1850 American Gold Tycoon

When they arrived in Funing Town, several sentries placed everyone in the best hotel in Funing Town and then went to the mine to report the matter to Huang Kangrui.

The factors that limit the output of silver mines, in addition to the richness and poverty of the mines, the amount of manpower, and the strength of funds and technology, are the supply of mercury.

Having access to a large and stable supply of mercury is a first-class priority for any mine.

Although Liang Yao was a little tired, he did not plan to rest in the hotel too much.

He wanted to take a stroll in Funing Town before Huang Kangrui came back to understand the real situation in Funing Town.

Funing Town is a large, deformed town.

Although the town is relatively densely populated, its commerce is not very developed. There are very few outside merchants and even few outside traders.

After talking to several wary locals, Zeiss said with emotion: "This is not so much a small town as it is a company. Funing Company takes care of everything for the residents. These people like Funing It’s like a cog in the huge machine of the company, running step by step.”

The industrialization period in the United States created many mining towns controlled by companies, such as Bertie, Virginia City, Kureide, and so on. Many of these small mining towns, heavily controlled by companies, remained active into the first half of the 20th century.

In these mining towns, the town council is like the company's board of directors, the town's administrative leaders are like the company's management executives, and the town residents are like the company's ordinary employees. For the residents of these towns, companies are everything to life.

Liang Yao finally found a few vendors and bought some local snacks for the accompanying retinue to eat. He himself felt thoughtfully as he touched the change given to him by the vendors.

In the evening, Liang Yao finally met Huang Kangrui.

Huang Kangrui is estimated to be in his forties. He has triangular eyes and does not look like a good person. He exudes the cunning and unruly aura of a subordinate.

The deepest impression that Huang Kangrui left on Liang Yao was his braid. He wore a straight dress with a folded right collar, but retained a thick braid, which looked very inconsistent.

Perhaps for the convenience of traveling in and out of the Qing Dynasty in the future, Huang Kangrui did not cut off his braids.

"There are many trivial matters in the mine. Please forgive me, Master Liang. May I ask which master of the Liang family this Master Liang is?" Huang Kangrui asked Liang Yao's detailed identity.

Liang Yao knew that the trivial mining matters Huang Kangrui mentioned should be Deng Wenyu and others coming to Funing Mine to inspect taxes.

From Huang Kangrui's triumphant look and his excellent mood, it can be seen that Deng Wenyu and the others were not successful in their tax inspection this time.

"Liang Sheng." Liang Yao said without blushing or heartbeat.

"I am Liang Yao's second brother Liang Sheng."

Hearing the word Liang Yao, a hint of imperceptible awe flashed across the eyes of Huang Kangrui and others. It could be seen that they were still afraid of Liang Yao.

Huang Kangrui thought to himself: Not only did this young man dare to call Speaker Liang by his first name in front of so many people, but he also didn't blush or his heart beat. He was so natural. He must be a descendant of the Liang family.

Furthermore, this guy was very arrogant, and he dared to promise as much as he wanted for such a rare thing as mercury. Apart from Liang Yao himself, only the children of the Liang family who worked at Xiangshan Mining Company had the confidence to say this.

"Master Liang, please come to the humble residence to have a talk."

Huang Kangrui extended an invitation to Liang Yao. He was a member of the Liang family. If he could make friends with the children of the Liang family and bring them to his side, what did Deng Wenyu, who was in charge of California's taxation and finance, count?

No matter how powerful the Deng family is, in the final analysis they are just cousins ​​of Chairman Liang. How close can cousins ​​be to their own family?

"No need. Although your Funing Town is a big town, it doesn't live up to its name. It doesn't even have any fun places. It's very boring." Liang Yao said very dissatisfied.

"A week later, I will personally escort 5 tons of mercury here and sell it to you at a 10% discount on the mercury price in the Reno market. I only accept gold transactions. I pay with one hand and deliver the goods with the other hand. Can you get so much cash? ?”

The unit price of mercury in the California market is about US$3 per kilogram. In mining areas, the unit price of mercury will be higher, generally between US$5 and US$2.

Reno is a typical mining town. In the Reno market, the unit price of mercury is US$4 per kilogram, and with a 10% discount it is US$3 per kilogram.

Calculated at a unit price of US$6, 5 tons of mercury is US$18,000, which is a considerable sum.

Huang Kangrui is a well-known large-scale mine owner in the Reno area. Liang Yao believes that Huang Kangrui can still come up with $18,000 in cash.

"Yes!" Huang Kangrui said impatiently, for fear of missing the deal.

A kilogram of mercury costs US$6, which is simply a bargain price in the mining town of Novo. More importantly, he was able to hook up with Xiangshan Mining Company and obtain a stable mercury supply channel, which was more valuable than the deal itself.

"Then I'll see you in a week. Also, I hope that next time I come to Funing Town, I can come by train instead of riding a horse!" After saying that, Liang Yao returned to Reno with his entourage overnight.

Back in Reno, Liang Yao chose a hotel with a decent view to stay on the Truckee River that ran through the city of Reno, and asked Zeiss to go to the post office in Reno to send two telegrams.

A letter was sent to Xiangshan Mining Company, asking them to prepare 5 tons of mercury to be shipped to Reno City.

One letter was sent to the headquarters of the California Infantry Regiment, ordering the California Regiment to send a battalion disguised as guards of the Xiangshan Mining Company to escort the mercury.

"Huang Kangrui is just a piece of meat on a hob. He would rather pay us US$12,000 in bribes than let us enter the mine to inspect taxes."

Deng Wenyu, who came back from the Funing Mine, reported to Liang Yao the status of his tax inspection. Huang Kangrui slowly increased the bribe amount from US$5,000 to US$12,000 without blinking an eye, but refused to let them into the mine. Check taxes.

"That means the bribe of 12,000 US dollars is just a drop in the bucket compared to the amount of taxes he evaded." As he said that, Liang Yao took out 14 silver cents that he had exchanged for change in Funing Town and placed them on the table. .

"Can you see the problem?"

These 14 silver cents cover all widely circulated silver cent denominations, from the smallest denomination 10-cent silver coin to 25-cent and 50-cent silver coins.

According to the "1792 Coinage Act" proposed by Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury of the United States and passed by Congress. The United States initially established a gold and silver bimetal currency system.

To be more precise, it should be called a gold, silver, and copper bimetal currency system, because in the U.S. monetary system, a combination of gold, silver, and copper is used.

Metal coins worth 1 cent are mainly minted with copper as the main raw material. Coins worth more than 1 cent and less than or equal to 1 US dollar are mainly minted with silver as the main raw material.

Metal coins greater than or equal to 1 US dollar are minted with gold as the main raw material.

Therefore, there are both gold and silver coins in the 1-dollar coin, but the 1-dollar gold coin is more popular than the silver coin, and its actual value is slightly higher than the 1-dollar silver coin.

Hamilton's intentions were good, but his successors failed to implement them well. In addition, before 1850, the United States was not a major producer of precious metals. The first-generation monetary system of the United States barely survived until 1820, when it completely collapsed.

Due to the lack of effective supervision and restrictions in the minting department, the silver content of the Spanish silver coins that were very popular in the American market during this period was 1% to 5% heavier than the silver coins minted in the United States. People gradually developed the impression that American silver coins were cheap silver coins.

Bad currency drove out good currency, and two Spanish silver coins were re-exported abroad, gradually withdrawing from the U.S. currency circulation market, causing a currency shortage in the U.S. market.

After 1820, Spanish silver coins were mainly circulated in the American currency market. Only fools would trade gold coins in the market.

This phenomenon did not ease until the California Gold Rush in the 1950s.

After California acquired the Western Nevada region, it became a large state with considerable gold, silver, and copper production.

In order to meet the market demand for currency, the California government established the state's currency system with reference to the Coinage Act of 1792 when it was first established.

The one-cent copper coins with the California elk pattern are cast from high-quality copper materials and are known as deer coins among the people.

Metal coins with denominations of more than 1 cent and less than 1 US dollar are made of 90% silver and 10% copper alloy. The coin pattern is a bear, and it is called bear coin among the people.

Coins above US$1 (inclusive) are made of 90% gold and 10% copper alloy. The pattern of the coins is a dragon, which is called dragon coin among the people.

The quality of California coins is very high and it is very popular in the market. Even merchants from Britain, France and other European countries require American merchants to pay in California dragon coins when trading with the United States.

Only when American merchants really couldn't produce enough dragon coins, European merchants were willing to accept two other gold coins: Liberty Head Gold Coins and Indian Head Gold Coins.

"Judging from the fineness and weight, these silver coins are not silver coins minted by the five major banks in California. They must be inferior coins privately minted by the private sector." Deng Wenyu compared several silver coins of the same value with those officially minted by the five major banks in California. He quickly discovered that Find out the tricks in it.

"I can guarantee that the silver content of these silver coins is only about 80% at most. Where did you get them?"

The official coins of the five major banks have strict regulations on the gold content and silver content. The gold content of gold coins shall not be less than 90%, and the silver content of silver coins shall not be less than 90%.

"I suspect that Huang Kangrui minted the silver coins recovered from the vendors in Funing Town secretly," Liang Yao said.

The 14 recovered silver coins were all privately minted and inferior coins, which is no coincidence.

Before the Civil War, the federal government's monetary system was not perfect, and private coinage was common throughout the United States. Many local communities and merchants minted coins privately to meet local currency needs. These private coins filled the money supply gap to a certain extent, but they also made the entire monetary system of the United States more chaotic.

California was the first to explicitly prohibit any private coinage of currency in the state. Currently, only five banks in California have been granted the right to mint uniform currency by the state Congress.

These five banks are: Bank of America, Bank of Boston, Bank of the South (a bank jointly founded by wealthy southern immigrants such as Fremont), Jardine Matheson Bank, and Tongfu Bank.

"No wonder this kid won't let me enter the mine. It turns out that this kid is doing something bigger than tax evasion." Deng Wenyu suddenly realized that he minted coins privately. This was a worse crime than tax evasion in California.

The Funingshan Mine not only produced silver and gold, but also copper and other metals, which provided great convenience for Huang Kangrui to mint coins privately.