The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-10-26
NEW SILVER COINS.
Designs Decided Upon by the
Director of the Mint.
Beautiful Works of Art-Medallion Models on
Large Scale-How the Dies
Are Made.

Silver change OF new design will soon
Jingle in the pockets of the people, says a
Washington special to the GlObeDemOcrat.
Patterns for the quarters, dimes and fifty
cent pieces as they are to be have been
practically accepted by the Department Of
the Treasury. Some alterations of detail
remain to be made, but they are triflng. L
saw yesterday medallions representing the
faces and backs of these coming coins.
They we're in plaster of paris. and each II
inches in diameter. being casts from origi-
nails in wax produced by the engraving
force at the Philadelphia Mint. Permission
to 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 beautl-
full The reverse, which, like the diverse,
will be the same for all three coins, IS
novel conception. and most strikingy ar
tistIc. Both back and face have met with
certain minor criticisms although in the
main they are highly approved at the Treas
ury. In order to ascertain whether these
criticisms are good ones, Director of the
Mint Leach has ordered fac SMILES of the
medalions to be made in Philadelphia with
the alterations suggested. The latter will
be duly compared with the others, and
choice will be made finally in accordance
with what is judged to be best.
1t was only by making these medallion
models on so large scale that it was posi-
BILE to secure the exquisite fineness of execu-
ton required in the dies for the coins. The
designer first mixed quantity CT the purest
beeswaX with certain proportion OF resin
Gus gum and small quantity of the best
yermilliOn, melting them together and COM
bining them thoroughly by stirring. Gum
Is essential for giving tho material harder
consistency, while color renders it easier for
the artist to see what he is producing.
Next, he poured out the mixture into cold
water, and when it was cool kneaded it like
dough until the ingredients were mingled
in a homogeneous mass. Then he drew on
a slate an outline of the medallion to be
made, and within it built up disk OF the
thickness desired.
On this disk he executed on large scale
a relief model of the face or back Of the
coin. The work was done mostly with lit
tie tools of lockwood, but it is quite unusual
for an expert in this line to grow one of his
thumb-nails very long and employ it in
delicate portions of his tasks. 1t is sensi-
tive organ OF touch and often will express
his intention better than an instrument that
has to be held. In delineating hair brush
of fine bristleS serves best to give tine effect
When the original model had been pro-
duced in this way an electrotype was made
from it in metal. The plaster images shown
Dy Tue Directors Oh lue MIuI were HltTely
reproductions Of such electrotypes. From
the electrotypes the die for the coin is made
by very simple process. A machine does
it with infinitely more accuracy than
human hands could.
The contrvance is on the same principle
as "pantograph" for drawing. While
blunt point is 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 a steel disk precisely the size of the coin
that is to be. The mechanism is so ar
ranged that the diamond point grnds out on
a small scale an exact reproduction OF the
medallion. Whatever is coarse in the latter
becomes beautifully fine in the diminished
copy.
or course this little copy in steel is in re-
lief like the medallon-in fact, cameo.
The die must be an intaglo 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 pres
sure. When they are taken apart the de-
sign is impressed perfectly, in intaglio, upon
the suft steel. II only remains to harden
the latter by tempering, and the die is all
ready for use.