Sedan, Kan.
What are the distinctive differences between the “staples” of Angora and Cashmere goats? Which staple is the more valuable? What are the present prices of the same in the markets of this country? Give a few chief facts as to these two breeds of goats.
T. S. R.
Answer.—The Angora goat takes its name from the Turkish city and village of Angora, in the interior, mountainous region of Asia Minor (about 220 miles E. S. E. of Constantinople), which exports 2,000,000 lbs of mohair annually. The animals are highly prized, and command from $250 to $1,250 for the finest males and $200 to $900 for females, there being several varieties. The Cashmere goat is named from Cashmere, a province between India proper and Thibet. The animals are most numerous in Thibet, but most of the wool—or mohair, as it is technically termed—is manufactured in Cashmere, the 16,000 or more looms of which turn out about 30,000 shawls every year, worth in London from £100 to £450. There are marked differences in the “staples” of these two species of goats. They both have two coats. In the case of the Angoras there is a coarse, short hair close to the skin, and a long, curly, outer covering of the nature of wool, very soft and silky and, in good varieties, from seven to nine inches long. This is the more bulky and valuable part of the fleece. The Cashmere goat, on the contrary, has a coarse, outer coat of different shades from gray to black and a fine undergrowth of beautifully soft, silky texture, almost downy. It is perfectly straight, of a uniformly grayish color and glossy luster, and is fully double the length of the Angora staple, the best grades measuring eighteen inches. This is combed out of the animal’s coat in the spring, when it begins to be shed, and the product is so light that it has been said that the average yield is but three ounces per goat, which would require the product of ten goats for the manufacture of a shawl a yard and a half square. It is certain, however, that the yield of the finer animals ranges from seven to nine ounces. The value of this mohair in Cashmere is from 30 to 40 cents a pound. It is not exported to this country to such a degree as to establish a market quotation. There is some of the Angora mohair imported for manufacture in our Eastern States, at prices ranging, according to quality, from 60 cents to $1 a pound. The Angora goat has been successfully introduced into the British colonies of South Africa. Cape Colony alone exported in 1878 the sum of 1,300,585 pounds, valued at £105,313, or about 32 cents a pound. It is believed that it can be raised with profit in the mountainous parts of Georgia and Alabama, and still farther north; and in the mountainous districts of California and Oregon.
AN EARLY CALIFORNIAN COIN.
Chicago, Ill.
Please give the origin of the $20 gold piece of 1853, marked on one side, “San Francisco;” on the other, “Moffat & Co.” Is it worth anything above its face value?
J. A. Bloss.
Answer.—It being impossible to find any quotation of the value of the coin referred to, Messrs. Stevens & Co., well-known numismatists of this city, were asked to answer the above questions. The following is their reply: “The $20 gold piece here designated gives a good deal of trouble to curiosity hunters and coin collectors in general; very much as is the case with the silver dollar of 1878 with eight feathers in the eagle’s tail. There is no premium on either of them. There is no certain history of the Moffat & Co. pieces. They were a private coinage and issued under miner’s law; and all ’49 Californians know the potency or persuasive powers of that law. The quality or fineness of the pieces is below standard and their value much below our current $20 piece. The San Francisco mint was established in July, 1852, and very soon after that all private coinages ceased. Most of these pieces find their way into the brokers’ offices and are sold only at bullion prices.”