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JOURNAL OF BANKING, CURRENCY, AND FINANCE.

FLUCTUATIONS OF STOCKS IN THE BOSTON MARKET.

In the Merchants' Magazine for June, 1852, (vol. xxvi., page 727,) we gave a table of the fluctuations of forty different stocks in the Boston market, showing their highest and lowest points, and the date, with the market value, gain or loss for the month of April, 1852, &c., derived from the carefully prepared "money article" of the Boston Commonwealth. We now subjoin, from the same reliable source, a similar table for the month of May, 1852. This table shows the unusual feature of every stock having advanced or held its own, with the exception of the Vermont Central. The advance in dividend securities has been very large.

FLUCTUATIONS FOR MAY IN FORTY DIFFERENT STOCKS, SHOWING THEIR HIGHEST AND LOWEST POINTS, AND THE DATE, WITH THE PRESENT MARKET VALUE, GAIN OR LOSS FOR THE MONTH, AND NUMBER OF SHARES SOLD IN EACH.

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It will be seen, by referring to the table in the June number of the Merchants' Magazine, that the amount of business in the fancies has not been so large as in the month of April, transactions being more confined to dividend-paying securities, which have been in active request, more particularly about the middle of the month. Northern now (June 1) sells, dividend off, at half a dollar per share less than on the 30th of April, but including the dividend, the actual gain for the month has been $2 per share. Essex Company has been very active throughout the month; May 1st it sold for 105, but reached 117 on the 7th, and then fell off to 108 May 13th. Again it started up, and touched 118 on the 19th, since which time it has been moving about between 115 and 118, sometimes varying $2 to $3 in one day.

OF THE INCREASED AND INCREASING SUPPLIES OF GOLD.

The following article on the increased supplies of gold from California and Australia, is condensed from a late number of the London Athenæum. Although many of the "facts and figures" it contains have already appeared in former numbers of the Merchants' Magazine, their repetition in this place is necessary for the purpose of elucidating the conclusions of the writer of the article in the Athenæum.

"The estimates of the values of the quantity of gold and silver existing in Europe and America, at the commencement of the year 1848, are taken from the work of M. Chevalier, on money, published in 1850.

"No supplies had been received from California till late in 1848. The total stock of gold and silver in the year 1500, when America was discovered, is computed at £40,000,000 sterling, of which the amount of gold was only £12,000,000. This sum, compared with the large amount received from the mines of America, subsequent to 1500, accounts for the great revolution in the value of gold, which took place soon after the voyage of Columbus.

"In 1848, however, there was a large accumulation of gold and silver in the world, on which the new and large supplies could operate but slowly in any alteration of value, compared with the immediate effect produced in the value of money at the time of the discovery and first working of the South American mines. "In 1848, there was a mass of £1,727,000,000 sterling of both metals.

ESTIMATE OF THE VALUE OF THE TOTAL QUANTITY OF GOLD AND SILVER EXISTING IN VARIOUS FORMS IN EUROPE AND AMERICA AT THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE YEAR 1848.

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Total pounds sterling......

Leaving....

Deduct for exportation, wear and tear, and losses by casualties......

"A third part of this was gold. And if we suppose, as we have reason to believe, that the new produce yielded by the sources of supply in California and Australia will amount annually to £20,000,000 sterling, or $100,000,000, a few years will lead to an important alteration in the present exchangeable value of gold. The new supply would then be at the annual increase of 3 per cent on the stock existing in 1848. In 1850 and in 1851 the increase was actually at the rate of 2 to 24 per cent on the stock of gold in 1848.

"The annual supply of the precious metals in 1800 and 1848 is stated as follows:

£1,790,000,000 64,000,000

£1,726,000,000

ESTIMATED VALUE OF THE ANNUAL QUANTITIES OF GOLD AND SILVER PLACED IN THE MARKETS OF THE WORLD AT THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY-SAY IN THE YEAR 1800:

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ESTIMATED VALUE OF THE ANNUAL QUANTITIES OF GOLD AND SILVER PLACED IN THE MARKETS OF THE WORLD IMMEDIATELY BEFORE THE DISCOVERY OF THE CALIFORNIAN MINES, OR SAY IN THE EARLY PART OF 1848.

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Gold. £2,100,000

1,320,000

360,000

210,000

4,100,000

550,000

900,000

2,800,000

£8,630,000

£9,910,000

8,630,000

£18,540,000

"Comparing these two statements, the results are as follows:

YEAR 1848 COMPARED WITH 1800.

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"Comparing the two periods in the most general manner, we find that the annual

supply had increased in forty-eight years thus:

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"The greater increase in the annual supply of gold than in that of silver before 1848, arose almost wholly from the Russian supplies. These supplies had proceeded at the rate of about £4,000,000 a year for about ten years prior to 1848; so that, generally, for nearly ten years prior to the discovery of California, the annual supplies of gold had been far greater in proportion than the annual supplies of silver.

The produce of California, up to the end of 1851, has been fully £30,000,000 sterling, or $150,000,000; of which £14,000,000 sterling was obtained in 1851.

The produce of Australia, to the end of 1851, during six months only, was not less than £500,000 sterling, and most likely £1,000,000 sterling,

"The disposal of all this produce becomes the important and interesting question.

STATEMENT FROM OFFICIAL SOURCES OF THE VALUE OF THE COINAGE OF GOLD, THE PRODUCE OF THE UNITED STATES TERRITORY, AT THE FOUR MINTS OF THE UNITED STATES, (PHILADELPHIA, NEW ORLEANS, CHARLOTTE, AND DAHLONEGA,) DURING THE YEARS AS

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£19,034,000

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From the establishment of the oldest of the mints in 1792 to the end of 1847, 55 years....

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Total.....

£3,135,000

£22,169,000

STATEMENT FROM OFFICIAL SOURCES OF THE VALUE OF THE COINAGE OF GOLD AND SILVER AT PARIS DURING THE YEARS AS UNDER.

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NOTE. It is important to bear in mind that the £15,330,000 of gold coinage shown above was not derived wholly from new supplies of gold, but was obtained to a considerable extent by the conversion into coin of a part of the gold bullion previously existing in the markets of Europe, and especially in France. The published accounts do not enable us to state precisely what portion of the £15,330,000 was old and what new gold bullion; but perhaps more than half or even three-fourths was old.

The general effect of the evidence furnished by these two tables is as follows:

In the United States there has been actually coined and added to the

circulation of that country since 1848....

...gold

£19,000,000

In France there has been a similar coinage of...

15,000,000

Making together.....

84,000,000

Deduct for French gold coin obtained from old stock of bullion already in Europe prior to 1848, say.

10,000,000

24,000,000

California supply......

39,000,000

Surplus added to floating stock in market.............

6,000,000

Judging from the present amount (£20,000,000) of bullion in the Bank of England

it is probable that these figures are not very far from the truth.

"The amount of metallic money in France has, for the last two hundred years, been enormous. Paper money never took root there. In 1843, the amount, as estimated by M. Leon Faucher, was thus:

Gold coin....

Silver coin.

Total ...

£14,000,000 stg. 120,000,000

£134,000,000

"Both metals are legal tender in France, as in the United States. Until 1850, silver was the cheaper metal, and therefore silver was mostly sent to the French mint to be coined, and gold coin was withdrawn from circulation as soon as issued. Since 1850, this state of things disappeared. The agio on gold ceased; and in and from 1851, gold has been at a discount in Paris, compared with silver. This gave rise to the enormous increase in the gold coinage of France, or, in other words, gold became the cheaper metal. Gold will take the place of silver, independently of any aid from government, while the existing mint regulations are continued. It is so in the United States, where, since the act of Congress in 1834, gold has been overvalued as compared with silver, and hence the strong tendency to introduce gold into the currency, in place of silver. The conclusion drawn from these facts is this:

That so long as the process, which has been going on so extensively since 1849, in the United States and France, of introducing a gold coinage in replacement of silver continues, the effect will be to lessen very much the effect of the new supplies, both (1) upon the relative values of gold and silver, and (2) up on the general state of trade and prices.

"And this position is readily illustrated. For, if instead of £24,000,000 stg. of gold having been absorbed for coin (out of £30,000,000 produced) since 1848, leaving only £6,000,000 of gold to operate by way of positive addition to the previous stock of that metal, the whole £30,000,000 had been left so to operate, it is tolerably plain that the effects would have been much more serious and startling than any which have hitherto been observed.

"We may, perhaps, reckon with certainty on the continuance of the present absorption of gold as coin, at the rate of £20,000,000 a year, for some time to come; but then no change must take place in the mint legislation of the countries at present having a double standard.'

"It is stated, on good authority, that Australia will supply this year £10,000,000 stg; and California £15,000,000 stg.

The immediate effect of this supply, caused by its accumulation at the fountainhead of circulation, the commercial capitals of the world, is to lower the rate of interest until the bulk of it be taken thoroughly into the circulation of the world, displacing other currency-silver and paper.

"The increased amount of gold will greatly stimulate production, which, in the opinion of practical men of eminence and ability, will at first lower the prices of commodities, notwithstanding the large supplies of gold, before they can be rendered higher, which can only be the result of a very large demand and consumption, which will, however, ensue. Where there is a large and excessive amount of floating capital, the tendency is always towards its conversion, more or less gradual, into fixed capital. Any sudden conversion of this kind would change an easy money market into a comparatively tight one."

PRODUCTION OF THE PRECIOUS METALS FROM 1492 TO 1852.

An officer of the United States Treasury Department at Washington, in answer to a semi-official inquiry made at the Department, has presented an elaborate report, estimating the production of the precious metals from 1492 to 1852. The writer, after an examination of the standard authors upon the subject, Humboldt, McCulloch, and Jacobs, estimates the total product of the world, exclusive of Australia, as follows:

America, exclusive of the United States...

California, received at Mint......

California, foreign exports, manufactured, etc...

Other United States gold at Mint...

Ditto not brought to Mint .

Total United States.....

Total America.....

Europe and Asia, exclusive of Russia..

Russia

$98,408,000

$6,877,833,800

51,592,000

15,855,000

1,145,000

167,000,000

$7,044,833,800

1,755,000,000

213,581,000

$9,013,414,800

Total production, 1492 to 1852....

The present annual product of the precious metals, the writer estimates as follows:

All South America...

Add for any probable increase, according to the best authorities..

Hungary, Saxony, and Northern Asia..

Russia, at the highest estimate of late years.

Africa and South Asia (a rough estimate)

Carolina, Georgia, etc.

California

Total...

...

$30,710,000

3,290,000

4,000,000

20,000,000

1,000,000

500,000 64,500,000

$124,000,000

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