On Platina.

December 2, 2013

Germany, 1849

The Catalogue/Retail Platinum Price in Berlin was apparently stable (1836-1849), taking merchant discount. Platinumware was still 5.8x more expensive than Chemical Silverware.

1836/7: 1 Troy Oz. Platinum (Berlin: Ore?, Retail) = Thlr. 10.6
1836/7: 1 Ozt. Platinum (Berlin: Intrinsic, Ret.) = Thlr. 11.70
1836/7: 1 Ozt. Platinum (Berlin: Intrinsic, Mfg., Ret.) = Thlr 13.83

1849:

http://digital.slub-dresden.de/werkansicht/dlf/13378/8/0/
"17. Evaporating Basins, of Platinum (excluding Manufacture) .... Thlr.6./Loth"

1849: 1 Ozt. Platinum (Erfurt: Intrinsic, Mfg., Ret.) = Thlr 12.77 ($ 8.94)

http://digital.slub-dresden.de/werkansicht/dlf/13378/30/0/
"409. Wire, of Platinum .... Thlr.6./Loth"

1849: 1 Ozt. Platinum (Berlin: Wire, Ret.)= Thlr. 12.7677 ($ 8.94)

http://digital.slub-dresden.de/werkansicht/dlf/13378/39/0/
"579. Grove's Element, 6x3 ZollWire, of Platinum .... Thlr.6./Loth"

http://digital.slub-dresden.de/werkansicht/dlf/13378/78/0/

"1048. Platinum Sheet and Wire .... Thlr.6./Loth"

1849: 1 Ozt. Platinum (Berlin: Scrap, Ret.)= Thlr. 9.5762 ($ 6.70)
1849: 1 Ozt. Platina (Berlin: Ore 80%, Ret.)= Thlr. 10.6402 ($ 7.45)
1849: 1 Ozt. Platinum (Berlin: Sheet &Wire, Ret.)= Thlr. 12.7677 ($ 8.94)
1849: 1 Ozt. Platinum (Berlin: Fine Wire, Ret.)= Thlr. 14.8963 ($10.43)
1849: 1 Ozt. Platinum-Black (Erfurt: Chemical, Ret.) = Thlr 17.00

Where the larger dimension (6 x 3 zoll-maße) Platinum Sheet was 123.13 cm² (~ 246.26 cm² Surface Area) and cost an assumed Preuss.Thlr 7.75 (Net Cost of Carbon Plate Element, same dimensions), ∴

Battery Platinum Plate: 1 US Sq.In. cost Preuss.Thlr 0.4061 ($ 0.2843)

In 1849, the basic charge on manufactured Platinumware was Thlr 1./Loth.

1 Preuss.Loth = 14.616 g or ~0.47 Troy Ounce.

Citation: Preisverzeichniß chemischer, pharmaceutischer, physicalischer, meteorologischer, mineralogischer und geognostischer Instrumente, Gerätschaften und Apparate; J F Luhme: Berlin, 1849.

Pg. 2:
#17: Evaporating Basins in Platinum, from 1-10 Zoll in diameter, in a flat or semi-spherical shape, with or without spout, but also in each and every form, excluding the manufacture, per Loth Thlr 6.50. (Reduced: Thaler 6.)

#18: Evaporating Basins in Silver, per Loth Thlr 1.033

Pg. 24:
#413: Platinum Wire, per Loth Thlr 6.50. (Reduced: Thaler 6.)

Pg. 28:
#496: Eudiometer, Mitscherlich's Thlr. 7; Doebereiner's Thlr. 2; Ure's Thlr. 2.33; Fontana's Thlr. 5; Volta's Thlr. 15.

Pg. 33:
#578: Galvanic Apparatus, Grove's: consisting of Platinum Foil 4 Zoll high, 2 Zoll wide (in Poggendorf's specified curved-shape form) in a porcelain cylinder, toghether w/ Zinc and glass cylinder = Thlr. 5. (6 for Thlr. 30.)

#579: Same - 6 Zoll high, 3 Zoll wide = Thlr. 10. (4 for Thlr. 40.)

Pg. 36
#616: Gramme Weights (2g) in Platinum = Thlr. 4.17 ( ~Thlr. 4.50 for Set to 1 Decimilligram)

1849: 1 Troy Oz. Platinum (Erfurt: Weights, Mfg., Ret.) = Thlr 14.91

1 Unit 1 Gramme (Thlr. 0.83)
1 Unit 5 Decigramme (Thlr. 0.66)
1 Unit 2 Decigramme (Thlr. 0.50)
2 Units 1 Decigramme (Thlr. 0.83)
1 Unit 5 Centigramme (Thlr. 0.33)
1 Unit 2 Centigramme (Thlr. 0.25)
2 Unit 1 Centigramme (Thlr. 0.50)
1 Unit 5 Milligramme (Thlr. 0.17)
1 Unit 2 Milligramme (Thlr. 0.17)
2 Unit 1 Milligramme (Thlr. 0.17)

Pg. 72
#1048 Platina:
a) Sheet and Wire: per Loth, Thlr 6.50. (Reduced: Thaler 6.)
b) Sheet, Very Thin: per Loth, Thlr 7.
c) Wire, Very Thin: per Loth, Thlr 7.
d) Foil, thin as gold leaf: per Leaf, Thlr 0.5833
e) Platinum-Residue: per Loth, Thlr 7.
f) Platina ore, South American: per Loth, Thlr 5.
g) Platinum Sponge: per Unit, Thlr 2.13 - 2.83

Platinum-Black: (Ozt) Thlr 17.

1849:

Where the Pfund = 32 Loths = 7,680 Gran (467.74 Grams; 15.04 Troy Ounces.) The Mark Pfund = 15.03 Troy Ounces and the Gulden/Florin was worth USD$ 0.395, Gold was 5x Platinum, which was ~ 3x more than Silver

1 Pfund platina cost руб. (Ag) 91.13 ; USD$ 51.45
1 Kg platina cost руб. (Ag) 207.67 ; USD$ 110.
1 Poud platina cost руб. (Ag) 3,401 ; USD$ 1,802.

1849: 1 Troy Ounce platina (Russian 80% ore, mkt) = Fl 12.17 / Thlr. 6.954
.... (USD$ 4.80)
1849: 1 Ozt. Platinum (Ru Ore, .999) = Fl 15.21 / Thlr. 8.69
.... (USD$ 6.00)
1849: 1 Ozt. Platinum (German Mkt) = Fl 16.62 / Thlr. 9.50
.... (USD$ 6.56)

1849: 1 Ozt. Gold (refined, mkt) = Fl 50. (USD$ 19.75)
1849: 1 Ozt. Silver (refined, mkt) = Fl 3.22 (USD$ 1.27)
1849:

Prices of the principal metals. A Pfund costs as follows Gold {Fl.) 900., platina ore 183, refined Platinum 250, Silver 58 ....

Late 1849 - January 1851?:
Citation: Das Neueste und Nützlichste der Erfindungen, Entdeckungen u. Beobachtungen ...(1850) p.20

Where simple calculation erroneously doubles the Loth to 1 Ounce Troy, a correction to 1 Loth @ Thlr. 4.25 = 0.469685406 Ozt; noting the forex discrepancy in 5 years delay:

1849: 1 Troy Oz. Platinum (Ask: Scrap) = Thlr 9.05 ; Fl. 13.57
......(£1.236; Fr. 33.93, $6.15)

Citation: The Mining magazine and journal of geology, mineralogy, metallurgy ..., Vol. 2 (1854) p.469

Unknown.

Erroneous Assumption based on Raw platina ore

Germany, 1854

Eduard Hirsch from Hanau, selling manufactured Platinum at South German Florin Coin rates (24 Gulden Fuss: 1 Thlr = Fl. 1.75). The standard price quote for wire (at the Frankfurter Silbergewicht Loth = 14.614 g.) is likely intrinsic retail; manufactured Platinum cost more, accordingly.

Though it is not explicitly stated by the Viennese author as an intrinsic rate for Platinum, if Platinumware had otherwise been sold at Fl. C.M. 12/Wiener Loth, then (nonsensically) the retail price for manufactures would actually have been cheaper in Vienna.

The intrinsic cash rate for Platinum (at the Silbergewicht Loth) was Fl. 564.53/Kg; for Platinumware Fl. 718.38/Kg.
.... (~ℳ B. 641.53; Mfg: ℳ B. 816.37)

Bavaria:
1854: 1 Troy Oz. Platinum (Mkt/Wire) = Fl. 17.556
1854: 1 Ozt. Platinum (Fine Wire) = Fl. 19.684
1854: 1 Ozt. Platinum (Mfg) = Fl. 22.344

Vienna, Austria:
1854: 1 Troy Oz. Platinum (Intrinsic, Ret.?) = Fl C. M. 21.275 (Fl. 21.356)

Citation: Archiv für physiologische und pathologische Chemie und Mikroskopie in ihrer ... ; Johann-Florian Heller (1853/4) p.363

We cannot refrain from devoting a few words to a company in Germany, a company, after so long a time which we in Austria have especially longed for, for we have not here in Vienna but always need the various requisites for chemical laboratories: platinum vessels, sheet metal wire of various dimensions, {etc.} but must pay significantly higher {prices} for platinum is than Hr. Hirsch in Hanau just offers for his Platinumware.

While we here {in Austria} at the current premium must pay per Loth of manufactured Platinum 12 Fl C.M., obviously. Hr. Hirsch, adding a lithograph illustration of nearly 60 different forms of Platinum dishes, spoons, crucibles, boats etc. offers the following prices on metal sheet and wire of ordinary strength at Fl. 8.25 (24 Fuss) per Loth, the expected Silver-Weight Loth being 14.6 {14.616 g} Parisian Grammes. According to whether {the Platinum} must be rolled or drawn, this price increases for Sheet to Fl. 9.25 to Fl. 10.50 in the latter per Loth.

1 Platintiegel mit Deckel, 132 Gramm schwer, 140 Gramm Wasser fassend (1854/14)
2 Ein desgleichen mit Deckel, 85 Gramm schwer, 90 Gramm Wasser fassend
Als altes Platin, nachdem der Tiegel

1 Platinum Crucible with lid, 132 Grams weight, 140 Grams cc. (1854/14)
2 One of the same, with lid, 85 Grams weight, 90 Grams cc.
As old platinum, after the crucible

sold semi-manufactured Platinum at ~2x the Scrap Bid. {ℳ 631.34/Kg}

Producer's Semi-Mfg Price: Fl. 565/Kg., Scrap Bid Fl. 254/Kg.

Bavaria:
1854: 1 Ozt. Platinum (Semi-Mfg, Mkt) = Fl. 17.575 {ℳ 19.6369} (USD$ 7.24)
1854: 1 Ozt. Platinum (Mfg) = Fl. 19.706 - 22.37 (USD$ 8.11 - 9.21)

1853: 1 Ozt. Platinum (Mfg) = Fl. 19.706 - 22.37 (USD$ 8.11 - 9.21)
c.1854/5: 1 Ozt. Platinum (semi-mfg, mkt) ~ Fl 20.55 (USD$ 8.15)

Platinum foil, Platinum wire and Platinum crucibles are made in Paris and Berlin, all utensils in different thicknesses. - The Loth costs about 10 Gulden, which is calculated extra costs for fashioning the crucible, spoon, etc.

Citation: Waaren-Lexikon; Johann Karl Koenig, Franz Geith (1855) p.216

December 1, 2013

Austria, 1854

Assuming the Austrian Loth at 17.54025 Grams, and the Florin at $ 0.485, the Vienna Market Price (Fl. C.M. 684/Kg.) was 21.65% higher than at Frankfurt (~Fl. 564.53/Kg.); where Austrian Gold Coin cost Fl. C.M. 1,307/Kg., Au was ~1.91x more expensive than Pt.

Austria:

1854: 1 Troy Oz. Platinum (Wien: Intrinsic, Ret.?) = Fl C. M. 21.275
.... (Fl. 21.356; USD$ 10.32)

Citation: Archiv für physiologische und pathologische Chemie und Mikroskopie in ihrer ... ; Johann-Florian Heller (1853/4) p.363

November 27, 2013

Silver Nitrate

1881: average sample purity, ~ 0.742 Fine Ag

November 25, 2013

Canada, 1888

1888: 1 Troy Ounce platina (Canada: BC Ore Spot) = CAD$ 3.50
1888: 1 Troy Oz. Pt (BC Spot: Ore, .999 ) = CAD$ 5.
1888: 1 Troy Oz. platina (Canada: Export Price) = CAD$ 4.
1888: 1 Troy Oz. Pt (BC Spot: Ore, .999 ) = CAD$ 5.71

1887, 1888:

1887: 1 Troy Ounce platina (Cdn ore, whols.) = C$ 4.0
1888: 1 Troy Ounce platina (Cdn ore, whols.) = C$ 4.0

Citation: Canada Yearbook, p.296

1887:

c.1885-8: average price

December 1888:
Citation: Annual Report of the Minister of Mines for the Year Ending ...British Columbia. Minister of Mines' Office (1889)

Canada, 1886

1885/6: 1 Troy Ounce platina (Canada: BC 70.6% Ore Spot) = CAD$ 0.50
1885/6: 1 Ozt. Pt (Canada: BC Ore, .999) = CAD$ 0.71

1885/6: 1 Ozt. platina (BC 70.6% Ore, London Mkt) = CAD$ 2.50
1885/6: 1 Ozt platina (London Shipping Cost) = CAD$ 0.25
1885/6: 1 Ozt. Pt (Canada: Ore @ .999?) ~ CAD$ 6.

1885/6: 1 Ozt Pt (Mkt: BC Ore, .999, Net UK Shipping Cost) = CAD$ 5.43

1886: 1 Troy Oz. Pt (US Ore, .999) = $ 6.43

December 1886:
Citation: Annual Report of the Minister of Mines for the Year Ending ...British Columbia. Minister of Mines' Office (1887)

Citation: White Gold and Black Diamonds: The History of Granite Creek and Coalmont... Ed.Bob Sterne (2011)

Dr. Hugh B. Cameron (in Granite in 1885) was the first man to find platinum on the creek. Other miners, not knowing what it was, were said to have regularly picked it out of their pans and tossed the annoying stuff back into the river. “When a miner brought his gold in to a dealer the dealer would empty the poke out on the counter, brush the...(white gold) out of it on the floor, and of course a little gold would go with it but what was a little gold in those days! Miners who knew its value would separate themselves before bringing their gold in, and save it for a possible market.”18 The Chinese and an infamous Scandinavian prospector named Johanssen decided to keep their “white gold” just in case one day it might have some value. Legend has it that Johanssen collected about 25 pounds of it in a bucket near his cabin at Granite Creek. Other miners laughed at him and tossed any they had into his pail as they went past. Johanssen left Granite Creek in 1907, but because his bucket of “white gold” was too heavy for his pack, he supposedly buried it near his cabin door. He never returned. Late in 1885 Dr. G.M. Dawson, assistant director of the Geological Survey of Canada, decided to test the substance. He suspected it was platinum, iridium or a mixture of the two. Three smart businessmen, Cook, Rabbitt and Blair wisely purchased quantities of the metal for 50¢ per pound. Indeed, it was determined that the mineral was platinum. Dr. Cameron said he sent his samples to Paris for testing and they also proved to be genuine. Foxcrowle Cook shipped 1,000 ounces of platinum to England for a mere 25¢ per ounce. This barely covered the shipping costs. ... In 1887 the Victoria Daily Colonist reported about the platinum at Granite Creek. They wrote that platinum “is found among the gold and when cleaned out, used to be thrown away, but it will not be thrown away any more, for it is worth about as much as gold, perhaps more.”

1886/7?

c.1886: 1 Ozt. platina (BC 70.6% Ore, London Mkt) = CAD$ 3.
c.1886: 1 Ozt platina (London Shipping Cost) = CAD$ 0.25
c.1886: 1 Ozt. Pt (Canada: Ore @ .999?) ~ CAD$ 7.72

c.1886: 1 Ozt Pt (Mkt: BC Ore, .999, Net UK Shipping Cost) = CAD$ 6.63

Citation: Bulletin of the United States Geological Survey, Issue 41 (1902)