Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1891-10-29

- VIZ NhiCh
the lilliputian scales of an assayers
table. The smallest weight used in the
mint is found in the assay room; 1t is
the thirtcen-hundredth part OF grain
and can scarcely be seon aith the
naked eye unless on white ground
The assay department is strictly a
technical branch of the service. II has
been practically under one regime for
the last fifty years.
After the gold and silver used by tho
mint have been separated from each
other and purified, they are conveyed
to the drying cellar, put under pressure
OF some eighty tons, and all the water
pressed out The metal is then dried
with heat, and afterwards taken in
large cakes to the furnaces. The melt
ing rooms are on the first floor. Here
all the metal used in coming is alloyed,
melted and poured into narrow molds.
These castings, called ingots, are about
foot long, a half inch thick and from
one to two and half inches in breadth.
The value of gold ingots, is from six
hundred to fourteen hundred dollars
each; those of silver about sixty dol
lars. The floors that cover the melting
rooms are made of iron in honeycomb
pattern, so that they can be readily
taken up to save the dust, their rough
ness acting rs n scraper and preventing
any metallic particles from clinging to
the soles of the shoes of those who pass
through the department The sweep
ings of tho entire building have aver
aged twenty-three thousand dollars per
anDum for the last five years.
The methods of coming money have
varied with the progress in mechanic
arts, and are but vaguely traced from
the beginning, the primitive mode be-
ing by the casting of the piece in sand,
the impression being made with a
punch. In the middle ages the metal
was hammered into sheets of the re-
quired thickness, cut with shears into
shape and then stamped by hand with
the design. The mill and screw, .by
which greater increase in power, with
finer finish, was gained, dates back tc
the sixteenth century. This process,
with various notifications and improve.
ments, continued in use in the Phila-
delphia mint until 1885,
The first steam coming press was in
vented by M. Thonnelier, Of France,
in 1888, and was firstused in the United
States mint in 1886. 1t was remodeled
and rebuilt in 1858, but in 1874 was SUI
perseded by the one now in operation,
the very perfection of mechanism, in
which the vibration and unsteady bear
ing of the former press were entirely
obviated and precision attained by the
solid stroke, with saving of over sew
enty-fve per cent. in the wearing and
breaking of the dies. The dies for coin
ing are prepared by cngravers especial
ly employed at the mint for that pur.
pose. The process of engraving them
consists in cutting the devices and lie
gcnds in soft steel, those parts being
depressed which in the coin appear'ir
relief. This, having been finished and
hardened, constitutes an Original
die" too precious to be directly an
ployed in striking coins, but used fol
multiplying dies. 1t is first employed
to impress another piece of soft steel
which then presents the appearance O.
coin and is called hub. This hub
being hardened, is used to impress
other pieces of steel in like manner
which, being like the original die, arc
hardened and used for striking the
coins A pair of these will on an av
erage perform two weeks work.
The planchets, or discs, of metal no
yet stamped, after being adjusted, ar,
first, in order to protect the surface o
the coin, passed through the milling
machine. They are fed to it through ar
upright tube, and as they descend from
the lower aperture are caught upor
the edge of arevolvlng wheel and car
ried about a quarter Of revolution
during which the edge is compressed
and forced up, the space between thu
wheel and the rim being little les
than the diameter of the planchet Thi
apparatus moves SO ninbiY that 9iv'
hundred and sixty half dimes can b.
milled in minute, but for large piece
the average is about one hundred anc
twenty. In this room are the milling
machines and the massive but delicate
coming presses, ten in number Eacl
of these is capable of coming from
eighty to one hundred perfect pieces q
minute. Only the largest are used il
making coins of large denominations.
After being stamped the coins ar
taken to the coiners room and placed
on long table-the double-eagles il
piles of ten each The light and heavy
ones are kept separate in coming, ant
when delivered to the treasurer the,
are mixed together in such proportion
as to give him full weight in every de
livery. BY law the deviation in tn
standard weight in delivering to hin
must not exceed three pennyweight
in one thousand double-eagles. TIL
y, gold coins-as small as quarter-eaglc
being counted and weighed to verif
the count-are put up in bags of fiv
thousand dollars each. The three-dol
lar pieces are put in bags of thre
thousand dollars and one-dollar piece
in one thousand-dollar bags. The silve
pieces, and sometimes small gold, ar
counted on very ingenious contriV
ance called counting board" b
this process twenty-five dollars il
five-cent pieces can be counted in les
| than minute. The "boards'l are sim
pie fiat surface of wood with cope
partitions the height and size of til
, coin to be counted, rising from the SUI
: face at regular intervals and runnin
/ parallel with each other from top
, bottom. They somewhat resemble
common household washing board,
r with the grooves running parallel wit
5 the sides, but much larger. The board
are worked by hand over box, an
: as the pieces arc counted they slid
into drawer prepared to receive then
{ They are then put into bags and al
r ready for shipment.
{ For the various duties OF the mir
| there are over three hundred person
, | emr,lovad MS clerks wOrlSmeu, etc.