The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1878-03-29
MAKING SILVER DOLLARS.

The capacity of the various coming
mints and assay offices in the United
States will be fully tested during the
coming year. The law of February %,
1878, demands that between 1000, 900
and 1000, 900 of the new dollars shall be
turned out every month. The officers
of the minis think that 9, 900, 900 will be
the maximum of production for the
present, and to coin as many silver dol
lars as that month will require brisk
work at the minis. There will be, as
matter of course, no lack of silver in the
minis to work upon. There are two
coming minis besides the one in Phila-
delphia-one in San Francisco and the
other in Carson City, and assaying and
refining are done in Helena, Mont. !;
Boise City, Idaho; Denver, Col, and at
few other points in the far West. The
Philadelphia mint is capable of turning
out about 81 500, 900 in coined money a
month; the San Francisco mint 81 ,000,-
600, and the Carson City mint $500, 900.
The minis cannot, of course, be given
over exclusively to the coinage of silver
dollars. The subsidiary coins must be
struck, and certain amount of gold
coinage goes on all the time. Gold is
needed by the Government to buy silver
with, aside from all other purposes. 1t
is coined mostly in the form of double
eagles. During last month 81 ,210 double
eagles were coined in Philadelphia, and
20 eagles, 20 half-eagles, 20 So pieces,
20 quarter eagles and 20 81 pieces were
coined at the same time. The other
coinage of the Philadelphia mint during
February comprised 200 trade dollars,
375, 900 half-dollars, l ,461, 800 quarter
dollars, 200 20-cent pieces, 964, 200
dimes, 600 5-cent pieces, 600 Scent
pieces, and go, 800 cents.
Silver is sent from the Assay Office to
the Philadelphia mint pure, or 500 fine,
which is about as pure as can be. 1t is
sent in large bars, and, when received
at the mint, is melted and alleged with
copper. Coin silver is 900 fine. After
being melted and alleged, the metal is
cast into ingots, which are simply bars
of convenient size for handling. The
metal is then assayed, to determine
whether it is exactly of the standard
fineness. Assaying is done by what is
known as the dry or humid process.
Samples for assay are taken while the
silver is in fused condition, and two
assays are made of every specimen.
The silver ingots then go to the coiner.
They are first rolled into strips, and, as
the rolling process is apt to make the
metal brittle, it is annealed to soften it.
Silver is annealed simply by heating in
an open wood fire, and then being al
lowed to cool gradually. The silver
dollar strips are passed through the
rolls nine or ten times before the first
annealing end four or five times after.
ward. Then the process of annealing is
repeated After the last annealing the
strips are run through cutters which di-
vide them into drafts of the proper thick
ness for coins; and these, in their turn,
are run through steam punching
machine which cuts planchets the
proper size for the coin. From $50
to 240 are cut in minute AS the metal
gets greasy during this process, the
planchets are then dipped into bath of
diluted sulphuric acid, which is too
weak to act upon the surface, but effect
lively removes all foreign matter. The
planchets are then adjusted; that is to
say, they are carefully weighed, and all
that are lacking in weight are cast aside;
such pieces are called "ights, and the
"heavies are the pieces which weigh
too much, and are filed off. The adjust
ing is done by women. 1t is a process
which requires much delicacy, and
scales are used which are sensitive to
one-sixty- fourth of a grain. After the
adjusting is finished, the next operation
is the milling, which is done with GU
rious sort of machine The edges of the
coin are thrown up and grooved by this
process, After another cleaning with
sulphuric acid the coins are ready for
the die. The stamping is done on a
screw press. The dies are cylindrical
the designs to be transferred by pres
sure to the coins. Art of high order
as we'll as fine mechanism is conspicu-
GUS in this part of the coinage process.
They are annealed and trued ON both
ends. Two or three blows in the screw
press, which is worked with large
wheel, secures perfect impression, and
both the diverse and reverse of the coir
are struck at once. Machinery places
the planchets between the dies, and
afterward drops the completed coin in 6
box. Two or three pieces of each coin
age are reserved for the annual Govern
ment assay.
The processes of melting, refining
and assaying gold and silver are carried
on in the assay Office, in New York, OF
quite as large scale as at the Phila
delphia mint. Not only Government
work is done there, but large deposits
are made daily of gold and silver bull
ion by private individuals. Gold is al
ways found alleged with silver, and i
is never found with any other alloy. II
separate the silver from the gold, tn,
bullion is boiled IN sulphuric acid, which
removes the alloy the gold is then re
boiled and reduced to a coarse powde
resembling clay. It's purity then is 99'
or 500. The silver, mixed with copper, Ii
run into watts on lower floor, and i
purified and granulated, when it re
sembles pipe clay. The granulated gol,
and silver are pressed into large cheese
in hydraulic press. A cheese of gol,
twelve inches in diameter and tire
inches thick is worth $4,000 silve
! cheese of the same size is worth $500
The sulphuric acid, after it is used, pro
: duces a sediment of blue vitriol, whicl
Z is much prettier than either the gold o
| the silver seen in the assay office. Tn
: A 4