america's favorite f-words: "founding fathers"

[rone]

Amendment VII

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

The question i have is, what does twenty 1789 dollars come out to be in today's currency?

Oh, and another question: why twenty dollars?

Comments

[ikkyu2.livejournal.com]

Twenty dollars was a double eagle, which was a coin, which contained a troy oz. of gold.

Just look up the spot price of gold; that's what $20 was all the way up until 1928 when the USA was taken off the gold standard.