The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1884-05-10

thicker than others, that would make
the money made from them heavier
than it ought to be. So the silver strips
are again creased and the gold strips
| waxed to make them run easily through
the rolling mills, and carried to the
drawing bench. At one end of this
| bench is n continuance for reducing the
thick parts of the strip. As the strip
| passes between the cylinders it is
| caught by n little carriage that draws
| the whole strip through. 1t then drops
the strip. and cord connecting the
carriage and weight in the ceiling
draws the carriage back to take another
| strip.
Now the strips are ready to be washed
in hot water to free them from the
grease or wax. When dry they are
carried to the cutting presses. Pieces
a little larger than the coins are
| punched from the strips at the rate OF
two hundred and twenty or two hun
dred and fifty each minute. These
round plates are called "planchets,"
and are assorted before being sent to the
Adjusting Room.
The silver planchets are tested as t.
their weight by a machine, and those
too light or too heavy have to be melted
over. This is true also of the gold
| planchets that are too light, but if too
! heavy, we see the ladies in the Adjust
! ing Room filing them a little here and
little there. till they tip the scales Just
| right Nellie thought this funny
room. The ladies all wore iaunty caps
and short sleeves, so that none of the
dust could be brushed away by their
sleeves. Each also had leather apron
fastened to the table and tied under her
arms to catch the precious dust which
dropped from her file. Not window
was open lest the wind should disturb
the delicate scales and make the weight
of the planchets wrong. Very hot days
in summer they have to stop work every
little while, so as to open the windows
and change the air.
The planchets are next sent to the
Milling Machines. These machines
have gracefully curved legs, and look
something like a center table. The
planchets run between wheel and a
fixed segment and after revolving four
times we see the raised rim which we
can find on all of our coins. This pre-
vents the edges from getting worn off
easily, and also enables the coins TO be
packed in solid columns. A new name
is given to the mlled planchets and we
must henceforth call them "blanks."
Before going to the coming presses
the blanks are nicely cleaned in the
Whitening Room. They are first heated
in air-tight copper boxes and then
tipped into watts containing a weak So
luton of acid. After being washed in
clean hot water, they are put with bass
wood sawdust into revolving drums
that are heated by steam. Dwight
thought they were squirrel-cages, and
they do look like them. After being
whirled about long enough the drums
are emptied into sleeves from which the
sawdust drops out and the bright
blanks dance and polish one another
for an hour.
The coming presses are large and
powerful, giving pressure of seventy
five tons on each blank, and capable of
doubling that pressure. A lady sits at
each, and the blanks, fresh from
warming pan, are passed into the ma
chine. Harry counts eighty double
eagles that drop from one in a minute,
and is told that they have made one
hundred and forty dimes in the same
time at the next press. Both sides of
the coin are stamped at once, and, as
the coin spreads little. the "reeded'
or "tluted' edge is produced.
The finished coins are sent to the
Chief Coiner's Room to be packed. The
small pieces are counted by count
ing board" and afterwards weighed to
test their correctness. Gold coins as
small as quarter eagles are put into
bl0s worth five thousand dollars. Gold
three-dollar pieces are in bags worth
three thousand dollars, while gold dol
lars fill bags worth one thousand dol
lars each.
The children got some newly-coined
cents to carry to their little friends, and
were satisfied with their morning visit.
--ChicdgO AdcaRce.