The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1875-10-16

pt"SSu III nheet-hun QUA Ahu cUufe9eu 70
The deposit-melting.room. A record is
here made, and in its turn the deposit is
melted TO white liquid state in a black
lead erucible, the process requiring about
half an hour The deposit is then run
into a mold, and the bar thus formed Is
stamped with It's number, and sent back to
the place OF its original reception. The
grains are placed in apaper and accompany
the bar, and both arc weighed again to
ascertain the loss in melting. The bar Is
then sent to the assayer, whore its 6neness
Is ascertained, and the deposit is returned
to the Superintendent Upon the 6neness
OF the bar the value Of the deposit Is COM
puted, and smith is paid by a gold check
on the Treasurer, without being obliged to
wait Tor week or two until his deposit
can be put into coin. The bar is then
turned over to the meter and rehner, with
number Of other deposits, which are
melted into what are known as impaired
bars, weighing from 800 to 400 ounces
each, and these are sent to the assnyer and
assayed In turn, thence going to the
rehnery Tor the removal OF the silver and
base metels contained, aud are in due time
returned to the Superintendent of the Mint
Ia the form of rehned and nearly pure
gold. The gold is again assayed and
turned over to the melter and rehner 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
Delng '9oV nne' 10 ascertain the amount
oil copper 70 be added, the gross weight Is
multiplied oy the hneness OF the gold and
divided py 9oo' which gives the number
OF standard ounces, or, IN other words,
wnat II would weigh II '9OO hne. The
dinerenee between the gross and standard
Weigats Is the amount OF copper to be
added. Inc melts, as they are then
termed, are sent TO the ingot furnaces
Where they are melted and run into ingot
mo'os wnefe the metal hardens instantly.
Inc lngots are then plunged into pickle
tun containing solution OF sulphurie
aciG' wnich removes the impurities on the
surface, ana trining proportion OF cop
per. Inc nrst ana last lngots IN each
melt, whicn are reserved Tor assaylng, are
cnlpped at either end before picking.
from the pickle the ingots are cooled in
tank Of water AZ one end OF each ingot
Is holiow place IKE that In the bottom OF
gass Dottie caused oy the air IN the bot
'Vm Oh thc moiu' ana TINS end y topped
on IN machine Inc bars are then hled
70 remove the rough edges, and each
meb is P,aced IN aseparate box and goes
10 the weighing room, and Is weighed.
~ must DC said that the meter and re-
nheI, owing 70 ms responsibility, IS very
careful OF tue precious metal IN his keep
ing. Ai.er the pars are IN ms possession
ior weighing' all tne pots are seraped, the
tops anu hiings collected, the iron hoor, in
open WORK pieces, Is taken up ana washed,
.ne s'one moor swept ana cleaned around
tne furnaces, and the metal separated from
tne remains, weighed and placed to the
credit OF the melter. There must Of
necessity DC a loss IN the coinage ofmoney
owing 70 .he NUMBER OF processes through
~hicn IL mas TO pass, and an allowance BY
m ,aw Is made TO me weigher and rehner.
ne loss Dy act OF congress In the entire
process OF melting from frst to last, is liked
AZ o. 10 every i,ooo o.. OF gold, and !
o. 70 every i,ooo o. OF silver. This was
supposed 70 oe ABOUT the ordinary wastage.
MT Martin, however, has shown that the
allowance Is too great, although IN his case
II makes 20 diherenee TO the Government.
In some o. the mints, however, the prae-
'ice mas peen to return none OF the allow
anee 70 the Government, and l have heard
that 1t was only necessary to be superin-
tendent OF certain mint for year or two
10 accumulate handsome fortune on a
salary OF three or four thousand year.
ars martin since he has beon in oihce has
done hls part OF the business Of coming
with less loss than was ever known before.
ne TOOK charge OF the melting and refin-
ing department on October IL, 1874, and
a settlement with him was had on June 30,
1919. The total value Of the bullion
worked during that time was s4s, ,052, ,9O3.-
10. On tins the legal wastage or limits
was soZ,2z9.B7. His loss on gold was
s545.Z6, and on silver he had an excess Of
S3I | 90. The net loss, therefore, was only
Sl7360, and the Government was saved
soz,oo6.O7 A "melt OF gold contains
about 1850 ounces, and Of silver about
l,600. The ingots, when ready for the
coiner, are for $50 gold pieces l2a .ches
long, | ! inches wide and ! inch thick; for
eagles, half and quarter eagles, for half
dollars, dimes, &C., the bars vary accord
ing to the size and thickness Of the coin.
The coiner takes these ingots, or bars, and
runs them between two heavy cylinders,
which reduces the large gold and silver
bars to strips 81 feet long, a inches wide,
and inch thick. They are then taken to
the annealing furnace and placed in long
copper pipes and heated TO cherry color,
then cooled in a tank Of water, then brok-
en- down again, and their length materially
increased at the expense Of their thick
ness. Again they are annealed, then
CREASED or waxed, and are finally ready to
be punched out. The long strips are
passed into machine which cuts out Of
the hand of yoId or .;Iva, H., -. A. -.