Conversion Office had the value of actual gold; they differ in appearance from the ordinary paper currency, and as they always command a five per cent premium there was created a tendency to hoard them—a tendency which cannot occur in the case of the bills of the similar Conversion Office of Argentina, which exactly resemble the ordinary bank bills. By the end of 1909 the unbacked, inconvertible paper currency of Brazil was about 628,000 contos, while the convertible bills of the Conversion Office amounted to over 225,000 contos, with an equivalent amount of gold on deposit there; in 1910 it was found possible to raise the official value of the milreis to the point that the money market indicated, sixteen pence, and at this rate of exchange all the paper in the country stood until the outbreak of the European War. At the same time that the exchange rate was officially raised a rule was put into operation by which all foreign coins were received by the Conversion Office at rates based on their mint value, excepting English sterling which was still accepted at its exchange value. It is likely that had neither the Balkan nor the great European wars happened Brazil might have been able to raise again the official value of the milreis farther towards par; at the end of 1912 and beginning of 1913 the gold-backed paper amounted to over 406,000 contos of reis, and the unbacked was only 607,000 contos. In spite of the accumulation of heavy debts Brazil was in such a flourishing condition that she was able to show convertible currency amounting to two-thirds of the value of the inconvertible, as against one-sixth in 1907–8. Today, with eighty per cent of the gold of the early 1914 highwater mark gone from the Caixa, the convertible currency is but one-tenth of the inconvertible, a matter for regret, but things are undoubtedly in a much better condition than had the Conversion Office not existed. Suspension of conversion was ordered when deposits were reduced to £5,005,000. Since the middle of 1914 the Brazilian Government has been obliged to issue nearly 400,000 contos of new inconvertible paper; it has not actually added more than about 100,000 contos to the total paper currency, since at the same time a shrinkage in the convertible element has been proceeding. An emergency issue of 250,000 contos was made in the autumn of 1914 and another 150,000 was authorized in August, 1915. During the same period of stress the internal floating debt was added to by the issue of Treasury Bills to the nominal value of about 250,000 contos: a curious and instructive situation arose from the employment of these special Bills.