The story of silver : how the white metal shaped America and the modern world PDF
Preview The story of silver : how the white metal shaped America and the modern world
THE STORY OF SILVER Silver Prices for 200 Years $ April 2011: January 1980: Debt crisis peak Hunt peak 32.00 Sept. 2008: Lehman bankruptcy 16.00 8.00 NNoovveemmbbeerr 11997733:: Hunt accumulation begins 4.00 1997: Buffett purchases Crime of 1873 Hammiillttoonn''ss $$11.2299 mmiinntt pprriicce 2.00 11991188 PPiittttmmaann AAcctt 1934 Silver 1.00 Purchase Act William Jennings Bryan’s 0.50 Cross of Gold Speech June 1963: Silver Purchase Act repealed 0.25 1792 1802 1812 1822 1832 1842 1852 1862 1872 1882 1892 1902 1912 1922 1932 1942 1952 1962 1972 1982 1992 2002 2012 This semi- log chart shows the annual average price per troy ounce of pure silver in U.S. dollars from 1792 through 2015 and some of the major events influencing the white metal during that period. The data are spliced from the following sources: 1) The U.S. Mint price from 1792– 1833; 2) The average market price reported by the Department of the Mint, 1834– 1909; 3) The average of monthly prices reported by the CRB database, 1910– 1946; 4) The average of daily prices reported by the Silver Prices for 200 Years $ April 2011: January 1980: Debt crisis peak Hunt peak 32.00 Sept. 2008: Lehman bankruptcy 16.00 8.00 NNoovveemmbbeerr 11997733:: Hunt accumulation begins 4.00 1997: Buffett purchases Crime of 1873 Hammiillttoonn''ss $$11.2299 mmiinntt pprriicce 2.00 11991188 PPiittttmmaann AAcctt 1934 Silver 1.00 Purchase Act William Jennings Bryan’s 0.50 Cross of Gold Speech June 1963: Silver Purchase Act repealed 0.25 1792 1802 1812 1822 1832 1842 1852 1862 1872 1882 1892 1902 1912 1922 1932 1942 1952 1962 1972 1982 1992 2002 2012 CRB database, 1947– 2015. The annual average price in 1980 is lower than in 2011, even though the daily peak price ($50) was higher in 1980, because daily prices fell more precipitously during 1980 compared with 2011. Note: Because of inflation, the value of $1.29 in 1792 is equivalent to $31.30 in current dollars of 2011, when sil- ver hit a peak of $48 (based on the consumer price index calculator from the EH.net website of the Economic History Association). By the Same Author Volcker: The Triumph of Persistence When Washington Shut Down Wall Street: The Great Financial Crisis of 1914 and the Origins of America’s Monetary Supremacy Financial Options: From Theory to Practice (coauthor) Principles of Money, Banking, and Financial Markets (coauthor) Financial Innovation (editor) Money (coauthor) Portfolio Behavior of Financial Institutions THE STORY OF SILVER HOW THE WHITE METAL SHAPED AMERICA AND THE MODERN WORLD WILLIAM L. SILBER P r i n c e to n U n i v e rs i t y P r e s s Princeton & Oxford Copyright © 2019 by Princeton University Press Published by Princeton University Press 41 William Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540 6 Oxford Street, Woodstock, Oxfordshire OX20 1TR press.princeton.edu All Rights Reserved LCCN 2018941299 ISBN 9780691175386 British Library Cataloging-i n- Publication Data is available Editorial: Peter Dougherty and Jessica Yao Production Editorial: Natalie Baan Text and Jacket Design: Leslie Flis Production: Jacqueline Poirier Publicity: James Schneider Jacket Credit: 1879 US silver dollar This book has been composed in Sabon LT Std Roman Printed on acid-f ree paper. ∞ Printed in the United States of America 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 To Danny You left us too soon contents From the Author xiii Main Characters xvii INTRODUCTION Obsession 1 CHAPTER 1 Hamilton’s Design 10 CHAPTER 2 Solving the Crime of 1873 17 CHAPTER 3 Free Silver 27 CHAPTER 4 Seeds of Roosevelt’s Manipulation 38 CHAPTER 5 FDR Promotes Silver 45 CHAPTER 6 Silver Subsidy 52 CHAPTER 7 China and America Collide 60 CHAPTER 8 Bombshell in Shanghai 71 CHAPTER 9 Silver Lining 90 CHAPTER 10 Costly Victory 99 CHAPTER 11 JFK’s Double Cross 104 CHAPTER 12 LBJ Nails the Coffin Shut 119
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