One of only six known surviving copies of Thomas Jefferson’s 1790 report to the House of Representatives on proposed weights, measures and coins for the young United States was recently donated to the American Numismatic Association by collector and longtime ANA benefactor Dwight Manley of California.

 “Thomas Jefferson was the Secretary of State in 1790 and his report to Congress is of extraordinary importance to U.S. numismatics as it led the way to the adoption of our uniform decimal system of money. The provenance of this copy dates back to a Maryland Revolutionary War veteran who later was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and the book is hand-signed by him,” Manley said. 

“I purchased this historic book specifically for the ANA so that it can always be available to researchers and not hidden away in a private collection.”

Titled Report of the Secretary of State, on the Subject of Establishing a Uniformity in the Weights, Measurements and Coins of the United States, the 49-page book was recently purchased for $18,000 by Manley in an auction conducted by Kolbe & Fanning Numismatic Booksellers.

 “The staff of the ANA Dwight N. Manley Library is thrilled to add this document to our holdings,” said ANA Library Manager Akio Lis. “One of a handful of existing copies, this is a foundational document in the establishment of the United States mint and monetary system.”

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