The E-Sylum:  Volume 9, Number 32, August 6, 2006, Article 22

PLATINUM AND ALUMINUM IN PATTERN COINAGE

Regarding Andy Lustig's question concerning the price of platinum
and aluminium in the 19th century, J. Moens of Belgium writes: "The
price of these two metals were, of course, influenced by their
production costs, which in both cases were influenced by the high
temperatures that are needed in the production processes of both
pure platinum and alumunium.  In both cases, the research done in
the 1850s by Mr. Sainte-Claire Deville, an American scientist of
French origin (i.a. in Paris), helped to reduce substantially
these costs.

Platinum was valued, before 1850, at about 1,000 francs (or $ 200)
per kilogramme, i.e. about 1/3 of the price of gold, and 5 times
the price of silver.  After 1850, the price dropped to about 750
francs per kilogramme until about 1885, and from then on, the price
gradually increased so that by the turn of the century, platinum
was about as expensive as gold.

Aluminium was very expensive to produce before about 1855, and its
price was comparable to the one of gold (about 3.000 francs or $ 600
per kilogramme); after the work by Mr. Sainte-Claire Deville, its
price dropped dramatically to about 5 francs or $ 1 per kilogramme
only."

  Wayne Homren, Editor

	coinbooks.org Web

The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization 
promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org.

To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor 
at this address: whomren@coinlibrary.com

To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum