1 thus setting the mint price for silver at a level below its international market price...
  
  
• Coinage Act of 1857
  Coinage Act of 1857
  The Coinage Act of 1857 was an act of the United States Congress which forbade the use of foreign coins as legal tender, repealing all acts "authorizing the currency of foreign gold or silver coins". Specific coins would be exchanged at the Treasury and recoined...
  
  
• Coinage Act of 1864
• Coinage Act of 1873
• Coinage Act of 1965
  Coinage Act of 1965
  The Coinage Act of 1965, , eliminated silver from the circulating dimes and quarter dollars of the United States, and diminished the silver content of the half dollar from 90% to 40%...