The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1883-09-01
DOWN SOUTH.
Making Money at the New Orleans Mint


leans, as you certainly will if you visit
the city, you will find guard in the
rotunda to receive visitors. The James
Brothers might have penetrated that
far easy enough, but they could not
have gone further The barred gates
rising up between the visitors and
Uncle Sam 5 store of silver dollars have
State prison look, and one is put on
his good behavior at once.
When your credentials are pronounc-
cd all right and the gates unlocked to
YOU, YOU are ushered into the receiving
and weighing room, Silver bullion is
corded up on all sides, and is being
handled with as much contempt as the
brick-carrier loads his nod. A bar of
bullion looks exactly like a bar of
plumbers solder, and when you are
about to pick up and walk off with one
of the bars you suddenly change your
mind.
THE BIG SCALES.
In this room are the most perfect
pair of large scales in America. They
weigh up to 10000 ounces, Troy weight,
and are so delicate that crumb weigh
ing the tivc-hundredth part of an ounce
will drop the bar. All the silver re-
ceived is weighed upon these scales, and
they are looked upon by the general
visitor as one Of the sights of the insti-
tuition,
MAKING INGOTS.
All the bullion first goes to the melt
ing department and is melted, allowed
and run into ingots of standard fine
ness, which means 900 parts of silver
and 100 parts Of copper. The copper
is put in to harden it, and without this
alloy there would be great loss by
natural wear and tear" There is an
assay after melting, and this assay
must prove that the composition is ex-
act and correct The loss of even the
ihree-hundredth part of an ounce be-
tween the weighing and the melting
rooms must be accounted for.
CUTTING THE BLANKS
After the assay the ingots are turned
over 10 the coiner, who rolls them into
strips by means Of powerful machinery,
These strips are about three feet long
and little wider than dollar. The
thickness is designed to be the same a.
dollar, but is sometimes too thick oil
too thin. The strips are then passed tC
the puncher who feeds them under his
punch as fast rs YOU can count, and
the smooth, greasy blank dollars fall
into the box below. To discover if the
blanks are of the standard weight, they
are wheeled into the adjusting room.
The demand is for il2! grains, but the
government permits slight shortage.
If the blank is one grain short, it is cast
out to be remelied. If il is one grain
over weight, file is used TO secure ex
act weight
In the adjusting room are about two
dozen women, each with delicate pai
Of scales before her, and the blanks ar,
handled with surprising dexterity
Those found of standard weight ar,
sent on their way through the mint, ant
the light ones will form parts of new
ingotS,
''N'A NV AM 'lssANlNt'
You think of q silver dollar rs per
fectly Hat surface Hold on TO YOU
eye and YOU will see that it is concave
II the letters and ornaments were eve,
with the rim Of the dollar they woul
soon wear OIL The concavc is TO pre-
tect them. From the adjusting roor
blanks 90 TO the machine to be concavc
and then 10 the bath. The silver
greasy aud blackened, and the bath !
10 remove this and restore the lustei
After being treated to an acid bath, tn
trays filled with blanks are placed in
red-hot oven and subsequently placed !
revolving cylinder with saw.dusI
When they emerge from this they shin
like stars.
WAKING TllE DOLLAR,
Here are the smooth, round pieces
and to make dollars Of them they ar
sent to the stamp presses These pow
erful machines feed themselves at th
rate of 29j per minute, and il YOU picl
up one Of the coins YOU will find on
side complete, and the other side still
blank They are picked up and fed L
Il second machine and now your dolla
Is complete except on the edges
smooth-cdged coin would wear ava
faster than one with q mllcd edge an
hence the larger denominations ar
milled 1t Is no use TO try to guess lao,
il is done, for lorty.ninc ont Of fifty pei
sous would mis-, H. They are dtoppc
into a cavity IN a powerful machin
arranged 10 ~ them and the coins IN
ny Hat upon one side IRE squeezed IN
same AS II tube shut up on all sides Z
Your finger at once. This mills IN
edges. The pressure on each dollar
stamping aud punching Is about cigh,
tons,
WHERE TnE SILVER COMES FROM
Uncle Sam contracts for his sily,
bullion the same rs private indiyidu
does for his vegetables. He agrees
take all the ore furnished by two lar.
Colorado mines, and any supply while
an individual may wish 10 dispose
finds ready sale The mines ship |
express at their own expense, but
sending away money the goyernmc
pays all charges,
IN GENERAL,
The New Orleans mint makes abo
$4,000 silver dollars per month. I'll
Is about the only coin made there
late years, The dollars are sacked Il
1000 In bag, and stored In the b