244 MINES IN CHAP. XXV. 



therefore it must be the natural tendency of each 

 to convert gold dust into doubloons, or the half, 

 quarter, or eighth parts of doubloons, as fast as the 

 mints can coin them. 



It is, then, on the produce of these mints that 

 reliance must be placed in calculating the gold 

 and silver which the different modes of gold 

 washing yield. As the coining apparatus is bad, 

 and the work performed is slow, there is, or was, 

 for we have heard that great improvements have 

 been lately introduced, a delay in the operation 

 which, when interest was so high as we have 

 stated, led to the introduction at the mints of 

 some gold collected by private persons in the 

 form of dust. The directors of the mint at Bo- 

 gota purchased such gold dust of those who had 

 collected it, and coined it into doubloons and 

 their subdivisions. By this operation a gain was 

 made, between 1810 and 1823, of six hundred 

 and seventy-seven thousand seven hundred and 

 forty-six dollars, or one hundred and forty-one 

 thousand one hundred and eighty-five pounds 

 sterling. This gain, however, did not far exceed 

 the current rate of high interest then paid in 

 transactions between private individuals. 



There are two mints in the Republic of Co- 

 lumbia, at Bogota and Popayan. No exact ac- 

 counts have been procured later than the end of 

 the year 1825, but there is no reason to suppose 



