, 1884-04-10
SILVER AND GOLD.
How the Precious Metals Are Made
into Money at New Orleans
Buying Old Gold md silver for the
Mint--MeItIng. Rolling. Cutting.
Milling and C~oininR---
"HenvIesr and Lights


Now Orleans Cor. Courier Journal
This Is the largest mint in the United
States, " said Mr.. F. F. Claussen, the meter
and r%efiner, as he opened tho iron-gate. HI
showed me Into the bullion-room; and there
were great piles of silver bricks from Me-
braska and Colorado-l,4 400, 900 ouncosl These
bricks were bought by the secretary OF the
United States treasury ut sL.13 per ounce, or
$l,5S2,OOO for tho lot. The bricks from Ne
braska weigh 1000 ounces, and those from
Colorado about 1000 ounces, or 1853 pounds.
You soon grow tired OF holding a colorado
brick in your hands and looking at it, IL it IL
worth all OF 81, l47.
w have never less than 1,25O, 900 ounces
on hand, said Mr.. Claussen, "besidos a largo
amount OF COLA. These gold bricks, " he CON
tinued, ARE seven inches long by three and
a half wide aud one thick, and are worth
$4,000
Silver bricks are not so regular in shape as
the ones from which they are named, being,
narrower at the top than at the bottom.
They arc also wider and thicker in proper
ton, but not so long.
LAT N JEwELRY.
In addition to the bullion, large numbers
Of foreign coins, especially Mexican dollars,
muiilated United States coins, old plate and
jewelry aud d~ilapidated warehouses are
bought, the prices of such things varying
according 10 the price of bullion. Tho
jewelry being principally gold, is used to
make gold coins But foreign coins do not
contain the same quantity Of alloy as our
coins, nor is the alloy always tho same metal
as ours, and jewelry varies more in this
particular than coins, I suggested to DIR. B.
F. Taylor. the assayer.
"Thnt Is true" replied the doctor, "but
l make an assay of all the metal before i5 is
used, and Nj. Claussen retines it to the
proper standard. g.09 hne.r
Tde doctor informed me that all jewelry
aud plate was paid for after it had been re-
fined and the actual weight in pure metal as
certained. This necessitates the purchase OF
sucb thingsin quantities, weighed and paid
for separately. Therefore there are persons
who make a business of buying old gold and
silver for the mint.
In the m~elting-room 1 saw a man with a
shovel, who was scoopins up hundreds of
Mexican dollars at a time and thrustink
them into n black-lead crucible. The cruel.
bles hold Loo ounces of silver, and are key.
1t white heat in a coke furnace. They COST
81 apiece, and are good for eight MEETINGS, or
a days work. Tho silver is mixed with 10 rer
cent OF copper, melts like wax, and in a sur
prislngly short time is ready for the ingot
mold.
HANDLING TIL INGors.
The mold in this mint is different from
that of any other mint, and was Invented by
DR.. J. l. Bidwel, the second melter and re-
finer, who was in office from 1880 to 1919.
and is a perpendicular revolving cylinder
with six open chambers. Only one chamber
is closed ut a time, and into this one the
melted silver is poured with a ladle. The
cylinder %revolves one space, and the next
chamber closes and is filled; it revolves an
other space, the third chamber is closed and
filed, and so the work continues; and hot
work 1t is. As the open chambers come
around on the outside, the ingots are hooked
out md fall into a pan. The ingot is II bar
twelve inches long, one and a half inches
wide and half an inch thick.
The ingots are conveyed on trucks to the
rolling-rooTl, where they arc run through n
succession of rollers, the space between each
succeeding SGT being smaller than the pre-
cediBg one, until the ingot has become a sill
yer strap five and a half feet long and the
thickness of a dollar, aud will cut thirty-four
blank dollars OF 4l21S grains each. If the
ingots are composed entirely of new metal
just from the bricks they will split at the end
during the rolling process. To avoid this, a
certain quantity OF scraps and filings of a
previ usly cut lot OF straps is added in the
crucible. The rolling process hardens the
metal, so it must be nnnealed; that is, placed
in a furnace and heated. This DONE, 1t is
suddenly chilled In cold water, which makes
it soft
CUTTING n MILLING.
And here is demonstrated a popularity of
silver. While the heating and sudden cooling
in water Of iron and many other metals makes
them hard, it renders the silver soft. The
straps are next well oiled and then cut Cen
tlomcn know what 1t is to cut gun-wads, and
ladies are acquainted with biscuit-cutters; so
both have an idea Of what it is TO cut these
straps into blank dollar pieces. The cutters,
like the rollers, are propelled by steam power.
The blanks are boiled to clean them of the
oil, and are carefully weighed, one at a time.
II any are too heavy they are filed down a
little. Those that are too light, one and a
half grains being the limit, are rejected and
cast into the scrap box along with the filings
and the remain of the ingot strap from
which the BLANKS" were cut.
Now tho blanks are hauled to the milling
room and milled. This is a simple process.
The blank is placed between the ends OF two
cylinders, which are slightly less in diamete
than the blank, and is firmly held by them
while they revolye. The edge OF the blank
comes in contact with n steel piece that
presses the edge until it is thicker than the
plhnk, winch makes tue raised edge. by
this time the various vicissituies nave caused
an oxide OF copper to appear on tho surface
of the blank, and to remove It a bath Of sui
phuric acid is necessary, The blank Is taken
from the bath bright and clean, dipped in
water and goes at once into a revolving sieve
filed with s1wdust This dust falls through
and thu banks pass out another way into r
tray, ready for the coiner.
COMING THE DOLLARS.
Mr.. F. K. Jones, brother to "the old gen.
tleman from Nevada is the coiner; and in
the stamping-room are five machines that
convert the blanks into authorized United
States coins, at the rate OF 500 per minute.
W coin no silver, but dollars, in this mint"
why among the machines w make sex,
e.. $40 and $50 gold pieces, he continued,
aand keep all tho southern states supplied
with such denominations as we make. These
machines are OF course propelled by steam
power. The blanks are dropped into a tube
just the sizo to hold them, one on top OF an
other, and a shuttle at the bottom carries
them one at q time between the steel dies.
On one die is engraved the eagle and on the
other tho woman. The dies come to-
gether with n pressure OF 10000 pounds A
ring with finely cut ridges on the inside causes
the ridged edge ON tho coin. As soon as
stamped the coin falls into "a box below,
and when the box is full is carried away to tho
'packingroom.in
Here the coins are again weighed, one at
time, and are divided into "heavies' and
lights Nearly every he is a fraction of q