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Alexander von Humboldt: „On the Fluctuations in the Production of Gold, considered with reference to the Problems of State Economy“, in: ders., Sämtliche Schriften digital, herausgegeben von Oliver Lubrich und Thomas Nehrlich, Universität Bern 2021. URL: <https://humboldt.unibe.ch/text/1838-Ueber_die_Schwankungen-05> [abgerufen am 25.04.2024].
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| Titel | On the Fluctuations in the Production of Gold, considered with reference to the Problems of State Economy | ||||||
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| Jahr | 1839 | ||||||
| Ort | London | ||||||
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Nachweis in: The Athenæum. Journal of English and Foreign Literature, Science, and the Fine Arts 584 (5. Januar 1839), S. 8–9.
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| Sprache | Englisch | ||||||
| Typografischer Befund | Antiqua; Spaltensatz; Auszeichnung: Kursivierung; Schmuck: Kapitälchen. | ||||||
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In this little tract, obligingly forwarded to us,(and
intended, we presume, for some of the lite-rary periodicals of Germany,) we find a
curioustheme, handled with great neatness and inge-nuity. There is not, indeed,
disclosed in it muchpositive novelty, either of fact or speculation;but
comprehensive views, variety of topics, con-siderable sprightliness, and an habitual
clearnessof expression, capable of making philosophictruth intelligible to the
multitude, without sacri-ficing, in any degree, its dignity or
essentialstrictness—these, the common recommendationsof all M. von
Humboldt’s works, are conspicuousin this; and throw attractions over a
subjectapparently exhausted in dry reports on bullionand cash payments.
A few centuries ago, it was thought thatgold was a production only of the hottest
coun-tries. Columbus, when sailing along the coastof Cuba, wrote in his
journal,— “to judge bythe great heat, this country must be rich
ingold.” A similar groundless belief, we mayremark, respecting the
climate prolific of dia-monds is maintained in some publications ofour own day.
Nevertheless, diamonds, and stillmore abundantly, gold, are now found in
theUralian Mountains, under the 65th degree ofnorth latitude: and the Siberian
gold mines,situated on the slopes of the northern ramifica-tions of the Altai
Mountains, are daily disclosingnew treasures. The increased productiveness ofthe
Siberian gold mines, within the last quarterof a century, stimulates M. von Humboldt
tovindicate the statements of Herodotus andCtesias, the former of whom places,
in the heartof Asia, in the country of the Aramasps, minesof gold guarded by
griffons; the latter setssomewhere between Persia and India, the auri-ferous
soil which was excavated and exposed toview by ants nearly as large as foxes. But
what-ever may have been the veritable groundwork ofthese stories, it appears to
us to be out of thepower of ingenious erudition to strip them oftheir vagueness
and fabulous character. M. vonHumboldt, whose imagination is as active as
hisreasoning faculty, struggles in vain to give themprecision and authenticity.
He might, however,have corroborated his conjecture that the goldmines of Central
Asia, and the Ural, werewrought in very ancient times, by stating that inall
those mines, at the present day, are foundrelics of antiquity belonging to a people
differentfrom those who now possess the soil. The fol-lowing observations have
greater value:—
We learn from the acute researches of Boekh,how, on the opening of the East by the
Persian wars,and by the expedition of the great Macedonian toIndia, gold
gradually accumulated in EuropeanGreece, so that in the time of Demosthenes, for
ex-ample, the precious metals had sunk to a fifth of thevalue which they had in
the days of Solon. Thestream then ran from east to west, and so copiouswas the
influx of gold, that its relative value to silver,which, in the time of Herodotus,
was as 13 to 1, was,|9|
|Spaltenumbruch| at the death of Alexander, only as 10 to 1. Theless universal were the
communications of trade inthe ancient world, the greater and more sudden
musthave been the alterations in the relative value ofgold and silver. Thus, in
consequence of local ac-cumulations of the precious metals, we find that inRome,
just after the conquest of Syracuse, gold wasto silver as 17\( \frac{1}{7} \) to 1; whereas, under Julius Cæsar,its relative value
was, for some time, but as 8\( \frac{13}{14} \)to 1. The
less the quantity of the precious metalsactually existing in a country, the more
easily can asudden influx of them occasion these excessive vari-ations of their
value. The civilized world is at pre-sent assured of stability in the value of the
preciousmetals, by the extent and rapidity of the commercewhich establishes
their equilibrium, and by the greatquantities of gold and silver already collected.
Afterthe revolution in Spanish America, the annual pro-duction of the precious
metals fell, for some years,to one-third of its former amount, yet the
oscillationsof their relative value, during that period, wereslight, and hardly
ascribable to the decreased pro-duction.
In confirmation of this remark, we may referto the recent experience of this
country. In thecourse of ten years—from 1817 to 1827—theBank of
England coined 1,294,000 marks ofgold, (in value 38,130,000l.
sterling); and yetthis great demand for gold raised its relative valueonly
four-and-a-half per cent. In the presentstate of the civilized world, so many
circum-stances operate together on the price of the pre-cious metals, that
considerable and partial fluc-tuations in their relative value are almost
im-possible. Formerly, however, society felt manyshocks from this cause, without
knowing whencethey came: Bishop Latimer preached his famoussermon before Edward
VI., complaining indig-nantly of the great increase in the prices of allthe
necessaries of life, in the year 1548, justthree years after the discovery of the
mines ofPotosi.
The mass of the precious metals (says M. vonHumboldt) which was brought to Europe
during theperiod that elapsed from the discovery of Americatill the outbreak of
the Mexican revolution, was10,400,000 Castilian marks of gold, (worth aboutthree
hundred millions sterling,) and 533,700,000marks of silver; together worth 5,940
millions ofpiastres. The due allowance being made for theloss of bulk sustained
in the process of refinement,the silver taken from the American mines in
theabove-mentioned period would be sufficient to forma ball, or solid globe, of
pure silver, eighty-nine feetin diameter.
It is curious to compare the mass of silveryielded by Spanish America, during 318
years,with the mass of that useful metal, iron, annuallywrought by single
European states. Accordingto M. von Dechen, a well-informed geologist,globes of
pure iron, representing the quantitiesannually produced, would require, for Great
Bri-tain 157, for France 118, and for Prussia 80feet in diameter.
M. von Humboldt, after calling attention tothe circumstance that the fountains of
mineralwealth are not perennial; that the richest minesare, in time, exhausted;
and that, owing to thesealterations in the springs, the stream of richeshas
sometimes flowed from east to west, andsometimes in the contrary direction;
proceedsto show that the world has no cause to dread alack of gold. From the
earliest ages, as soon asone auriferous deposit has ceased to be produc-tive,
another has replaced it; and the preciousmetals, wherever they are found, soon force
theirway into universal circulation. Contemporane-ously with the decline in the
productiveness ofthe Spanish American mines, (which, owing tothe energy of some
English companies, however,have in some measure recovered their
formerimportance), the gold of the Uralian Mountainsbegan to flow into the
European markets. In1821 the produce of the Ural was about 1000lb.|Spaltenumbruch| weight;
it continued, however, to increase regu-larly till 1832, when it amounted to
15,200lb.(worth about 670,000l. sterling). From thattime
it has slowly declined; but its diminishedvalue has been compensated, since 1834, by
the dis-covery of new gold mines in the Altai, or AltaiinOola, (that is, in
Mongolian, the gold mountain).These have gone on increasing
in value; so thattheir produce is now nearly half of that of theUralian mines,
and in 1837 the Russian goldproduced was worth 800,000l.
sterling.
In the United States also, the production ofgold increased, in ten years—from
1824 to 1834—from the value of 5,000 to that of 898,000 dol-lars: from
that time it has considerably declined.The gold was found chiefly in North
Carolinaand Georgia. The amount of the precious metalsdrawn from the mines of
Siberia and of the UnitedStates are inconsiderable indeed in comparisonwith that
poured forth from the mines of Mexicoand Peru, yet they are sufficient to
invalidatethe opinion which confines the great deposits ofthe noble metals to
tropical countries. The mul-tiplication of sources also, however feeble theymay
severally be, obviously lessens the impor-tance which might be attached to the drying
upof the great streams of the precious metals, andmust tend to quiet the
apprehensions of thosewho contemplate with anxiety a dearth of bullion.
It is impossible to read this little treatise ofM. von Humboldt, without feeling an
earnestdesire to investigate closely the operation ofmoney as an element of
national prosperity. Itwould appear, at first view, that the greater thequantity
of money in circulation—the prices ofnecessaries, and the amount of population
beingsupposed to remain unchanged—the greatermust be the prosperity of
the community. Thevalue of the money in circulation indicates theactivity of the
traffic which ministers to the com-forts of society. But this problem is, in
reality,extremely complicated; inasmuch as all the ele-ments vary, from the
operation of many circum-stances besides those which fall under
immediateconsideration. We, therefore, recommend it tothe care of statists, to
be carefully analyzed andfitted for application.
On the Fluctuations in the Production of Gold,considered with reference to the Problems ofState Economy. By Alex. von Humboldt.