"Five hundred million roubles," said the visitor. "Thats indeed a stupendoussum pray translate it into its equivalent in silver bullion.
"It represents," said the Russian financier, about nine million kilogrammes of silver an amount about equal to all that is produced by the world's mines in two years. Nor is this all; in Russia we are very short indeed of small change. In silver and copper all told, this pocket money is In coney this small change currency less than a rouble per capt (half a dollar). authorised by law and actually issued, is ten marks per capt; or eight times' much silver as we have. Thus to complete our currency requirements, we shall need a further fifteen hundred thousand kilos for our small change issue."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.