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 Replies: 7 / Views: 2,954 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
593 Posts |
I couldn't find the answer in a search, but if this has previously been answered I would appreciate a link.
Looking at pre-1933 gold, it seems that double eagles were 0.96750 ounces of pure gold. They were 90% gold and 10% copper, so if the total value was supposed to be equal to 100% gold, then:
33.436 grams = 1.17942 ounces total weight minus 0.96750 gold weight = 0.21192 ounces of copper.
The total gold weight was 0.0325 ounces short of one ounce. Was 0.21102 ounces of copper equal to 0.0325 ounces of gold? That seems closer to the gold/silver ratio.
What am I missing?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
807 Posts |
I don't actually know what you're asking.
The value of the allay (copper and/or silver) was not counted in the value of the coin, only that of the gold.
By the Act of 18 January 1837, the gold eagle was fixed at 258 grains of coinage gold, 900 fine. The US Dollar was thus standardized at 23.22 grains fine gold. This is equivalent to 1.505 grams fine gold, or 1.672 grams coinage gold, per dollar.
The value of gold at 23.22 grains fine per dollar works out to $20.672 per fine ounce Troy, but the fact that a double eagle is "about an ounce" really has nothing to do with anything. It is in fact 516 grains, twice 258. This is as opposed to some monetary systems in which the value of gold is defined as so-many-to-an ounce, pound, or kilogram.
Edited by publius
04/27/2015 12:24 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6370 Posts |
I think it was because previous to 1933, the bullion value for gold was about $20.67 per ounce, with a few exceptions. http://onlygold.com/Info/Historical...d-Prices.aspAs a result, the mint had to use just under an ounce of gold to make it a $20 gold piece. However when one does the math, when gold was $20.67 an ounce, there was $19.998225 of gold in each double eagle. The missing value was replaced with copper because, when mixed with gold, the alloy is much stronger and less prone to wear and damage than pure gold. I hope this answers your questions. |
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Moderator
 United States
23522 Posts |
TypeCoin nails it. The weight of the final product was determined by the quantity of an alloy appropriate for circulation necessary to reach the face value of the coin.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
807 Posts |
A brand-new double eagle contains exactly $20 worth of gold. That's by definition. There's 464.4 grains of fine gold there. The remainder, 51.6 grains of copper, is not valued at all.
If you convert back & forth between grams & grains, & if you use the figure of $20.67/ounce for the price of gold, rounding errors will accumulate. Actually, in the gold bullion market of those days, the price of bar gold could swing back & forth a few per centum based on market conditions.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
593 Posts |
OK, that makes sense. They weren't going for one ounce, but $20 worth of gold and gold was a little over $20 per ounce. I was looking at it backwards. Thank you for clearing that up for me!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3210 Posts |
If you want to know how much gold value in a pre 1933 gold coin translated into $ ....Google melt value gold US coinsEdited by Imthealphaomega
04/27/2015 9:01 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
593 Posts |
Quote:
If you want to know how much gold value in a pre 1933 gold coin translated into $ ....Google melt value gold us coins I was trying to figure out why the gold coins were just shy of one ounce, half ounce, etc. because I was thinking of them as bullion instead of the gold equivalent of silver dollars. Silver coins were nowhere close to one ounce, half ounce, etc. for one dollar, 50c, etc. and that's how I should have been thinking of pre-1933 gold coins. It makes sense now. Thanks for all the inputs! |
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Replies: 7 / Views: 2,954 |
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Posted 04/27/2015 07:17 am
