The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-07-23

Talk by Secondhand Dealer Who Buys
Everything that Comes His
Way.
There are three of the biggest rooms full
Of gold and silver in the world in the treas
ury building at the corner of fifteenth
street and Pennsylvania avenue. One COM
partment, 100 feet long, 60 feet wide and -
feet high, is solid mass of bright, unused
silver dollars. Another vault, somewhat
less in size, is filled with gold coins and sill
yer dollars mixed. Each of these great,
strong rooms contains $S5, OOO,O Besides,
there is a third vault, which at present
holds $15O, 900 part silver and part
greenbacks.
With all this change in pocket the treas
ury feels SO rich that it does not care to
purchase any more precious metal. So, If
you have any old gold and silver that you
want to dispose of you can not sell it to the
government at Was hington, but must send
It to some assay Office, such as the one in
Philadelphia. However. the assay office
least 800 worth, and the chances are that
you will not have Us much as that to get rid
of in lump. Accordingly, you will be
obliged to go to one of the dealers, found
in every city, who make business of buy
ing secondhand silver and gold. It is a
craft who keeps a shop on Pennsylvania
avenue told a Washington Star writer yes
terday morning some funny things about 1t.
II buy anything that has gold or silver in
it, he said. "All is fish that comes to my
net-watches and chains, rings and
1,,%k
forks, baby mugs and what not TO begin
with. melt the things up in little three
sided pots of kind of earthenware that is
strengthened by an admixture of sand SO
that they will OF be broken by the heat. !
set the pots among the red-hot Goals and
treated doesn't become yellow, but grayish
like lead. Ornaments of gold fresh made,
are always sort of lead color-they must
be polished and treated with acid to make
them pretty. Likewise. it is with
silver, which resembles chalk ,;. IN
ing process is applied. Such is the effect of
heat. But. as was about to say, when the
metal articles are melted, let the lump
cool in the pot and then take it out for the
purpose of testing its value. which am
Able to do by very simple process. Let
and chain are being treated. rub an edge
Of the lump to which they have been re-
duced on this smooth little oil stone Just as
now rub the edge of my watch case. You
see it leaves small yellow streak on the
stone.just color. Nov the assay office
looks like q key-ring with several little
spikes strung upon it. Each spike is tipped
with gold of q certain number of carats.
Spike No. l is 20 carRts, spike No. 2is l8 car
ats, spike No. is 16 carats and so
on down to carats. My guess is that this
Su C0r hn< 7 vuich tn knoU
positively. So alongside of the yellow
streak on the oil stone rub second yellow
streak with the spike that is tipped will
guaranteed 16-carat gold. Then l put ,
drop of water from this bottle on the OF
stone, 80 as to cover the two little streaks
and add to the water drop of sulphurit
acid from this other bottle. In momen
the streak made by the watch case turn
green and begins to fade. while the 16-cara
streak of the spike remains yellow longer
In other words. the l6-carat gold resists tn
action Of the acid abetter than the gold q
my watch case, and it therefore evidently
purer. Obviously my watch case is not a
good as 16 carat. Therefore I try agail
with fresh streak from the watch case AM
q streak from tho 14-carat spike only t.
& as obs that tba the watch tat
make third trial with streak from tn
watch case and streak from the 12-cara
spike, and this time the two turl
green and fade precisely together, Accord
ingly, know absolutely that my waite
II the streak it made had faded littl
sooner than the 14-oarat and little late
than the 12-carat, I should have know
that the case was 13-carat, and SO with a
tho other odd numbers. Pure gold IS /.
carats exaotly-as you might say q part
for commercial use above 70 carats who
means 20 parts of gold and of baser met
al. and We cannot apply this sort of ties
successfully above 20 carats. A $40 gol
piece is 20 carats precisely in quality"
AFTER you have ascertained that the lum
reckon its value?'
s.At 10. carat per pennyweight. Tha
sounds difficult to understand, but it
really very simple. Suppose the lum
weighs 10 pennyweights and is ascertaine
70 3 % sass bo %u II Rs the s1es
% / pay 200 times &c, or IS, for the lumr
Then send the lump by express to til
Phiiadelphia assay office, and they send IN
d check in return for its value. But, as
said. cannot sell them less than 800 wort
~ 4 time, and SO forward a lot of the stu
tooether. Il is good investment, for tn
ASSAY Office pays me about 10 per cent. NOR
for the gold than bought it for. There
no risk and the money is quickly turne
over
ssHOW is 1T about 6llyer!
1.-THE government don't buy silver; br
chunks Of metal sent to the assay Office al
returned in the shape of pure silver bar
which are always saleable in the marke
Uncle Sam charges 2 per cent for the worl
Tho reason for the rule about 800 worth
gold is the government doesn't want to r.
deem old watches and rings for every or
..... to bring his worn out jewelry."
ssSuppose one were able to get into til
treasury vaults and carry away 100000
gold COIN
s.Carry it away How would you do it
On your back. eh Why, you don't al
mai to have much notion as to how mue
cold weighs. Calculate it for yourself.
S2O gold piece weighs an ounce: therefore
round Of gold is worth $40, and $1,000
would weigh 1888 pounds avolrdupoi
Rather two big lift to get away with su
repfitiously all by yourself, Ifancy. AS f,
silver, il don't pay to steal 1t at all. Oh
hundred pounds of silver dollars-about
much a Won could carry-are worth on
$40, Eighteen thousand such dolla
youId turn the scales at a short ton"
Sunday Excursions.
Attention d called to the fact that on an
after Sunday, May 1, train No. l, whie
leeves Helena in the morning for Butt
vill leave Sundays at 3 o'clock instead
o:l6 q heretofore and will continue to
raxt q that time until further notice f