USA, 1861-4: US Civil War Price Higher (War Materiel)

Platinum was in great demand during the war, a valuable & rare commodity utilized in munitions by both Union & Confederate forces. Although I have not found any war price records specific to the PGM, Platinum imports were almost certainly priced in & purchased with Gold (not Greenbacks or Confederate currency.) Imported Platinum wares were likewise dutiable in Gold. Late 1863 - 1864 may have witnessed Platinum prices at or near the exorbitant price of Gold, applicable to all or most European manufactures/imports, higher rates across the board.

This peculiar currency circumstance explains why Platinum prices disappeared from US catalogues & advertisements, replaced by "market rates" from and requests to "pay in gold." The fluctuations on the downside (in 1865 & 1866) must have been equally dramatic.

An 1866 textbook from MIT professors explicitly indicates Gold was 16x the Price of Silver and 2x the price of Platinum. Platinum had been sold to the trade for about 1/4 the Price of Gold, in 1862. The declaration that Spot Platinum was half the Price of Gold (in 1865) establishes a ratio and all but confirms this precious metal had risen much higher and faster than many other commodities, including Gold.

In the Summer of 1867, a Richmond, Virginia dentist recalled material shortages: the January 1865 price of Gold Foil (22 kt?) was "$ 64 in Gold Coin" (not Greenbacks: ) or in Confederate currency, then C$ 3,840.  Certainly, a different price-inflation persisted in each city in these years, 1860-1866.



Citation: Submarine warfare, offensive and defensive ; John Sanford Barnes


mid-1863: Platinum reportedly used in (Union?) gun vents:


With specific reference to quicksilver (the commodity w./ highest recorded inflation) Platinum also became most dear and essential for the war effort. This fact was not forgotten, and by the onset of the Great War (1917), US Gov't. officials knew to immediately fix Platinum prices and nationalize Pt stocks.

Citation: A critical examination of our financial policy during the Southern rebellion; Simon Newcomb (1865)

1867: wartime reference? NYC: Platinum "more costly than Gold"

Citation: The New England Farmer, Vol. 1 10/1867, p.481


1862-1865: High premium on PMs in USA




Commodities During the War:

1858 - 62:

1863:

1863:


1863:


1864:

April, 1864:

c. 1860:

1865: @ Gold Rate

Citation: "Dental Surgery as applied in the Armies of the Late Confederate States" W. Leigh Burton in American Journal of Dental Science, Vol. 1, No. 4 (August, 1867) , p.182