The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-02-13
HOW A DIME IS COINED.
An Interesting Process That the Public
Knows Little About,
F,onl az 50 Flanclsco Chronicle.

From the San Francisco Chronicle.
There are many things of interest TO he
seen at the United States Mint, on Fifth
street it is not generally known that this
is the largest institution of the kind in the
world yet it is a fact. and in its facilities
for the rapid and perfect coinage of money
the San Francisco Mint is conceded to be
much superior to the Royal Mint OF Lon
don which is generally supposed TO be
the largest and most complete mint on
earth.
A reporter called yesterday. aud through
the courtesy of Cuiner James M. Gorham
was permitted TO witness the manner in
which dollars and dimes are turned out by
the bushel.
Just at present there is n lively demand
all over the country for silverfor dimes, and
hundreds of thousands of dollars of them are
being shipped to New York, Chicago, Gin
cinuati, ST Louis and other Eastern cities.
Two of the money presses are, and nave
been for some time, running exclusively on
this coin. The demand is SO great that these
machines are not even stopped on Sundays,
and will be run on that day through the
present month. 1n't nt 'ia p,
The process of dime-making is an inter
esting one. The silver bullion is first melted
and run into two-pound bars. These in
turn are run through immense rollers and
| flattened out to the thickness of the coin.
| These silver strips are then passed through
| machine, which cuts them into the proper
size for the presses, the strips first having
! been treated with a kind of tallow to pre-
| vent their being scratched in their passage
| through the cutters. Tue silver pieces are
then put into the feeder of the printing
presses, and are fed to the die by automatic
| machinery at the rate of 100 per minute,
| ~ D0l dimes hpinu turned ont a 4
worGing day of eight hours. As the smooth
| pieces are pressed between the ponderous
| printing dies they receive the lettered and
| figured impression in a manner similar to
that of paper pressed upon form If type /;
at the same time the piece is expanded in a
slight degree, and the small corrugations
are cut into It's rim. The machine drops the
| completed coin into receiver, and 1t Is
ready for the counters hands.
The instrument used by the counter is not
a complicated machine by any means as
one might suppose. 1t is simple copper
covered tray having raised ridges running
| across its surface at a distance apart the
exact width of a dime. From the receiver
the money is dumped onto this board or
tray and as it is shaken rapidly by the
counter the pieces settle down into the spaces
| between the ridges. All these spaces being
! filled the surplus coin is brushed back into
! the receiver and the counter has exactly
1850 silver dimes, Sl25, on this tray, which
number is required to fill the spaces. The
tray is then emptied into boxes and the
money is ready for shipment.
The dime does not pass through the
weigher's hands as does the coin of "A larger
denomination. One and One-half grains is
| allowed for variation or tolerance in all
silver coins from dollar down. and the de-
Walton from the standard in the case Of Zoe.
pieces is so trifiing that the trouble and ex-
pense of weighing coins Of this denomina-
| ton is dispensed with. "t