The Osceola times., 1881-04-23
A MINT q MONEY.
A Rambie Through the philadelphia
Money Mill and the Things
Seen Therein.

A Rambis Through the Philadelphia
Money Mill and the Things
Seen Therein.
Philadelphia Cor. Of the CourerJournal.
am all anxiety TO inspect the mint, so
clear, cold morning finds us approach
ing a large marble building of Grecian
architecture, whose appearance reminds
me forcibly of the courthouse in Louis
Vile. We seem TO ascend the same steps,
reach the same portico, and enter at the
great door. Here we are Immediately
taken possession of by one of the numer-
GUS guides, who are kept perpetually
busy by the constant tide of visitors that
frequent the place from a. IN. to noon,
six DAYS of every week. OF course the
mint is an objective point for tourists,
and it is estimated that 10000 persons
are received there in the course of a
year. Parties of six or eight persons are
taken in. charge by courteous and well
informed guides, who conduct them
through the establishment, giving mean
while clear and succinct account of va
rious features worthy of notice-value,
weight, time, etc. Hearing such large
figures rolled off in rapid succession, We
are at the moment as unable to grasp the
idea as when, in our school days, we
announced, glibly, "a ray of light from
distant fixed star must travel 5000 years
at a rate of $4,000 miles second before
it reached the EARTH" We can only
wonder vaguely, "how much is that"
In December, lS4S, was received the
first deposit of California gold, which
was brought by Daniel Carter, via the
Panama route, from San Francisco. 1t
weighed l,S04.09 ounces troy, valued at
slsOs Ier ounce. Previous to that time
gold was obtained from Virginia, North
Carolina and Georgia, though it has new
er been found in large quantities in any
of the Southern States. Georgia, how
ever. has produced the purest specimens
known.
OF course California leads in value and
quantity of this product, her largest sin.
gle contribution to the mint being mug
get valued at $4,000. Comparatively lit
tie metal from the golden State finds its
way to Philadelphia, as most of that OBJ
tanned west of the Montana Territory
goes to the branch mint at San Francis
co. The territory now affords the chief
supply to the United States mint, and OF
late years Nova Scotia lends valuable aid
in this respect. In former years silver
for coming was imported from Mexico
and South America, but now our terri
tories supply us; the country guarded by
the Rockies and kindred chains being
rich in silver. Copper comes mainly
from our Lake region, and nickel is fur
nished by Pennsylvania and other sec
tions of the United States. Thus we
seem, year by year, to prove more con-
clusively that within the borders of our
native land may he found everything
necessary to the welfare and prosperity
of her inhabitants
In the tour of the mint our first visit is
to the deposit and weighing room, used
for the purposes its name implies. Ii is
estimated that 5000, 100000 in gold have
been disposed of in this apartment. Here
and in other parts of the building are
scales and weights of various styles and
dimensions. Objects varying in weight
from 900 ounces TO one-fifth of a penny
weight may here receive valuation. The
smallest weight used in the mint sfound
in the assaying room; it is the thirteen
hundredth part of grain, and is almost
invisible to the naked eve, unless viewed
in white background. The scales are
examined and adjusted on alternate days,
sometimes oftener. OF the delicacy re
quired in their use, an idea may be OBJ
tained from tho fact that some of the
scales are kept in glass cases, and used
therein, in order that atmospheric dis
turbances may have no effect upon the
registry.
In manufacturing coin from metal, of
course the first step is to melt the latter,
and any one who has visited a glass
mandatory may have some idea of the
scene in the furnace room. After being
melted the metals are sampled by the
assayer and then refined and rendered
fit for coinage.
The whole process has been rendered
30 familiar to the general reader that it
is scarcely worth while to detail it again.
We observe apparently little lunches of
golden faggots-say punches a foot long
and seven or eight inches in diameter
each of the sticks" forming the collec-
ton has had coins cut from it, having
long array of holes connected by golden
circles. GLOW pretty" "one thinks; they
might be cut into pairs and used for
spectacle rims just as they are"
But our guide says, "Those punches are
each worth $4,000; they are clippings
from gold coins, and are sent to be re-
nelted. Here"-further on-"is what
they looked like short time since, and
we see a lot of narrow strips-ribbons,
they might be termed-about an inch
wide and five feet long. Each of these
strips will make 5000 in ten-dollar gold
pieces, and there will remain bunch of
"sticks" to be remelted and again run
into ribbons.
am surprised to find silver in bricks
so creamy looking; it is very pretty, hav-
ing a soft, mellow luster, unlike the
white glare given by alloy and working
up. In the melting room the floors are
noticeable. Over the solid floor is laid n
secondary one, a mere frame of countless
perforauons, that acts as a scraperl olall
passing over it, and receptacle for small
bits and dust. This frame work is made
in sections, and is occasionally removed;
the wisdom of this arrangement is APP
parent from the fact that from these
sweepings are obtained in precious dust
$4,000 year. In an adjacent room are
melted the metals that furnish us with
"coppers" and "nickels." One.cent
pieces are of bronze, weigh forty-eight
grains, and furnish l20 pieces TO the
pound; two cents are doubled in weight
and half in number.
OF our "nickels." nickel constitutes
about one-fourth only, the balance being
copper; these contain each seventy-seven
grains. and run seventy-four pieces to
the pound.
After the melting rooms come the roll
ing and cutting department. here the
metals are rolled into long narrow strips,
of which l spoke few moments since,
and then taken TO the machines TO he