Austria, 1838

DSQ
Advertised at Gold Coin Rates; adjust to Paper Rates as necessary. 

1833: 1 Troy Oz. Platinum (London Mfg, Ret.) = Fl. 14.37  (£ 1.50) 
1836: 1 Ozt. Platinum (London: Fine Wire Ret.) = Fl. 16.68 (£ 1.75) 
c.1839: 1 Ozt. Platinum (Paris Mfg, Bulk) = Fl. 11.20 (Fr 30.48) 
1838:  1 Ozt. Platinum (USA: Semi-Mfg, Imp.) =  Fl. 20.785 (USD$ 10.)

1837:  1 Ozt. Platinum (SPb: Coined, Silver Rate) = Thlr. 6.91 (~$ 6.72) 
1838:  1 Ozt. Platinum (SPb: Coined, Silver Rate) = Fl. 13.82 ($7.02)

1833: 1 Ozt. Pt (SPb: Coined, Silver Rate) ~ Fl. 10.60 


1836/7: 1 Ozt. Platinum (Germany: Intrinsic, Retail) =  (Thlr. 11.70) 

Identical prices for some Platinum-Ware (See 'Evaporating-Basin') in the 1832 Batka Catalogue suggest stable retail prices.   Platinum-ware was ~6x more expensive than Silver-ware.

Taking the Unze (2x Loth @16.07719 Gr. =) @32.1544 Grams; (106.) Sheet and Wire,

1838: 1 Ozt. Platinum (Prag: Semi-Mfg) = Fl. 14.51 (£ 1.5158)
($ 7.07-7.29; Avg. $7.17; 7.00)  

Abfälle zum Auflösen 11 fl. die Unze (Scrap Sold for Fl. 11./Unze)

1837: 1 Ozt. Platinum (Scrap: Sold) = Fl. 10.64 (5.47/ $5.34) (£ 1.1115)
1838: 1 Ozt. Platinum (Scrap: Sold) = Fl. 10.64 ($5.1926; £ 1.1115)
($ 5.18-5.35; 5.26/ $5.13) 

(1069.) Crucibles, of every type and mode, Fl. .50/Gram
1838: 1 Ozt. Platinum (Mfg : Crucible, Ret.) = Fl. 15.5517 ($7.589; £ 1.6246) 
(USD$ 7.39-7.63; 7.69/ $7.50) 

Citation: Annalen der Pharmacie, Vol. 27 (1838), pp.

Russia: 1830-1840?

c. 1839: U. Schödel, mécanicien à Saint-Petersbourg, apparently working with the Daguerreotype.  (The Ruble-Banco/Assignatzia, or Асигнаційного рубль, was withdrawn in 1843; the erroneous 1850 German price-quote must be dated earlier.)

1827: 1 Troy Ounce Platinum (SPb: semi-mfg) = 36.46107 руб Acc.  
~ 9.7875 руб (Ag) = £ 1.519, Fr. 24.47, ℳ 13.13, 
~ 10.1281 руб (Ag) = £ 1.519, Fr. 24.47, ℳ 13.13,
 

1836:  1 Troy Ounce Platinum (SPb: semi-mfg)= 21.87664 руб Acc.  
~ 5.96 руб (Ag), = £ 0.968, Fr. 24.47, ℳ 13.13,
1837:  1 Troy Oz. Platinum (SPb: semi-mfg)= 21.87664 руб Acc.  
~ 5.96 руб (Ag), = £ 0.964, Fr. 24.33, ℳ 13.10,  
1838:  1 Troy Oz. Platinum (SPb: semi-mfg)= 21.87664 руб Acc.  
~ 5.96 руб (Ag), = £ 0.981, Fr. 24.77, ℳ 13.33,
1839:  1 Troy Oz. Platinum (SPb: semi-mfg)= 21.87664 руб Acc.  
~ 5.96 руб (Ag), = £ 1.046, Fr. 25.80, ℳ 13.94, 
1840:  1 Troy Oz. Platinum (SPb: semi-mfg)= 6.25 руб  
~  руб (Ag), = £ 0.9766, Fr. , ℳ ,
1841:  1 Troy Oz. Platinum (SPb: semi-mfg)= 6.25 руб  
~  руб (Ag), ~ £ 1.018, Fr. , ℳ ,





Random mis-dated price-currents, re-published in 1850.

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

Suisse, 1838

Presumably calculating in the Swiss fluid ounce (not an English ounce, nor the long since abandoned Paris once)  Dr. Melly in Geneva assumed '1 once = 27cc' so "15 once de l'eau" is 405 cc (or 13.69 US fluid ounces, 14.25 British Imperial ounces.) 

By volume, a 400 cc dish weighed about 105 g; a platinum vase of 3.3735 Ozt. for "at least" Sw.Fr. 200 implies a very high cost (import duty?) exaggerated:

c.1836: 1 Troy Oz. Platinum (Mfg, Ret) = Sw.Fr Sw 59.29 (USD$ 11.16)

At nearly 1/10th the price, the plated manufacture (w/ 14 g platinum) would cost just SwFr 30, all labor and materials.

Citation: Bibliothèque universelle de Genéve, Volumes 15-16; Auguste Arthur de Rive (1838) pp. 375-

Citation: Journal de chimie médicale, de pharmacie et de toxicologie (1838) p.570

Reported in Paris 12/2/1838.

Citation: La France industrielle, manufacturière, agricole et commerciale (12/2/1838)

Citation: Statistique de la Suisse: ou Tableau des forces matérielles et morales des ...; Stefano Franscini, Alexandre Michod (1855) p.482 


Citation: Archiv der Pharmazie: chemistry in life sciences, Vol. 23; Apotheker-Verein im Nördlichen Deutschland, Deutsche Pharmazeutische Gesellschaft, Apotheker-Verein in Norddeutschland (1840) p.346

Germany, 1838

Döbereiner's cited crucible price may refer to imported, tariffed French manufactures; the first edition of this two-part book appeared in 1840 with several citations from 1839.

Where a contemporary crucible with a cover (by volume, 1 Unzen = 24 cc) likely contained 370-380 grains English Troy (0.77 - o.79 Troy Ounces) or ~25 Grams pure Platinum at said price, the English Troy Ounce follows

c.1838: 1 Troy Ounce Platinum (mfg: crucible, retail?) = Thl 12.40 (USD$ 8.49)
1839: 1 Troy Oz. Platinum (mfg: Paris Price) = Thlr 7.45 - 8.51 (USD$ 5.21 - 5.95)

Under the same conditions, the size of the crucible bears too high a price; since every Unze by volume in the crucible costs about 10 Thalers, the requisite container of 8 Unzen (by volume) would cost fully 80 Thalers.

c.1838:

Citation: Deutsches Apothekerbuch; zum Gebrauche bei Vorlesungen ... Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner, Franz Döbereiner (1842)

The price of platinum is five times the Price of Silver and one-third the Price of Gold, in the processed state platinum is about 4.5 times that of the 14löthigem Silver.

See also:

1838: 1 Troy Ounce Platinum (semi-mfg, imported, retail) ~ USD$ 10.

Generic estimation, of dubious value:

UK, 1838: Griffin's ; Palladium's Price by Bulk, in relation to Platinum & Gold

With the Banco-to-Silver Rouble revaluation, the presumably stable St. Petersburg Platinum price, in Sterling forex, rose 7.31%.

1835: 1 Ozt. Platinum (SPb: Semi-Mfg, Ret.) = £ 0.9115 (21.87664 руб Acc.; ~5.96 руб Ag)
1836: 1 Ozt. Platinum (SPb: Semi-Mfg, Ret.) ~£ 0.9799 (21.87664 руб Acc.; ~5.96 руб Ag) 
1837: 1 Ozt. Platinum (SPb: Semi-Mfg, Ret.) ~£ 0.9571 (21.87664 руб Acc.; ~5.96 руб Ag)
1838: 1 Ozt. Platinum (SPb: Semi-Mfg, Ret.) ~£ 0.981 (21.87664 руб Acc.; ~5.96 руб Ag)
1839: 1 Ozt. Platinum (SPb: Semi-Mfg, Ret.) ~£ 0.9766 (21.87664 руб Acc.; ~5.96 руб Ag)
1840: 1 Ozt. Platinum (SPb: Semi-Mfg, Ret.) ~£ 1.00 (21.87664 руб Acc.; ~5.96 руб Ag)
1841: 1 Ozt. Platinum (SPb: Semi-Mfg, Ret.) ~£ 1.03 (21.87664 руб Acc.; ~5.96 руб Ag)

From 1837 -1840, the Glasgow price for London-manufactured Platinum evidently rose ~20%.

1835: 1 Troy Oz. Platinum (Semi-Mfg, Trade) = £ 1.15

1836: 1 Troy Oz. Platinum (Semi-Mfg, Trade) = £ 1.20 1837: 1 Ozt. Platinum (London: Semi-Mfg) = £ 1.25
1841: 1 Ozt. Platinum (London: Semi-Mfg) = £ 1.50

1835: 1 Ozt. Platinum (London: Mfg) = £ 1.70
1836: 1 Ozt. Platinum (London: Mfg) = £ 1.75
 
1837: 1 Ozt. Platinum (Glasgow: Mfg) = £ 1.80 - 2.05
1838: 1 Ozt. Platinum (Glasgow: Mfg) = £ 1.80 - 2.05
1841: 1 Ozt. Platinum (Glasgow: Mfg) = £ 2.0 - 2.25



Griffin's Catalogue Prices (Glasgow):
11/1837: Platinum crucible, w/ cover, 1 inch deep = £ 0.75  
12/1839: Platinum crucible, w/ cover, 1 inch deep = £ 0.75 
7/1841: Platinum crucible, w/ cover, 1 inch deep = £ 0.80 - 0.90 

Dated 11/30/1837:

Citation: Chemical recreations: a compendium of experimental chemistry ; John Joseph Griffin (8th Ed., 1838)




The All-Platinum Spoon is presumably larger &heavier than the 1825 version; it is 4-5 x more costly.  (The original type spoon, without a silver handle, is indicated below as a "small cup" and sold at the same rate minus the silver handle.)










By 1838, the price of Palladium was expressed as a specific and stable bulk value ratio to both Gold and Platinum.  (This particular ratio is repeated erroneously for years thereafter, because Palladium's price did fluctuate dramatically.)   

This may mark a Palladium Price Low, the first and only time Palladium was cheaper than Platinum in the stable period of the 19th Century.  

By late 20th Century measurement (purest metal), 1 cubic inch (16 cm3) of Platinum weighs 11.28 troy oz (0.34 kg) and 1 cubic inch of Palladium weighs 6.9 oz avoirdupois (12.02 g/cnv')

By weight, where Fine Gold was £4.2477/oz. (and a specific gravity of 19.257) and since Palladium calculates at 51.5% the bulk-weight of Platinum (20.980):

1 cu. in. Au = £43.1569; 1 cu. in. Pd ~ £ 5.2436; 1 cu. in. Pt ~ £ 11.6534;


c.1838: 1 Troy Ounce Palladium (wholesale)  ~ £ 0.8748 (USD$ 4.37)

c.1838: 1 Troy Ounce Platinum (wholesale)  ~ £ 1.0870 (USD$ 5.44)

1835: 1 Troy Ounce Palladium (refined, whols.)  = £ 2.20 (USD$ 10.67)
1835: 1 Troy Ounce Platinum (manufactured, whols.)  = £ 1.70 (USD$ 8.25)

1845: 1 Troy Ounce Platinum (semi-mfg whols.)  = £ 1.00 

Citation: TThe London journal of arts and sciences, Volume 15 (1840) p.280




c. 1827

1893:


The price of Palladium was considered "very high" in France just a few years later, suggesting a shortage there. (Or a price-hike w/ new demand or speculation?) Extreme volatility was witnessed a decade later, c. 1856-65.

1844:

Later encyclopedias and 'fact books' repeat scarcity & high prices, more than a decade after 1832.

c.1837


Where the French pied cube is 1.209367 Cubic Feet (2,089.78 cu. in.,English), and where 1,092+ "livres" is 17,202 Troy Ounces, a French scientist noted (c.1800) :

1 cubic inch of platina = 8.22 troy ounces
1 cubic inch of refined Platinum (refined) = 10.278 troy ounces
1 cubic inch of Platinum (refined, forged) = 10.719 troy ounces 

By the mid-19th Century, cited weights implied greater purity:

1 cubic inch of platina = 10.29 troy ounces
1 cubic inch of Platinum (cast) = 10.72 troy ounces
1 cubic inch of Platinum (rolled) = 11.3252 - 11.64 troy oz.

1 cubic inch of Platinum (.9999 Fine) = 11.30 troy oz.
1 cubic inch of Palladium (.9999 Fine) = 6.322 troy oz.
1 cubic inch of Iridium (.9999 Fine) = 11.849 troy oz.
1 cubic inch of Osmium (.9999 Fine) = 11.854 troy oz.
1 cubic inch of Rhodium (.9999 Fine) = 12.44 troy oz.
1 cubic inch of Ruthenium (.9999 Fine) = 12.20 troy oz.

Where the original Platinum-Silver Rouble Rate was assumed, erroneously:

 
Numismatics:

1838 Victoria, Platinum, Eimer 1315, 36.5 mm, ~33.9 g
1838 Victoria, 24k Gold, Eimer 1315, 36.5 mm, ~31.5 g
1838 Victoria, Silver, Eimer 1315, 37 mm, 21.7 g

October 1905:

Where Pistrucci's 1838 Coronation Medal in Gold was valued at £ 4.99/Ozt when London Spot Gold was £ 4.244, the numismatic premium on an 1838 Pistrucci Medal was 17.52%.

It appears the same premium on an 1838 Pistrucci Platinum Medal was ~38.8%.

October 1905: 1 Troy Oz. Platinum (UK: Mkt)  ~ £ 7.983
October 1905: 1 Troy Oz. Platinum (Medal, Numismatic)  ~ £ 11.

October 1905: Est. 33.9 g Platinum Medal (Numismatic) = £ 12.

1838 UK Coronation Proof:



Palmer's Catalogue, 1838/9: