by Europe and
America from 1501 to 1550 (the greater part, of course, by America)
amounted to $134,000,000. {475} F. de Laiglesio, on the other hand,
thinks that not more than $4,320,000 was mined in America before 1555.
The most careful estimate, that made by Professor Haring, arrives at
the following results, [Sidenote: Haring's estimate] the amounts being
given in pesos each worth very nearly the same as our dollar. Mexican
production:

1521-44 1345-60
Gold . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,348,900 343,670
Silver . . . . . . . . . . . 4,130,170 22,467,111

For Peru the proportions of gold and silver cannot be separated, but
the totals taken together from 1531-1560 amounted to probably
84,350,600 pesos. Other small sums came from other parts of the New
World, and the final total for production of gold _and_ silver in
America until 1560 is given at 139,720,000 pesos. This is a reduction
to 70 per cent. of the estimate of Lexis. Assuming that the same
correction must be made on all of the estimates given by Lexis we have
the following figures for the world's production of precious metals in
kilogrammes and in dollars:[3]

Gold Silver
Average per annum Average per annum
in
pesos or
dollars
of 25

in kilos in dollars kilos grammes
1493-1520 . . . 4270 3,269,000 31,570 1,262,800 1521-44
. . . 4893 3,425,000 52,010 2,080,400 1545-60 . . .
4718 3,302,600 184,730 7,389,200 1561-80 . . . 4718
3,302,600 185,430 7,417,200 1581-1600 . . . 4641
3,268,700 230,480 9,219,200

{476} Combining these figures we see that the production of gold was
pretty steady throughout the century, making a total output of about
$330,000,000. The production of silver, however, greatly increased
after 1544. From the beginning of the century to that year it amounted
to $75,285,600; from 1545 to 1600 inclusive it increased to
$450,955,200, making a total output for the century of $526,240,800.
Of course these figures only roughly approximate the truth;
nevertheless they give a correct idea of the general processes at work.
Even for