The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1920-03-18
Gold in JeweIry.

goes, but the fact remains that it
goes.
Gold in JeweIry.
Leaving for a moment the number
of pieces involved in the estimate.
let me point out that as every jew
eler knows, the fneness of the gold
contained in jewelry sold in this
country ranges from 10 to IS carats,
with the average piece containing -
carat metal At the standard cost
for gold - carat metal is worth about
% cents a pennyweight, or approx
imately 5000 troy ounce. on this
computation a grain of 10 carat gold
is about about 1-5 cents
CAS- for the yearly loss of metal
am sure that 7 am not estimating it
too high in placing it at an average
Of two grains a person. Figuring on
the basis of 11O,OOOOOO wearers of
gold jewelry in the United States
this would mean an annual loss Of
22O0OO00O grains ut . Is cents
grain. BY multiplying, it will be
found that the nations annual trib-
ute to attrition amounts to at least
s4,S4O,OO0 in gold alone Add to this
sum the estimated losses Of the same
kind in other countries of the world
and a surprisingly large total will be
reached.
Further loss of the metal is in
Cured throughout the world as re-
suit of the almost constant handling
Of gold coins. Gold coin in the United
States is 21.6O carats fine, and be-
cause of this it wears away very
quickly when in circulation Gold
coins lose weight so readily in fact
face value by bands and by the Unit
ed States treasury only if they are
full weight. Otherwise they are ac-
cepted at a discount.
Silver and Platinum
The gradual wearing away of sill
yer coins also results in considerable
loss each year. Natural ythe loss
in this way is not so great |
as in the case of gold coins, one rea-
son for this being that they are hard
er than the latter and wear away less /
rapidly Another reason is that they /
are less valuable as metal. AS against /
these points, however, there are sew /
eral times as many silver coins in
circulation throughout the world as
gold ones. Especially is this true at .
the present time, when, for econom- /
ic reasons, the circulation of gold /
coins even in the United States has
been very sharply reduced. In some
countries it has been prohibited alto
gether'
In addition to attrition's annual toll
IN gold and silver articles Mr.. Wo-
iiska pointed out that it also takes
is tribute from platinum.
More people are wearing platinum
pieces today than ever before, but its
nigh cost naturally initiates against
as wide a distribution of it as Of gold
ewelry. 1t is practically out Of the
question to give an intelligent estim-
lte of the number Of private owners
IF platinum goods. Nor can the av-
rage loss of weight per piece through
friction be estimated so readily as in
he case Of gold jewelry. because plat
mum is so much harder than gold and
wears away so much more slowly. But
where fine gold is worth approxim-
,tely S1.04 a pennyweight. soft plat
mum, the cheapest grade there is to-
lay, is worth s7.75 a pennyweight,
md is very hard to get at that price.
so it will be seen that if the yearly
css of platinum through attrition
we're only about one-elghth the sim
lar loss of gold the totals would be
,Hcu. the same