Watch Signal 7
1792: the law said 15 to 1
Section 11 of the Coinage Act of April 2, 1792 says the proportional value of gold to silver in all coins current as money "shall be as fifteen to one, according to quantity in weight." In plain terms, every fifteen pounds of pure silver was to be of equal value in payments with one pound of pure gold.
The same Act sets the coin weights, so you can check the 15 yourself. A silver dollar held 371.25 grains of pure silver. A ten-dollar eagle held 247.5 grains of pure gold, which is 24.75 grains of gold per dollar. Divide 371.25 by 24.75 and you get 15.0.
1834: about 16 to 1
The Coinage Act of 1834 changed the gold side. It set each eagle at 232 grains of pure gold, down from 247.5. Silver was left alone. That is 23.2 grains of gold per dollar, and 371.25 divided by 23.2 is about 16.0. The legal ratio moved from 15 to about 16 to 1. The St. Louis Fed's archive and the World Gold Council both host the text of the Act.
France: 15.5 to 1*
The video says France used 15.5 to 1.* We have not checked this against a primary source for the 1790s, so it stays starred. The 1792 and 1834 numbers above come from the statutes themselves.
Today's ratio, and the math
The gold-silver ratio is the gold price divided by the silver price, both per troy ounce. goldprice.com reported 68.9 on October 8, 2026.* That is a live figure that changes through the day, and we did not re-check it after posting. A news report from October 6, 2026 also put the ratio near 68.
Worked example: take 10 ounces of gold. At the 1792 legal ratio of 15, that equals 150 ounces of silver. At 16, it equals 160. At 68.9, it equals 689 ounces. The legal ratios were set by law. Today's number is a market price.
What this shows, and what it does not
The ratio rose from 15 to about 69 because gold rose relative to silver. That can come from gold rising, silver falling, or both, and a ratio alone cannot tell you which. It also does not say what either metal will do next. In the 1790s the ratio was a legal fixed rate. Now it floats.
This page does not recommend buying or selling any metal. It explains a number.
Common questions
Is a high ratio good or bad? This page takes no side. A high ratio means gold costs more silver ounces than it did. Some people read it as silver looking cheap and others as gold looking expensive. Neither reading is a forecast.
Did the 1792 ratio match the market? We did not check market prices for the 1790s, so we cannot say. The Act is a legal rate, not a market quote.
Why did Congress change it in 1834? The World Gold Council's note says the change brought the gold price into line with the silver price. We did not research the debate in depth.
Is this investment advice? No. It describes statutes and a published ratio.
Asterisk notes
*France at 15.5 to 1 is retained from the video and not verified here. The 68.9 figure is from goldprice.com as supplied for October 8, 2026 and moves with the market. Educational only, not financial advice.
Related tool
Price Anything in Gold Ounces converts a dollar price into ounces of gold at the live price.
Sources checked October 8, 2026
US Mint: Coinage Act of April 2, 1792, Sections 9 and 11
GovInfo, Statutes at Large: 1 Stat. 246
Coinage Act of 1834, text: St. Louis Fed FRASER
World Gold Council: Coinage Act, 1834 summary
goldprice.com: live gold price*
Moneycontrol, October 6, 2026: gold-silver ratio at 68
Limits
Educational explanation, not tax, legal or investment advice. Historical claims and examples are labelled. Nothing here promises a result.