II. A comparison of Gold Coins. III. A schedule of various Coins which have already been proposed to serve as a universal Money. THE PRESIDENT (Mr. Say) thanked Dr. Broch for his interesting communication, and the Conference decided upon its insertion in the Journal. (Exhibit A.) MR. RUAU placed upon the table a diagram showing the monthly variations in the quotations of Silver in the London market from 1873 to 1878. (Exhibit B.) MR. LARDY expressed the regret of Mr. Feer-Herzog, who was detained at Bern by urgent duties in the National Council, that he was unable to be present and participate in the first session. Upon the suggestion of Mr. GROESBECK, it was understood that the Journals of the Conference being as usual in French, the Conference should so proceed in its discussions, that any declaration or observation made in the course of the session might be immediately translated, either viva voce or in writing, for whoever should demand it; and that these translations should be made at once by some person of confidence, whom the Delegates of the different States should have the right to introduce, each on its own account, in the Hall of the Conference. The session closed at 3 o'clock. EXHIBITS OF THE FIRST SESSION. EXHIBIT A. CERTAIN FIGURES USEFUL IN THE STUDY OF THE MONETARY QUESTION. BY DR. O. J. BROCH. I.-Relation between the price of Gold and that of Silver. London is now the great market of the world for Gold and Silver. The price of Silver is there expressed in pence by the ounce of Silver of the fineness of 23 ("Standard Silver"). The relation between the price of pure Gold and of pure Silver, or between Gold and Silver of the same fineness, may be found by dividing the number 943 by the number of pence paid per ouncé "Standard Silver." Thus if the price of an ounce of Silver 37 fine is noted at 554d., the relation of Gold to According to the Coinage laws of Great Britain, 1869 sovereigns or pounds sterling are to be struck out of 40 pounds troy of Gold } fine. The pound troy containing 12 ounces, it follows that the ounce of Gold †1⁄2 fine, which is the Standard fineness of the Gold Coins, is worth 1869 40×12 429 - 3. pounds sterling, or £3 178. 104d. = 9344d. Hence the ounce of pure Gold is worth 9344 × i pence. On the other hand, if the ounce of Silver at 27 fine ("Standard Silver") is worth x pence, the ounce of fine Silver will be worth x x pence. From this is deduced the relation of pure Gold to pure Silver, or what is the same thing between Gold and Silver of the same fineness. Thus in the price of "Standard Silver" on the London market 62d. corresponds to the ratio.... 15. 210 15.459 In the Middle Ages the relation between the price of Gold and that of Silver was from 10 to 12. According to the various monetary laws this relation should have been It was only after the discovery of the rich mines of Silver at Potosi in 1545, and still more after the invention of the method of cold amalgamation in 1557, that Silver began to fall as compared with Gold. According to monetary laws the relation was According to the exchanges quoted at Hamburg, with reference to Dutch Ducats, the relation of the price of Gold to that of Silver is calculated to have been from In the XIXth century the relation between the price of Gold and that of Silver hsa been, in the London market, from After the discovery, in 1848, of rich Gold beds in California and later in Australia, the relation between the price of Gold and that of Silver in the London market has been, from After the discovery of the rich Silver mines in California, in Nevada, Arizona, and Colorado, in the United States, the price of Silver began to fall, and the fall was accelerated by the introduction of the Gold Standard in the place of the Silver Standard in Germany in 1872 and in the Scandinavian Countries in 1873. The relation between the price of Gold and that of Silver in the London market wasIn 1867, average. 15.57 15.60 15.60 15.58 15.58 15.63 15.92 16. 17 16.58 17.48 17.01 1877, The lowest price of Silver in relation to Gold was reached in July, 1876; the price of Silver 3 fine had then fallen in London to 464d. per ounce, a price which corresponds with the relation of 20.17 between the price of Gold and that of Silver of the same fineness. The prices of late (about August 1, 1878) have ranged from 524d. to 524d. per ounce Standard corresponding to the relation of 17.90. According to the fineness or proportion of alloy there are in the world two great systems of Gold Coins: that of the fineness of H, and that of the fineness off. Beside these, there are only Egypt, Mexico, and the Phillippine Islands which have coined Gold Coins of the fineness of 7, and the Ducats of the Netherlands and of Austria, which are of the fineness of 0.983; but the ducats are not, properly speaking, Moneyhaving no fixed relation to the Money of account. |