Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1900-11-09
MUCH GOLD SHORT.
Treasury Statisticians Unable to
Account for 1t.
Disappearance OF S4OO,-
100000 Since 1S60-Interesting
Facts Related by n CHI
caEo Jeweler.

"The present census | understand is
expected to yield information which
will go to dispel the mystery as to the
disappearance of $400,000,000 of gold,
said manufacturing ieweler, accord
Ing to the Chicago Tribune. THE
treasury department experts have fig
ured out that out of the amount of
gold coined since 1860 just about $780,
0O0,OO is missing. They have examined
and allowed for the amounts which
would be absorbed in all known chan
nels and still run up against a short
age of $400,000,000, which they cant
account for. Several of my friends
have had inquiries about it.
81 haven't the S4O0,O0O,O00," he con-
tinued, 'and | don't know anyone per-
sonally who has. Although l could
give no figures, it doesn't seem much
of mystery to me. Nowadays man
ufacturing jeweler buys the ingot gold
he uses from large Establishments,
whose sole business is to buy up jew
elers' scrap and sweepings, old jeweiry
and bullion, and melt and refine it into
bars. Some of these concerns do a
business of $5O0,OOO to 81 900, 900 year.
Five or six years ago, and before
that, when jeweler wanted gold he
drew his check, sent over to the bank,
got the coin and chucked it into a
crucible. l wouldn't dare estimate the
number of coins / have used that way.
1t was the universal practice of the
trade for years. 1t is easy to see that
millions of dollars were removed from
the circulation this way. The bangle
bracelet craze of IS or 20 years ago
was responsible for the removal of mil
lions of dollars from the current medi-
um. A pretty girl in those days with
lot OF young men running after her
melted a serious amount of coin muti,a-
tion. / remember one girl brought
into my place bracelet with 25 $40
gold pieces bang,ed on it. She wouldn't
let anybody give her less than a $40
bangle. l repaired another bracelet
that was weighted with $10O in gold.
OF course, the greater part of the
bangles were silver coins, but jewelers.
talk to this day of the bangle craze
and the gold coins ii sent ultimately to
the melting pot, for that's where they
went.
II can't but think the treasury stat
isticians don't take into sufficient ac-
count the amount of gold that is hoard.
ed. / have been manufacturing Jew
eler 40 years, and | have handled gold
in all forms throughout that time. But
l never get gold coin without want.
ing to hide ii to look at occasionally.
I've got pocket piece that / have car.
ried for ten years. One of my friends
has carried $40 piece for more than
that number of years. Another, who
has always kept bank account. told
me one day he had handful of gold
pieces at his home, and had kept them
there for years. If al the gold which
is boarded away could be suddenly
brought to light the people who pro.
duced 1t would astonish you. Up in
the Black Hills, where the money in
circulation is largely gold, a bank
cashier last summer told me the banks
knew approximately the amount in
circulation, the amount of gold which
had come into the hills during thC
year, and the amount of gold coin
sent out. The figures showed that
about s5OoOoO disappeared annually
Where did it go? The miners, some oi
whom live in cabins, save it and hide II. ;