The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-05-23

!
gold holdings of the federal reserve
] banks have just passed the three
! billion mark, a record for any bank
of issue for any nation. Successive
! inaportations of gold from foreign
countries, arising from the heavy
balance due people in this country.
have piled up this great store OF
gold. While most of it remains IN
bullion form, large quantities are
coined OF the gold coin, the chief
quantity remains in banks and IN
government custody. but some OF
it passes into circulation afong
with the great quantities of silver
and m>ror coinage. The process is
direct and simple,
fhe United States minis will re-
ceive and mint into coin. entirely
free of charge, gold brought -
them from any source, excepting
only Russian gold. Russisn gold
will not be received because of the
Soviet's policy of wholesaH con-
fiscation. Some one might later
come along and prove that the
mists had received what in reality
was stolen gold, in which case the
government probably would have
to restore the gold to its rightful
owner.
But when gold is dug out of the
mines, when treasure chests are
dug up, when gold ornaments are
desired to be reduced to coinage or
bullion, when gold scraps from
jewelers. shops are to be salvaged,
the precious metal can be taken to
any mint and TUNED into gold coin
or bullion, free of any charge to
the owner. It is curious fact that
periodically dentists doing large
gold-tooth business will burn the
rugs under their dentist chairs and
take the small residue of gold fill
ings and clippings and have them
reduced to coin or bullion at a
MINI
No Need to Wait.
When raw gold or ornaments are
taken to a mint or assay office, the
oretically the owner could wait and
receive the actual gold in the form
of coins. This is not speedy pro-
cess SO the usual course is, after
an assay to ascertain fineness, to
give the owner gold coin already
made, or bullion, or check on the
nearest government depository.
This can be paid in gold or any
other form of coin or currency the
owner elects. Thus the value of !
the gold submitted passes very di- !!
Tectly into circulation.
The treasury owns a vasc store !
of gold, keeping it in part at the |
treasury in Washington, in part at
mines and assay offices, and in |
part in the federal reserve vaults. |
Gold coins are manufactured only /
as the needs of the government and |
commerce demand.
Under the law the minis must !
buy all the silver mined and rel
duced into the United States, which t
is offered. A fixed price of 81 per
ounce is paid. No foreign silver
will be bought. The open market |
price of foreign silver is between /
so and 20 certs an ounce, and the
exclusion of this from the minis is |
a discrimination to maintain the
American price and stimulate the
industry. At present considerable
silver is being minted. Just now
there is not much new silver being
offered but the minis have an am!
pie supply.
Before the price of silver was
fixed the minis bought for coinage /
needs in the open market Just be
fore the war an ounce of silver
could be bought for so cents. With
the war it speedily rose to s130 an
ounce. The government bought in
the open market until the price of
silver as a commodity passed its
value as money and then the 81
price was set Since the war the
price has gone down but the 81
price still stands. Silver producers
lost a good customer when the
price went above a dollar but the
decline has given them a good
guarantee.