The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1875-08-12
HOW MONEY Is MADE.
A visit to II United Stntes AIint."-Turniua
Out the Yellow Boys.

A visit to United states lIint."-Turnina
Out the yellow Boys.
A San Francisco correspondent of the
New York Tribune says: After being
refined and assayed, the gold is turned
over to the melter and refiner to be made
into ingots. Copper is used as alloy in
the proportion of nine of gold to one OF
copper, the standard of American coin
being 800 fine. To ascertain the amount
of copper to be added, the gross weight
is multiplied by the fneness of the gold
and divided by 300, which gives the
number of standard ounces, or in other
words, what it would weigh is 300 fine.
The difference between the gross and
standard weights is the amount of copper
to be added. The "melts," as they are
then termed, are sent to the ingot fur
naces where they arc melted and run
into ingot molds, where the metal hard
ems instantly. The ingots are then
plunged into a pickle-tub containing a
solution Of srlphuric acid which removes
the impurities on the surface, and q
trifing proportion of copper. The first
and last ignots i'll each melt, which are
reserved for assaying, are Clipped at
either end before pickling. From the
pickle the ingots are cooled in tank of
water. At one end of each ingot is q
hollow place like that Of q glass bottle
caused by the air in the bottom of the
mold, and this end is topped off in ma
chine. The bars are then filed to re-
move the rough edges, and each "melt"
is placed in q separate box and goes to
fI1n 1frl,J inn A
"melt' of gold contains about 1850
ounces, and of silver about 900.
The ingots, when ready for the coiner,
are for $40 gold pieces twelve and one
half inches long, one and one-half inches
wide, and one and one-half inch thick :;
for eagles, half and quarter eagles, for
half dollars, dimes, ETC., the bars vary
according to the size and thickness of
the coin. The coiner takes these ingots,
or bars, and runs them between two
heavy cylinders, which leduces the
large gold and silver bars to strips three
and one-half feet long, one and one half
inches wide, and one fourth of an thick
They are then taken to the annealing
furnace, and placed in long copper pipes
and heated to cherry color, then cooled
in tank of water, then broken down
again, and their length materially in
creased at the expense of their thickness.
Again they are annealed, then creased
or waxed, and are finally ready to be
punched out. Thelong strips are passed
into machine which cuts out of the
band of gold and silver blanks the size
of the coin desired. These may be de-
scribed as gunwads, since the manner of
cutting them is so similar. The machine
is very powerful one, and punches out
the blank coins as easily as a shoemaker
uses his punch. One machine can cut
about 10000 pieces a day. The blanks
are then turned over to q room tull OF
women, who adjust the weight. Each
woman sits before small scale into
which each piece is placed. Tho scale
weighs to the thousandth part of an
ounce. If the piece is too heavy the
woman files it little; if too light she
rejects it, and it is remelted. Each
woman wears Il leather apron into which
the filings go, and they are thus saved.
When thu blanks are adjusted to the
proper weight they go to the milling
machine. The milling docs not, as gen
orally supposed, consist in corrugating
ing the edge on the two sides of coin.
This is done by passing it through a
very ingenious machine, and the gun
wad is still smooth on its edge and sur
faces, with raised line on each side
bordering its edge. Again it is annealcd
to make it soft and mallcable, for other
wise it would be brittle eand fly to pieces.
Only one process is now left to com
plete the coin, and this need take only
II moment TO describe. The finishing is
done by one machine, which seems to
me the perfection of mechanism. 1t is
called the coming press, and there are
six of them i'll one room. One is unusu-
ally handsome in appearance and i'm
mense III size. 1t is used exclusively on
double eagles, and happened to be at
work. With one motion of the machine
the coin was struck on both sides and the
file edge placed around it, and 50 per-
feet is its working, that the only sound
heard was the clicking and jingling of
the perfect coin as they fell, about sixty
a minute, into the sheet iron box be
meath. It's motions are not unlike those
of a printing press, but its power may
be imagined when it is contrasted with
the latter, which prints on paper while
the former embosses on metal. The
blank coins are placed in an upright
tube connected with thepress, and paiI
of agile iron fingers slip one coin at O
time from the bottom and push it under
the stamp which contains the die for one
side of the coin, the reverse being Oh
the "bed." The lever comes down will
q force that would crush railroad iron,
and yet without noise, and the same
agile fingers that push the blank coil
under the stamp push the finished CON
out. The press weighs $4,000 pounds
and cost dollar for every pound. IT.
name is Ajax. When the coin is finish
ed, it is delivered to the treasurer il
bulk, amounted. 1t is, however, weigh
ed, and has to be accurate to the weigh
of a grain. The coin is net counted un
til it is paid out over the counter. The
deliveries to the treasurer are termed
drafts, and after weighing each draft i
it put in canvas sack by itself ant
slowed away in the treasurer's vault, t.
be paid out on checks and find its wa,
into circulation through the various
channels of finance and trade.