USA, 1890: 2-Sigma Event for Pt Price

March, 1890: 1 Troy Oz. Platinum (Mkt) ~ USD$ 14.

Citation: Congressional Edition, Vol. 2775 
 

 



No contemporaries bothered to record/detail the 1890 Platinum Price Bubble in the US market, but two sources attempted to chart the dramatic price moves in Marks (Platinum) and Shilling (Ore.)

Refined Platinum on the German market:

Citation: Chemist & Druggist, Vol. 40 (4/16/1892) p.566


Citation: The Electrical Engineer, Vol. 15, No. 254, 3/15/1893 p.268


January, 1890: 1 Ozt. Platinum (mkt) = USD$ 8.

May, 1890: 1 Ozt. Platinum (mkt) = USD$ 11.50
June, 1890: 1 Ozt. Platinum (mkt) = USD$ 13.
Late October, 1890: 1 Ozt. Platinum (mkt) ~ USD$ 25.

January 11, 1890:
 Citation: Engineering and Mining Journal, 1/11/90; Vol. 49-50, p.77
 

March, 1890: In Philadelphia chemists' circulars, sharply advancing prices (and scarcity) in photographers' platino-salts was noted by early March, 1890. By allusion, the early advance to occurred in sometime in January.




April 12, 1890:
Citation: Engineering and Mining Journal, 4/12/90; Vol. 49-50, p.440

Mid-May, 1890:
Citation: Western Electrician 5/24/90; p.292


May 1890: 1 Ozt. Platinum (Numismatic) = USD$ 35.77 (£ 7.34)
May 1890: Est. 33.9 g Platinum Medal (Numismatic) = USD$ 39. (£ 8.)






July 12, 1890:

Citation: Anthony's Photographic Bulletin, Vol. 21, No.13. 7/12/1890; p.390

 
c.August, 1890: 1 Ozt. Platinum (Semi-Mfg, Trade) = USD$ 19.20

Citation: Price list of physicians' supplies [manufactured by] Chas. Truax & Co. (1890) p.113

July, 1890: Erroneous, old price


October 6, 1890:
Citation: Engineering and Mining Journal, 10/6/90; Vol. 49-50, p.469


Citation: Engineering and Mining Journal, 10/11/90; p.434

 
December, 1890: 1 Troy Ounce Platinum (Semi-Mfg, whols.) ~ USD$ 9.
 c.September, 1890: 1 Troy Ounce Platinum (Semi-Mfg, whols.) = USD$ 20.

c. 10/1/1890:


Late October, 1890: Platinum More Expensive Than Gold! 

Citation: Anthony's Photographic Bulletin, Vol. 21, No.21; 11/12/1890; p.648

 
Late October, 1890: Platinum wire nearly 300% more expensive
 
Citation: The Telegraphic Journal & Electrical Review, 1890; pp.
 

 
November 8, 1890:
Citation: Engineering and Mining Journal, 11/8/90; Vol. 49-50, p.564
 
December 6, 1890:
Citation: Engineering and Mining Journal, 12/6/90; Vol. 49-50, p.668
 

December 27, 1890:
Citation: Engineering and Mining Journal, 12/27/90; Vol. 49-50, p.760


USGS briefly summarized the Platinum Spike, 1889-90:



1889-91: Destabilization of the Silver Standard may have encouraged a form of commodity speculation in Russia, particularly for those merchant houses trading heavily with the USA.





1890/1: Base-metals didn't witness a price-hike, either.

The price of Platinum rose dramatically in 1889, evidently an attempt at 'cornering the market.' It was suggested that dental patent holders & manufacturers were the culprits, in the 50% price hike.

1888/9: 1 Troy Ounce Platinum (manufactured, wholesale) ~ USD$ 15.00

Citation: See @nd Ed., Dental chemistry and metallurgy, Clifford Mitchell (1889) Page 200?


1889: 1 Troy Ounce Platinum (manufactured, wholesale) = USD$ 14.- 16.

Citation: The Electrical engineer, Vol. 6 (1890) p.564







Citation: Pacific Coast Dentist, Vol. 2, Southern California Dental Association (1893) p.130

May 1890: 1 Troy Ounce Pt (Source) = USD$ 11.50

Citation: Western Electrician, Vol. 6 5/24/1890 p.292
 

 Early 1890: 1 Troy Ounce Platinum (mkt) = USD$ 17.

c. mid-1890:

 

1890: 1 Troy Ounce Platinum (1890 Peak) = USD$ 22.

Summer 1890 (UK):

1890:

UK, 1824: Platina ore adulterated

January-December, 1823: 1 Troy Oz. Platinum (refined) = £ 1.28 - £ 1.5039

In 1824, Dr. Wollaston recorded Rhodium receipts of £ 42.75
 
In an 1824 treatise, Accum's old partner Fredrick Joyce warned consumers of duff platina sold by vendors.  Best quality ore samples were 55% - 65% Platinum, c. 1823/4.


c.1824 
Citation Practical chemical mineralogy; or, Concise and easy methods ... for readily; Frederick Joyce, 1825

In mid-1824 (?) a single cell of Wollaston's Voltaic battery cost £0.17 ; in 1825, a larger platino-zinc pile in Germany cost >5 x more.  Assuming a common thickness and 120 sq. in. per English Troy Ounce, ~£1.10 for 160 sq. in. Pt (for the English set, in 1824) and ~£0.50 for 24 sq. in. Pt (for the single German unit, in 1825) makes German Platinum ~3.25x more expensive by weight, less than a year later.

Citation: The Chemist (November 1824) p. 158

c.1824 Suggestion of Gold Foil-covered Platinum counterfeit Sovereigns.  The surface area of a full-weight, milled-edge Sovereign should be ~9.42 cm² (1.46 Sq. In.) Whereas a full-weight Sovereign ought to weigh 7.988 g. (.91665 Fine), a well-gilded counterfeit might have as much as 2.2 g. Gold alloy (~2 g. Fine Gold) with a Platinum alloy core weighing 5.8 g. 

For the correct Specific Gravity (w/ Sb & Cu), which most counterfeiters failed to achieved, the Platinum alloy should have been between 87%-91% Pt (~5.10-5.30 g.)

Dr. Wollaston claimed his refined Platinum had a Specific Gravity between 21.25-21.5, but contemporaries preferred and noted the better quality or French crucibles. 

Even assuming the an English counterfeiter already had the necessary tools (otherwise, a capital outlay), the purchase of refined Platinum was certainly not economical; commercial Platinum for the flan or planchet would have cost £ 0.25, before any cost for additional materials, labor and above any routine costs for such a criminal endeavor. 

Given the extant technology prior to the 1830s (when cheap plating with Galvanic batteries was known), this particular type of false coining would not have been remunerative or profitable, unless the counterfeiter had been a chemist or refiner (such as a Mint employee) and with access to cheap ore. 

Germany, 1867

Where the Loth was 14.40 g., the Quentchen ~1.6g., the Berlin Chemist's retail price for Chlor-Platinate had fallen -17.53%


1862: 1 Ounce Troy Chlor-Gold (Photo. Chemical, Retail) = Thlr. 25.9196
1862: 1 Ozt. Chlor-Platin (Photo. Chemical, Ret.) = Thlr. 9.72 

1867: 1 Ozt. Troy Chlor-Gold (Photo. Chemical, Ret.) = Thlr. 23.38
1867: 1 Ozt. Chlor-Platin (Photo. Chemical, Ret.) = Thlr. 8.02 
1867: 1 Ozt. Chlor-Palladium (Photo. Chemical, Ret.) = Thlr. 8.02





At Fl. 24.50 Fuss:

Citation: Repertorium für physikalische Technik für mathematische und ..., Vol. 3 (1867)




Where the 1867 Paris-delivery Poud-rate (16.38 Kg) wholesale price for Ural-refined Platinum ingot was 189.25 руб /Kg., (Fl 235.77; Thlr. 176.87)  

1867: 1 Troy Oz. Platinum (Paris: SPb Refined, Bulk) = Fl. 7.33 (Thlr. 5.50)   
1867: 1 Troy Oz. Platinum (UK: Scrap, Retail) ~ £ 1.00 (USD$ 6.88)  
1867: 1 Troy Oz. Platinum (USA: Trade: Plate) = $ 6. (USD$ 8.29) 
1867: 1 Troy Oz. Platinum (France: Mfg, Ret.) = Fl. 22.30

Assuming the weight of the Meter in Platinum to be ~2.5 Kg, the total weight of Platinum manufactured should not have greatly exceeded ~112.53 Ozt.  Manufacture was estimated to be 25% of the Price.  The standards should have weighed 5.43 Kgs?


1866: 1 Troy Oz. Platinum (Sheet & Wire) = Fl 14.31 (Thlr. 8.18)

1867: 1 Troy Oz. Platinum (Bavaria: Mfg) ~ Fl. 26.66 (Thlr. 15.23)  
1867: 1 Troy Oz. Platinum (Bavaria: Refined, Bulk) ~ Fl. 22.22  (Thlr. 12.70)

1869: 1 Troy Oz. Platinum (Wire & Foil: Semi-Mfg, Ret.) ~ Fl. 16.33 (Thlr. 9.33)
1869: 1 Troy Oz. Platinum (Basic Mfg, Ret.) ~ Fl. 17.24 (Thlr. 9.85)

  

Er bat daher Steinheil, ihm seine Preisvorstellungen zu nennen. Zugleich wie es aber darauf hin, dass der Landtag voraussichtlich für die herstellung je einer genauen kopie des meters und des kilogramms aus platin nicht höher als gefahr 3,000 Fl. ansetzen werde, wobei der Metallewerth des Platin auf circa 2,500 Fl. zu veranschlagen.

He therefore asked Steinheil to give him his asking price.  At the same time as but point out that the parliament is expected for manufacturing each an exact copy of the meters and kilogram of Platinum will begin, to be not excessively higher than Fl. 3,000, with the value of the Platinum metals to be approximately estimated Fl. 2,500.

1867: 
1 Troy Ounce Platinum (bulk, whols.) = Fl. 77.76 (Fr. 164.08)

Citation: Die Mass- und Gewichtsreformen in Deutschland im 19. Jahrhundert ... (2010) p.58

Germany, 1809

At a period when Napoleon's army invaded Germany, the currency price of precious metals varied - at a premium, in times of war.   Nor is it clear when refined Platinum was sold cheaply, as some contemporary French writers warned the purported article was in fact SILVER.   After Jeannetty (1800-1813), the Platinum trade of particular mention by German contemporaries  include both Wollaston's  agent in London, Wm. Carey (1805) and Bréant in Paris (1813-19.)  Presumably, both offered competitive rates.

For lack of reference, it may be presumed there were no significant German producers until 1828.  Prior to that date, manufactured Platinum sold in Germany or Austria was imported.

1800: 1 Troy Ounce Platinum = Wien. Fl. 16. (Fr. 42.31)

1809: 1 Troy Oz. Platinum (bulk, producer) = Fr 27.43 (USD$ 6.43)
1809: 1 Troy Oz. Platinum (pure, producer) = Fr 36.57 (USD$ 8.58)

1809: 1 Troy Oz. Platinum (scrap, Buyer's Price) = Fr 15.24 (USD$ 3.57)

"Der preis der platina ist bisher noch nicht fixirt gewesen, weil man von diesem herrlichen metalle noch zu wenig gebrauch machte; man hat es es daher bald theuer wie Gold, bald wohlfeil verkauft."

"the price of platina has not yet been fixed, because too little use was made of this magnificent metal; so then it's erratically dear as gold, soon to be sold cheaply." 

Citation: Oekonomische Encyclopaedie oder allgemeines System der Staats- Stadt- Haus ... ;  Johann Georg Kruenitz, Floerke (1810) p. 391

Where the Gold Price was (19.16 = @ 202.758 Rthlr.)


1809: 1 Troy Ounce Gold = 10.582 Rthlr.

Where the Gold Price was (29 Marks x 19.16 = 555.64 Troy Ounces @ 5,880 Rthlr. Preus. Cour.)  

1809: 1 Troy Ounce Gold = 10.582 Rthlr Cour.

Where the Gold Price was (19.16 @ 236.6 C.M.)  

1809: 1 Troy Ounce Gold, coined = 12.348 Fl. C.M.

 

Russia, 1838

1838: 1 Ozt. Platinum (SPb: semi-mfg)= 21.87664 руб Acc.   ~ 5.96 руб (Ag), = £ 0.981, Fr. 24.77, ℳ 13.33

1838: Platina yield: 121.953 Poud = 4,878.1 Funt = 64,225.8 Ozt. = 1,997.6 Kgs.



1823-38 (15 years) the platina reported produced was 1,259.1 pouds (20,624.87 kgs.), or 663,105 ozt.; reported production was ~1,375 kgs or 44,207 ozt.  At 80% purity, this amounts to exactly 1,100 kgs. pure Platinum, annually.

In the same period, the amount of Gold produced was 5,150.33 pouds (84,365 kgs.), or 2,712,397.5 ozt.  Only 24.45% as much platinum was produced as Gold, in these years.

In the same period, the amount of Silver produced was 18,005.9 pouds (294,946 kgs.), or 9,482,733 ozt.  Only 7% as much platina was produced as Silver, in these years.

Platina was only 5.16% of all precious metals produced in Russia in these years.  Silver was only 3.5x more common than Gold but 14.3x more common than platina; Gold was 4.09x more common than platina.

Citation: Commercial Statistics: A Digest of the Productive Resources,... ; John Macgregor (1846) pp. 752-5
 

In Pounds Avoirdupois (28,125 lbs. @£393,737 ; 410,200 ozt. @ £ £0.96), the  (21.88 руб./ozt) was clearly estimated.

122 Poud = 4,880 Funt = 64,251 Ozt. = 1,998.42 Kgs.


Apparently calculating English standard gold (11/12) against the avoirdupois Pound, with slight error ("14.37" ozt instead of 14.583 ozt per lb.), standard Gold is estimated £ 60.76 and platina £ 14.  Where Fine Gold should be £ 4.2273/ozt, Coined Platinum is

1824-38: 1 troy Ounce Platinum (coined) = £ 0.974 (21.72 руб Banco)
~ 4.72 руб Ag





Charles Henningsen is suspect, his account may be largely ghost-written and drawn on other writers.  It's especially strange he could be fighting a war in Circassia, and in London (writing a book simultaneously.) Otherwise, the work reads perfectly as a research project, devoid of personal anecdote or any travel experience.

The date for this Low intrinsic rate might suggest 1843/1844, but Platinum prices had already begun rising on world markets. The Silver price and Rouble forex offer a probable date for the Platinum Low, 1838 or 1839.  Also, Henningsenis probably quoting a local poud rate for ore, perhaps at the source; Platinum coins were, by contrast, refined metal.

(Unspecified Date, c. 1844?): 3 Silver руб = £ 0.4695 - 0.4805 ; ~ £ 0.4750
(Unspecified Date, c.1844?): 3 Platinum руб = £ 0.0750

1844: 1 Troy Ounce Silver (Coin) = £ 1.410 - 1.444

1844: 1 Troy Oz Platinum (Coin) = £ 0.2254

For the value of 3 руб  Silver, examining the intrinsic coin-metal Silver Rouble value in Pounds Sterling and Credit Rouble forex in Sterling suggest best dates.

1835: 3 Silver руб = £ 0.4673 ; 3 руб Banco = £ 0.1255
1836: 3 Silver руб = £ 0.4698 ; 3 руб Banco = £ 0.1264
1837: 3 Silver руб = £ 0.4636 ; 3 руб Banco = £ 0.1300
1838: 3 Silver руб = £ 0.4629 ; 3 руб Banco = £ 0.1325
1839: 3 Silver руб = £ 0.4727 ; 3 руб Credit Notes = £ 0.50
1840: 3 Silver руб = £ 0.4727 ; 3 руб Credit Notes = £ 0.4938
1841: 3 Silver руб = £ 0.4703 ; 3 руб Credit Notes = £ 0.478 - 0.493
1842: 3 Silver руб = £ 0.4654 ; 3 руб Credit Notes = £ 0.4648 - 0.482
1843: 3 Silver руб = £ 0.4634 ; 3 руб Credit Notes = £ 0.4648 - 0.4766
1844: 3 Silver руб = £ 0.4658 ; 3 руб Credit Notes = £ 0.4695 - 0.4805

c.1840: 1 Troy Ounce platina (Low: importer's bulk) ~ USD$ 2.60


Although his Silver Rouble estimate looks high (perhaps, account by premium on coin) Henningsen's stated value for the 3-Rouble Coin (£ 0.075) assumes 1 Kilogram Platinum was then worth £ 7.244 (151.52 руб A. > 44.57 руб Kr.) ; 1 Kilogram of Silver was then worth in London £ 8.54 - 8.71 

At that value (£ 0.075) per 2.42708333 Zolotnik, 1 Poud ~  £ 118.66

  

Citation: Revelations of Russia: or The Emperor Nicholas and his empire, in 1844, Vol. 2 Charles Frederick Henningsen

Where 60 pouds = 31,600 Troy Ounces, a high value might be estimated (perhaps at the global market price) 1825-1844, or for that years at local price.

1838: 1 Troy Oz. Platinum (intrinsic) < (Silver Rouble) 7.76 руб (£ 0.3481)

c.1840: 1 Troy Oz. Platinum (Russian mkt value) = £ 0.23 ($USD 0.83)

Rouble Value