Congress Shall Have Power To Coin Money

The Text

The Congress shall have Power To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;

What It Says

The power to create money and set its value belongs to Congress. It is listed alongside fixing the standard for weights and measures, which frames money as a public measure rather than a private product.

What It Protects Against

Private control of the money supply, and government financing itself by debasing the currency. Placing coinage next to weights and measures treats a stable unit of account as a public duty, not a market service.

Protocol Media reading. Not sourced to a ratification-era document.

Problem Addressed

The states had issued their own paper currency during and after the Revolution, producing inflation and repudiation. The Convention responded by centralizing coinage in Congress and forbidding the states to emit bills of credit.