Ch. 1: Gold and Silver in 1887

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	GOLD AND SILVER.	63

	per fine ounce. The amount of silver purchased for the silver-dollar coinage was 24,797,279 fine ounces, costing $24,221,257; the average cost to the Government being $0.9768 per ounce fine. Coinage of the mints during the calendar year 1887.



	In addition to the large coinage of silver dollars by the United States a very large coinage of full legal-tender silver coins was executed at the mints of Mexico, India, and Japan, and some at the Austrian mints. Eeports of the coinages executed by the mints of the world show that the coinage of the world during the calendar years 1884, 1885, 1886, and 1887 was as follows: The world's coinage from 1884 to 1887.



	This includes recoinages, which were not less in value than $10,000,000 in gold and $15,000,000 in silver in 1886. An inquiry as to the value of the gold and silver used in the industrial arts in the Uuited States during the year 18S7 shows a consumption of gold of $11,672,600, and of silver $5,241,998; total, $16,914,604. Including the melting down of United States gold coin, the Director of the Mint estimates the value of the gold used in the United States in the industrial arts during 1887 at about $14,600,000, and of silver $5,280,000. This is an increase over the consumption of prior years. The reported consumption of gold in the industrial arts in the world was in 1886 approximately—gold, $46,000,000; silver, $22,000,000.

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