Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-10-12

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chine while cold. These machines are driven
by an eighty horse power engine. About
two hundred pieces are run through Der
hour On each pair of rollers. Gold, silver
and base metal bars are all put through the
same process OF rolling. They are received
from the melting room in the same shape
and size, and are passed through the rollers
until they assume the shape Of long strips
OF the requisite thickness for the sort OF
coin which it is desired to make. just
back Of the trolls" are number Of mach
chimes used for cutting, trimming and fat
| tening strips, which now look like the brass
or iron used for making hoops for buckets
and other wooden ware. In the rear of
these machines are the cutting presses, of
which there are nine, and each one
is capable of cutting two humid
red and twenty-five pieces per minute.
Ii these pieces are of the denomination Of
one cent, but $2.25 per minute is made,
but If they are gold, and of the denomina-
ton of double eagles (S20), we have the
sum OF $4,000 per minute. These nine
machines would cut out 2,025 silver dol
lars or the same number of gold eagles, val
ued at $40,500, per minute. These presses
are a comparatively recent invention, and
each press is capable of cutting any denom-
nation OF coin, % they are regulated by
the size Of the punch, which is movable.
The pieces are then taken TO the coming
room, where they are milled, that Is the
edges are turned up, thus making the rim
noticed on all coins. This is done by ma
chimes which turn out from five hundred
to twelve hundred pieces each. There are
ten stamping presss in the coming
room, each one capable OF making from
seventy to one hundred and twenty coins
per minute, though they are seldom run at
a greater speed than eighty per minute. If
each press In the room was run at its great
est capacity, and engaged in making double
eagles ($20,) they would turn out S34, 900
per minute or $2,040,000 per hour. Only
the largest presses are used In making coins
Of large denominations. The amount of
pressure necessary to make perfect coin
is from twenty to eighty tons. The larger
the piece the more pressure is required.
The impressions on both sides of the coin
are made with one motion of the press. All
the machines in this room are attended
Qed) by ladies.
llr1 THE CARE DISPLAYED.
have referred to the care that is taken
AZ uOASAAlS anu EoWclSulDB al Ln6 metal
that passes through the hands Of the en-
ployees. The same care is manifested In
every department of the business. A notice
able feature about the melting rooms is the
false floor, which is of iron and laid in
small sections. Ii is so constructed that It
acts as continual scrsper, and prevents
any Of the small particles of the valuable
metals from sticking to the shoes of the
workmen employed in the room. The
sweepings Of this room have sometimes
proved to be worth So, 900 in one year, but
of late years they have not been quite SO
valuable. The water in which the work.
men wash their hands, at the close of the
day labor, is saved and gold and silver ex-
tracted from it. And even the clothes
which they wear are finally, when
worn out, burned and some precious
metal thus secured. The bricks Of which
the furnaces are built are taken out once
a year and ground up by machinery con-
str0cted for that purpose, and gold and sill
yer extracted therefrom. These facts show
the care with which the Mint is managed
in all its departments. The dust from the
floor Of the melting room would prove a
very handsome income, as one of the ush i.
ers Informed me that the Mint could still
pay the salary of the President of the Uni
ted States from that source alone.
~ VERI GREEN.