Phil Kane wrote:
" wrote:
I don't quite understand how silver certificates worked. What I've
heard, you could take one to a bank and redeem it for silver. But how
would that silver actually be distributed?

I tried that once. I got a silver dollar. Neither the paper nor the
coin had $1 worth of silver metal, however!

If you went to a US Assay Office, you could get full value. After
failing to talk you out of it, they would get out a set of scales and
weights, open the safe and get a pouch of silver powder and measure the
appropriate amount into a glassine envelope. They were definitely not
happy about all this, particularly since they knew the customer would
quickly realize there was nothing he could do with a little envelope of
silver dust.