UK, 1873: Catalogue Price

As reported from the Vienna 1873 Exhibition.  If presumed by the Troy Pound, "Pure Metal"


1873: 1 Troy Ounce Pt (Russian Source) = £ 1.17 (USD$ 6.49)

Citation: Engineering, Vol. 17 (3/6/1874) p.172




See Also:

1873: 1 Troy Ounce Platinum (Semi-Mfg, Retail) = £ 1.60 (USD$ 8.88)

A common "foot of Platinum wire" was probably 0.75 gram or 0.24 troy ounce.

Citation: Catalogue of achromatic microscopes, telescopes, opera, race and field glasses: and other philosophical, mathematical, surveying and standard meteorological instruments ...Pillischer, Moritz, London (1873) pp. 116, 118

c.1873: Presuambly sold retail, Platinum crucibles "about half the price of pure Gold"


c. 1870: Platinum wire for detonation fuzes.  Where 1 Meter of Ultra-Fine Platinum wire weighs 0.003758749 Ozt., 266 Meters weighed ~ 1 Ozt.




Historical recollection, thirty years' hindsight - low for contemporary cited UK Platinum-ware prices, unless wholesale.

c.1873: 1 Troy Ounce Platinum (Mfg, Whols.) = £ 1.40 (USD$ 7.77)

Citation: The American amateur photographer, Vol. 18, 1906, pp.390-1

Common-knowledge of Platinum, c.1873.
 


Spurious Sovereigns, c. 1872

"With one exception (17.44 g/cc) the relative density of the thirteen counterfeits examined varied between 19.63 to 20.36 g/cc. This is lower than the relative density of pure platinum (21.45 g/cc) but the alloy was considered to contain alloying amounts of copper. The spectrographic analysis of one coin found 3.4 percent copper. The 91.6 percent gold alloy used in sovereigns has a relative density of about 17.5 g/cc. {...} There is no evidence to suggest this type of counterfeit was made after about 1880. This is believed to be due to the rising price of platinum making its use in such counterfeits uneconomic."

Spurious Sovereign (7.98 Grams, 22.05 mm) originally a fake 10-Escudo, 8.37 Grams?  The planchet (22.20 mm.) would have been heavily worn-down (~ -0.6 Grams) then heavily gilded.  This counterfeit was therefore notable for the effort! 

If the worn planchet was 3.5% Cu, 7.5 Grams Pt (@ £ 1.60/Ozt = £ 0.386) plus 0.22 Grams Standard Gold at the coin rate (£ 0.03) the intrinsic value was ~£ 0.40; 40% the Coin Value.

Factoring the labor in grinding the planchet and regilding, the counterfeiter's profit must have been less than 50%.