MELTED SOVEREIGNS

Ellesmere Guardian, Volume LIII, Issue 14, 19 February 1932, Page 6

MELTED SOVEREIGNS

BACK TO BAR GOLD.

OVER £33,000,000 IN A YEAR,

For the first time in history the Bank of England decided in 1930 to reconvert sovereigns into bar gold. Upwards of £33,000,000, much of it quite new, was melted at the London Mint before the end of that year. Many of the resultant bars were exported to France. The reconversion of sovereigns is still proceeding. This fact, among many other secrets of the Royal Mint, is disclosed in the report for 1930 of the Deputy Master and Comptroller.

"So far as the gold coinage has been concerned," the report states, "the London Mint • has not merely been engaged in consuming its tail, but all its legs and the greater part of its body as well. So far from the increased demand for gold resulting in increased demands for coin, there has been a huge redundancy of gold coin and a steadily increasing demand for bar. "Granted the now generally accepted principles with regard to the conservation of gold, the demand for coin in the yellow metal is seen on the face of it to be unreasonable." An instance of a curious movement of coin as a result of the heavy discount in the Australian exchange is mentioned. When Australian currency of all kinds stands at a considerable discount in Britain, any British silver or bronze coinage that may still be remaining in the Commonwealth can be taken to Britain and disposed of at its face value. ' 'Travellers have not been slow to take advantage of this anomaly," says the report, "and many of them have actually embarked for home carrying sacks full of British coin with them, which they had gradually collected in Australia for the coming voyage, very Often at considerable premium." The total quantity of coinage struck in the Mint during 1930, 185,000,000 pieces, was rather less I than in the previous year. No gold bullion was received from the Bank of England during 1930, and no gold coin was issued from the Royal Mint.

Issues of new Imperial gold coin from the branch mints in Australia and South Africa totalled £11,848,405, compared with £14,218,893 in 1929. The whole of the issues consisted of sovereigns. The total number of new Imperial silver coins issued in 1930 (excluding Maundy Money) was

4"2r,i82,433, as compared with 61,819,-