Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-10-10
DESIGNS TOR THE COINS
Patterns Decided Upon nv the D,rrc,.r I.
the MINI.

Patterns Tor the quarters. diiics aud fftv-cens
pieces a. they are 90 be. have been rrac,i-
cally accepted by the Treasury Department.
Some alterations Of detail remain 10 be made.
but they are trihiue. 4 STAR writer saw ve--
tcrday medallions representing the faces and
backs Of these coming coins They were IN
plaster Of paris and each twelve inches IN
diameter. being casts from originals in wax
produced by the engraving force at the Phila-
delphia mint
Permission 90 examine them Was only given
on condition that no description Whatever
should be given in print Of the designs All
that can be said here. therefore. is that they
are very beautiful The reverse. which like
the diverse. viii be the same for all three coins.
Is a novel conception and mos; strikincly arts
TIC. Both back and face have met with certain
minor CRITICISMS. although m the main thsN are
Mighty approved az the treasury. In order 10
ascertain whether these criticisms are good
ones Director OF the Mat Leech has ordered
Ia, lac slmiles Of the mcdallions 60 be made in
Philadelphia with th, alterations suggested
The latter will be duly cumpared with the
Others and choice will be made finally an ac-
eordance With what lie judged 90 be best
NAMING TIE MODELS
twas only by making these medallion models
on SO large scale that il was possible 10 sesure
the exquisite iineness Of execution in tn. die.
Tor the coins The designer first mixed q
quantity of the purost becswaN With = certain
proportion Of resinous gum aud a small guam
tty OF the hest verIniiap melting tha,,
together and combining them tboron,llv nv
stirring. Gum ~ essential .or giving th. mate
rial a harder consistency. while color r.u,i,.,-
II easier for the artist 20 zee what he /. pro-
ducing. Next, he poured out the mixture into
cold water and. when IL WAS cool kuea,ed IL
like dough until the ingredients were mingled
IN a Homogeneous mass. Then he drew ON a
slate outline OF the medallion 10 b,. rnad.
and within II built up disk of the thickness
desired.
On this disk he executed on a large scale 1.
relief model of the face or back 81 the coin
The WORK was done mostly with little tools 81
lockwood but II IL quite usual for an expert an
tins line TO grow one of his thumb nails VERY
long and employ n IN delicate portions of his
task It'll sensitive organ of touch and often
VIII express ms intention better than an in-
strument that has Co be held. In delineatlng
hair brush Of line bristles serves best to give
the effect.
ELTcrRoTYPFs THIN MADE
When the original model had been produced
in this way an electrotype was made from il in
metal. The plaster images shown by the di-
rector Of the mint were merely reproductions
of such electrotypes. From the electrotvpcs
the die Tor the coin IL made by n very simple
process. machine does II with infinitely
more accuracy than human hands conld. The
continuance Is on the same principle a. a pan
tograph' for drawing. While a blunt point l.
guided by the hand over every curve and
sinuosity Of the medallion. another point.
tipped with diamond and rapidly revolving
gnaws away the surface Of steel disk pre-
clsely the size Of the coin that L. 90 be. Inc
mechanism n 70 arranged that the diamond
point grinds out on a small scale an eNnct re-
production Of the medallion. Whatever is
coarse IN the latter becomes beautifully line In
the diminished copy.
MAKING THE DIES
or course this little copy in steel is in relief.
like the medallion-in fact. a cameo. The die
must be intaglio Therefore the cameo.
which is of hard metal Is laid upon a piece
OF soft steel and the two are squeezed together
with an enormous pressure When they are
taken apart the design u impressed perfec tly in
lntaglio upon the soft steel IL only remains
10 harden the latter by tempering and the die
Is all ready for Use. Each blank OF silver Hs
~ Is turned out at the miut-a simple disk of
the requisite size-is placed beneath "A huge
stamp. On the under side of the stamp lie the
die for the diverse Of the coin. while on tL.
anvil Is the die for the reverse. Ietween the
two the piece Of money receives in an instant
the treasury imprints. which make Il good for
about % per cent more than its material il
actually worth at present market rates for
silver.
As soon the medallions now in tie hands
OF the director Of the mint have been fully alp
proved they will be at once returned to Fhila-
delphia and reproduced in the shape of dies.
Tins will not require many weeks aud ~ it
may he expected that within "A very few months
the new quarters, dimes and 50-cent pieces viii
be circulating throughout the country an small
change. One will necessarily find more salts
faction in spending these beautiful COINS than
Is TO be derived from squandering silver pieces
OF the present unloyely designs. No models will
he attempted at present for the new dollar
piece that Is contemplated. Mr.. Leech prefers
TO wait a while and lind out how his trst effort
takes with the people
TURNING OCT sTLyER COINS.
The process of turning ont silver coins from
the raw material is a very interesting one. At
the mint the metal arrives directly from the
mines through the United States assay Offices
1t Is tirst dissolved in big tank with nitric
acid, precipitated from which i'm a pure state at
looks like so much plaster of paris. Pressed
into thick round blocks, il goes % another
room 90 be melted in black lead crucibles
among hot Goals. Incidentally 20 the melting
10 per cent of copper is mixed with IT. such
being the proportion OF that baser metal IN ali
United States coins. In molten state the
precious fluid is poured into iron molds, from
which IL comes ont In the shape of bricks
These bricks. rendered pure by the PROCESSES
described, are sliced into thick strips which
are rolled thinner and thinner until they are
OF precisely the thickness OF the coins req uired
Then the strips are passed beneath punches,
destined 10 be pieces of money. Each punch
cuts ont 100 dollars or 200 dimes every minute
The blanks thus made are washed and then
milied the latter process simply giving TO
every coin its raised edge. Next they are
softened by being heated red hot IN an oven 80
that they may receive properly the impress VI
the dies.
EIGHTY COINS MINUTE.
Finally, on coming out of the oven they are
stirred with scoops in a chemical bath, from
which they are shoveled into cylinder full Of
sawdust, looking white and Just Ike 30 many
ceiluloid poker chips. After being royolved IN
the cylinder they are beautifully bright aud
shiny and only remain TO be stamped with
Uncle Sans designs. The dies strike ID eighty
coins minute, printing both sides at once and
az the same time corrugating the edges pTcttly.
Women with deft fingers feed the blanks TO the
machines. which automatically dispose az
while they receive another, dropping the COM
pleted coins into boxes beneath. All that l.
LETT TO be done Is the counting Of the money,
which Is performed with marvellous celebrity by
girls, who think nothing of reckoning the pieces
at the rate OF $4,000 a minute