Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1891-11-13
UNCLE SANS COINS
Something About the New Des;,
Some Private Hints

~ 10 'o' 'y' f'iilSs meme Bncho
"that another competition will ever rl H.
tried for the production of designs f w
United States coins" said Assistant ~ Icf
rector of the Mint Preston. wThn ~ III
just ended was too much of q fn;,n VIZ
Doubtless it was the first contest If ~
sort ever opened by any govcrnmen+ 'ue
the public at large. The result Is ~" 10
very Aattering to the boastcd artistic d d.
velopment of this country, inasmuch w.
only two of the three hundred SHE'S as
tons submitted were good enough 81 20
ceivc honorable mention. So the atYa;s
has been handed over to the enpra, ;ale
force of the Philadelphia Mint, whioS
will produce the dies required accord;n 0n
to such patterns as its own sense of tbss
beautiful suggests" WV
The designs for Uncle Sans coin,
hitherto have been produced at the
money making establishment in Ph;ladaIe
phia, where the dies for oil the minis ara
turned out. Anticipating severe non
ular criticism, the Chief Engravcr viii d.
his utmost to render the five cameo n;o
lures called for as unexceptional as nos
sible, esthctically speaking. There ms
be substitute Of some kind, renrese a~t'
ing Liberty, for the Quaker City school.
marin on the dollar, the reverse of which
requires better typo Of bird than the
present buzzard. Also the unprepossesss
ing female, seated upon u cotton bale -
to be removed from the half-dollar
quarter and dime Plaster casts of tha
patterns evolved will be submitted for
approval to the Director of the Mint and
the Secretary of the Treasury, and, a.
soon us they have been pronounced sot.
isfactory, dies will be mado, and small
change Of new and lovely mould will
thereafter jingle in the pockets Of tba
people. No alteration is to be. made in
the gold coins, because they ore really
exquisite now and could hardly be i'm.
proved upon. 1t is realized that the
money of nation is expressive of if.
art culture. Therefore, lest posteritv
imagine the present generation to have
been barbarous, it is desirable that onr
silver pieces should be as handsome a,
may be.
1t was for fear lest posterity should
suppose us to have been heathens that
the motto, "In God We Trust" was mt
on United States coins. Tho idea was
originated by Pennsylvania clergyman
named Watkinson, who also suggested
that, instead of u pagan goddess, the oh.
verse should bear an ull-secing eye, with
halo around it and flag below. "Tbis
will relieve US from the ignominy Of
heathenism," he said, Gin the view Of
future antiquarians.
Secretary of tho Treasury S. P. Chase
took the proposition into serious consider
alton, finally selecting ''In God We
Trust" as tho best form for the legend.
which appeared first in 1864 on one.cent
and two-cent pieces.
The history Of the issue of coins in
this country by private individuals and
companies would mako u very interesting
book. When gold was struck in North
Carolina, man named Bechtlcr started
q mint Of his own there. which was abol.
ished by law in 1849. Half-oagles, quar-.
ter-eagles and ono-dollar pieces issued
by him were largely circulated in the
South and West. Although Of honest
gold they were about 81 per cont. under
value on an average. About the same
time Templeton Reid coined gold in
Georgia. He moved to California in
1S49 and mintcd eagles and twenty-five
dollar pieces on u considerable scale.
Many companies and rctincries in
California and elsewhere made
business of striking gold coins during
the same period. Naturally there was
great temptation to make these coins I'M
der weight and Of inferior fnencss. The
Mormons in Utah issued eagles, half.
eagles and double eagles, which bore on
the diverse an eye, with the legend,
holiness to the Lord" There was
more holiness about them than purity.
Quantities Of 25-cent and 50-cent gold
pieces were likewise manufactured at
San Francisco, the former containing
only about six cents worth Of the meta!
and the latter twelve cents worth. Eight
years ago lot Of these were taken over
to Germany and circulated there, which
elected formal diplomatic protest from
that Government. The private minting
business was finally put a stop to:
Where face is used on a piece OF
money it is always in profile, because
the cameo is more readily struck with
the die in that manner, and, it q full OF
three-quarter face were represented, tho
nose Of the gentleman or lady would get
damaged in circulation and produce al
ridiculous effect. aluminium has been
suggested Us material for coins, butt
there are objections to it. 1t has always
q greasy feel, due to the presence OF .
slight but unavoidable film Of oxide OF !
aluminium over its surface. Besides,
one-ffth part Of the earth's crust consists
Of it, and if q process for extracting N
readily should be discovered such cash
might be reduced within u few days to
about the same value, per weight, as
brickbats.