Aluminum's rare status in 1884

In 1884, a metal tip placed at the top of the Washington Monument was worth almost as much as silver, ounce for ounce. This 100-ounce metal jewel, cast in Philadelphia by chemist William Frishmuth, reflects a time when aluminum was rarer and more coveted than many precious metals.

Aluminum's high price in the 19th century

In 1884, aluminum was so rare that its price rivaled that of silver, with one ounce valued at about a dollar, equivalent to a day's salary for a construction worker. The 100-ounce tip, cast by William Frishmuth in Philadelphia, weighed 100 ounces and was priced at $225, more than double the initially planned budget.

Aluminum's transformation in the late 19th century

As early as 1886, the electrolytic process developed by Charles Martin Hall allowed for mass production of aluminum, causing its price to collapse and ending its status as a precious metal. When aluminum was more valuable than silver, it is necessary to place oneself in the context of the end of the nineteenth century to understand why a simple piece of aluminum could rival a noble metal.

Aluminum's rarity compared to silver

At that time, aluminum had nothing to do with a common material. Its global production remained anecdotal, and its extraction required costly chemical processes, long before electrolysis changed the situation. According to the scientific journal JOM, published in 1995, global aluminum production in 1884 was around 3.6 tons. For comparison, silver extracted the same year reached about 2,834 tons.

Disagreements on aluminum's price in 1884

Sources do not entirely agree on the exact price of an ounce of aluminum in 1884. JOM mentions about a dollar per ounce, while the U.S. National Archives, in their publication Prologue of 2014, suggest rather $1.10, a figure presented as double the price of silver at the time. The National Park Service, on the other hand, speaks of almost parity between the two metals.

The weight and cost of the Washington Monument tip

The piece finally placed at the top of the monument weighed 100 ounces, for a height of about 8.9 inches, or just under 23 centimeters. Cast in Philadelphia, it was priced at $225 by William Frishmuth, more than double the amount initially agreed upon with the construction site managers.

Aluminum's value in terms of labor

This budget overrun takes on new meaning when one knows how costly the material was to produce. According to JOM, an ounce of aluminum was worth about a dollar at the time, which corresponded exactly to the salary of a day's work for a laborer employed on the Washington Monument construction site. A day that generally exceeded ten hours.

The initial choice of material for the monument

The choice of aluminum was not obvious at first. Thomas Lincoln Casey, the site manager, initially considered a bronze tip or a brass-plated platinum tip. It was Frishmuth himself, in a letter dated October 25, 1884, who proposed aluminum as an alternative.

Aluminum's properties and composition

His argument consisted of two points: the metal conducted electricity well, which was useful since the tip was to serve as a termination for a lightning rod, and it did not tarnish over time, unlike bronze or brass exposed to the weather. An analysis cited by the National Park Service has allowed the precise composition of this tip to be known: 97.75% aluminum, 1.70% iron, and 0.55% silicon.

Philadelphia's role in aluminum history

Philadelphia, the discreet cradle of a forgotten metallurgical feat. William Frishmuth, a German-born chemist who arrived in the United States in 1855, was not an unknown in the American metallurgy field. It was, however, this order, almost anecdotal at first, that eventually inscribed his name in the history of great American monuments.

Aluminum's brief fame

His Philadelphia foundry thus delivered a piece that would become, for a time, one of the most famous aluminum objects in the world. Even before being installed, the tip had its moment of glory in New York. It was displayed, without official permission, in the showcases of the famous jewelry store Tiffany & Co. Visitors came to admire it and, for fun, literally jumped over it to be able to claim they had jumped over the top of the Washington Monument.

The end of aluminum's rarity

The irony of history is barely two years later. On February 23, 1886, chemist Charles Martin Hall developed an electrolytic process allowing for the mass production of aluminum. The price of the metal collapsed almost immediately, ending its status as a precious material.

The Washington Monument's aluminum tip today

The tip of the Washington Monument thus became, without wanting to, a frozen witness to a very brief moment when aluminum rivaled silver, just before becoming accessible to all. More than a century later, this small metal pyramid continues to watch over Washington, invisible from the ground but loaded with a history that few visitors suspect.