The Topeka state journal., 1919-06-21
Few of Them Are Found in
Circulation These Days.
Before Long a Gold Piece May
Be Real Novelty.
ONCE they WERE PLENTIFUL
Gamblers Used Them in Pref
erence to Poker Chips.
War Largely Responsible for
Their Disappearance.

When was the last time you had
gold coin in your possession?
Within the last two years the aver
age shopper as well as the average
merchant has observed a marked de-
crease in the amount of gold in cir
culation. Not only is this true in To-
peka but it is the same thruout the
country. II you cash a large check
at a bank, you receive silver and cur
rency, whereas formerly you frequent
ly received gold. When the sales are
closed at Qight in the big department
stores, the money on hand Is all in the
form OF checks. silver and currency,
pieces.
up in the lumber camps of the
Northwest" said a Topekan the other
day, I've watched poker games where
gold pieces were stacked up on the
; table in place of chips" But that
day is gone, and hereafter the lumber
! men must use poker chips or some
other substitute.
Scarcity Due to the War.
Like so much of the present day
phenomena, the scarcity of gold can
be. indirectly traced to the war. Gold
is the standard on which American
coinage is based and consequently Is
the standard of value. But there is
no reason why it should be used IN
ordinary trade transactions when
there is plenty of silver and gold and
silver certificates in the country. Gold
is heavier and much. less con, enient
to carry than silver and Furthermore
constant handling results in its being
scratched and worn away owing to Its
softness.
So it was the plan of the federal
reserve banking system to call as
much as possible of the gold into the
fxVelya fadeYal hanks nf the
country. where it should be held. The
war hastened this process. bankers
explain. The gold was drawn in, more
rapidly than would otherwise have
been the case in order that the gov
ernment might have it ready for in
stant use in case of emergency. There
it will remain, as it should, while the
housewife and shopper, the buyer and
seller. use silver and currency as
medium OF exchange. But the gold
remains the measure of value.
Only Circulation Scarcity.
So there is not really a scarcity of
gold in the country at all, but scare
ity of it in circulation. AS long as
the actual gold is in the treasury or
the bank, the certificates represent
ing 1t are just as good money and
much more convenient to use than
the gold itself.
The government buys gold to make
BOlO COlnS- Inc QueSuOh mas Deen
raised as to what would be done in
case the cost of producing gold ex-
ceeded the maximum amount the gov
ernment could afford to pay for the
purpose of making coins. The only
solution to this question. financiers
say, would be for the government to
establish a law raising the value of
gold, or, in other words, putting less
of the precious metal into coins. Even
at the present time, the $40 gold piece
lacks a little of actually having SO
worth of gold in it, but this amount
could be lowered and still maintain
the standard of value.
At any rate, it Is claimed, situation
of this kind would be very slow in in
fluencing the present financial condi-
tions owing to the immense stock of
Federal Reserve Bulletin OF April 1,
there was a total of sS.o92.415,909 in
gold cOfn in the United States. This
is nearly half the money in the coun-
try. the total money being s7,5S6,752,-
S55, which is $45.17 per capita. This
is an increase over April ], 1917, the
total money in the country on that
day being $5.312. .109.272.
Real Novelty Before Long.
/ So it is probable that in the future,
gold coin will be a real novelty in
the hands of the average man. There
is still some gold in practically all the
banks of the country. but it is not
being used when it can be avoided. A
Christmas present OF a gold piece to
Johnny or Mary will be worth some
thing more than its intrinsic value as
a gift-it will be a rarity and some
thing remarkable to show their
friends.