Mohave County miner., 1892-08-27
The So-Cailed Iairinsic Value of Gold
and Silser.

The threadbare srgument that Nose,
must possess intrinsic value 10 mislead
ing. When pinned down for an expla
nation ~ TO what intrinsic value reall,
10, it 10 questionable II there 10 . single
writer upon the subject that can intelli.
gently explain II. In 1872 John sher.
man, whose opinion on money matters
have been for years and are TO-DAY
largely accepted a. gospel, conceived
the idea Of coming what was known A. =
trade dollar. II vas made 10 contain
40 grains u silver 900 nne, and expected
to fill certain place II, the China trade,
aud yet this trade dollar which contained
~ grains more silver than the dollar /.
displaced and which had been At psr
from the foundation Of the Government.
deprecated fifteen per cent. almost hs-
fore u left the mint. The present stan
dard silver dollar contains 4i2k grains
Of silver 800 6ne, and 10 curreo. ct i,s
nominal or face value in any part Of these
United States. except perhaps small
portion OF territory that lays between
Pearl street and Broadway. To pursu.
the subject Of intrinsic value . step
farther. the attention Of the reader is
called - dollar 10 the form Of two oil.
yer half dollars. There 10 scarcely any
one but supposes that two silver half dol.
lars contain the ssns amount Of silver
that 10 contained In . standard silver
dollar. Such, however, il not the case.
The half dollar con,a,ns 1872 grains of
silver 80 fne; or l4,S grains lees than
one-hslf the Amoant contained In the
4l21s grain standard dollar. Thus the
reader will observe that two silver half
dollars, which contain 3S4 grains OF oil.
YER 800 fine purchase to-day . dollars
worth OF anythiny-the same zs gold
doliar--wi,iIe 40 grAins OF silver $40 fine
in the form Of John Shsrman's trade
dollar would not do % within fifteen per
cent. And yet the tso half dollars con.
tam SO yrains Of silver lees thsn did Mr..
Sherman's celebrated trade dollar, and
2S1a grains less than the present standard
silver dollar, which 10 full legal tender,
for all debtS-public and privats--unlsss
otherwise STIPULATED ia tho contract.
Here the reader arrives ct point in the
question that will bssr . closer invsst,-
CATION. Perhaps some advocate OF in
trinsic value can explain Why Il 10 that
1884 grains OF silver 900 Hns In the form
Of two half dollars always purchased
moro than would 42o grains OF like metal
in tho form Of trade dollar, or Why they |
continue TO purchase - much Of any.
thing as 4l2,a grains Of similar metal in
the shape Of = standard silver dollar. or
25.8 grains Of standard gold that were at
one time coined into what vas known ~
. gold dollar"
The value Of the money metals 10
very largely fixed by thsir debt paying
attributes. These attributes are not
part OF, or insepsrably attached TO, either
metal. They are qualities fixed or ere.
aied BY statutes which increase their
uses and - natural consequence in
crease their usefulness, but misnamed
intrinsic value" To illustrate more
clearly let us take an ounce OF standard
silver 9)o fine. II eostains $50 grams
and is quoted in New fork a. commo.
iity worth S. cents. The United States
Mint takes 3s4 grains Of this ounce, coins
4 into two fifty cen, piscss, they pass
the country over for one dollar.
Nov the question presents itssli. what
vas il that gave this 3s4 grsins of silver
iftesn per rsst. greater value than the
original 4so grains from which they we're
aiken? What IL true OF the $50 grains Of
'ilver in question IL equally trns Of 4l2ls
grains whom standard dollar. Peoria
Journal, July 25th