SILVER 



585 



1880 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 194( 



Figure 66. — Exploitation of the silver in the United States. 



1. C!omstock lode, Nevada, discovered ; 



2. Authorization for coinage of silver dollars; 



3. U.S. Treasury act to purchase silver; 



4. Purchasing act repealed and sharp price drop ; 



5. Tonopah, Nevada, discovered; 



6. Production began from porphyry copper deposits ; 



7. Peak from early silver and silver-gold mines and coinage demand of World War I allies; 



8. Heavy Chinese buying; 



9. Treasury began purchasing silver as monetary backing. Development Silver Belt, Idaho; 



10. World War II; 



11. Treasury began withdrawal of bullion reserve; 



12. Cessation use of silver for coinage ; 



13. U.S. Treasury directed to purchase domestic silver at 90 %c and authorized to sell at 91c; 



14. U.S. Treasury sales stabilizes price at 91c; 



15. Cessation of U.S. Treasury sales; 



16. Exhaustion of U.S. Treasury bullion reserve. Modified from McKnight (unpub. data, 1962). 



