The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1881-07-13
UNCLE SANS TREASURE.
PHn nwGIGfiixG og GOLD BULLioS.
business at the Assay Omce Ia New
York Preparatory 20 the Settle
ment OF the Fiscal
YcaF.

NEW YoRK, June 27.-The three
examiners appointed from the Treas
ury Department at Washington to
superintend the weighing Of the
gold bullion stored at the Assay Of
flee in Wall street, preparatory to its
transfer to the mint at Philadelphia
and the final settlement Of the ac-
counts of the Office with the Treas
urer for the fiscal year ending with
June 30, have had a more laborious
task than ever before known in the
history of the office. The first thing
done was to take the invoice prepar-
ed here showing the details and az
gregate of the gold still on hand
from the receipts in European and
other foreign coin since the last set
tlement. The amount is about S55,-
100000 though total receipts during
the period from August 2, 1880, to
May /, have reached about 500. 400
600. OF this sum s6.400.000 was in
our own coin and this not needing
to be melted down did not remain
here. The sS7, ,000,000 in foreign
coin consisted mainly Of French
twenty-franc pieces, German twenty
mark pieces, japanese yens and
Russian half-imperiais. Although
nearly the entire receipts were on
British account, probably represent
ing foreign collections made by En-
glish merchants and manufacturers,
we have received not a single Brit
ish coin. The French, German and
Japanese coins are Of our own STAN
dard, nine-tenths fine, while the
Russian and British standard is
eleven-twelfths or twenty-five carats
fine. Each invoice when received
was melted into bars, and as soon as
the value could be ascertained, which
was generally within three days, the
owners, who are nearly always in a
hurry, were paid in American coin.
Until the settlement row reaching
the final summing up IS completed
no deposits Of coin viii lie received.
The weighing IS being done in the
large melting room pear the vault,
and here were found seven men
handling the gold. The brass scales,
which are about four Zee high, were
made by Henry Froem scr, Of Phila-
delphia, and the weie ON either
side and at the cent rests upon
knife edges Of 4 sharpness that wiz
have been worn so much when the
present weighing is done tha. they
viii never be used again Te bal
ance Of the empty pans S SO exact
that the one hundredth part Of an
ounce added to either side bears It
down promptly. The weights used
are Of a composition Of metals look
ng like brass. They are shaped
like large tomato cans, with scooped
out tops, across which are straight
and they weigh 500 Troy
ounces each. Ten of these weights, I
1r 5000 ounces, make the capacity
of the scales, a drop of this size dis
posing Of % bars Of gold, or sf25,-
200. OF eoutse there are many
smaller weights to secure perfect ac- I
:uracy. The entire accumulation of
yold amounts to 700 melts, OF which (
fifteen can be weighed in an hour.
ind the working hours being fronr9 .
!. IN. to 4 D. NJ, only 105 melts can
)e disposed of in a day. Allowing
ime fer lunch and delays the work
viii probably not be completed much
before the last day of the fiscal year,
which is June 90. The gold, which
S in bars about six inches long, an
nch thick and two and half inches
vide, is stored in common open
Tooden boxes, with about the CO.
oacity Of hod. Ten bars are kept /
n each box and the hand truck in
which the gold is hauled from the
-ault to the scales will hold twenty
,oxes. Each bar is 9orth 5000,
.ach boxful about s50,COQ. each
ruck load about 100000.