Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1891-10-29
THE U. s. MINTS.
Something About the Process of
Coming Money.

Coming Money.
1t is quite natural that the United
States mint should have many visitors.
1t amuses one, the manufacture of
money, and even the hardened million
aire or the passionless cashier of saw
ings bank is bound to be impressed by
the fine sang-froid of the maidens who
sit at the coinage machines, their laps
heaping full of the precious blankets
and handle gold and silver as coolly
as though they were shelling peas
Yes it is well worth while to come
to Philadelphia just to see them.
You find the mint on Chestnut street,
just below Broad, n rather squat but
striking structure of white MARBLE
with Grecian facade.
The first building erected in the
United States for public use, under the
authority of the federal government,
was one for the United States mint. 1t
was plain, brick building, on the cast
side of Seventh street, near Arch, and
the cornerstone was laid by the great
David Rittenhouse, director of the
mint on July 81, 1909. The following
October operations of coming began.
On the 10th of May, 1929, an act was
passed by congress locating the United
States mint on it's present site. The
first coinage was Of silver half-dimes,
in October, 1892. The first metal pur-
chased for coinage was six pounds of
old copper, at one shilling and three
pence per pound, which was coined
and delivered to the treasurer in 1893.
The first deposit of silver bullion
was made on July IS, 1904, by the
Bank of Maryland. 1t consisted of
coins of France" amounting to $780,
7157316. The first return of gold coin
age was on July 81, 1905, and consisted
of seven hundred and forty-four half
eagles.
Over forty thousand persons visit the
mint in the course of year. Owing to
the immense amount of the precious met
ais which is always in course of transit
ton and the watchful care necessary to
correct transaction of business, the
public is necessarily excluded from
some of the departments. The system
of surveillance adopted in the mint is
SO precise and the weighing so accurate,
that the abstraction of the smallest
particle of metal would lead to almost
immediate detection.
All the gold and silver received for
coming is first weighed The largest
weight used in the deposit-room is five
hundred ounces, the smallest is the
thousandth part of an ounce The
scales are wonderfully delicate, and
are examined and adjusted on alternate
days. On the right of this room is one
of the twelve vaults in the building.
OF solid masonry, several of them are
iron-lined, with double doors OF the
same metal and most complicated and
burglar-proof locks.
1t is estimated that about fifteen
hundred million dollars worth OF gold
has been received and weighed in this
room, probably nine-tcnths of the
amount being from California since its
discovery there in the year 1S4S. Pre-
yious to that time the surplus OF gold
came principally from Virginia, North
Carolina and Georgia. During the past
ten wears considerable quantities have
been received from Nova Scotia, but
most of the gold that reaches the mint
at the present time comes from Calitor-
MIA. Montana, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada,
Arizona, Oregon, Dakota, Virginia.
South Carolina and New Mexico, For
merly the silver used by the mint came
principally from Mexico and South
America, but since the discovery OF the
immense veins of that metal in the ter
ritories of the United States, the sup
NV is furnished from the great west
The copper used comes principally from
the mines of Lake Superior, the finest
from Minnesota The nickel is CHIEFLY
from Lancaster county, Pennsylvania
After the metal had been carefully
weighed in the presence OF the dcpos,
itor and the proper officials, IT Is locked
in iron boxes and taken to the mclting'
room, where it is opened by two men,
each provided with key to one OF tne
separate locks. There are Tour lur'
naees in this room, and the first process
Of melting takes place here. The goio
and silver. being mixed with ooraX ano
other fluxing material, is placed IL
pots, melted and put in iron moids
and. when cooled, is again taken 10 inc
deposit-room in bars, where 1t is re
weighed and small piece cut IRON
each lot by the assayer. from'tnis .n'
oneness Of the whole is ascertained'
the value calculated, and the depositol
Maid. The metal in its rough sta'e II
then transferred to the refiner' :,
The tyx Essential things regarding
every nj Fat metal offered in pay
ment . Csc Dsaes are, first, the weight
- ana rhysle.eext, the fneness OF
purity ozark aud sne. Inc pao ,,se,
weighirE' pIea.an oas .an . %ssai bv the II,
in coinil sd,Ss sess conu" ssoIes will
careful cured ;tl'sate so a., ..,o;o'
precise u - colen. suits: In precioa'
P stajs - sssloY. e'T high
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