Standard bullion contains 900 parts of pure gold or pure silver and 100 parts of copper alloy.

The coining value of an ounce of pure gold is $20.-67183 and the coining value of an ounce of standard gold is $18.60465.

The coining value in standard silver dollars of an ounce of pure silver is $1.2929 and the coining value of an ounce of standard silver is $1.1636.

What Is Seigniorage? The term seigniorage, as used in the United States, means the profit arising from the coinage of bullion. The Government does not purchase gold bullion, but coins it on private account. There is no profit from the coinage of gold bullion, the face value of gold coins being the same as their bullion value, but at the present ratio of 16 to 1 the face value of the silver dollar is greater than its bullion value; therefore when silver bullion is purchased and coined into dollars there is a profit arising from such coinage, the amount of which depends upon the price paid for the bullion. For example, there are 371 1/4 grains of pure silver in a dollar and there are 480 grains of pure silver in a fine ounce. The coinage value of a fine ounce is, therefore, $.2929.

If the fine ounce can be purchased for 70 cents, the profit of its coinage (the seigniorage) is $0.5929 - , and the profit on the 371 1/4 grains of pure silver in the single dollar is $0.4586 - , which is the difference between the actual cost of the bullion in the dollar and the nominal value of the coin.

The silver purchased by the Government is carried on the books of the Treasury at its actual cost, and the seigniorage is declared on the coinage of each month and paid into the Treasury.