Value of Bar Iron

This comes from Houghtalings Handbook ©1887

Value of a Bar of Iron for Various Purposes.
A bar of iron worth five dollars, worked into horse-shoes, is worth ten dollars and fifty cents; made into needles, it is worth three hundred and fifty-five dollars; made into penknife-blades it is worth three thousand two hundred and eighty-five dollars; made into balance-springs of watches, it is worth two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.