Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1912-09-30
COINAGE IS
MAKING Coin
FOR GOVERNMENT !

N the coinage of money is told in the
latest financial circular of the Ma
tional City Bank of New York City,
called to the attention of the Star
Bulletin by President Cecil Brown of
the First National. This circular
says:
1t is fact, perhaps not generally
known, that the seigniorage, or pro-
fit, which has accrued to the Govern
ment from the coinage of silver,
nickel and bronze pieces during the
last forty years has amounted to
1905 ,385,272. This is approximately
four-fifths of the entire cost of the
construction of the Panama Canal to
date.
The profits can best be understood
by the statement that the cost of
copper from which cents are made is
now about eighteen cents pound,
and each pound coins 146 cents The
cost Of nickel from which five cent
pieces are made is thfrty-three and
eighty-five hundredths cents per
pound, each pound coming 80 nickels
That is to say, the Government realiz-
es about $3.50 on the expenditure of
less than thirty-four cents. Fine sill
yer is now quoted at from sixty to
sixty-one cents an ounce, which
yields $1.3S in coin.
Cost Inconsiderable.
Of course the cost of the minting
of the coins Of the United States
must be taken into consideration
when calculating the net cost and
profits of the Government, but as
compared with the gross profits re-
sulting from coinage, the cost of
minting is inconsiderable.
The net profits on silver from 1878
to 1909 were $157, 467 ,155. The year
following the profits were $2,468 ,6S5
for the year 1912, ended on July LIST
Of this year, the profits were $4,567,-
S23, making the net profits on the
coinage of silver for the "a years,
$166, 414,336. The seigniorage on
minor coins from 1873 to 1911 incIus-
i've, was .$3S,97O,936. ..~'
Although the profits accruing to
the Government on the coinage of sill.
yer, nickel and bronze pieces since
1872 have been in excess Of $205,.
100000, the coinage Of gold has en-
tailed small loss. The exact fig
ures of cost incident to the coinage
Of the different metals are not avail
able, but the propOrtionate cost Of the
coinage of gold, as compared with the
expense of the entire mint services,
up to March, 1911, probably had not
exceeded $250,000 a year
In that year Congress authorized
the Secretary of the Treasury to is,
sue certificates against bullion and
foreign coin, and since that time the
expense has been reduced to a NOM
inal sum. Because of the action Of
the Treasury officials in temporarily
disseminating the coinage of gold the
expense on this account is now prac-
tically limited to the necessary assay.
ing, weighing and stamping of gold
bars as they are purchased.
Percent Of Alloy.
A gold dollar contains 25.8 grains
Of standard gold, of which 10 per-
cent is copper alloy. To depositors of
gold bullion the Government pay
$20.67 per ounce of fine gold. but
makes a charge against the depositof
of 2 cents per gold ounce for the
cost of the alloy used. 4
The Treasury Department has now
in it's vaults gold coin and bullion TO
a greater value than ever before in
its history, and nearly double that of
any of the great foreign nations. The
total gold in the Treasury on August
90 of this year was S1,221. 169,327, of
which amount $1,008,197,179 was in
gold coin and nearly $213,000,000 in
bullion. S15000O,000 of the total is
held for ~ redemption of United
States notes and Treasury notes Of
1890 and S1,047 1926 is held for the
redemption of gold certificates out.
standing.
The Bureau of the Mint was estab-
lished in Washington in 1873 and the
record showing the amount of seign-
forage on minor coinage is available
only from that year. Prior to that
time the records were kept exclusive