A closer look
In 1878, the US government essentially operated a massive welfare program for silver miners. Thanks to the Bland-Allison Act, the Treasury was legally forced to buy millions of dollars of silver every single month and turn it into coins nobody actually wanted to use. Silver mining interests had brilliantly lobbied Congress to artificially prop up their crashing commodity, framing it as a populist victory for the working class. It was a glorious display of crony capitalism dressed up as monetary policy, resulting in vaults stuffed with heavy, unwanted silver dollars.
