The Irish standard., 1892-05-21
REMINTING SILVER COINS.
Worn Out Currency Which Has to
Be Remolded.
The Enormous Amounts Which Accu-
mulate In the United States Treas
ury and the Manner of
Their Disposal.

The sundry civil bill this year con-
tains provision by congress of 100000
for recoining uncurrent silver coins.
There are at present between S14, 000,-
900 to SIS, 600, 900 worth of abraded silver
coins in the treasury which need to be
reminted. They have been so worn in
peoples pockets and in other ways in
cidental to their circulation as to have
lost on an average about 5 per cent.
of their bullion value. BY law the gov
eminent is obliged to give their face
value for them, which it can well afford
to do, inasmuch as it's profit on their
original coinage was so big. Every
half dollar contains only about 37]5
cents worth of metal, and there is
proportionate gain on the minting of
quarters and dimes, Uncle Sam scoop
ing in the difference between the bullion
value and face value of each coin. This
is such very profitable business that
no private individual is permitted to go
into it. Formerly it was different, and
there were private mints in various
parts of the country which issued coins
of their own stamps.
Nearly all of the uncurrent silver
coins now in the treasury are half dol
lars. This is because more half dollars
have beenminted than there is use for in
The business of the country. Compare
lively few quarters and dimes are in
the lot, for the reason that they are
wanted in active circulation. A dime
changes hands ten times for once that a
half dollar is moved from one persons
pocket to another's. just now there
are about 129,000,000 silver dollars in
the treasury vaults, says the Washing
ton Star. What weight Of the metal
this represents one gets a notion OF
from the fact that one million silver
dollars weigh thirty tons. People find
them too heavy for ordinary handling,
and so they are stored away in great
bins here while paper representing
their value serves as a substitute for
them in trade. Owing to the recent
fall in the price of silver the actual in
t,.insic worth of these masses of white
metal at Washington has considerably
diminished of late. 1t is not surprising
that people should hoard and hide away
gold, inasmuch as it is the only sub
stance which can never become cheaper
than it is now.
It must not be supposed that the $780,
900 appropriated by the sundry civil bill
is to pay the expense of 're1ninting
the coins. 1t is merely to reimburse
the treasurer of the United States for
his loss on account of the abrasion. On
every $1,000 recoined there is loss of
nearly $50. 1t is not expected that the
treasurer shall pay this out of his own
pocket. So, after the coins have been
reminted, the difference between their
original face value and their face value
after recoining is figured up and the
amount is transferred to the credit Of
the treasurer, so as to make his cash
square The 100000 will not go very
far toward reminting the fifteen or six
teen millions of abraded silver, but a
sum is set apart each year for continu-
ing this work. Last year $4,000 was
appropriated Only a few years ago
there was $26, 900, 600 worth of abraded
silver in the treasury.