Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1890-12-06
MAKING MONEY.
HOW A GREAT MINT TURNS OUT
THE DOLLARS.
Processes by Which the Precious
sMetals Are Prepared for Minting
Punching Out the Coins
Milling and Stamping.

One can see any amount Of cash ex-
hibited any day at the Treasury Depart
ment, but the fascinating thing is 70 see
the money in process of manufacture, as
Star man saw it in Philadelphia the
other day.
The representative 'of the Star was
shown little book case arrangement be-
hind sort of cage, in which was stored
SIT 900, 900 worth of gold bricks 1t
was astonishing how little room SO enor-
nous ar accumulation of value took up.
One got notion from the sight Of how
it is that all the gold that has ever been
dug out of the earth would not more
than fill room twenty five feet cube
A gold brick, Of something the shape
OF an ordinary brick for building pur-
poses and about the same size, is worth
not far from $4,000. You could not
carry very many of them, because gold is
heavier than lead, and the weight of one
such brick is astonishing 1t would not
pay to rob the mint, unless you had
cart. Only one attempt has been made
to steal from this institution within the
last twenty five years. A lot of silver
bars of considerable magnitude were ex
posed In the entryway, for the benefit
of sight-seers, and one Of them was
scooped into barrel Of refuse by a por-
ter, the barrel being subsequently sent
down the elevator and tossed into cart
that was ready waiting. Unfortunately,
the thief, upon reaching New York with
his lll-acquired prize, found it an incu-
bus impossible to dispose Of. Conse-
quently he was caught and the ingot re-
covered
The mint derives its supplies Of gold
and silver mainly from the mines. Such
precious metals as it gets in this way
come direct from the mines through the
United States assay offices. Upon their
receipt at the mint the silver or the gold
is separated, refined, melted aud nodded
nto bricks. A good deal Of gold and
silver is all the time coming in from pri-
vate sources, jewellers, pawnbrokcrs and
iothers selling their stock of such sort in
this way, the rule being that not less
than S1O0 worth will be purchased.
Three days after deposits of this sort
have been made payment is returned to
the depositors
All of the 800, 900, 900 in gold and
silver bricks which the Star man saw at
the mint had gone through most surpris-
, ing transmogrifcations To begin with,
the silver, dissolved with nitric acid, ap-
pearcd in an enormous tank that was
stirred about by huge ladle Prccipi-
tated from this mixture, the silver APP
peared in great trough, looking like
nothing else in the world but SO much
plaster Of paris. This was s.lovelcd into
another trough filled with zinc !solu-
ton, and the silver, thus exposed to the
action Of bascr metal, became like SO
much earthly gravel in appearance. From
this last trough it was taken and pressed
under an hydraulic sqneezer into thick
round disks. Then it was ready to 20
down to another department to be melted.
AS for the gold, it had been separated
| from the silver early in the game and had
all the appearance, in the crude state, Of
so much fine red gravel, and81os 50 very
red either. fyon had seen pie Of j.
by the gutter side you would not have
been disposed t. pick up handful Of it
supposing you had done 50, you would
| have thrown il away at once "a com
! parativeiy small amount Of .. tAc stuff i,
in the bottom Of brass receptacle on
wheels, an officia! in charge said was
worth 1920, 900.
, The silver and gold thus made ready
in the separating room went down
stairs to be melted in crucibles Of black
lead banked in among the reidest Of hot
Goals. Alchenists at $3.50 day re
duced the metals to 4 molten state in the
crucibles, from which the precious fluid
was dipped oat by ladlefuls aaa poured
into iron mods incidentally 10 the
melting. however, ten per cen. Of copper
was mixed with the GOLD OF silver, such
being the proportion Of tha. base. metal
| in United States coins. Or coins are
/! 900>par:s silTe- or gold, rs tile case may
| be, aud are cai.ei 70. this rsason 200
| fnc7