ABSTRACT
The production of silver and that of gold show the same general tendency to rise, but they have been quite different for considerable periods of time. Production of silver has kept approximately in line with that of basic commodities. Probably the reason for this is that much of the silver production is connected with the production of lead, copper, and other metals, whereas most of the gold comes from gold mines, the discovery of which is fortuitous. The production of silver has come much nearer the production of other things than has the production of gold. The relative values of silver and gold were comparatively stable until silver was demonetized in the United States and Western Europe. Silver went through the war period from 1915 to 1929 with only moderate fluctuations in its exchange value for commodities. The production might have been somewhat different if silver had been used as money in all countries.
