Q. David Bowers
The Pittman Act (March 1919 Report) The Numismatist, March 1919, carried this notice:
"A press dispatch from Washington, dated February 10, said: 'More than 125 bushels of silver dollars were shipped today from the Treasury vaults to the Philadelphia Mint to be melted in bullion for export to India."
The editor of The Numismatist commented that a bushel was not a standard unit of measurement for the dollar. He then noted further:
"But the thing in connection with this and previous shipments of silver dollars to be converted into bullion that will interest the collector most is, will this drain on the pile of silver dollars in the Treasury tend to make some rarities in the dollars coined from 1878 to 1904? But one date of these is now considered rare-the 1895 of the Philadelphia Mint.
"We do not refer to die varieties, as there may be a number of these already rare. We do not imagine that any attention is paid to the date of these coins when a shipment of several 'bushels' is made for melting purposes. But with such a wholesale melting process going on, the Mint reports of dollar coinage will cease to be of any value in estimating the rarity of any date between 1878 and 1904, and time alone will tell the story.
"The dollars coined since 1878 have not been popular with collectors, compared with other United States issues, and the number in the hands of collectors or dealers is probably small. None, or very few, are in circulation, and probably few of those that will finally be left in the Treasury will ever be in circulation again. It would seem as if these considerations might tend to popularize this coin with collectors, with the possibility that in the future some very great rarities may be determined."
Silver Dollars Melted (June 1919 Report) Annual Report of the Director of the Mint for the fiscal year ending June 30,1919 presented the following information:
"Silver Dollars Converted to Bullion: The melting of silver dollars for use as bullion was continued through nearly the entire fiscal year, the operation incident to sale of 200 million fine ounces of dollar silver to the government of Great Britain for use by the government of India being completed in May, 1919. Over 191 million dollars were melted during the year, giving total converted to bullion under the Act of April 23, 1918, of 260,121,554 silver dollars. This total includes one million dollars allocated to the director of the Mint for use in making subsidiary silver coin."
The same Report gave sources of coins converted to bullion under the Act of April 23, 1918. Apparently these figures are cumulative and include those reported only for the fiscal year 1919, and not those pieces melted during fiscal year 1918 (and reported earlier). Conversion operations began on April 24, 1918 and were discontinued on May 10, 1919. Coins melted from April 24, 1918 through June 30, 1918 were covered in the 1918 Report.
The following are the sources for coins melted in fiscal year 1919, extending from July 1, 1918 through June 30, 1919:
From the Mint stock, Philadelphia Mint, came 58,534,554 pieces. From the San Francisco Mint came 39,001,000 pieces. Transferred from the Treasury at Washington to the Philadelphia Mint were 87,686,000 pieces. Transferred from the Treasury at Washington to the San Francisco Mint were 25 million. Transferred from the Sub-Treasury at New York Assay Office were 26.5 million.
Transferred from the Mint at New Orleans to the Philadelphia Mint were 12.4 million," and transferred from the Mint at New Orleans to the San Francisco Mint were 10 million. The face value of the dollars melted during the period indicated were $158,620,554 at the Philadelphia Mint (not necessarily all Philadelphia Mint coins, however), $74,001,000 at the San Francisco Mint (not necessarily all of San Francisco Mint coins, however), and $26.5 million at the New York Assay Office.
The Pittman Act (June 1919 Report) The Numismatist, June 1919, printed the following:
"Train Loads of Silver Cross the Continent: Now that the government has completed its wartime shipments to India of silver from melted dollars, Director of the Mint Baker has disclosed how thousands of tons of the metal were hauled from the Philadelphia Mint to San Francisco in special trains guarded by armed men without loss of an ounce and without general knowledge of the procedure, says an Associated Press dispatch from Washington.
"Eighteen of these treasure trains made the trip across the continent in the 12 months ended last April 23, with the silver like big bricks piled in each of the five express cars composing a special train. Two men with automatic pistols at their hips and sawed off shotguns on their laps sat in each car and later guarded the secret transfer of the white bars from train to ship at San Francisco.
"Each silver brick weighed about 62 pounds and was worth $1,000, and each train carried between $5 million and $10 million of the bricks. Wrecking of the trains and theft of the metal by bandits was considered an ever-present menace to be guarded against.
"Guarded shipments of silver dollars also were made from the United States Treasury in Washington and from the New Orleans Sub-Treasury to Philadelphia. These dollars traveled in stout bags of $1,000 each, and were handled much like bags of silver, except that armed men always were near. More than 265,000 silver dollars were melted and shipped to India during the year, to meet urgent war demands for coinage."
China Buys Silver Dollars (January 1920 Report) The Numismatist, January 1920, carried this report under title of "China Buys Silver Dollars":
"A press dispatch from San Francisco on November 24 said that large purchases of silver dollars to fill rush orders placed by China were made on that date to be forwarded by the Canadian Pacific liner Empress of Asia, which sailed from Vancouver, B.C. on November 27. This was said to be the first time that silver would be shipped to China in coin instead of bullion. It was being done, it was said, because of the haste demanded by the Chinese, and also to the fact that the metal was obtained at a cheaper price in coin than in bullion.
"T.W.H. Shanahan, Superintendent of the mint there, said government purchases had been obtained at a new high level of $1.35 an ounce."