Quote Originally Posted by Keyser Soze View Post
So pay to bearer 2 units of gold or silver?
Depends on when you're asking. Using the date on the US note above, 1928, we have only to look up the controlling Act of Congress.

Act of 1900, Chapter 41:
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the dollar consisting of twenty-five and eight-tenths grains of gold nine-tenths fine, as established by section thirty-five hundred and eleven of the Revised Statutes of the United States, shall be the standard unit of value, and all forms of money issued or coined by the United States shall be maintained at a parity of value with this standard, and it shall be the duty of the secretary of the Treasury to maintain such parity.
So in 1928 a dollar was 25.8 grains of standard gold (standard meaning 9/10s fine), or 23.2 grains of pure gold
or, 412.5 grains of standard silver (90%), or 371.25 grains of pure silver.

1 grain = 1/480 ounce troy = 0.0648 grams

Restated, one dollar = 1.672 grams of std. GOLD = 26.73 grams of std. SILVER