The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1878-04-04
THE DOLLAR OF OUR DADDIEs.
where and new Che New Coin Is made.

"
storied structure, with an imposing Gre
clan portico, supported by high Doric
columns, and approached by a fight Of
wide marble. steps. The Philadelphia
Mint was founded April 2, i7s2, the first
director was appointed by President
Washington April II, 1892, and the
present building, which il situated on
tho pleasantest part of Chestnut street,
near Broad, was first occupied on the Esd
of May, 1888.
In the centre of the building is the
receiving .oom. 1t is surrounded By the
Offices OF the director, the chief assayer
and the smelling department, with which
it has easy access. Much depends upon
the absolutely exact and nice working of
the receiving department, through which
all the material used i'm the Mint first
passes; for it is only from the perfect
a ministration of this department that
the losses and gaius of the mintinp pro.
cess can be realized. The work Of the
delivery department must Mt each months.
balance tally with the receiving registry,
aud if there is deficiency in the &c.
counts all Investigation follows and the
discrepancy 10 discovered. Tho nupget.
pure or mixed with quartz; old, unused
or worn out plate; ancient iewelry; bars
from the assay officers of the government
and from foreign countries, and refuse
Iaetal in every conceivable form are re-
ceived at this point, to be transmitted
into beautiful bright coin, to be sent upon
its errand of good or evil, as the medium
of exchange for the business of the
world.
The consignment, whether it be small
or large, is first carefully weighed, and
the weight, character of metal and num-
Der of the consignment are entered upon
the books of the receiving department
and also upon tabulated statement of
each days proceedings. AS cxactitude
is Of paramount Importance in this. the
initial stage Of the work, it is requisite
that the officials on duty should be pains-
taking and trustworth~ men,. and that
they have at their command means of
weighing the:- valuable receipts 20 per-
feet nicely.
In this room are three sets of ecales.
varying in capacity from 100 ounces to
5000 ounces, and 30 perfect ia the ad.
justmemt Of these beautiful pieces of
mechanism that the largest scale will
indicate with ease the weight OF the hun.
dredth part of an ounce. It will actually
weigh grain Of dust. A breath will tin
the beam, and alright glass cases arc
necessary 10 enclose the instrument. If
you put piece of blank paper on the
scale and then write your name ON the
paper these balances will indicate the
difference in weight. These scales arc
very perfection of mechanical workman
ship. The arms of the instruments hang
on agate pinions, the metal portion hay
ing been made Of case hardened steel.
and, although they have been in constant
use for thirty-two years, are as accurate
in their indications as when first placed
IN position. They are but q portion of
the work of the late Franklin Peale, the
well known mechanician of his day. who
for the best portion of his life devoted
himself TO the perfecting of the mechnn-
ical appliances of the Mint. Each pack
age as received is kept separate, and as
soon as weighed and registered ia sent to
the deposit melting room.
In the melting room is commenced the
process CO testing thc intrinsic value OF
the metal received. If the package is
small it is sent in bulk, but ;e !ssro g
portion only Is taken for refining. In
this room are four furnaces, kept in con-
stant use i'll the refining process. 1t is
the province of the management of this
room TO take from the gold or silver re-
ceived for refining all refuse matter or
oaser volatile metals, in order that the
assayer may reach by assay an approxi-
nation Of the inherent value of the con-
signment. The furnaces are small and
charcoal is solely used, ir order to avoid
the presence of sulphur, which is destruc-
tive to the finer metals. Nitre, coda and
common salt are used Us purifiers. and Mt
times powdered charcoal. Sometimes,
but rarely, other means have to be resor-
ted to. This is when, as the bars come
to the Mint from private or public assay
officers, it is found that the snlphides of
the paser metals have been permitted to
remain in the bar. In such cases the
employment CT corrosive subiimate must
be rcsorted to. The excess Of oxvren in
this material acts with lightning rapidity
upon the eXtraneous matter, and the
publication is thorough. It must be used
with great care, for it is so active an agent
that if not quickly and delicately ham
died volatilization of the metal will be
tho result and o consequent loss.
The condition of the melt must be
watched at regular intervals. in order
that at the instant of publication the
liquid metal may be poured. The con-
tents of this crucible are poured into q
shoe or open mould, and when cooled the
ring, Or nugget, is separated from the Aux
ard returned to the receiving ROOM
From shis piece sufficient quantity iA
taken to make an exact assay Of its value,
either by acid or cupel process, and upon
the percentage value Of this test the de.
positor is paid for his consignment.
All the deposits after assay are thrown
into ono bulk, out of which large meltg
are made for the main melting rooms
and from each melt is again taken a sep.
arate assay, by and through which the
| chief assayer determines and keeps al
| standard the quality OF the coin that IL
minted. It is through this delicate pro-
cess that each and every ingot of silver
gold or copper is brought up to the stand.
ard of fineness set by law.
This form of detection of the true value
OF the precious metals is to the outside
world generally mystery, and few are
permitted to see the operation az conduc.
ED :. .l a1.-.. "a pi,.ii. statement, 6e
void of technicalities, will be of interest
to those who cannot gain access to the
inner workings Of this establishment.
In aSsdying gold o piece is taken from
bar, when 1t is beaten out and rolled
into a thin plate, and from 1t is weighed
half gramme, the customary quantity
for gold being about III grains, troy
The weights used in approximating til,
quantities is stamped 1000, and ali tn,
lesser weights are decimal divisions O
this ss::: dST;i a toTl-tiiiuu5Eudiiih part
Silver is next weighed out for the alloy
for as the gold piece should contait
1000 of gold, the silver used must b,