War-time financial problems

232 THE CURRENCY REPORT

Estimated amount of gold coin held
by Banks (excluding gold coin held
in the Issue Department of the
Bank of England) and in public
circulation.........^ ... 123,000,000

Grand total ...... £179,926,000

" The corresponding figures on July 10,1918, as nearly
as they can be estimated, were :—

Fiduciary Issue of the Bank of

England ............ 18,450,000

Currency Notes not covered by gold 230,412,000

Total Fiduciary Issues * ... £248,862,000

Bank of England Notes issued against

coin and bullion ......... 65,368,000

Currency Notes covered by gold ... 28,500,000
Estimated amount of gold coin held

by Banks (excluding gold coin held

by Issue Department of Bank of

England), say ......... 40,000,000

Grand total ...... £382,730,000

" There is also a certain amount of gold coin still in
the hands of the public which ought to be added to the
last-mentioned figure, but the amount is unknown/'

It will be noted that the gold held by the banks (other

than the Bank of England) and by the public has

• declined from £123 to £40 millions, according to the

* The notes issued by Scottish and Irish banks which have been
made legal tender during the war have not been included in the
foregoing figures. Strictly the amount (about ^5,000,000) by
which these issues exceed the amount of gold and currency notes
held by those banks should be added to the figures of the prcsc nt
fiduciary issues given above.