Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1883-03-29
The Profit of Coinage.


A considerable source of profit to
to the United States government is the
amount of paper money and coin
which is never presented for redemp-
ton. Much of this is destroyed by
fire. Some Of it is buried or hidden
IN places known to no person alive.
A large part of the coin is melted to
make sterling silverware. Consider
able amouts of both paper money and
coin are exported never to return.
Not long ago a United States bond, is.
sued about 1919, was presented at the
sub.treasury in this city. The interest
had ceased on il over fifty years. 1t
had come back from Europe through
Barring Brothers. The outstanding
principal of the debt of the United
States was last year nearly 100000,
GOO, chiefly represented by bonds and
treasury notes. 1t would be impossible
of course to say how much of this will
never be presented for redemption,
but some idea may be formed from the
fact that $50 665 was issued so long ago
that the date is not recorded. 1t ap-
pears in the reports as ''old debt" that
may be put down as profit. There
is an item of $82 525 of treasury notes
issued prior to 1916. Some of them
were issued nearly fifty years ago, and
will not, in all probability, ever be pre-
sented for redemption. One thousand
me hundred and four dollars of the
Mexican indemnity of 1916 has never
been claimed. The last of the frac-
tional currency was issued under the
act of June 6, 1864, yet, although near
ly twenty years have elapsed, 81 on, ,247
has not been presented for redemp-
ton. Some Of it is still used by banks
and merchants for transmitting small
amounts by mail. Several New York
banks have considerable sums of new
fractional currency which they distrib-
ute for the accommodation of their
customers.
AS to the coin the government de-
rives considerable profit from it.
The silver in one thousand silver dol
lars costs, on an average, about $803, rs.
The coinage of a silver dollar costs
about II cents. The total cost of one
thousand silver dollars to the govern
ment is therefore $01675. Since the
organization of the mint, in 1898, 127,
100, ,618 silver dollars have been coined,
on which the government has received
a profit of over $23 100000.
In the same period 1922, ,758, $40 was
coined into half dollars. At the same
rate of cost for coinage the government
profted $19,395749 on these. The
total silver coinage of the government
since 1898 is $347, ,766,792. Estimat-
ing the profit on the halves, quarters
and subsidiary coins at the same rate
az on dollars, the total profit received
by the government on its silver coin
age has been about $64,000,000.
In the coinage of the fve-cent nick
les the government has reserved to
itself the liberal profit of about so per
cent. This gave to the gcvernmet
last year the handsome revenue of
over 100000 from nickles alone. The
wide margin between the intrinsic val
ue of the fve-cent nickle and its face
value led to extreme ceunterfeiting.
Several years ago an assay was made
of some of the counterfeit nickles, and
it was discovered that the counterfeiters
had put into their coins more valuable
metal than the government used IN
making their genuine coins.