Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1892-12-01
Work of the MINIS.

The Economist: The minis will have
plenty Of work during the coming year.
without any new legislation to compel
additional coinage. The demand for the
minor cOinS-the bronze one cent pieces
and the nickel tives-continues to keep
the Philadelphia mint busy. notwith-
standing the coinage of about 10000. 900
Of these pieces annually for the past
four years. Orders for them continue
to come in from the various sub-treas-
uries, and the mint at Philadelphia is
unable to catch up with the orders The
constant expansion of the business OF
the country makes the demand a grow
ing one for this and all other forms of
money, and will probably soon require
Il more extensive coinage at the other
mintS. The minis of New Orleans and
San Francisco, as well as that of Phila-
delphia, are working earnestly to recon
the worn subsidiary silver which is car
ried on the treasury books, into quar-
tiers and dimes. There is no demand
for the halfdOllar pieces, and there are
plenty Of them in the treasury besides
the 100000 of them which it is propOS-
ed to issue for the worlds fair
The coinage of silver dollars has not
entirely ceased, Notwithstanding the slls-
pension Of compulsory coinage by the
silver act of 1890 and the decision of
Secretary Foster not to continue the
coinage of 100000 per month without
necessity. There is q demand for a
certain quantity of silver each wear
when the crops are moved and a certain
margin is also required at the Sub-treaS-
urieS to meet demand and settle
balances. The Philadelphia mint, in
up until Christmas, of coming the minor
pieces, will coin about 100000 silver
dollars per month for exchange pur-
poses. The only silver now accessible
at Philadelphia is the great stock of $50
100000 which has been sealed with the
joint seal of several high officials. and it
is not thought best to disturb The
New Orleans mint will, during the next
few months, coin about 3OO,Ovo silver
dollars to meet the southern demand
during the cotton season, and the San
Francisco and Carson minis will also
coin about 100000 per month One of
the objects of this coinage of silver dol
lars is to provide the funds to trans
port them. The law requires nat the
transportation shall be paid out of the
profits to the government arising from
the SignOrage, and this profit -.-.,, hap
pens at present to be exhausted. With
the silver dollar worth only about 66
cents, however, it will not require the
coinage of a large amount to yield a
handsome profit fund
The coinage of the souvenir half dol
lars proposed to defray the appropria-
ton for the worlds fair would be given
a precedence over nearly everything
else. The treasury officials are already
studying the design, in order to be ready.
for it will take nearly three months
after the design is completed to prepare
the dies. The coins can be stricken off
at the rate of 100000 to 100000
pieces per month. At the slower rate it
would take ten months to complete the
coinage, and while it is desired to do
it all at Philadelphia, it may be neces-
sary to send duplicate dies to one of the
other mints and do part of it there.
The coinage of these pieces would re-
duce the accumulation of useless sub
Sidiary silver in the treasury to less than
$9O00,000, and additional coinage would
be postponed until the souvenir pieces
had all been struck. An appropriation
Of 100000 has been made to cever the
shrinkage on this subsidiary silver, and
Mr.. Leech the director of the mint,
estimates that he could coin $4,OOO,OOO
if the mints could find the time, after
completing the souvenir coinage.