Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1872-02-19
lrEoM OUR REGULAR CORRESPONDENCE
NV YORK, Feb. Is. 1s7

New YORK, Feb. Is, 1872.
Ten years ago Mr.. Waldo Abbott, since dead,
and myself undertook to prepare certain papers
to be entitled making Money" orr purpose
was not to tell people how to become rich. but
TO describe the processes by which the article
which, whether Ct the precious metals or of
paper has come under the name of "money," to
Be the standard measure of value, is produced.
Both of us visited the United States assay office
in New York, where the precious metals in the
rough are freed from other substances and
brought TO a uniform standard of purity. My
associate visited the mint at Philadelphia. where
the gold and silver is made into coin. l visited
the American bank note company in New York,
by whom at that time, and to a great extent
since, the main part Of our bank-bills was
manufactured, lacking, of course, the sigma
lures which alone gave them value as currency
Our visits were repeated, and as we went proper
ly authenticated, every facility was afforded us
for thorough examination. | believe that from
first to last there was no operation in either
institution which one or both of us did not wit
ness, and which was not freely explained to us.
lhIsC pdptio1 an lhllN lbuctialSuS ubptditt Ill
Harpers' Magazine of November and December,
1861 and February, 1862.
A few days since had occasion to call at the
office of the American bank note company and
upon casually expressing desire to 70 through
the establishment in its present quarters, which
are different from those occupied ten years ago,
was courteously conducted through the whole,
from basement to roof, by Mr.. Steiner, the
courteous general manager. The general pro-
cesses were the same as when saw them ten
years ago; but the extent of its business has
greatly increased. Viewed simply as a mere
industrial enterprise it ranks high among
those in the country. Its regular employees
number about six hundred. Most Of these
belong to the class of skilled work
| men and workwomen too, for | found there
very unusual proportion Of women. In some of
the higher departments, where delicacy of touch
and quickness of apprehension rather than long
practice are specially required, the work is done
wholly by women. Moreover, there are many
persons whose duties require the exercise of
high intellectual and artistic capacity. Thus,
besides artists, in the more limited sense of the
term, there are about thirty engravers. Every
one Of these stands high in his special profess
sion, and several of them are, besides, painters
and designers of great merit.
The great increase in the magnitude of this
company within ten years has arisen mainly
from the circumstances which have made paper
money almost our entire circulating medium.
Ten years ago, gold and silver constituted our
real currency, bank notes being merely repre-
| sentative for, an6 eXchangeable at will for this.
| For several years past, and probably for some
| years to come, coin has disappeared and will
disappear, as an article of common currency.
A friend of mine, who has a pleasant way of
doing pleasant things, wished this last Christ
mas TO make presents to half hundred of the
children of his friends. He procured fifty silver
dollars of the coinage of 1871, fresh from the
mint OF the half hundred juveniles, each of
whom received one of these dollars, doubt if
there were half dozen who ever before saw
such fling as an American silver dollar.
The company is located at 142 Broadway
The building, one of the finest on the street, was
designed and erected expressly for the use of
this company. From basement to Mansard
roof there are nine stories. believe it to be alb
soutely proof against fire or burglars Such
building in the hottest part of the Chicago fire
would, am confident, have come out essentially
unscathed, at all events, with its valuable con-
tents undestroyed. do not believe that gang
of our cleverest burglars, with all their best i'm
plcmcnts, could if entirely undisturbed, force
an entrance in two days into one of the rooms
where valuable articles are deposited "This
seems TO be solid," said |, tapping with my cane
against the wall of the plateroom. "Yes," said
nv cicerone; "it is Of solid granite, five feet
thick" Moreover, by night and day every hall
and corridor is iguarded by armed watch
men. Need there is for such precautions
for in that little room, hardly larger than
moderate closet, were hundreds, thousands in
deed. of plates for printing bank notes of all
counties. Not one of these is larger or thicker
than the cover ofan ordinary book. Yet gang
of rogues who could any way get possession of
a dozen ofthese plates could absolutely ruin the
paper currency of half the civilized world. In
this vault ave the plates from which are printed
our national currency of all denominations from
81 TO 500, bcsidcs,-I quote from an authentic
document-"that of the Canadas, and other
British provinces, the West India Islands, Mex-
co, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Salvador, Colombia,
Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chill, the Argentine Re-
public, Uruguay, Brazil, Russia, Greece the
kingdom Of Italy, and the paDal states" saw
in huge folios in the office of the company i'm
pressions of all Of these plates, and of various
denominations; besides those for postage stamps
of more than two thirds of the countries of the
world which have any such system. Upon this
point speak advisedly and from actual inspec-
ton. There was awhile ago passion for col
Letting postage stamps of all nations. have
seen hundreds of albums got up with great a-
Dor. ! believe that this company could from
those which it has produced, furnish a collec-
ton more nearly complete, than has been gath
cred by any private collector. Now the plates
from which any number of any one of these
notes can be printed, were manufactured by this
company and are now in this little vault No num-
Der of thousands of dollars would express the
damage which would ensue should one of these
plates fall into The hands Of rogues.
Again was shown into another similar vault,
in which upon shelves were arranged what look
ed like cylinders of polished steel, covered more
or less with engraving. These cylinders were
about two inches in diameter, and varied in
length from half an inch TO three or four inches.
"1hese," said my cicerone, care the dies used
in part in the production of our plates see by
your Harper paper that you understand the way
in which these dies are made and how they are
used. need only say that if those which you
see before you should be destroyed it would cost
us at least two million dollars to reproduce
them"
FOR the benefit Of those who are not acquainted
WIN the way in which our paper money--using
the word in its widest sense to denote ANYTHING
rom a penny postage stamp up to a thousand
dollar bonds made, give a few paragraphs
Of explanation.
Every one knows that our currency consists
of bits of paper, of different sizes, having print
ed, upon one or both sides, various pictures and
letters. There are few readers of the Spy who
nave not seen the processes Of ordinary print.
ing. The forms of the letters, and the lines of
the pictures, are raised above the general sur
lace. Ink or one may say, thick paint is APP
piled TO these raised lines; a sheet of paper is