Mohave County miner and our mineral wealth., 1919-11-29
NEW COIN STANDARDS AND COLOSSAL SILVER
 DEMAND INEVITABLE

In Berlin before the war an ounce of American silver costing 55c in New York could be bought for ? 3-S marks. Now the Berlin price is Al 1-S marks, against $1. 27 in New York.
 In German silver coinage, 5.75 marks contain one ounce pure silver. As money, the "coin" value of those 5.75 marks is, of course, 5.75 marks. As silver bullion, those 5.75 marks are worth A 1-3 marks for the ounce of silver they contain.
 Is it any wonder that silver money has long since disappeared from cir culation in Germany?
 The same conditions abound through out Continental Europe, Asia and in Latin America. The advance of silver and depreciation of foreign exchange in relation to the American dollar have played pranks on the worlds sil- yer money. They have brought silver bullion prices and foreign coin val ues to the point where the worlds nor nal silver coinage, outside the United States, is disappearing, or has already disappeared in the melting pot because the money value of the coins is less than the bullion or metal value of the silver they contain.
 This has long been the case on Con- tinental Europe, and in the great sill yer coinage nations, India and Mexico. Mexico revised the coinage in Novem- Der, 1918, and again by decree of Octo- Der 29, 1919, reducing the amount of silver in it's peso and subsidiary coins to the point where it will not pay to melt those coins. The Indian rupee has not yet been "debased" as to the amount of silver contained in the coin, but the British and India governments by successive decrees have successive ly augmented the legal value of the Indian rupee as expressed in shillings and pence.
 The British Empire was the last of the worlds great nations to have its silver coinage system "wrecked," when the price of silver reached and passed 66 pense in London the first week in November (26 pence before the war; At such prices it pays to melt British shillings, crowns and other coins. The coin "value" of silver, $1.2929 per fine ounce, is come less than the bullion value of the silver contained in the coins,
 The "danger point" to United States silver coinage will not be reached un- til silver reaches $1.38 per ounce in New York. It takes 1000 ounces of silver to enter into $1,382 of subsid- iary American coinage, or an ounce of silver enters into $1.38 of coins. Not until the price of silver passes this figure e<kould it pay to hoard or melt coins. The so-called "par value" of silver, $1.2929 per fine ounce, is g myth that was laid away in 1873.
 French coinage has long since dis. appeared, though France is not so bac off as Germany. An ounce of silver that commanded 2.9 francs in Paris before the war, when silver sold at 55e in New York, now commands Il IA francs. In Fl francs there is one ounce pure silver bullion, but as those Fl francs, worth only Fl francs as coins, are worth il IA francs as sil. yer, the disappearance of old silver money in France easily explains it. self.
 It must be apparent why it becomes necessary to revise the worlds silver coinage. While international argree ments may not be necessary it might prove better policy to revise silver coinage by information agreement Mexico and Germany have already gone ahead without internationa agreement, and it is understood tha the French and Italian and British governments are going ahead on sim liar lines. As soon as these govern ments determine the amount of silver that can safely be put into the new coins, and thereby discourage the melting pot, the nations of Europe anC the world will enter the silver bullion market on a colossal scale for theil new silver coinage. Something of tho sort has already been initiated, and il must be equally obvious that the great nations will take into account sucf an advance in the probable price o1 silver that would be inevitable as ar outcome of their restabilizing a new silver coinage and entering the silvei bullion market on a large scale. Ar abundance of silver money in Europe and abroad (gold in general circula tion being obviousuly out of the ques tion) would go long ways to stabil izing foreign exchange and improv ing the general financial structure ot the world.
 Obviously not much business car be transacted when silver follows golc into hiding and when the world: money consists of postage stamps "shin-plasters" and copper tokens.
 Financial Review
 
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