The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1908-01-11
BUYING GOLD ABROAD
Methods Employed In Its Pur.
chase and Shipment.
NOT A COMPLEX TRANSACTION
The Simple System by Which Foreign
Bullion or Coin Arriving by Ship In
New York Is Turned Into American
Money--The Loss by Abrasion.

Buying Slo,OoO,oOo worth or golt
from the Bank Of England. says th,
cashier Of the subtrcasury III New
York, Is no more complex trans
action than buying II piece Of rea
estate, Whatever difference there Il
in the two is IN favor OF tho gold pur
chase. In II you are pretty sure to gel
the value of your money.
Much OF the gold bought by the larg,
banking houses Of New York and other
American cities Is purchased from the
Bank Of England or the Bank OF
France. Its purchase Is arranged fol
BY the English or French agents Of the
bank that wishes TO secure the gold,
The price that viii have to be paid dc,
pends largely upon the demand. In
panic times, when every dollar Of gold
that can be secured Is being eagerly
sought by bankers here, the price IN as
high as aud 0 per cent
The shipment of the gold Is accom-.
panied by comparatively few extra
precautions. An extra detective or
two from Scotland Yard, perhaps. and
as many other private detectives em-
ployed by the Bank Of England fur.
nlsh all the protection needed.
All gold imported into this country
comes In one OF two forms. II Is either
In gold bars or In coin. II In coin II II
usually American money that has been
sent abroad in some previous year, for
a comparatively small amount OF for
elgn gold coin Is brought here. Whether
In bar or coin, however, II Is all ship.
ped In small steel cases. The bars are
Of an exact length, so us to permit
them being packed tightly In the cases.
while the coins are In bags, irrespec-
tive of denomination, that hold Just
500 ounces.
The arrival Of gold laden ship at
her pier In the North river IN no DIFF.
ferent, so far us precautions for the
gold itself are concerned. from that OF
any other vessel There are always
government officials, city police and
private detectives TO meet each ship
and the arrival Of boat with $4,000.
600 In gold aboard win result In no
more than one or two extra men being
present TO ride on the wagons carrying
the gold away from the pier.
The steel boxes, with their precious
contents, as they are carted down
from the ship to the wharfs might
from their appearance contain only or,
binary merchandise. II any unusual
be taken, however, II IL
during the brief moments that the
boxes with their millions are lying on
the pier waiting TO be lifted into the
wagons and carted away. Then they
are watched by good many pairs of
eyes, and not stranger Is allowed to
anywhere near them.
The final act Of the purchase of gold |
differs In times Of panic and at ordi- |
nary times. In times of panic, when |
he necessity for gold is so great that |
every moment ~ precious, Its real val |
lie In relieving situation comes only |
when 1t Is piled high ON the counters
Of the banks and trust companies
waiting the demands Of the creditors
" those institutions.
The gold that arrives in bars goes |
lirect to the assay Office. Before any
lttempt Is made to analyze 1t and as.
,ertain Its real value the purchaser re-
elves certified check from the as
aver for 9S per cent Of the value sup
,osed to be contained In the bars. The
heck can be converted into cash I'm
nedlately, and the delay of two or
hree days necessary to make a COM
'lete assay Of the shipment Is avoided.
Whatever additional sum Is due the
after the assayer's report Is
made he receives In day or two.
Much the same process so far as ex.
ediency Is concerned Is gone through
With the gold coins They, instead of
,olng to the assay Office, 20 direct to
he subtreasury. Each bag is weighed
and IL found to tip the
Gales at 800 ohnces $4,000 in cash Is
advanced. That process
ayes many hours, for each bag has to
e opened, the coins assorted into their
everal denominations, counted and
'elghed for loss from abraslons. Aft.
r that Is done the money IL returned
. bags containing $4,000 each, and the
alance due the purchaser, whatever
may be, is forwarded to him.
The only other class of gold shipment
hat has to be handled Is that Of for
Ign gold coins. They are not even
ounted, but are placed Immediately in
crucible, melted and then sent to the
ssay office, where they are treated as
yere the gold bars. The extra time
ecessary to secure actual American
loney for the gold coins Of foreign ma
ons is the chief reason for the small
mount of gold imported In that form.
AS between shipping gold In coin or
ars there Is little difference. II Is
lid that the motion Of the ships causes
loss Of about 5000 In every shipment
100000. 1t is a fact, however,
nat the coins do lose considerably
lore In weight than the bars. New
ork World.
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