REMARKABLE INCREASE IN SILVER.

Taranaki Daily News, 20 March 1916, Page 2

REMARKABLE INCREASE IN SILVER.

HOW WAR HAS AFFECTED WORK AT THE MINT. Statistics issued recently of the work at the Royal Hint for the past three years shows a remarkable increase in the silver issued during the last two years. .Over £].1.000.000 of silver was issued for the British Isles, as compared with about iii,sou.uoo lor 191.1, and an a\emge issue m atiout £1,000,000 fer the ten years before 1914. The explanation of the increase is that the war has necessitated an expenditure of hundreds of thousands of pounds a week to troops, ■ a large proportion of which is paid in silver. A much larger quantity of silver is also used, it was stated, in the payment of wages because of the prejudice of .many workers against paper money. Thus a man earning 33s a week will receive a £1 note "and the remainder in silver. The gold issued by the British Isles last year was £21.301,000, which was : £6,174.830 more than in 1914, but £0,337,78!) less than in 1013. The reason for this is that a "continuous coinage" of gold from the middle of 19)4 to the middle of IB]') was broken off for a few months after the outbreak of war to meet the extra demand for silver which followed the issue of paper money. The deficiency thus created in 1914 had to be made up in 1015. especially as the demands for bankers during the first few months were somewhat heavy. Therefore, to draw a true comparison of the gold output in war time with that of norma! times an average must be taken of the interrupted issue of 1914 and the issue of 191j. The result is, roughly. £18.000.000 placed aeainst £27.000.000 for 1913. a decrease of £9.000.000. No gold has been coined at the Mint -since last July.