Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1889-12-10
A CAUTIOUS CRITICISM.


Correspondence Of tho DEsERE
We NEWS. Some queries arose in m.
ty mind while reading the account OF tn
-. finding Of the "curious relic, especi
n ally that part OF it relating to tn
l. critical examination made by ih'
local ieweller." First, he declares
the engraving WAS "done by handi" i
'e that in contradistinciion TO engraving
III done by hoop Is not the engraving
Is on coin OF all nations done By hand
= first. then transmitted from the steel
die TO the coin? My forefathers and
is myself have been coiners for nearly
r four hundred years, so that ] know
e whereof I speak. The former made
\ coin one at a time on an anvil with
4 punches and hammer, but that kind OF
-. wo. X WAS not by any means fine. The
ieweler makes bold assertion when
he states that, the face, its deminu-
tive size considered, could not be re-
, / produced by the.most skilful engray-
ers OF the present day" That state
ment would make some London en-
gravers smile. do not know what
the local experts mean by saying that,
1.-THE copper was more refined than
any known TO commerce today" Fine
copper is the same today that fine
copper was thousand years ago, or
more; the same as our fine gold is
equal TO any other fine gold.
Another bold assertion Is: Sub
jected to a hardening process. not !
understood now" Il appears that it |
was not so hard but what they could |
chip & piece off Of it "for analysis,
/ II it was harder than the steel chisel,
how could they chip it? lit was only
| just as hard as the chisel, how could /
the ancients engrave ii? II "lOcal |
experts" think II was first engraved,
then hardened, they are most surely
mistaken. Did they ever try 10 Gu. a
chip of an English bronze coin which
contains 90 per cent copper and has "a
sharp, clear, ringing sound when
dropped" upon a hard surface? It is
not nearly so hard as it becomes in
processes it undergoes before it comes
to the Stamping or finishing process.
am OF the OpiniOn-without seeing 1t
that the engraving was transferred
from pair Of dies, and the coIn, or
medal. was hardened in the process Of
stamping. RI. F.
The comments, in the form Of in.
terrogatories, which our corrcspon-
dent makes upon the subject Of the
engraving upon the coin or relic in /
question, are all the more surprising |
in that they emanate from a man
who claims to he a coiner, and 10 he +
descended from race Of coiners, a !
class Of artisans who are supposed I
to be somewhat acquainted with a
the art Of engraving. In modern :
times engraved work is done BIZ {
machinery, with greater accuracy ;
md delicacy than the bandwork of u
my known age or people, size con- (
idered. Nowadays the finer and II
more delicate kinds Of engraving "
lpOn metallic surfaces are often done q
y machinery. This is especially n,
rue Of minute characters or fig *
res, rs they can be traced di
as large a form as desired. M
ut reduced to rs small rs NAV be 20
'lshed, by the aid Of mechanical al
ppliances. When it was stated in in
lie article ''R. J. T." reviews. that Nv Nv
'me Of the engraving upon the an
lie surpassed that of the most skill sal
Il engravers Of the present day, We
md engravers were meant. pa
surely coiner ought to know sh
lat, in ancient times. a process OF
Rrdening and refining copper was on on
'acticei which is unknown to mod an
n scientists. and that no fine COP en-
r" is or can he produced by any set
'ocess nov in use, that will COM Pc
IRE with the "fine "copper" Of the Al
lcients, which was manufac- tn,
red into edged tools Of remarkable Mi
lrdness and fineness Of temper coi
coiner ought also to know that eT,
"fine gold" is not alike, and that ON
Id as pure as it is ever found in a col
lte Of nature, differs considerably an.
several qualities, as color, hard VIII
-, ductility, specific gravity. etc. wi
In reply to the sentences Of s.R div
F's" letter which relate to NV
hipping OFFS small piece of the 6s;
ic for the purpose of an essay on
Is sufficient to observe that no bon
stance known to man is So bari me
1t PARTICLES may not be ''chipped :, s snT
otherwise severed from II. con
5ut the validity Of all the obiec. Oh,
rs made by 'fR. J. F." might he PEG
leeded without impairing the tho.
thfulness OF the article in the mel
rvs, nor detracting from the wer
'ortance Of the. discovery ~ nm
rein described. The are n
e merely reproduced the setti
mons Of persons who had DecC
ically examined the relic. Pos \
y they may have overrated the oIiy
ellence Of the workmanship dis in "
yed upon it, or its hardness. or trus
hneness of the metal of which sent
'as composed, or they may have con- co.,
n mistaken in their opin- wer,
regarding the manner in prov
ch 1t was manufactured I mt
may or It may not have been i nu,
lie with dies, or with the aid Of for
r mechanical appliances; 1t NAV cont
been hardened eitherat one mr. uon'
her juncture in the process Of its for 4,
iufacture; it may have had with
hcates; all these matters are nc Unit
open to conjecture, and are bv 9I v
means vital TO the genuineness Hon Ion
he relic, As token OF the bipb Sena
.ience to which certain arts at polit
ed in remote ages, upon the Cher
srican continent. wiz WI.
lie comparatively large amount oppo
aiding matter upon the relic in. prop,
les that it YVES not coin, but a nous.
I'd designed TO commemorate p pSiiti
thing. Ifa record or memorial Tn
robably had no duplicates. with
was not duplicated thara apPal
M ,.o,,z:. cess.
g 10 make Matte
tO' Us production, hence with
inference that it was hand work Of the
h inference is strengtber.,I degre
'pearance. The assay shows it a sCr,
u bronze which :. a.