The herald., 1895-11-25
THE DIRECTOR UF THE MINT
Makes Annual Report to His
Superior Officer
RATIO OF SILVER TO GOLD
Has Escn as O1e to Thirty.two and
0ne.half
Inconsistent, Illogical and Expensive
As Can Be Imagined


Associated Press Special Wire
WASHINGTON. Nov. 2i.-The director
OF the mint has submitted his report to
the secretary Of the treasury. The value
of the gold deposited at the minis and
assay offices dnriug the fiscal year was
SS7, 1872 0S2. of which S65. 66l, 0O7 were
original deposits and SO, 32l, 022 were re-
deposits
The classification OF the original de-
posts OF gold was: Domestic bullion
sA 271 ,959; worn. uncurrent and mutt
lated gold coins, $685. 25s; foreign bullion
and coin. sl6, 1867, O49; gold plate, !ewlery
ETC., So, 213, 500.
The value of the silver deposited during
the fiscal year was SIS, 1855. OF which
SIS, 49,, 700 were original deposits and
$780, rsdep ,sits.
The value O. the deposits OF domestic
silver bullion at the mihts during the
fiscal year was IS, s04, 1868. and worn and
mutilated domestic coins, at silver dollar
value, 49, 500. $751; foreign bullion and
com. Sl.7sn,9 13: old plate, iewery, etc.,
$40. 06l. Tne coinage by the minis during
the year was: Gold, $43, 933. 975; silver
dollars, 1886, oil; subsidiary silver
COINS, s5,1i3, 400: minor coins. S712 594
In addition TO the coinage executed ny
the minis during the year, gold bars we're
Manufactured of the value OF $i5, l53. so,
and silver bars OF the value OF SlU e4l,-
5l5.
The average London price OF silver
bullion during The veal was ~ pence,
equivalent to 63s cents. The highest
pr ce of silver during the year was 6S
cents. and the lowest price 59.s. AT the
average price OF SILVER bullion during the
fiscal year. the ratio of I'D to silver was
/ to 50. ) aud the hulli value OF United
States silver dollar was S0.49l6S. The
total earnings of the miDts and assay
offices during the year was y. osS,3'2,
ana the total expenditures 81. $50, 4o3;
showing the net eai nines from all sources
10 have been Sy02, s36.
The value OF gold and silver estimated
to have been used in the industrial arts
during the calendar wear 1894 was apnrnx.
MATED at $2l, 54l $50, of which SO, Dos, - 10
was gold and sl0, 49,, CAS- was silver.
The esti:nat d metallic stock in the
United States on July |, 1895, Was;
Cod, 1886, go. S25; silver, 500, sos, 9i9-
a total OF 81, 90, uS4, ia
Tue es imated proIuct OF gold and sill
yer in the I'm ted States during the cal
endar year 1894 was: Gold, ~, oUO, OUu
ounces; silver, 40, 500, 600 fine ounces, OF
tae comm ercial value OF S3l AZ OOo, ana
the coinage vaILe OF s64, 600, 600 he esti-
HIOuuC'Oll VI hhS sC i 4pi thS ~.
endar year was: Colo, $50, 6-6, 100: sIl-
YER, coinage value, SIG, o92 -oo; CONNER
ciaI value, Sl06, 722, 800
The coinage of gold and silver by the
various countries Uf the worlh, so lar as
this int ,rmation has been received for
the oalend ~ year OF 1894 was: Nol1' s--n
92l 032; silver, Sl06, 3e3 80.
In his report MIR. Preston gives an estl-
mate of the approximate stoc OF money
in the principal countries OF the world.
He places the stock of gold at 81. US6, 500
900; the stock of full legal tender silver
at So, 349. 800, 600; stock of limited tend
silver at s63l, 200 90, making total sill
yer stock OF 81. 07O, 800 01o; the ucovsre
notes are placed at -. 400, 500 600.
Nj. Preston, in review ot the more.
tary legislation of the country, states
that the real dPmouetizatiOu OF silver
TOOK place III 1898, when the weight Ct
the division coins vas reduced about
sevsn rer cent. This, ne says, was not
an accident nor an oversight. 1t was ex.
pressly d clared in the house OF repre-
sentaiives that the intention was to make
god the sole standard Of value in the
larger transactions, and silver sutservient
ii 70. small ones. The act act OF 1878
he says, was only nominal.
In his report The director of the mint
says that tie result OF the currency legls-
lation OF the United States for over
hundred years has been such as TO leave
an incoherent monetary svsiem as incon-
sistent, illogical and expensive as can b.
we'll Imag ned that it inspires little con-
tidenoe At home and is not conducive to
our credit abroad, and its reform is one
Of thu most important and urgent roliti-
cal and financial questions Of the hour.
He says that on January l, 1873, the
date OF the resumption OF srecie pay
ments, the only currency except coin GER
tificates, required to lie redeemed in gold
cnir, was the SAG, 63l, 0l6 legal tender
notes then outstanding, which the then
secretary of the treasury was OF the opin-
ION that a gold reserve of $780, 0O0, 00o
would be sufficient to maintain; out the
paper currency redeemable on lresenta-
ton mas been increased to the extent OF
$l55, $50, 900 issued in payment OF silver
buih n purchased under the act OF .nlv
IA, 1890. Besides these there we're out
standing November !, 1895. 1888 1856, 2j6
in silver certificates, and as the act OF
July II, 1890 declared it to be the e7tab
lished policy of the United States to
maintain the two metals at parity with
each other, there was now total of
1921 229, 532 resting on the basis of the
gold reserve Of 500, 600 coo.