The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1847-07-10
h g Mint.

high qualification if thsy neglect to call
on Colonel Snowden, and view the me-
chanical miracles which momently are
going on under his supervision-trans-
muting with q touch truly magical,
great ugly wedges Of gold, and whole
shot-bags full Of clipped, worn out, un,
couth and unlettered barbarian coins,
Of all times, chimes, and people, into
the gay, sweet faced American curren-
cy, with its splendid figure Of Liberty,
~rivaling in execution the classic grace
and majesty of the antique statues, on
one side, and on the other the proud
emblem bird of our national greatness.
This process Of transmutation appears
to US exactly like that Of t~ranslating the
crude angularities Of some old Gothic
or Saracenic inspiration into the melo-
dious music, the ocean.like rhythm of
modern poetry. 1t strikes US that Long
fellow, now, must be exactly the sort
Of fellow to coin good money out Of the
musty old superstitious and rude legend
airy lore Of the Norsemen and the now
invisible Visgoths. OF all things we
should like to have a correct biograph-
ical history ofthe sensations, emotions,
and other experiences Of a bag full OF
Dutch guilders, for instance, during the
process Of melting,~ recasting. assaying,
drawing, rolling, cutting, milling, and
coming, until they came out with "shi-
ming morning facet in the delightful
shape Of Yankee Doodle half eagles,
and without a memory Of their sausr-
krautical pedigree. 1t would be next
80 lifting the cover Of an editors brain
and seeing him think; which, we take
it, is quite the highest species Of intel
ssctual% recreation thathas yet been con.
ceived.
The machinery in the Philadelphia
Mint is the ideal of mechanical perfec.
ton; and a stands before the noise
less, symmetrical and polished engines
with something Of the intense spirit Of
admiration inspired by the highest or
der oil statuary or painting. The mere
outline, although not filling the eye
with a complete sense of beauty, is
yet not only neat, but gracefully and
tremendously disposed, betraying the
hand and eye OF the artist as well as
the highly endowed mechanician. But
.here is something in the utter silence
with which these engines traverse their
allotted arenas, aud the unhesitating
certainty and ease with which they per-
form their busy and incessant func.
tons, that makes the heart involuntary
assimaate its beatiugs to THEN silent
pnlsations, and TO derive as il
were a sense Of strength and conf
dence from the unsrrlng, the infallible
regularity of these dumb ministers 10
the will and genius of man. One n
consciously repeats 10 himself. "Has man
created thisi and what, then,
may he dare not attempts"
The two most interesting processes
of the mint, to a mere amateur, (al-
ways excepting the bagging of the yell
low boys) are the milling and stamping.
Milling, as every lover OF the ring will
tell you, is altogether an affair of ''sci.
but the way they do it at I'm
Gle Sans ring is the neatest and natti-
est thing imaginable. First, a whole
Of what appeared to be the
heads Of copper ship-nails are taken
possession of by a man with a bright
colored face, who proceeds to
pile them flatwise into a brass candle
stick sitting closely against a steel mill
stone, that goes swiftly and noiselessly
catching every other second a
from the brass candlestlck,
and turning i: out in the shape of a
dead gold button. These
are given to the die, where, oddly e.
nough, they are first authorised to live.
Here, being popped into another can
dleslick, they are taken by an inevita-
Bile thumb and finger, which hold them
each a quarter of second under the
foot of a steel-heeled demon--Lever,
we believe he is called-who keeps
stamp, stamping away as if beating time
to a perpetual soldiers hornpipe. The
asst process is the miracle--transform-
ing the dead and dingy buttonmole in
to agolden, glowing, brightfaced purse.
dear to every beholder's hopes
and memories.
As a matter Of impartial justice, we
must not forget to mention the splend-
idly built series Of scales wrought up
10 such exquisite sensitiveness, as it is
quite impossible, without ocular proof,
70 believe mere metal to be capable
Of WI saw a pair Of large scales,
built Of Gothic gold, which are in daily
and hourly use, in weighing lots of
$4,000 in five-dollar pieces, turned pal
pably from the horizontal by a piece Of
fine letter paper, not so big as q dime!
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