Showing posts with label 1802. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1802. Show all posts
December 1, 2014
UK, 1802
Wollaston's purchase of platina ore, from Paris?
Citation: "William Wollaston, John Johnson and Colombian alluvial platina: A study inrestricted industrial enterprise" Melvyn C. Usselman in Annals of Science, 37:3, (1980) pp. 253-268
"558 ounces purchased 12 July 1802 was identified as 'Lot T, French' and may refer to platina imported from France."
July 5, 2012
UK, 1799 - 1802: Silver Bullion Price
Early 1802:
Citation: Modern Geography: A Description of the Empires, Kingdoms, States ..., Vol. 1 John Pinkerton, Benjamin Smith Barton
Citation: A history of epidemics in Britain ... Charles Creighton (1894)
October, 1799:
Citation: THE PARLIAMENTARY REGISTER; OR, HISTORY OF THE PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF The House of Lords & Commons, 1803, p.52
1811:
1799-1801, English Wheat Price doubled
January 23, 2012
Colombia, 1802
1801-1802:
The Spanish King's Order of 30 October 1801 and Edict #729 (19 January 1802) likely triggered a platina price spike on European markets.
Madrid, Spain, bust 2 escudos, Charles IV, 1801FA, contemporary counterfeit made in gold-plated PLATINUM. CT-342 (for type); KM-435.1 (for type). 6.8 grams. Slightly different details from genuine issues, the platinum revealed by slight wear on high points, AU grade.
May 3, 2011
Jamaica/France, 1802: German Price Cited
Fall 1801: 1 Troy Oz. Pt (Mfg: Actual Cost) = Fr. 31.102
Where Fl 1 (Bavarian Gulden) = USD$ 0.5148 (circa 1801) this per troy ounce price for platina in Jamaica appears identical to the New York Price very widely cited in US newspapers in 1802. (It is unlikely Schubert ever saw that reported; his estimation is probably from a different source.)
Assuming £ 11. and the Bavarian Pfund @18 troy ounces:
1802: 1 Troy Oz. platina (Jamaica price) = Fl 5.33 ; £ 0.61 ; ~ USD$ 2.765
It remains unclear why Paris platina prices would be significantly lower; Wollaston also paid 1/6th the price for his large bulk purchase of platina in 1799.
Error: the sale was of ore, not a semi-refined Platinum byproduct
"1802 in Jamaica, the cost of a Pfund of Platinum Black is Fl. 96"
Where Fl 1 (Bavarian Gulden) = USD$ 0.5148 (circa 1801) this per troy ounce price for platina in Jamaica appears identical to the New York Price very widely cited in US newspapers in 1802. (It is unlikely Schubert ever saw that reported; his estimation is probably from a different source.)
Assuming £ 11. and the Bavarian Pfund @18 troy ounces:
1802: 1 Troy Oz. platina (Jamaica price) = Fl 5.33 ; £ 0.61 ; ~ USD$ 2.765
It remains unclear why Paris platina prices would be significantly lower; Wollaston also paid 1/6th the price for his large bulk purchase of platina in 1799.
Error: the sale was of ore, not a semi-refined Platinum byproduct
"1802 in Jamaica, the cost of a Pfund of Platinum Black is Fl. 96"
1802: with a new and more efficient method for refining Platinum, Jannetty presents a variety of products.
An X. The author, as we have seen, discovered the art of working platinum, this metal so rebellious to the efforts of metallurgists, and endowed with so many valuable qualities. He made jewelry and chemistry instruments of great utility. The jury awarded him a silver medal. (Monitor, An X, page 52.)
Citation: Die Branntweinbrennerey nach theoretischen und praktischen Grundsätzen ...; Carl Christian Adolph Neuenhahn (1803)
September 29, 2010
France, 1803: Silver & platina equivalent
Where unworked platina is approximately the same value as fine silver, there is another reason Platinum wouldn't suit a Silver fraud: the much greater specific density.
In London, where Wollaston's imported platina cost £ 0.13 and refined metal retailed for £ 0.75, the ratio appears equivalent: ~5x raw ore cost (in 1805.) The French price didn't drop until Breant's discovery of Wollaston's method and the large importation of 1811/2.
In London, where Wollaston's imported platina cost £ 0.13 and refined metal retailed for £ 0.75, the ratio appears equivalent: ~5x raw ore cost (in 1805.) The French price didn't drop until Breant's discovery of Wollaston's method and the large importation of 1811/2.
c. 1802: 1 Troy oz. Fine Silver = Fr 6.91
c. 1802: 1 Troy oz. platina ~ Fr 6.5
c. 1802: 1 troy oz. Platinum (refined, mfg) ~ Fr 40. ?
The price in 1812 was reportedly Fr 36.57/oz. troy.
c. 1803:
Citation: Encyclopedie Methodique, Ou Par Ordre De Matieres: Par Une..., Vol. 13 Antoine François de Fourcroy, Felix Vicq-d'Azur, Jean Le Rond d' Alembert (1805), p.72
1804: Silver and Platinum pens
Citation: Annales des arts et manufactures: ou mémoires technologiques sur ..., Vol. 26, R. O'Reilly (1804) p.125
c.1803?
1802:
A German reference from 1802: 16 Pfund platina for a 10,000 Franc telescope.
April 18, 2010
USA/Jamaica, 1802: Bulk Platina First Appears in NYC
In late 1801/ early 1802 at exactly the same period when Alexander von Humboldt was investigating platina in Choco, the Spanish Crown maintained an export ban and monopoly, illicit trade in platina at the source notwithstanding. So the appearance of a very large shipment of platina smuggled from New Spain via Jamaica in 1802 was noteworthy and widely reported in US newspapers, as a major trade item.
The rarity of this now restricted "new metal" was understood by merchants. The price was extremely high - exorbitant to some - but may be considered an early attempt at price discovery in a suddenly restricted export market. It is unknown at what price the platina was actually purchased by the agent in Jamaica or in Cartegena, but Wollaston in London was making purchases 1800 - 1816 for a fraction of this reported cost. It is also unknown at what price this platina actually sold in New York (or elsewhere.) "Baron Alexis De Carendeffez, "formerly of San Domingo, Haiti" would be the son of the French nobleman assassinated in Port-Au-Prince in 4 March 1791 and who may have served at Yorktown: he arrived in New York sometime prior to 1798 (presumably, from Haiti?)
This notably high US crude platina price at the beginning of the 19th Century reports presumed adulteration, additional middlemen/fees, and a momentarily tight or even cornered market. The heavily restricted trade and contemporary belief that platina 8-10x rarer than gold undoubtedly fueled speculative interest. This probably represents a failed attempt at a cornered market rather than an Investor's Death Spike, but this '1802 Jamaica Price' was widely reported and remembered over 25 years later.
Note that estimated weight of 'platina' (aka 'Platinum') should include other yet undiscovered PGMs; the hypothetical import price for Janeanetty's Platinum would be based on standard shipping, tariffs, mark-ups, etc.
Later German sources (1835) describe what might be the same platina, but without any mention of the US destination. A textbook example of arbitrage (1802) could not, however, guarantee selling the product at the same rate but higher price in the USA (if Sterling was employed.) 40 Piastres the English Pound avoirdupois and 34 Pence per Piastre becomes:
1802: 1 Troy Ounce platina (@Jamaica) = £0.3866 (USD$ 1.74)
1802: 1 Troy Ounce platina (@ New York) = USD$ 2.74
This is instructive, where refined Platinum had recently been sold at the price of Gold in London; it was certainly not cheaper in New York!
The French account republishes the New York news; a gourde-piastre was Fr 5 (hence, ~$1)
Citation: De Journal de L'amerique du Nord ou Correspondant des Etats-Unis (1807) p.1
Citation: Allgemeines Waren-Lexikon, Volume 2; Johann C. Leuchs (1836) p.125
In 1802 @ New York, where the USD$ 10. Eagle was 16.04 g fine gold,USD$ 1. 24.75 gr:
1 troy oz. fine gold = USD$ 19.39
1 troy oz. fine gold = 7.07 troy oz. of 62.15% crude Choco platina
1801-2: The 1801 species crisis likely effected Colombian trade; in Europe, precious metals were scarce and at a premium and prices of plentiful US goods had fallen considerably by 1802. The scarcity of specie and high value of PMs may have favored platina also.
1802:
The rarity of this now restricted "new metal" was understood by merchants. The price was extremely high - exorbitant to some - but may be considered an early attempt at price discovery in a suddenly restricted export market. It is unknown at what price the platina was actually purchased by the agent in Jamaica or in Cartegena, but Wollaston in London was making purchases 1800 - 1816 for a fraction of this reported cost. It is also unknown at what price this platina actually sold in New York (or elsewhere.) "Baron Alexis De Carendeffez, "formerly of San Domingo, Haiti" would be the son of the French nobleman assassinated in Port-Au-Prince in 4 March 1791 and who may have served at Yorktown: he arrived in New York sometime prior to 1798 (presumably, from Haiti?)
This notably high US crude platina price at the beginning of the 19th Century reports presumed adulteration, additional middlemen/fees, and a momentarily tight or even cornered market. The heavily restricted trade and contemporary belief that platina 8-10x rarer than gold undoubtedly fueled speculative interest. This probably represents a failed attempt at a cornered market rather than an Investor's Death Spike, but this '1802 Jamaica Price' was widely reported and remembered over 25 years later.
Note that estimated weight of 'platina' (aka 'Platinum') should include other yet undiscovered PGMs; the hypothetical import price for Janeanetty's Platinum would be based on standard shipping, tariffs, mark-ups, etc.
1802: 300 lbs. @ $40./lb. avoirdupois = $12,000./4,375 oz. Troy
1802: 1 Troy Ounce platina (NY: whols., 62.15% ore) ~ USD$ 2.74
1802: 1 Troy Oz. Platinum (hypothetical US mfg cost) ~ USD$ 10.30
1802: 1 Troy Oz. Platinum (est. import cost, refined) ~ USD$ 20.
Citation: Medical repository of original essays and intelligence relative to ..., Vol. 6, edited by Samuel Latham Mitchell, Edward Miller (1803), p.2031802: 1 Troy Ounce platina (NY: whols., 62.15% ore) ~ USD$ 2.74
1802: 1 Troy Oz. Platinum (intrinsic) ~ USD$ 4.41
1802: 1 Troy Oz. Platinum (hypothetical US mfg cost) ~ USD$ 10.30
Later German sources (1835) describe what might be the same platina, but without any mention of the US destination. A textbook example of arbitrage (1802) could not, however, guarantee selling the product at the same rate but higher price in the USA (if Sterling was employed.) 40 Piastres the English Pound avoirdupois and 34 Pence per Piastre becomes:
1802: 1 Troy Ounce platina (@Jamaica) = £0.3866 (USD$ 1.74)
1802: 1 Troy Ounce platina (@ New York) = USD$ 2.74
This is instructive, where refined Platinum had recently been sold at the price of Gold in London; it was certainly not cheaper in New York!
The French account republishes the New York news; a gourde-piastre was Fr 5 (hence, ~$1)
Citation: De Journal de L'amerique du Nord ou Correspondant des Etats-Unis (1807) p.1
Citation: Allgemeines Waren-Lexikon, Volume 2; Johann C. Leuchs (1836) p.125
In 1802 @ New York, where the USD$ 10. Eagle was 16.04 g fine gold,USD$ 1. 24.75 gr:
1 troy oz. fine gold = USD$ 19.39
1 troy oz. fine gold = 7.07 troy oz. of 62.15% crude Choco platina
1 troy oz. fine gold = 4.39 troy oz. of Platinum ('pure' ore)
In 1802 @ New York, at the Federal rate:
1 troy oz. fine silver = USD$ 1.2929
In 1802 @ New York, at the Federal rate:
1 troy oz. fine silver = USD$ 1.2929
1 troy oz. fine silver = 0.47 troy oz. of 62.15% crude Choco platina
1802:
1 troy oz. fine silver = 0.29 troy oz. of Platinum ('pure' ore)
1800:
1801-2: The 1801 species crisis likely effected Colombian trade; in Europe, precious metals were scarce and at a premium and prices of plentiful US goods had fallen considerably by 1802. The scarcity of specie and high value of PMs may have favored platina also.
1802:
1802: The course of exchange varied; the Franc was valued at USD$0.1845 - 0.1887
The 1802 High Price in New York, reported in Bavaria in 1807:
(Cartagena - Kingston, kms; Cartagena - New York, 3,395 kms; Cartagena - Liverpool, 8,314 kms)
James Perkins (1761-1822) donates a specimen of platina in grains from Peru to the Boston Historical Society. Perkins was a wealthy merchant-shipowner of Boston, then a 42-year old a partner (with brother) in the firm of J. and T. H. Perkins of Boston, engaged in the China trade. His town house was on Pearl Street, and he maintained a country place, "Pine Bank," at West Roxbury, Massachusetts. He was one of the founders of the Perkins Institute for the Blind.
Citation: The Boston Weekly Magazine, Vol.1 (5/14/1803)
Adjusting for Real Inflation since 1802 (7,281%) we can extrapolate a long term price for wholesale platina @ $ 351. (in 2009 USD$) The respective refined platinum price is inflation-projected to ~$ 1,075. per Troy Ounce in 2009 Dollars.
James Perkins (1761-1822) donates a specimen of platina in grains from Peru to the Boston Historical Society. Perkins was a wealthy merchant-shipowner of Boston, then a 42-year old a partner (with brother) in the firm of J. and T. H. Perkins of Boston, engaged in the China trade. His town house was on Pearl Street, and he maintained a country place, "Pine Bank," at West Roxbury, Massachusetts. He was one of the founders of the Perkins Institute for the Blind.
Citation: The Boston Weekly Magazine, Vol.1 (5/14/1803)
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