The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1920-01-15
METAL IN DOLLAR WORTH
MORE THAN FACE VALUE
SILVER PRODUCTION DECLINES
IN FACE OF RISING
MARKET.
mining and Scientific Press)

mining and Scientific Press)
happy these days, for his favoritt
metal product has appreciated to Q
figure that is above the rate of coin.
age, making the metal in a dollar
worth more than its face value Or
November "a silver touched $137R al
New York, the official price on thai
day being $l.35 per ounce. This was
the highest quotation since 1872 and
compares with an average price Of
SIS cents in 1915 and Of 1914 cents ir
1918. Our silver coinage rate Is
$L2929, at which figure the dollar has
the same value as coin and as bull
lion, but our smaller silver coins con-
tain less silver proportionately than
the dollar, namely, two half-dolars
ony 34722 grains Of pure silver as
against 371.25 grains in the dollar it.
self. Therefore whereas the parity
point Is reached by the dollar when
silver is $1.2929, it Is not reached by
the subsidiary change until the quo
tation for the metal is $13S2S. We
see therefore that on November "a
even the subsidiary coins were nearly
ready for the melting pot, Nor,
1t is curious fact that the United
States differs from other countries In
having no law against the melting Of
coins, so that If the market value OF
silver bullion should remain above
the coinage rate, the melting of coins
would undoubtedly follow. The rea-
son for overhauling the subsidiary
coins. by giving them less than theil
face value Of silver, was because, says
George E. Roberts, formerly director
Of the mint, they were meant to be
merely token coins, purposely over
valued in order that they might not
be exported or melted; but they are
redeemable at the treasury In full le-
gal tender money.
Big Supply on Hand.
On November l, 1919, the treasury
estimated that the total stock of sill
Yer dollars in this country was $30S,
145,O but of these dollars only those
that have been held by the treasury
against certificates are of full weight
the others have become abraded by
use, so that they would have lost a
1ift1a ~ THAR orp;nal yyaiubt uou,
ever, the expectation of silver coins
by private individuals is restricted by
the law of April, 1918, to transactions
licensed by the government, and we
are informed that last week the gov
eminent stopped the export Of silver
from San Francisco to the orient
then proceeding at the rate of mil
lion dollars a day, except for the
purpose of adjusting balances of ex-
change. The extraordinary demand
Of China for silver is explained large
ly by the fact that the war checked
the normal movement of the metal to
India from 1914 to 1918, and during
that period the needs of India were
supplied by shipments from China
which is now replenishing her re-
duced stocks, for which there is an
enhanced demand on account of the
depreciation of European paper mon
eys. as we'll as rupee notes. In 1916
the rising price induced the people of
India and China to put their boards
on the market; they sold to the Euro
pean governments; the price fell, I'M
til the selling stopped; the continued
demand caused a rise; London was
isolated by the German submarine
campaign; 1t became cheaper to ship
the metal from New York across the
continent and over the Pacific to In
dia, than through London and the
Suez canal. In this oriental trade
San Francisco has geographic ad-
vantage over both 'Lodon and New
York, therefore prices here We're, and
are now, at the best. Thereupon Lon
DON in behalf OF the Indian govern.
ment approached Washington and
the Pittman act followed in 1917. Sill.
Yer was stabilized at 101t ac. This
permitted the United States to melt
and ship 100000 900 ounces to the far
east. The balance of trade in favor
of China is causing demand for sill
Yer, and various other factors have
united in stimulting expectation Of
the metal to the far east Similarly
in Europe the depreciation of paper
the scarcity of gold, the pay
ing Of the soldiery have caused a
scarcity, assisted there likewise by
among the peasants. Great
Britain and France have prohibited
the expectation or melting Of silver
coins. Meanwhile production has con-
tinued to decline In 1911 the worlds
output was 226,192, 900 fine ounces. In
1916 it was only 156.626,000 ounces,
this decrease being attributable large
ly to disturbed conditions in Mexico,
where production fell from 100000
in 1913 to 22,OOO,O0O ounces in 1916,
rising to 31,250,000 in 1917. Since
then 1t has been increasing, thanks
largely to the Real del Monte mines