Ex Nafragiis Venit Aurum
Jr. Member
- Nov 24, 2020
- 30
- 12
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
For those that don't know - the RMS Edinburgh was sank in 1942 by the Germans. 60 British lives were lost, and also 465 bars of Russian gold. Reports on the weight of each bar have differed, some indicating 7 pounds, some say 13 pounds, but most sources agree that each bar was 23 pounds. That's 368 ounces of gold per bar, and 171,120 ounces of gold in total.
In 1942 the price of gold was $33.85 per ounce. That’s $541.60 a pound. Remember that.
In 1942 the RMS Edinburgh, along with 60 British lives, was sunk by a German U-BOAT. This ship had been carrying a secret war payment of 465 gold bars of Russian origin with an intended destination for the US.
Each gold bar, it’s reported, weighed 23 pounds. Reports differ on the total weight of the gold. Some indicate it was 4.5 tonnes, while others indicate it was 5.5 tonnes. When calculated, the total supposed tonnage is 4.851 metric tons
According to historical records the total value of these 465 golden bars was £1,500,000. In 1942 each £1 was equal to $4.03. This means that in USD, the 1942 cache of gold was valued at $6,045,000.
But this math doesn’t make sense under the historical price of gold in 1942. If we consider the recorded value of gold, $33.85, then 465 gold bars at 23 pounds each should be valued at only $5,792,412. That’s $252,588 (£62,676.92) less than the reported value.
In the grand scheme of things this isn't a large discrepancy, but fast forward just 40 years and it gets much worse:
The gold was partially salvaged in 1981, where the value of gold was recorded to be *$460 an ounce, or $7,360 a pound.
The team recovered 431 gold bars, (that's 9,913 pounds) reportedly £45,000,000 in value. In 1981 the exchange rate was £1 to $1.26. At this exchange rate, the reported value of the 431 gold bars was $56,700,000.
This is problematic because the *recorded cost of gold puts the 431 gold bars at a value of $72,959,680, or £57,904,507.93, meaning the gold was undervalued at more than £12,000,000 according to all historical sources that put it at £45M if my math is correct.
Is my math correct? If it is- what is the cause of this discrepancy? Could the reported weight of each gold bar be wrong? For 431 bars to be worth £45M, each bar would have to be valued at £104,408.353 or $131,554.524.
This figure, divided by the recorded price of gold per pound in 1981 ($7,360) comes out to 17.87 pounds per gold bar. it seems unlikely that anyone wouldn't make bars of gold.
Did the historical records of gold prices forget to mention they used troy ounces rather than normal ounces?
It's 16 normal ounces to a pound, but only 14.5833 troy ounces to a pound. Let's try plugging that into the 1981 equation instead?
14.5833 x $460 = $6,708.318 per pound of gold, multiplied by 23 pounds is $154,291.314 per gold bar. That's $66,499,556.30 total value for the 431 gold bars in 1981. Divided by the $1.25 exchange rate gives us £52,777,425.70.
It's closer- but no cigar. We still face a discrepancy of more than £7,000,000.
What am I missing>?
In 1942 the price of gold was $33.85 per ounce. That’s $541.60 a pound. Remember that.
In 1942 the RMS Edinburgh, along with 60 British lives, was sunk by a German U-BOAT. This ship had been carrying a secret war payment of 465 gold bars of Russian origin with an intended destination for the US.
Each gold bar, it’s reported, weighed 23 pounds. Reports differ on the total weight of the gold. Some indicate it was 4.5 tonnes, while others indicate it was 5.5 tonnes. When calculated, the total supposed tonnage is 4.851 metric tons
According to historical records the total value of these 465 golden bars was £1,500,000. In 1942 each £1 was equal to $4.03. This means that in USD, the 1942 cache of gold was valued at $6,045,000.
But this math doesn’t make sense under the historical price of gold in 1942. If we consider the recorded value of gold, $33.85, then 465 gold bars at 23 pounds each should be valued at only $5,792,412. That’s $252,588 (£62,676.92) less than the reported value.
In the grand scheme of things this isn't a large discrepancy, but fast forward just 40 years and it gets much worse:
The gold was partially salvaged in 1981, where the value of gold was recorded to be *$460 an ounce, or $7,360 a pound.
The team recovered 431 gold bars, (that's 9,913 pounds) reportedly £45,000,000 in value. In 1981 the exchange rate was £1 to $1.26. At this exchange rate, the reported value of the 431 gold bars was $56,700,000.
This is problematic because the *recorded cost of gold puts the 431 gold bars at a value of $72,959,680, or £57,904,507.93, meaning the gold was undervalued at more than £12,000,000 according to all historical sources that put it at £45M if my math is correct.
Is my math correct? If it is- what is the cause of this discrepancy? Could the reported weight of each gold bar be wrong? For 431 bars to be worth £45M, each bar would have to be valued at £104,408.353 or $131,554.524.
This figure, divided by the recorded price of gold per pound in 1981 ($7,360) comes out to 17.87 pounds per gold bar. it seems unlikely that anyone wouldn't make bars of gold.
Did the historical records of gold prices forget to mention they used troy ounces rather than normal ounces?
It's 16 normal ounces to a pound, but only 14.5833 troy ounces to a pound. Let's try plugging that into the 1981 equation instead?
14.5833 x $460 = $6,708.318 per pound of gold, multiplied by 23 pounds is $154,291.314 per gold bar. That's $66,499,556.30 total value for the 431 gold bars in 1981. Divided by the $1.25 exchange rate gives us £52,777,425.70.
It's closer- but no cigar. We still face a discrepancy of more than £7,000,000.
What am I missing>?
| ReplyForward Add reaction |
Last edited:
