Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-08-01

gooQ enough to receive honorable mention So
the AFFAIR has been handed over to the engrsv-
ing force Of the Philadelphia mint, which will
produce the dies required according to such
patterns a. Its own sense Of the beautiful
suggests"
The designs for Uncle Sans coins hithe rto
nave been produced at the money-making es-
adjustment in Philadelphia, where the dies
Tor all the mints are turned out. Anticipat-
ing severe popular criticism the chief en-
graver VIII do his utmost to render the five
cameo pictures called for as unexceptional as
possible. estheticnlly speaking. There must be
SUBSTITUTE OF some kind representing liberty
Tor the Quaker city schoolmarm on the dollar.
tne reverse OF which requires a better type of
bird than the present buzzard Also the un-
prepossessing female seated upon q cotton
pale Ia TO be removed from the half dollar.
quarter and dime. Plaster casts Of the
patterns evolved will be submitted for
approval to the director of the mint and
the Secretary Of the Treasury, and, as
soon as they have been pronounced satisfactory,
dles VIII be made, and small change of new ind
ioveiy mold will thereafter jingle in the
pockets OF the people. No alteration is to be
maze In the gold coins, because they are really
exquisite now and could hardly be improved
upon. 1t Is realized that the money of a nation
Is expressive OF its art culture. Therefore. lest
posIerlty imagine the present generation to
nave Ceen barbarous, it is desirable that our
silver pieces should be as handsome az may be.
IL was for fear lest posterity should suppose
US 70 nave been heathens that the motto "ln
God we trust was put on United States coins.
Inc Idea was originated By Pennsylvania
Clergyman named Watkinson, who also sug-
gested that, instead of pagan goddess, the OBJ
verse should bear an all-seeiLg eye, with halo
around 1t and a flag below. 'This will relieve
us from the ignomny Of heathenism, = he said,
IN the view OF future anti9uarians." Secre-
tary OF the Treasury S. P. Chase took the prop
osltion into serious consideration finally Sc
iectlng I'm God we trust the best form
LOT the legend, which appeared first in 1864 on
one-cent and two-cent pieces
COINS ISSUED BY PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS.
The history of the issue of coins in this coun-
try by private individuals and companies would
make very interesting book. When gold was
struck in North Carolina a man named Becht-
Ter started mint of his own there which was
abolished by law in 1S49 Half eagles, quarter
eagles and one-dollar pieces issued by him were
largely circulated In the south and west. Al
though OF honest gold they were about %
per cent under value on an average. About the
same time TempletOn Reid coined gold in
Georgia He moved to California in lS49 and
minted eagles and twenty -fve-dollar pieces on a
considerable scale. Many companies and re-
business OF striking gold coins during the same
period Naturally there was great temptation
TO make these coins under weight and OF infe-
rior hneness. The Mormons in Utah issued
eagles, nall eagles and double eagles, which
pore on the diverse an eye with the legend,
Holiness to the Lord" There was more holi-
ness about them than purity. Quantities of 25
cent and SO-cent gold pieces were likewise
Manufactured Mt San Francisco, the former
containing only about cents worth of the
metal and the latter IL cents worth. Eight
years ago lot Of these we're taken over
70 Germany and circulated there, which
elected formal diplomatic protest from that
government. The private mintinp business
was finally put stop to. Where a face is used
on piece Of money it is always in profile be-
cause the cameo is morereadily struck with the
die in that manner. and, if a full or three-quar-
ter face was represented, the nose Of the gen.
tleman or lady would get damaged in circula-
ton and produce a ridiculous effect. ALUMNI
mum has been suggested as a material for coins,
but there are objections to it. 1t always has a
greasy feel, due to the presence OF slight but
film of oxide of aluminium over its
surface. Besides. one fifth part of the earth's
crust consists of it and, if process for extract
ing it readily should be discovered. such cash
might be reduced within a.few days to about
the same value per weight as brickbats.