Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-01-27


bogus silver coins out of the same alloy
precisely as is employed by Uncle Sam
namely, nine-tenths silver and one-tenth
copper, the market price Of the white metal
having fallen to so low a point. Thus. II
the design and form of the bad piece were
FAITHFULLY reproduced after the original. IL
would not be distinguishable from the lat
ter. Up TO date. however nothing Of this
sort has been attempted: nor is IL likely to
De tired, inasmuch criminals engaged in
TINS industry are not content with moderate
pronts; The risk being great, proportion
ATE gains are demanded. Besides, the false
currency must pass through several hands
ordinarily before getting into circulation.
report was spread recently that an en-
.erprlse on the lines here indicated was to
De started on a large scale in Mexico, but
IL was doubtless untrue.
VIII the Gold supply he ExhaustedY
Inc Two most eminent living writers on
the precious metals, Suess and Soetbeer
nave recently published a very alarming
statement. 1t is to the effect that the
total amount Of gold dug out of the earth
annually suffices only to supply the pres
eht demand for that valuable substance
Tor use in the arts. Not a bit of the new
product OF the mines is available for coin
age. Trirket use and waste in manufacture
exhaust the whole yield II this is correct
theh gold must vanish from circulation be-
lore long, because the output of the gold
nines OF the world is diminishing rather
imam increasing, and there are few fields
ielt 10 explore. But Uncle Sans metal
lurslsts say that IL is not So The writer's
quo.el ran 10 consider the fact that the
gold employed in the arts is utilized over
ana over sgain. IL goes through a sort OF
cycle.
Articles of jewelry often disappear. but
are seldom lost. When through accident
they pass out of the possession Of the WELL
TODD, they go to the poor and sharp-eyed.
VINO sell them or pawn them Some Jewell
~ is lost by fire and some In the sea and
losses n1 ht,f
Jewelry Otherwise is certain. practically all
OF IL, 70 ma It's way sooner or later 10 the
pawnsbops or into the hands OF dealers in old
gold. Inus IL is melted up eventually and
reappears again in other shapes. This Is
what is termed the invisible supply" of
that metal
Causes of Loss.
There are a number Of unavoidable causes
Of loss Of gold. The first and most impor-
tant Of these is by abrasion. Jewelry loses
much weight in that way, especially rings,
which are usually is carat and are worn
rapidly. Coins suffer much less. but still
considerably from wear. All gold leaf Is
total loss to the gold stock of the world.
Where used for decorative purposes IL is
never recovered. 1t is not employed for
ming teeth nearly so much as formerly
porous gold being substituted. But OF
course, the gold utilized for teeth is a
Total loss. and in the aggregate il is enor-
nous III IL be supposed that the average
dweller In cities of this country has 20
cents worth Of gold I'm his or her mouth
whch Is placing the figure very low IL
VIII be seen how great Is the waste in this
form. Each succeeding generation takes
SO many millions OF dollars worth Of the
metal from the worlds stock In this way.
In Workshops.
Some gold is lost in remelting. though all
possible means are taken TO reduce il to
the lowest possible figure Not only are
the floors swept and the dirt treated for
the recovery Of the yellow substance but
the wooden planks are burned eventually
with the same object. Even the shoes of
each man who works with the metal are
subjected to the chemistry OF FIRE. yielding
small button" OF the precious material.
AT Ttnany's workshop n New York each
artisan engaged in polishing gold stands
| In front of a big funnel. with a wide
| mouth. which has a strong suction draft
Ihis draft takes in all dust and floating
particles from the air. 1t swallows the
/ hlaments ground from the buffing wheels
ana these, with whatever else has been
caught. are deposited in a receptacle form
ing sort of felt. This felt is scraped out
pressed into bricks and burned being thus
| made to yield the gold II contains Incl
dentally, the workmen get pure air.
Commercial Bricks.
The gold that is utilized at the mint for
making commercial bars, so called. is sup
posed TO be set aside for employment IN the
|
to say. as nearly pure as can be. They are
sold TO jewellers and others. But, as a mat
ter Of fact. they are used as money 20 a
large extent by jewellers and bankers. They
can be got of any size from SO up. stamped
by the government with their exact value
| Thus they are made to serve as big coins
Manufacturing jewelers. find Il convenient
| to utilize the ordinary money gold In their
work. and they do so 70 a great extent
because the proportion of nine-tenths OF
gold and one-tenth copper is always the
same and they know just what it win do
| in metallurgicsl work.
Great Nuggets.
The National Museum has recently placed
on exhibition gilded casts of many OF the
greatest nuggets of gold ever found. The
biggest nuggets have come from Australia.
and these are also the purest. They run up as
high as 992-1O0o fine Greatest in size was
the Welcome" found at Ballarat 1t
weighed 2,2ls ounces and was worth some
what over $4,000. Next comes the Pre-
cious." found at Berlin. New South Wales
valued at SSo,340. 1t tipped the scales at
| Ito ounces. The "Viscount Canterbury
weighed l.12l ounces and fetched $4,000.
The ''Viscountess Canterbury" weighed So
ounces and was valued at $4,000. On the
claim OF a man named Schlemm. at Dun
molly. two great nuggets were found. one
weighing 53S ounces and the other as
ounces. The former was worth $4,000 and
the latter 5000. The KUN Toon." dug up
at Berlin. weighed rs ounces and was
worth $4,000. 1t was named after the
Chinaman who discovered IL. Another,
likewise found by a Chinamnn and called
| the KUN Tow" sold for 5000. though only
249 ounces in weight being very pure. The
Beauty" found at Bendigo. weighed 242
/ ounces and was valued at $4,000 The
''Needful," found at Berlin. weighed four
| ounces more than the last and brought about
500 more. For many years biologists have
| been disputing as to how nuggets OF gold
are formed. but the mystery remains un-
| solved today. All of these masses OF
precious metal were long ago melted up and
| turned into COIN because 81 did not pay to
have so much money lying idle. Their
likenesses enbalmed into casts. remain TO
inspire with enthusiasm the hopeful pros
pector after wealth that is to be picked up
| in chunks.