of
commerce and navigation ; though in its distribution both of these
reports are necessarily more or less defective in detail, and the
latter more particularly contain many palpable errors and omissions.
In
order to conform to the data derived from these reports I have stated
my estimates in fiscal years instead of calendar years, which are
usually adopted by other statisticians. As I only have the mint
reports as far back as 1855, I have not the details of foreign gold,
old United States gold coin, jewellers' bars, and old plate deposited
from 1848 to 1854. I have, therefore, estimated these items for this
period at five millions, which I find to be about the excess of the
coinage over the " domestic " gold deposited, as shown in the " Summary
" tables of the report of 1873. In the navigation reports
the uncoined gold exported was not separated from that of gold coin
prior to 1855. I have, therefore, estimated the amount for these seven
years at $88,479,269, including the $33,479,269 of fine bars made at
the Philadelphia mint in 1853 and 1854 and not accounted for in the
coinage.
It
may be well here to note also another fact which I think has been
generally ignored or overlooked, and that is the large amount of
private coinage made here by the old United States Assay Office and
other coiners from 1849 to 1855, which was almost our only currency on
this coast during that period. From the best information I can obtain
on this point there could not have been much less than $60,000,000 thus
coined for the seven years embraced. Much of this, however, was
exported as soon as made, but there could not have been much less than
$25,-000,000 or $30,000,000 in circulation when the mint here went into
operation, April 1, 1854. It then disappeared very rapidly, and I have
eliminated the amount entirely by deducting it from the apparent
produce of the years 1854, 1855, and 1856, and have added it to that of
previous years, distributing it to the best of my judgment. In
addition to this there should be added to the ascer-
