New-York daily tribune., 1861-08-24
MAKING A MINT OF MONEY.

MAKING A MINT OF MONEY.
Only q very few out Of the thousands who stream
rnst ,be granite rortico Of the Merchants Exchange
have any dss Of the important operations thar are now
being o1lueted IN the upper stJIics ot that building
O!y favored few have crossed ,he thresholds Of those
cosed doors Up tbe- heedless Of the warning "Posi-
lively 10 admit nee ard the dotails Ct tue
work tts, I, beng Iused toward completion with
headlorg bsse. AL csy Tong while The street below
/. roaring sh the rush of traffic, the skilled woTsnon
in tose upper rooms hoep bnsily at their delicate
tasks and al thtoash he night the hight that ilnts
from those upper windows Is lighting second ses Of
lends st toe work that fsg nor stop unul
tle eoarac, j. completed. For unrl The task b done
or Goysrnu ert wa.t in snSieiy, snd ten thousand
wheels oi trade slowed Or stopped Tor aek o. no
grsnd impus. In thoss urTer sories ofthe tIehangc
tio American Bsnk-Nois Company Gro makinR gho
lie- and printing she tils for The great United Saisa
Loan that s 70 give Govern mont all the money Thrs
10 prosscus tho for the Uniopi and IN lets t1n
nonts two hundred millions of paper money viii hsve
lee, r-aauhaurod Jy dis mauluaoth bahk-nass eI'-
craving concern. WiL9ut these svttnoes Of iis m
d.l,.dness as security IN hand banks viii uoi give
4 IN ounce of AL the godeD uliiops they have offered
:, Loan and without them the Governnent eaouot ray
Is ,odisru or clOths or arm ilem for the hghl How
moor.it Il IT, thea tiat the noes should be ina'ed
and rot IN eircpiop as ~ pos.be can readily be
iuarinsd Its fortno4is circumstances for Govern
e,t ia At there was such great Company az ss,
ruDyiog spacious rs-poof spuinens, having tie ma
cbinery ard all other neoessary fiss al hand to s
DIV ic IN ia hour Of extremity 10 make tie mint OF
money Is nesds. Until 0iilnnA few yeaTs past, when
the American Bsnl-Noie Company WAS formed BY the
consolidation of the eight principal engraving honses Of
tie country 1, would have been impcfsble 70 get the
Treasury No,ss manufactured in any reasonable time,
without pLtinz any VI oatet IN the hands Of sev
sral indvidual concerns. To give some idea Of the
numerous stageh through which The note has - pea
bslors il Is ready for signature. we yesterday made
Writ 20 tie American Bsuk.Noie Corpenys rooms and
examined the processos throughout
The sTEEL-PLATg
All epVavings for bank-notts bonds or Treasury
Not, ars made On rolls and plates Il ,ee selected for
Is purity and rolled and tempered with .he greatest
nc,u Nearly all tba, 10 used for tauk-notc plates IA
made in Newark and PHILADELPHIA, but some, for re-
ouiisr kinds Of work IL imported from England. The
enQrayers &c. their plates all finished with the oxcep
don Of some polishing Of the surface, which s done
after they como into their hands The seeplate when
engraved ia known ls die" and 20 We wl cali il
in our descriptions.
THE MODEL.
When the officers OF Government entered into their
contract with the BRnk-Note Company their fret bus
mesa was Of conrse to desmate the style Of the pro-
posed nOter, selecting tho sgnees, portraits, figures,
apd lettering that should appear the bills Of the
eral determinations For thin purpose they invited
10 the moiel and specimen rooms where in hugo bourd
books are kept specimens Of every imaginable bank
note sye of lettering, and al ths vignettes, fguIes
medallions and sorol WORK that have been Jroduced
for ears past by the taste and skill Of Griist and
erays combined Ou. Of this collection sneh parts OF
notes az sem most suitable selected, and ruch other
portraits or designs b. may he chosen noted down.
In short time patterns or models rs they called,
Of the new notes are made by tho Company the ,sy.
enl portions indicated being stuck on pastebosni In
thei. respective places the lettering filed up roughly
and blanks left for the proposed porsils TIE model
thus completed sud accepted is placed in The hand, Of
the elgFRyer
lis first care s to obtain plate o. suitable dmsn-
siops aud from their collection Of dies sbd rolls %
ect such as can 10 made available In the new die If
there s portrait TO be introduced good dsguerTso
tyre is procured and the engayer, looking at it
through powerful magptying glass, scratches the
face aud fgare with the shsp point Of his "graveT'
the general outlines, and marks the diTisiops OF toe
strong lights and shsdows lie then nike the scratched
daguerreotypspla tskes impression Of the out
lines on moistoned paper aud, while the ink is thll
osh, transfers the Hnes 10 HE Eeelpais. He then
ready to commence the engraving, having BY ts SIM
pie process Of transfer obtained the outlines Of bis work
IN franction Of the time that would have been
CURED to make them by the eye alone. Tho picture 10
now completed In the highest style Of art as rapidly as
tho very delicate of the bubiness win permit,
every line and shadow Of the original being followed
with the s,rietesi fidelity. In ono room the workrnen
arc employed solely IN engraving hgures and ygneitea
inianoihcr adjoining tho lettering is done While Ia
thru that marvellous lReery Of scroll aud network Is
ne foT hs face and back o. the pc.e By tho Yonder'