The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1919-10-16
PRICE OF SILVER NEAR
TO PARITY WITH GOLD
SOME INTERESTING FACTS IN
CONNECTION WITH THE
TWO MONEY METALS.

With silver selling better than
$120 an ounce, predictions are being
made that the price of the metal will
touch, If not pass, the gold parity
point, which is $1.2929 an ounce. That
is to say, when the price of silver
touches $1.2929 an ounce, the silver
in the ollar equals its face value.
With silver at $40 an ounce, the bull
lion value of silver dollar is 92.S
cents, says the Boston News Bureau
in a recent issue.
The question Is naturally raised as
to what will happen ID the price of
silver passes the gold parity point.
The worst that could happen to the
currency system would be that the
30S, 1859 silver dollars shown in the
general stock of money on Septem-
Der /, 1919, would be melted into bull
lion and sold OF the general stock of
silver dollars the treasury held in
its general fund 64,S82,795 on Septem-
Der l and on September 20 the num-
Der had been increased to 65,951,335.
Only about S0,0OO,O0O silver dollars
circulate, the balance being represent
ed by silver certificates. The silver
dollar ceased to be factor in our
currency system when the country
went permanently on gold basis In
the Mckinley campaign, and there
government or trade If the cumber-
some silver pieces should disappear.
Since April, 1918, the number of sill
yer dollars has already been reduced
by 260,OO0,O0O, due to MEETINGS by
the government to supply silver bull
lion for Great Britain for shipment to
India.
Silver in a Dollar.
1T is a fact not generally known
that two half dollars, four quarters
or 10 dimes do not contain as much
pure silver as does one silver dollar.
The standard silver dollars contain
37125 grains of pure silver, while
two halves four quarters or 10 dimes
contain only 347.22 grains Of pure
silver. Consequently, although the
parity point OF the silver dollar is
Preached when silver metal is quoted
at $1.2929 an .ounce, the parity point
of the subsidiary silver is not reach .
ed until silver reaches $1.3S25 an
ounce.
An embarrassment to the currency
structure of the country would be
witnessed If the demand for silver
metal coupled with short stocks
should carry the price up to the par
ity point of the subsidiary coinage
as there Is an increasing demand for
small change to transact trade AT
the present time the mints are un-
able to catch UP with the demand for
subsidiary silver and minor coins
Dead in Vaults.
On the other hand silver dollars
have been taken out of the stock
money without inconvenience Few
people care to carry the heavy silver
pieces and they are rarely seen. The
bulk of the silver dollars has for i
number of years lain dead" in the
vaults of the treasury, and against
them were issued silver certificates
which are always redeemable into
actual silver dollars. To secure the
silver dollars for melting the govern
ment combed silver certificates out of
circulation and redeemed them in
silver dollars which were melted and
the bullion exported. Many Of the
silver certificates were in small de-
nominations, ones and twos, and to
prevent void in small notes congress
authorized the federal reserve banks
to issue federal reserve bank notes in
denominations of 81 and 50 and the
number of these notes issued has
been steadily increasing. AS silver
certificates of any denomination are
presented for redemption their place
III tIe tctl NC at
once filled by federal reserve bank
notes and federal reserve notes. No
such substitute exists for subsidiary
silver, however, and II the price of
silver should pass the $3.50 mark the
treasury would ask congress to take
steps to meet the situation.
Changes in Stocks.
The changes in this country's stock
of gold and silver money since the
European war are summarized in the
following table:
June 80 Gold Silver
1,S71,611,723 S753,563,709
1915............ 1,973,s3O,201 75S,039, 421
1916.......... 2.450, 516.32S 763,218,469
19l7....... 3,O1S, 964,392 772,9OS.3 91
191S........... S,075,3 39.74S 745,747, 094
1919............ S,095, 077,467 552,214,591
Gold holdings have increased due to
the heavy shipment of the yellow