May 13, 2014

USA, 1815: US Coin

c.1815:
Bollman provided Philadelphia (and other USA?) chemists the Platinum Chloride Salt

 




To actually produce Platinum coinage, the US Mint at Philadelphia would have had to purchase bulk platina at market-rates.  For context, to produce a negligible 20,000 $1 Platinum Coins at the Experimental Coin's Weight would have required in 14,362 Ozt (446.72 Kgs) Platinum or ~ 638 Kgs of ~70% Ore.  To produce 40,000-80,000 $2.50 coins would have required 1,276 - 2,553 Kgs: an impossible quantity, given the actual Colombian yield.

(The Pattern was likely produced from useless residue on hand at no further cost/loss to the Mint, slag from Colombian Gold.  It is unknown how much Platinum accumulated at the US Mint, or what the secondary market was for however many ounces per year.)


1814: 1 Troy Ounce Platinum (Small Producer Cost, $15./lb avd) = $1.02857


1814: Intrinsic Value of the 1814 Pt Coin, Small Producer rate: $ 0.7386
1814: Intrinsic Value of the 1814 Pt Coin, $ 0. (Fr. ) 


Weight: 344.7 Grains Troy (0.718 Ozt ; 22.3362 Gr)
Specific gravity: 20.9
Diameter: 32.6 mm.


The 1860 intrinsic value shows:

1860: 1 Troy Oz. Platinum (Scrap: US Coin, intrinsic) = USD$ 7.66


Citation: A Description of Ancient and Modern Coins; United States Bureau of the Mint, James Ross Snowden (1860)






 Charles Link acquired the coin for $138,000 at the Heritage Auctions Chicago auction in August 2011




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