The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1883-03-24
GOVERNMENT PROFIT on COINAGE

Some curious facts relating to unre-
deemed obligations of the Government
have been collated by the New York
Sun, which show a considerable source
Of profit to the United States Govern
ment. The amount Of paper money
and coin which Is never presented for
redemption comprises large sum.
Much of this is destroyed by fire.
Some of it is buried or hid in places
known to no person alive. \ large
quantity of the coin is melted to make
sterling silverware. Considerable
are exported never to return. Not
about 1919. was presented at the Sub
Treasury in this city. The interest on
it had ceased over fifty years. 1t had
| come back from Europe through Barring
Brothers. The outstanding principal
of the public debt of the United States
last year was nearly two billions of
dollars, chiefly represented by bonds
and treasury notes.
1t would be, of course, impossible to
| say how much Of this wilt never be
presented for redemption, but some
idea may be formed from the fact that
$57 ,665 Of it was issued so long ago
that the date is not recorded. 1t ap.
pears in the report as sold debt" that
may safely be put down as profit.
There is an item Of $S2, ,525 of treasury
notes issued prior te 1s46. Some of
them were issued nearly fifty years
ago, and will not, in all probability,
ever be presented for redemption. Que
thousand one hundred and four dollars
Of the Mexican indemnity of 1916 has
never been claimed. The last of the
fractional currency was issued under
the act of June 6, 1864, yet, although
nearly twenty years have elapsed,
81 ,O77, ,247 has not been presented for
redemption. Some of this Is held as a
curiosity. Some OF it is still used by
banks and merchants for transmitting
small sums by mail. Several New
York banks have considerable sums of
new fractional currency, which they
distribute for the accommodation of
their customers.
AS to the coin, the Government de.
rives a considerable profit from it.
The silver in one thousand silver dol.
lars costs, on an average, about
$SO3.75. The coinage of Il silver dollar
costs about II cents. The total cost OF
one thousand silver dollars to the Gov
ernment is therefore $S16.25. Since
the organization OF the mint, in 1893,
l27, ,l90,61S silver dollars have been
coined, on which the Government has
received profit Of over twenty three
millions Of dollars.
In the same period $l22, S,51O was
coined into half dollars. At the same
rate of cost for coinage the Government
profited $40 ,395,7G9 on these. The total
silver coinage of the Government since
1903 is $3i7, ,7GG,792. Estimating the
profit on the halves, quarters, and sub.
sidiary coins at the same rate as on the
dollars, the total profit received by the
Government on its silver coinage has
been about siXtyfour millions of dol
lars.
In the coinage of the five cent nickels
the Government reserved to itself the
liberal profit of nearly so per cent.
This gave to the Government last year
the handsome revenue of over $780,.
600 from nickels alone. The wide
margin between the intrinsic value OF
the five cent nickel and its face value
led to extreme counterfeiting. Seve-
raj years ago an assay was made of
some of the counterfeit nickels, and II
was discovered that the counterfeiters
had put into their coins more valuable
metal than the Government uses in
.,I,