Striking gold with platinum
QUESTION Did Russia once have a platinum coin in circulation? Platinum was first discovered in the ural mountains in Russia in 1819 and rich alluvial deposits were found in 1824.
the following year, deposits in the goldfields at nizhny tagil, near Ekaterinburg (Sverdlovsk), were found to yield 100 oz of gold and platinum per ton of gravel.
By 1825, large quantities of the native metal had been sent to St Petersburg, and the imperial Russian Government declared a state monopoly.
Count Egor F. Kankrin, minister of Finances to tsar nicholas i, recommended its use as coinage. in 1828, he issued three-rouble platinum coins. Six-rouble and 12-rouble coins were added in 1829 and 1830.
a total of 1,371,691 three-rouble coins were minted, with 14,847 sixrouble and 3,474 12-rouble coins over 18 years. the total amount of platinum used in their production was 485,505 troy ounces.
the first coin was sent to German scientist alexander von Humboldt, who was evaluating the use of platinum as a currency and its price relative to silver.
after his death in 1859, the coin was returned to Russia and became an exhibit of the Hermitage museum in Saint Petersburg.
today, platinum coins are collectors’ items worth several thousand pounds each. there’s much concern about their provenance as there was a healthy trade in forgeries from the late 19th century onwards.
Hugh Taylor, Lichfield, Staffs.
QUESTION The theme music for TV’s Morse famously incorporates Morse code. Does it feature in any other TV programme? FURTHER to the earlier answer, morse code also featured in the Radio 4 serial a night to Remember, based on Walter lord’s book about the sinking of the titanic. Originally broadcast in the late Seventies, it was repeated on Radio 4 Extra in april 2012.
the theme music at the beginning and end of the story starts with the band playing ragtime, but then changes to morse code ...---..., ie SOS, interspersed with the distress signal CDQ used by marconi radio operators on the titanic requesting assistance from ships in the area.
Keith Levasseur, Solihull, Warks.