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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 3, 1972

NEW ORLEANS MINT TO BE FEATURED

[AT ANA'S ANNUAL CONVENTION]{.underline}

The first strike of the New Orleans Mint medal was made at the
Philadelphia Mint on August 3, 1972.

The new bronze medal, 1-1/2 inch in diameter, is the first of a series
of Mint Historic Buildings medals to be struck. It will be introduced to
the public at the Mint's National Historic Medals exhibit at the
American Numismatic Association's annual convention in New Orleans,
August 15-20, 1972.

The obverse shows the Old Mint, which opened in 1838 and operated
through 1931, framed by leaves in the foreground. "New Orleans Mint"
appears above the building and the dates it was an active mint facility
below. The design was executed by the Mint's sculptor-engraver Sherl J.
Winter from a drawing by George L. Osborn of New Orleans, Louisiana.

Mr. Osborn, who is in the wholesale drug business, is an avid
numismatist in his spare time. He is also a first rate artist and has
undertaken a series of pen and ink sketches of Old Mints which he
reproduces for sale.

The reverse of the new medal, designed and executed by Mint
sculptor-engraver Edgar Z. Steever, shows a relief map of the
continental United States accented with a star marking the site of the
Old New Orleans Mint. Backing the map is a bald eagle displaying symbols
from the Treasury Department heraldry: the balance scale in its beak,
the key in its left talons and the oak and laurel cluster in its right
talons. "Treasury Department" at the top and "United States of America"
at the bottom complete the design.

The U.S. Mint's Exhibit at the ANA convention will feature the complete
medal-making process from the artist's sketch to the striking of the
medal.

A highlight of the National Historic Medals exhibit will be a replica of
the nation's first coin press built in Philadelphia in 1792 to produce
such early, unusual coins as half cents and half dimes which will also
be on display.

At periodic intervals during the convention, visitors to the Mint
exhibit will be able to see the replica press in operation. Lead blanks
will be used to strike specimens of the New Orleans medal.

Also in operation will be a remarkable, precision machine used to reduce
a coin or medal design from the large original size (called a galvano)
to the size of the coin or medal. The machine, called a "Janvier
Reducing Lathe" after its 19th Century French inventor, was purchased by
the Mint in 1905. It was the first Janvier Lathe in the United States
and reduced the models for many U.S. coins in the first half of this
century.

A "ratio bar," hinged to the machine's base at one end, has a small
electric drill mounted closer to the center, and a pointed tracer at the
opposite end. The tracer presses on the large coin model, while the
drill tip cuts into the face of a steel cylinder. As the cylinder and
large model rotate at the same speed, the tracer rides over the entire
model surface similar to a phonograph needle riding on a record. The
drill accurately cuts every detail of the coin design into the steel in
approximately 30 hours. This steel cylinder, called a "hub", is used to
press the coin design into the coining die, which in turn strikes the
design into the surface of the coins.

An electro-plating tank will also be on display to demonstrate the
process of copper plating a plaster model (of the New Orleans Mint
medal) that forms a galvano used on the Janvier.

The New Orleans Mint medal at \$1.50 will be available at the U.S. Mint
exhibit during the ANA convention. Thereafter, it will go on sale
over-the-counter at Mint outlets in Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco,
and the Treasury Department in Washington, D. C. It will also be
available by mail order at \$1.60 from the Philadelphia Mint,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106

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