Illustrated history of the United States mint / with a complete description of American coinage, from the earliest period to the present time

by Unknown

Summary of the Operations of the Mints and Assay Offices.

The value of the gold and silver deposited at the mints and assay offices of the United States during the fiscal year 1887 was $131,635,811.34. This aggregate, however, but partially measures the successive operations upon the bullion represented by this value. For example, it may be interesting to show the operations by the melters and refiners of the four mints and of the assay office at New York, as measured by the value of the bullion successively operated upon. These may be stated as follows:

Bullion Operated upon by the Melters and Refiners, 1887.

Metal.	Standard ounces.	Value.
Gold	5,919,878	$110,137,265
Silver	70,764,794	82,344,487
Total value		$192,481,752

The operations of the coinage departments of the mints were as follows:

Operations of Coinage Departments, 1887.

Metal.	Standard ounces.	Value.
Gold	2,632,005	$48,967,440
Silver	61,896,692	72,025,241
Total value		$120,992,681

The 1-cent and 2-cent bronze pieces were recoined into 1-cent bronze pieces, and the copper nickel 1-cent, and the 3-cent and 5-cent nickel pieces were used in the coinage of new 5-cent nickel pieces.

Form and Location of the Moneys of the United States and the Bullion awaiting Coinage in the Mints July 1, 1887.

[Exclusive of Minor Coin and Minor-Coinage Metal.]

	In Treasury.	In National Banks.[26]	In other Banks and General Circulation.	Total.
METALLIC.
Gold bullion	$85,512,270			$85,512,270
Silver bullion	4,091,414			4,091,414
Silver bullion (melted trade dollars)	6,364,236			6,364,236
Gold coin	192,368,915	[27]$98,137,439	$278,501,711	569,008,065
Silver dollar	211,483,970	6,343,213	49,162,934	266,990,117
Subsidiary silver coin	26,977,493	2,813,138	45,757,168	75,547,799
Total	$526,798,298	$107,293,790	$373,421,813	$1,007,513,901
REPRESENTATIVE.
Legal-tender notes	[28]$28,783,796	$74,477,342	$243,419,878	$346,681,016
Old demand notes			57,130	57,130
Certificates of deposit	310,000	7,810,000	960,000	9,080,000
Gold certificates	30,261,380	54,274,940	36,950,497	121,486,817
Silver certificates	3,425,133	3,535,479	138,582,538	145,543,150
National bank notes	197,046	22,962,737	256,058,005	279,217,788
Fractional paper currency	2,366	564,266	6,380,332	6,946,964
Total	$62,979,721	$163,624,764	$682,408,380	$909,012,865

Gold and Silver Coin in the United States November 1, 1887.

Date.	Gold Coin.	Silver Coin.			Total Gold and Silver Coin.
		Full Legal Tender.	Subsidiary.	Total Silver.
Last official statement July 1, 1887	$569,008,065	$266,990,117	$75,547,799	$342,537,916	$911,545,981
Gain subsequent to above statement (estimate)	5,919,808	10,120,040	210,387	10,330,427	16,250,235
Estimate for November 1, 1887	$574,927,873	$277,110,157	$75,758,186	$352,868,343	$927,796,216

Estimate of Coin Circulation July 1, 1887.

Items.	Gold.	Silver.	Total.
Estimated circulation July 1, 1886	$548,320,031	$308,784,223	$857,104,254
Coinage for fiscal year 1887	22,393,279	34,366,483	56,759,762
Net imports	2,311,739	409,151	2,720,890
Total	$573,025,049	$343,559,857	$916,584,906
Less deposits of United States coin	516,984	821,941	1,338,925
Used in the arts	3,500,000	200,000	3,700,000
Total	4,016,984	1,021,941	5,038,925
Estimated circulation July 1, 1887	$569,008,065	$342,537,916	$911,545,981

Table showing the Total Paper and Specie Circulation in each of the Principal Countries of the World, and the Amount of Specie in Bank and National Treasuries, and the Amount of Active Circulation.

(Officially Reported in 1884.)

Countries.	Population.	Total metallic and paper circulation.	Amount of specie in national treasuries and banks.	Active circulation.	Per capita of active circulation.
United States	50,155,783	$1,745,926,755	$534,033,074	$1,211,893,681	$24.16
Great Britain and Ireland	35,246,562	876,318,139	154,182,691	722,135,448	20.49
Dominion of Canada, including Manitoba and Newfoundland	4,506,563	59,596,084	9,111,148	50,484,936	11.22
British India	252,541,210	1,099,383,126	78,358,000	1,021,025,126	4.05
Ceylon	2,758,166	2,335,300	1,273,800	1,061,500	.38
Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand	2,798,898	96,010,722	48,737,837	47,272,885	16.90
Cape of Good Hope	780,757	38,078,000	8,092,000	29,986,000	38.40
France	37,321,186	1,990,961,912	402,939,754	1,588,022,158	42.55
Algiers	2,867,626	27,567,000	5,564,476	22,002,524	7.67
Guadeloupe	185,460	1,627,750	564,935	1,062,815	5.73
Belgium	5,536,654	186,326,515	17,991,450	168,335,065	30.40
Switzerland	2,846,102	53,180,731	11,609,618	41,571,113	14.60
Italy	28,452,639	533,548,521	69,357,358	464,191,163	16.31
Greece	1,979,423	29,143,000	1,800,000	27,343,000	13.81
Spain	16,625,860	270,812,440	27,223,959	243,588,481	14.65
Cuba	1,394,516	73,043,543	14,181,243	58,862,300	42.21
Luzon	4,450,191	4,198,000	3,765,677	432,323	.10
Portugal, including Azores and Madeira	4,550,699	46,367,680	11,718,874	34,648,806	7.61
Germany	45,234,061	825,473,023	181,706,674	643,766,349	14.23
Austria-Hungary	35,839,428	431,646,314	98,131,401	333,514,913	9.31
Sweden and Norway	6,479,168	43,058,443	12,740,975	30,317,468	4.68
Danish Kingdom	2,096,400	39,228,000	14,070,000	25,158,000	12.00
Netherlands	4,061,580	163,847,949	55,114,112	108,733,837	26.77
Russia	98,323,000	646,431,794	124,008,153	522,423,641	5.31
Turkey	24,987,000	83,315,976	14,520,000	68,795,976	2.75
Roumania	5,376,000	27,372,383	3,995,298	23,377,085	4.35
Mexico	9,557,279	52,048,529	1,763,008	50,285,521	5.26
Central America	2,891,600	4,701,861		4,701,861	1.62
Argentine Republic	2,540,000	71,371,850	14,196,461	57,175,389	22.51
Colombia	3,000,000	5,097,830	200,000	4,897,830	1.63
Brazil	11,108,291	139,871,255		139,871,255	12.59
Peru	3,050,000	14,980,820	1,882,018	13,098,802	4.29
Venezuela	2,675,245	2,682,700		2,682,700	1.00
Chili	2,420,500	32,555,341	2,398,000	30,157,341	12.45
Bolivia	2,325,000	6,908,533	443,597	6,464,936	2.78
Uruguay	438,245	11,587,000	4,601,000	6,986,000	15.94
Hayti	572,000	4,780,000		4,780,000	8.35
Japan	36,700,110	248,744,805	28,486,973	220,257,832	6.00
Hawaiian Islands	66,895	1,834,900	808,200	1,026,700	15.35
		9,991,964,524	1,959,571,764	8,032,392,760

World’s Coinage.

Calendar years.	Gold.	Silver.
1884	$99,432,795	$95,832,084
1885	94,728,008	105,105,299
1886	92,653,400	124,678,678

The value of the United States gold coin deposited for recoinage, principally by the Treasurer of the United States, was $516,984.63, against $393,545.28 in the preceding year.

In addition to the gold bullion both of domestic and foreign production, and the foreign and domestic gold coin deposited, old material in the form of jewelry, bars, old plate, etc., was received containing gold of the value of $2,265,219.85.

The marked increase in the deposits of gold was at the assay office at New York, the value of the foreign gold bullion and coin deposited at that institution during the year being $30,621,006.95, exclusive of fine bars of its own manufacture, of the value of $7,933,743.98, imported and re-deposited.

The value of the foreign gold bullion deposited was $22,571,328.70, against $4,317,068.27 in 1886.

The value of the foreign gold coin received and melted was $9,896,512.28, against $5,673,565.04 in the year preceding.

The value of the total deposits of gold during the fiscal year 1887, including all re-deposits as above cited, was $83,416,779.40, against $49,606,534.65 in 1886, an excess in the year 1887 of $33,810,244.75.

The value of silver bullion of foreign extraction deposited at the mints during the year 1887 was $1,457,406.01.

The value of foreign silver coin deposited during the year was $350,598.86, against $812,664.50 in the preceding year.

The value of the United States silver coin deposited (calculated at the coining rate in silver dollars), not including trade-dollars, was $768,739.32, most of which consisted of worn and uncurrent silver coins transferred from the Treasury of the United States for recoinage.

Trade-dollars were received mostly by transfer from the Treasury of the United States and melted. The bullion contained 5,837,791.87 standard ounces, of the coinage value in standard silver dollars of $6,793,066.89.

Earnings and Expenditures of the Mints and Assay Offices.

The total earnings amounted to $8,842,819.70, and the total expenditures and losses of all kinds to $1,437,442.95. The profits from operations on bullion during the past year amounted to the large sum of $7,405,386.75.

A large portion of these earnings consisted of seignorage or profits on the manufacture of silver and minor coins.

Highest and lowest prices of Gold in New York.

Each month in 1862-1878.

Month.	1862.		1863.		1864.		1865.		1866.		1867.
	H.	L.	H.	L.	H.	L.	H.	L.	H.	L.	H.	L.
January	103¾	101¾	160¾	133⅝	159⅜	151½	234⅜	197¼	144¼	136¾	137⅞	132⅛
February	104¾	102⅛	172½	152½	161	157⅛	216¾	196⅜	140⅝	135¾	140⅜	135⅛
March	102½	101⅛	171¾	139	169¾	159	201	148⅛	136½	124⅞	140⅜	133⅝
April	102¼	101½	157⅞	145½	184¾	166¼	154½	143½	129½	125¼	141⅝	132⅝
May	104⅛	102⅛	154¾	143½	190	168	145⅛	128½	141½	125⅛	138⅞	135
June	109½	103½	148⅜	140½	250	193	147⅝	135¼	167¾	137½	138¾	136⅜
July	120⅛	108¾	145	123¼	285	222	146⅛	138⅝	155¾	147	140⅝	138
August	116¼	112½	129¾	122⅛	261¾	231½	145⅛	140¼	152⅛	146½	142½	139⅞
September	124	116½	143⅛	126⅞	254½	191	145	142⅝	147⅛	143½	146⅜	141
October	133½	122	153¾	140⅜	227¾	189	149	144⅛	154⅜	145½	145⅝	140¼
November	133¼	129	154	143	260	210	148¾	145½	148⅝	137½	141½	138½
December	134	128½	152¾	148½	243	212¾	148½	144½	141¾	131¼	137⅞	133
Year	134	101⅛	172½	122⅛	285	151½	234⅜	128½	167¾	125⅛	146⅜	132⅛
Month.	1868.		1869.		1870.		1871.		1872.		1873.
	H.	L.	H.	L.	H.	L.	H.	L.	H.	L.	H.	L.
January	142¼	133¼	136⅝	134⅝	123¼	119⅜	111¼	110½	110⅛	108½	114¼	111⅝
February	144	139¾	136¼	130⅞	121½	115⅛	112¼	110¾	111	109½	115⅛	112⅞
March	141¼	137⅞	132½	130⅜	116⅜	110¼	111⅝	110⅛	110⅝	109¾	118½	114⅝
April	140⅜	137¾	134⅝	131⅜	115⅜	111½	111¾	110⅛	113¼	109⅞	119⅛	116¾
May	140½	139⅛	144¾	134½	115½	113¾	112¼	111	114⅜	112⅛	118⅝	116⅝
June	141¼	139⅜	139⅝	136½	114¾	110⅞	113⅛	111¾	114¾	113	118¼	115
July	145¼	143⅛	137¾	134¼	122¾	111⅛	113¾	111¾	115¼	113½	116⅜	115
August	150	143½	136½	131⅜	122	114¾	113⅛	111⅝	115⅝	112⅛	116¼	114⅜
September	145⅛	141⅛	162½	129¾	116¾	112¼	115⅜	112¾	115⅛	112⅝	116⅛	110⅞
October	140½	133¾	132	128¼	113¾	111⅛	115	111½	115¼	112¼	111¼	107¾
November	137	132	128⅜	121⅛	113¾	110	112⅜	110⅜	114¼	111⅜	110½	106⅛
December	136¾	134⅜	124	119½	111⅜	110⅜	110¼	108⅜	113½	111⅜	112⅝	108⅜
Year	150	132	162½	119½	123¼	110	115⅜	108⅜	115⅝	108½	119	106⅛
Month.	1874.		1875.		1876.		1877.		1878.
	H.	L.	H.	L.	H.	L.	H.	L.	H.	L.
January	112⅛	110⅛	113⅜	111¾	113¼	112⅜	107⅛	105¼	102⅞	101¼
February	113	111⅜	115⅜	113¼	114⅛	112¾	106⅛	104⅝	102⅜	101⅝
March	113⅞	111¼	117	114⅜	115	113¾	105⅜	104¼	102	100¾
April	114⅜	111¾	115½	114	113⅞	112½	107⅞	104¾	101¼	100⅛
May	113⅛	111⅞	116⅜	115	113¼	112¼	107⅜	106¼	101¼	100⅜
June	112¼	110½	117½	116¼	113	111⅞	106⅜	104¾	101	100⅝
July	110⅞	109	117¼	111¾	112⅜	111⅜	106⅛	105⅛	100¾	100⅜
August	110¼	109¼	114¾	112⅝	112⅛	109¾	105½	103⅞	100¾	100½
September	110¼	109⅜	117⅜	113¾	110⅜	109¼	104	102⅞	100½	100⅛
October	110⅜	109¾	117⅝	114½	113¼	108⅞	103⅜	102½	100⅜	100¼
November	112⅜	110	116⅜	114⅛	110⅛	108⅛	103⅜	102½	100½	100⅛
December	112⅜	110½	115¼	112⅝	109	107	103⅜	102½	100½	100
Year	114⅜	109	117⅝	111¾	115	107	107⅞	102½	102⅞	100

Note.—Specie payment resumed January 1, 1879, after a suspension of nearly 18 years.

Latest official estimate of the values of foreign coins in the United States, January, 1887.

Country.	Standard.	Monetary Unit.	Standard.	Value in U. S. Money.	Standard Coin.
Argentine Republic	Double	Peso	Gold and silver	96.5	⅟₂₀, ⅒, ⅕, ½ and 1 peso, ½ argentine.
Austria	S. silver	Florin	Silver	35.9
Belgium	Double	Franc	Gold and silver	19.3	5, 10 and 20 francs.
Bolivia	S. silver	Boliviano	Silver	72.7	Boliviano.
Brazil	S. gold	Milreis of 1000 reis	Gold	54.6
British Possessions in N. A.		Dollar	Gold	$1.00
Chili	Double	Peso	Gold and silver	91.2	Condor, doubloon and escudo.
Cuba	Double	Peso	Gold and silver	93.2	⅟₁₆, ⅛, ¼, ½ and 1 doubloon.
Denmark	S. gold	Crown	Gold	26.8	10 and 20 crowns.
Ecuador	S. silver	Peso	Silver	72.7	Peso.
Egypt	S. gold	Piaster	Gold	04.943	5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 piasters.
France	Double	Franc	Gold and silver	19.3	5,10 and 20 francs.
German Empire	S. gold	Marc	Gold	23.8	5, 10 and 20 marks.
Great Britain	S. gold	Pound sterling	Gold	4.86.6½	½ sovereign and sovereign.
Greece	Double	Drachma	Gold and silver	19.3	5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 drachmas.
Hayti	Double	Gourde	Gold and silver	96.5	1, 2, 5 and 10 gourdes.
India	S. silver	Rupee of 16 annas	Silver	34.6
Italy	Double	Lira	Gold and silver	19.3	5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 lire.
Japan	Double	Yen	Silver	78.4	1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 yen, gold and silver yen.
Liberia	S. gold	Dollar	Gold	1.00
Mexico	S. silver	Dollar	Silver	07.9	Peso or dollar, 5, 10, 25 and 50 centavo.
Netherlands	Double	Florin	Gold and silver	40.2
Norway	S. gold	Crown	Gold	26.8	10 and 20 crowns.
Peru	S. silver	Sol	Silver	72.7	Sol.
Portugal	S. gold	Milreis of 1000 reis	Gold	1.08	2, 5 and 10 milreis.
Russia	S. silver	Rouble of 100 copecks	Silver	58.2	¼, ½ and 1 rouble.
Spain	Double	Peseta of 100 centimes	Gold and silver	19.3	5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 pesetas.
Sweden	S. gold	Crown.	Gold	26.8	10 and 20 crowns.
Switzerland	Double	Franc.	Gold and silver	19.3	5, 10 and 20 francs.
Tripoli	S. silver	Mahbub of 20 piasters	Silver	65.6
Turkey	S. gold	Piaster.	Gold	04.4	25, 50, 100, 250, 500 piasters.
United States of Colombia	S. silver	Peso.	Silver	72.7	Peso.
Venezuela	Double	Bolivar.	Gold and silver	19.3	5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 bolivar.

Note.—The “standard” of a given country is indicated as follows, namely: Double, where its standard silver coins are unlimited legal tender, the same as its gold coins; S. gold or S. silver, as its standard coins of one or the other metal are unlimited legal tender. The par of exchange of the monetary unit of a country with a single gold, or a double, standard is fixed at the value of the gold unit as compared with the United States gold unit. In the case of a country with a single silver standard, the par of exchange is computed at the mean price of silver in the London market for a period commencing October 1 and ending December 26, 1886, as per daily cable dispatches to the Bureau of the Mint.