The Greenville times., 1889-12-07
NlcEELs AND PENNIES
uov rhsy are aIsds and What Iasy are
Wade 0f-

H.. rhsv Are Mtde and What Aae3 -'1s
Made 0L
srbe story OF the nickel is an interest
.,go,e. Very few people in this eouF- (
IN imagine hou much psUat laris San
-,al.e. ort % the Stamping Of tEese sr7lii
,ofns The aetual cost u nickfl p l-s
l;oyernmeat IS nl. mach mare th4n
,bree-euarters Of cent. Formerly the
metal vas fixed planned and prepared
f,r use in the National workshops a
the various mints bat nov the metal i
nurrha,fd and prepared by outsiders .
uuder contract All the ,iovefnment I
does now is 70 put its stamp upon the l
blanks and then gather in It's proht On
thetr circulation
The total amount Of these coins issued
in year will average about Sio0'ooo'
ana a very few Of them ever return 20
plague the Government, the actual proht
to the National treasury can be easily
calculated. Nickels ami pennies are, OF
course. redeemable by the treasury IN
other money when a demand is made. but
this o,eurs only occasionally, and then
the coins are sent 20 the mint, cleaned
up and sent into circulation again.
Il is about the same story In refer
euee to pennies. The Government buys
the metal out Of which they are made
ready for use and pays 50 much a pound
for ii, when il is cut and prepared Tor
stamping. Then the mint puts the
legal mark upon the eoius and they are
turned out by the million. What do
they cost? Well, every cent that Is
coined brings in profit Of slree quar-
ters of cent to the Government. More
pennies than nickels are returned To the
treasury in exchange for other money,
but they are sent promptly 10 the mint
and soon get into the hands Of the pub
ne once again. A bronze penny or a
nickel five-cent piece does not wear out
as rapidly as a dollar bill.
The coinage Of silver pieces Is done
mainly BY the National mints, and,
strange TO say, there is more profit In
the work than any thing else that the
mint does. Under the present law tho
treasury is required TO bry and coin a
least -, 900, 900 worth Of silver into dol
lars. This =. 900, 600 worth of silver make
nearly ~, 250,O 900, so that the profit OF
the monthly purchase and coinage o
silver dollars is fully s750,00O. So thu
proht on the silver dollars, you see, 1
about S9,00Q,000 a year or more, an'
adding 10 it the profit on the pennie
and nickels brings IL up to nearly $40,
900. OO0 OF course, thcYe must be takel
ont Of that the expenses Of the mint
but they are comparatively a small sum
The process of coming silver pieces
an interesting one, and is the sam
practically for dimes and dollars. Tn
silver bullion is first melted and ru
into bars. These In turn are run throug
immense rollers and nattened out to III
thinness of the coin. These silver strip
are then passed through machin
which cuts them into the proper size fc
the presses, the strips first having bee
treated with a kind Of tallow to proven
their being scratched in their passag
through the cutters The silver piece
are then put into the feeder OF the prin
Ing presses, and are fed to the die b
automatic machinery. AS the smoot
pieces are pressed between the ponde
ous printing dies they receive I'll
lettcrcd and figured Impressions in
manner similar TO that Of paper pressc
upon q form Of type; at the same tin
the pieco Is expanded in slight degrt
and the small corrugations are cut I'M
its rim. The machine drops the con
plctcd coin into receiver and 1t
ready for the counters hand.
The instrument used by the count
Is not q complicated machine by AZ
means, as one might suppose. 1t Is
simple lecoppcr-coycr tray, having rails,
ridges running across its surface at
distance apart heexact width OF dim
From the receiver the money Is dump'
ON To this board or tray. and as IL
shaken rapidly by the counter, the piec
settle down into the spaces between Il
ridges All these spaces being file
the surplus is brushed back into the I
cciyor, and the counter has exact
l,95O dimes, sl25 on this tray, whit
number Is required TO MI the space
The tray is then emptled into boxc
aud the money is ready for shipment.
The dime does not pass through b
weigher's hands. as does the coin of
larger denomination. One and onc-ha
grains is allowed for variation or st,
crancc' in all silver coins from one dc
lar down, and the deviation from d
standard in the tcn-cent pieces is
triiling that the trouble Of weighii
,oins of this denomination Is dispens'
= within, Y, Star