The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1922-06-15
HOW SILVER BULLION IS
SOLD AND THE MARKETS
NORTH AMERICA LARGEST PRO
DUcER-ASlA is LARGEST
CONSUMER.

Darker d. Handy in Engineering
and Mining Journal Press.
From the earliest recorded history
of mankind. silver has been used as
money metal. and the people OF
China and India, representing the old
est civilizations Of the world are to-
day the largest buyers of the white
metal for coinage and commercial
uses More than four hundred mil
lions Of people in China use silver as
a standard of value, and in India al
though that country is on a gold ex-
change basis, her huge population find
silver as attractive as the yellow met
al. and even when the Indian govern
ment is not buying silver to be coined
into rupees. large amounts are daily
bought and sold in the bazaars. Dur
ing 1921. when no purchases were
made for the Indian mint more than
4O.OOO.O 600 ounces We're shipped to In
dia.
In China a coin is valued not so
much because the government stamp
makes 1t legal tender but because this
stamp guarantees a definite content
of precious metal China's monetary
system consists of small coins of nom
inal value. dollars both foreign and
Chinese and many kinds of taels Of
varying weight and fneness, all of
which are used as mediums of ex-
change. The Chinese government is
endeavoriug to stabilize the silver
circulation, and has established one
of the largest mints in the world at
Shanghai with a capacity of coming
half a million dollars a day.
Silver Important as Monetary Metal.
Trade balances are covered by pur-
chases of silver bullion. and flnctua-
tons in exchanges cause large specu-
lative operations. Chna's banks buy
ing and selling silver depending on
exchange rates and economic condi-
tions During 1921 China's demand
was the backbone of the silver mar
ket, as over 52OOOOOO ounces were
shipped to her ports.
To mention one recent instance of
the importance of silver as a money
metal Lord Reading, viceroy OF In
ulds iildut DUDilt ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS hA AtA1N
year of the great service done to the
cause of the allies in the world war,
by the action of the United States
congress in passing the Pittman act.
thus furnishing over 2O0,OOO,O0O ozs.
of fine silver for export to India and
thereby enabling the allies to main
tain their credit and to purchase and
pay for supplies essential to win the
war Silver bullion was absolutely
necessary as India had reached the
saturation point on the issue of rupee
paper England also required during
the war, large coinage issues for use
in Egypt and Mesopotamia.
The value of silver as a money met /
al has also been Illustrated since the
war by the reverse side of the picture |
in central Europe. where the silver
coins in circulation have been largely
melted and sold for export TO provide (
for fiscal emergency and where units /
of value have deprecated owing to I
the large issue of paper money and /
economic disturbance. In normal /
times however there is a demand |
from other countries for silver for
coinage purposes.
From the earliest days of artistic .
development silver has been the fav- /
orite metal of the artisan in metallic /
craft. and today we have a constant
demand to satisfy the silversmith.
he is manufacturing the ban
giles and bracelets to adorn a Hindu I
wife. or the beautiful silverware dis
played in the show windows on Fifth
avenue or Regent street
The principal uses for silver are
therefore:
First for coinage purposes, and as /,
q medium for exchange i'm settlement I
Of trade balances
Second for manufacturing demand {
from the jewellers. silversmiths, the /
dental trade, the electrical industries 4
and producers of nitrate of silver for f
purposes.
The production of silver is by three l.
itages-(a) mining. 90 smelling and S
c) refining. All rehners endeavor to I
produce Commercial silver" in bars I
Weighing about 1000 troy ounces and 7
,ssaying .999 fine In this raw ma I
eriar form silver is sold and shipped 7
or export The manufacturing trades
n this country require silver to be {
,ure and free from traces of other t
Metals, and consequently the raw ma a
eriai from the refinery is usually q
fabricated for their special needs by d
xtra refining alloyng and rolling to il
nit trade requirements. f.
AS the largest demand for silver is f.
or export, the chief marketing points i,
orrespond geographically to the fin p
ncial and shipping centers. and are fl
.ondon. New York. San Francisco. 7
bombay. Calcutta, Shanghai and e.
Iongkong. When India is the best t.,
iarket silver naturally goes via New d
'ork and London TO Calcutta and L
bombay; but when China is the buy q
r, silver is shipped via San Francis al
D 70 Shanghai and Hongkong There OF