Of uncertain authorship (or in collaboration, w/August Tillet?) the memoirs of a French dentist confirm rise in platina prices 1816-26. The ms. was drafted c. 1826 (dated); the book was presumably printed in 1827, published on 1/1/1828.
The price of platina in Paris doubled in the fourteen years since the French Platinum Price Crash of 1812. Although not specified as retail, ore prices are given: refined Paris retail and (French) export Platinum prices rose much higher, c.1824-5.
Briefly, ore cost would have been nearly as high as refined metal in 1822 (and von Humboldt, the astute observer, makes no mention of that), perhaps an early phase of intense speculation. The European price surge occurred in 1824, several months after Colombian authorities prohibited platina exports.
Although not indicated nor explored here, the ore price began collapsing sharply in April 1826 with the coincident discovery of a massive platina mine in Antioquia and an enormous yield in the newly worked Ural fields.
In 1827, there appears to have been another (lesser?) platina price surge on the news the Russian government intended to coin at a higher rate than the market price. Valuations were volatile and uncertain throughout this period, further evidence of a speculative frenzy by investors on the Continent & in Britain.
1816: 1 Troy Ounce platina (ore, retail) = Fr 14.22 (USD$ 3.12)
1822: 1 Troy Oz. platina (ore, retail) = Fr 22.35 (USD$ 4.32)The price of platina in Paris doubled in the fourteen years since the French Platinum Price Crash of 1812. Although not specified as retail, ore prices are given: refined Paris retail and (French) export Platinum prices rose much higher, c.1824-5.
Briefly, ore cost would have been nearly as high as refined metal in 1822 (and von Humboldt, the astute observer, makes no mention of that), perhaps an early phase of intense speculation. The European price surge occurred in 1824, several months after Colombian authorities prohibited platina exports.
Although not indicated nor explored here, the ore price began collapsing sharply in April 1826 with the coincident discovery of a massive platina mine in Antioquia and an enormous yield in the newly worked Ural fields.
In 1827, there appears to have been another (lesser?) platina price surge on the news the Russian government intended to coin at a higher rate than the market price. Valuations were volatile and uncertain throughout this period, further evidence of a speculative frenzy by investors on the Continent & in Britain.
1816: 1 Troy Ounce platina (ore, retail) = Fr 14.22 (USD$ 3.12)
1822: 1 Troy Oz Platinum in Paris (refined) = Fr 28. (USD$ 5.40)
1823: 1 Troy Oz. platina (ore, retail) = Fr 28.44 (USD$ 5.49)
1824: 1 Troy Oz. platina (ore, retail) = Fr 29.46 (USD$ 5.54)
1825: 1 Troy Oz. platina (ore, retail) = Fr 30.48 (USD$ 5.93)
May, 1826: 1 Troy Oz. platina (ore, retail) = Fr 28.44 (USD$ 5.35)
1825: 1 Troy Oz. platina (ore, retail) = Fr 30.48 (USD$ 5.93)
May, 1826: 1 Troy Oz. platina (ore, retail) = Fr 28.44 (USD$ 5.35)
1840, German Translation:
Early 1827: 1 Troy Oz. Platinum (unmfg, bulk) = Fr 27.96 (USD$ 5.26)
Citation: Annales des mines ou Recueil de mémoires sur l'exploitation des ..., Vol. 2 (1827), p. 453
Adjusting for Real Inflation since 1816 (3,824%) we can extrapolate the refined Paris price for Platinum to be $ 116. (in 2009 USD$.)
Assuming the Paris Once (= 0.9844 English Troy Ounce) :
c.1827/8: 1 Troy Oz. Platinum (intrinsic) = Fr 30.48 - 35.56 (USD$ 6. -7.)
c.1827/8: 1 Troy Oz. Gold (Frankfort) ~ Thlr 27. (USD$ 20.95)
c.1827/8: 1 Troy Oz. Platinum (intrinsic) ~ Thlr 9. (USD$ 6.91)
c.1827/8: 1 Troy Oz. Platinum (intrinsic) ~ Thlr 9. (USD$ 6.91)
Citation: Das Münzwesen in Teutschland nach seinem jetzigen zustand: mit Grundzügen zu ...Johann Ludwig Klüber (1828) p.212
Adjusting for Real Inflation since 1816 (3,824%) we can extrapolate the refined Paris price for Platinum to be $ 116. (in 2009 USD$.)
Adjusting for Real Inflation since 1822 (5,296%) we can extrapolate the refined Paris price for Platinum to be $ 204. (in 2009 USD$.)
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