The Washington times., 1917-09-18
SILVER PRICE
STILL BELOW
FACE VALUE
Of ALL COINS
Officials Have No Fear of Coin
age System Being Upset.
Bullion Would Have to Soar
Above $1.39 an Ounce.
BY BILL PRICE.

By BILL PRICE.
. High officials of the Treasury
we're not today the least bit fiurried
over the possibility that the silver
in silver coins of this country may
soon become so valuable that the
! coins will be melted down to sell the
bullion at a price above the actual
face value of the coin.
Although the price of silver has
mounted steadily, the official belief
prevails that it will not reach a
point where the bullion in Uncle
Sam's coins exceeds in intrinsic
worth the face value.
Silver S1.Os An Ounce.
Silver yesterday sold at S1.O9 an
: ounce. 4 few years ago It could be
I had without trouble for less than 80
cents an ounce. Even at the ad-
vsnced price it is selling for today,
Uncle Sam makes a good profit on
his coinage. This difference between
what the bullion in a coin costs and
[ the face value Of the coin is legally
known as "ssigniorage." but it is
literally the Governments rake off.
One ounce of silver will make S1.29
OF silver dollars, and the actual value
OF the silver in a dollar yesterday
was SI $40 cents. The law requires
that all coins or The Government
shall be nine.tentks pure. or fine.
in actual legal words. The silver
dollar contains 35i.25 grains OF sill.
, Yer.
No silver dollars have been coined
by the United States since 1904. when
Congress repealed the purchasing
clause OF the silver act, but there
was in the Treasury OF the United
States yesterday S4e5.232.36T in sill
yer dollars. The silver dollar con-
tinues to pass as such as long as
there is anything left OF the emblems
or words upon it.
Making More Coins.
The Governments mints. though,
are turning out more subsidiary coins
this year than ever before in its his
tory. The mints are working twenty
four hours each day. and between
January ! and September IS OF this
year they minted S1@,OOO.OOO in silver
half dollars, quarters. and dimes. The
country's business demands the great
increase in small coins.
One ounce Of silver will make SI.3S
in subsidiary coins. as only 3l7.22
gains Of silver are required to make
81 in small coins The Governments
seigniorage Is larger in the mintinS
OF small coins than in the dollars.
Not until silver bullion has passed
SI20 an ounce viii the bullion in a
dollar be worth more than the face
value Of that piece. and il will have
to get past Sl.3S an ounce before Uncle
Sam will lose money making subsi-
diary coins At Yesterdays price of
silver. the actual silver value in four
silver quarters or two halves was
1SS5 cents.
Ten or twelve reasons are given
hy monetary Experts in Washington
for the steadily advancing price Of
bullion silver. Some Of them are:
The huge falling off in silver min
ing in Mexico in the last five years.
due to unsettled conditions. capitalists
refusing to open the mines and hav-
ing little chance Of getting reliable
labor If they did In 1912 Mexico led
all the world in silver mining. TAX
ing $4,000. .On0 ounces from her mines.
Last year this dropped to 100000.
The central powers and the allies
are gathering all the available gold.
forcing governments and individuals
TO the next chief medium Of eN-
change. silver
scarcity Of cyanide.
The extreme scarcity and high price
OF cyanide OF potassium. the cyanide
process" having been for years the
cheapest one OF extracting precious
metals from one. Great quantities OF
cyanide are going into the manufac-
ture Of munitions OF war.
Disturbed conditions in the Orient,
with improved crops conditions there.
the latter calling for more silver
than usual.
The purchase Of 10000. 900 pounds
of silver in the last twenty months
by the British government for use in
InGia.
Tho financing Of the British armies !
in East Africa. Egypt. Mcsopotamla. /.
and elsewhere on a silver basis.
The payment Of troops on the west /.
ern war front in France In silver. 7
Strikes of the ]. ". W. in Mon /
tana and Arizona.
Vast Quantities Of silver arc used
by wealthy Hindu and other women F.
in India for personal adornmcnt. ar1 /
the metal is employed IavishIy to dec
orate idols. Many East Indians prize |
silver 80 highly that they insist upon ,
being buried in the silver ornaments /
they owned. At the present price of .
silver. n dead East Indian is a rather /
valuable parsonage
Silver has practically disappeared
in Germany. because the people are
boarding II. Tho government is
boarding gold. with the result that
there is little money I'm circulation