Colombia: 1827

February, 1826: 1 Troy Oz platina (market price for ore @ Choco) = S$ 0.68

Late January, 1827: News of the enormous platina yield in Russia (1st Half, 1826: August arrival in SPb?) was reported in British Honduras (Honduras Gazette) 4-5 months later. Caribbean basin merchants and Colombians would know by March, 1827 or 7 months delay?



February, 1827: The discovery of a platinum reef did not lead to much, except to further depress local prices (presmably).  Nothing came of this plan to refine & export Colombian Platinum.  The failed scheme probably encouraged the Colombian government to begin liquidating platina stocks (ingot & ore) mid-year 1827.

18 February, 1827: the refining cost was then estimated at 3 reales of the Spanish Dollar (Piece of 8) or S$0.375 per onza.

1827: 1 Troy Oz Platinum (refining cost) = S$ 0.4056

Citation: Gaceta de Colombia, Issue 279, 18 Feb 1827


1827: Apparently re-printing Cochrane's "spottpreis" (1823-January, 1824 prices), the spot price must in fact have been much lower.  The Colombian mint was selling platina for S$ 8-10./libra

Citation: Allgemeine Handlungs-Zeitung: mit den neuesten Erfindungen und ..., Vol. 34 (1827) p.523


1827/8: Between July 1827-June 1828, the Colombia government apparently sold 6,000 castellanos of platina ("productos") or 886.68 English Troy Ounces (59.94 libras or 27.58 kgs.)

If Mill's refining cost is accurate and ingot was sold first, an ingot/ore cost ratio may be surmised. It's unclear what part of the Treasury sale might have been crude ingot or raw ore, or each of what purity, higher price and terminology strongly suggests semi-refined Platinum was sold.

Assuming the highest grade was sold first and average monthly sales, then ~14 kgs of semi-refined metal were sold in the first seven months.

It remains a distinct possibility that certain merchants were caught in spectacularly poorly-timed trades, simply overpaying for ore in West (Colombia) while crude ingot from the East (Russia) began glutting the platina market. In July 1827, the falling platina price in Paris alarmed Count Cancrin; the Colombian decision to liquidate platina stocks appears similarly reactive to news of the enormous Russian yield.

Where the castellano weighed 70.935 English Troy Grains, ~0.14778 Troy Ounce = 886.6875 Troy Ounces or ~27.58 kgs (or, @ 10 castellanos per Spanish Dollar)

June 1827 - June 1828: 1 Troy Ounce platina (local price, ore) = S$ 0.68

Estimated or hypothetical prices, from the average given:

July 1827: Ore @ ~S$ o.67 ...... Ingot @ ~S$ 1.24
August 1827: Ore @ S$ o.66 ...... Ingot @ S$ 1.22
September 1827: Ore @ S$ o.52 ...... Ingot @ S$ 1.04
October 1827: Ore @ S$ o.51 ...... Ingot @ S$ 1.03
November 1827: Ore @ S$ o.38 ...... Ingot @ S$ 0.87
December 1827: Ore @ S$ o.37 ...... Ingot @ S$ 0.86
January 1828: Ore @ S$ o.37 ...... Ingot @ S$ 0.78
February 1828: Ore @ S$ o.36 ...... Ingot @ S$ -
March 1828: Ore @ S$ o.33 ...... Ingot @ S$ -
April 1828: Ore @ S$ o.33 ...... Ingot @ S$ -
May 1828: Ore @ S$ o.33 ...... Ingot @ S$ -
June 1828: Ore @ S$ o.33 ...... Ingot @ S$ -

September-October 1828: The Colombia government sold 135.57 libra (167.11 Troy Pounds, or 2,005 English Troy Ounces) for S$ 633.25 (at Eight Reales per S$1.)

The Colombian price had plunged more than 50%. 

September, 1828: 1 Troy Ounce platina (local price, ore) = S$ 0.31

Resrepo (1826) estimated Colombia's platina export at not more than 690 kgs.  Count Cancrin (1827) estimated the average platina yield from Colombia at ~20,000 ozt (606 - 622 kgs.) 

"It is not likely that the expected global supply of Platinum will even increase much, because after you own estimation of the gold-yield from Choco is 10,800 marks, assuming a full third of which is Platina, will come out to about 3,000 marks, or nearly 38 pouds."

Citation: Im Ural und Altai: Briefwechsel zwischen Alexander von Humboldt und Graf ...By Alexander von Humboldt, Egor F. Kankrin


c.1827: Dubious or just old prices?



c.1828:
Hypothetical: 1 Troy Ounce platina (ingot) = USD $6.

Legal export at unknown market rates with tariff, Late December 1828:

December, 1828: 1 Troy Ounce platina (local price, ore) = S$ 0.31



CHECK
260.8125 libras (at 14.792 Troy ounces) = 3,858 Troy Oz., or 120 kgs.

The total sale, about 147.6 kgs, for S$600. was about 5% the average annual amount exported from Colombia during the 1806-1810 period.  Various grades of metal may be presumed.