French Napoleon, value in Havana $4. Value in United States mint ($3.84 less shipping expenses, .0192) 3.8208 ------- $0.1792 Exchange 4-11/16% Value of $5, less 1/2% shipping expenses $4.975. At 4-11/16% Quotations: £ Stlg., Spain, $39.40 currency in Havana, 10% £ in U. S. 4.84 STATEMENT SHOWING ACTUAL VALUE OF $1. SPANISH SILVER 100,000 dollars Spanish silver can be bought to-day here with $66,000 Spanish gold, equal to $60,000 U. S. currency. 100,000 silver dollars shipped to Spain after deducting 1% shipping expenses would produce $99,000. 99,000 dollars Spanish silver on Spain will buy at rate of £1, which is $7.88, £12,563. £12,563 would produce in the U. S. at $4.84, $60,804.92. Cost $60,000 Proceeds 60,804.92 ---------- $ 804.92, from which deduct commission, revenue stamp, interest, and profit. While the principal banking concerns are unanimous as to the gold standard, there is a difference of opinion in relation to the advisability of squeezing the inflation out of these gold coins. Some of the Cuban bankers and financiers contend that the United States Government should add another gold coin to the currency, namely, the American eagle; and, by maintaining the fictitious value given to the other two gold coins, leave it equivalent to eleven dollars in Cuba. This, it is claimed, will be a very easy way of leaving matters _in statu quo_, as it were, until such time as permanent government and laws shall be provided for the Island. They fear that to make the United States currency legal tender would work an injury to the creditor class, whose contracts would then be payable in gold worth six per cent. less than the gold specified in such contracts. There are others, whose opinions are equally worthy of consideration, who recommend as the only logical remedy for this situation the substitution of the American currency as sole legal tender. Such action on the part of the United States Government it is believed would not seriously interfere with present contracts, which are invariably expressed as payable in Spanish gold, and which might be arranged for accordingly.