The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1893-09-27
Making Money.

To Get the best IDEA OF t0e mulClple auu
minute processes of minting one must be
an eve witness. It adds charms to the
proceedings to stand by the dusty furna-
ces, arranged in sentinel like rows, to see
them open their jaws and to look right
down into the fiery cavern, where lnsatl-
able tongues of flame are licking up the
molten masses of silver and gold.
A day or two ago Officer Brown, stand
ing beside q visitor who had watched
with all the fascination of novice the
great iron mouths opening and closing,
betrayed himself into q neat little ex-
nlanation of the process of miuting
money, Officer Brown has been many
years at the mint, so the visitor listened
with interest, as to one who spoke with
authority. Here is the process, as given
by the Philadelphia Times, in nutshell
"Makiur Money,n said he, "is just like
making cake. You mix the dough, we
mix the metal. You roll out the dough
into shape, we roll out the metal into
bars. You cut the dough into cakes, we
cut the metal into coins. Then we stamp
them. The metal left over is melted up
and used again, just as the cook gathers
up the leftovers, rolls them again and
cuts more cakes.'
In other words an amount OF metal, say
the equivalent of 100000 in gold, which
chemically is made up Of 80 per cent gold
and 10 per cent copper, is put into black
lead crucible about the size of peck
measure. It is kept in the furnace one
hour and fifteen minutes. The workman
watches his gold as sacredly as the COOK
her cakes, and when the molten liquid Is
brought to the proper consistency he
takes three-cornered black lead cup,
about the size that would bit q monkeys
head, and dips up $4,000 worth of the
metal at time, pouring it out again with
that marvellous dexterity which only
comes from practice into moulds holding
S., 900 each. Nothing can be more beau,
tiful than the fiery stream of youn and
pure gold as it glides into the lc Sed
arms of the iron mould. When the
LIQUID solidiies it forms bar-or, to De
technically correct, an lngotCanoI;
twelve inches long and about half an Inch
thick.
These ingots are subjected to process
of rolling out which lengthens tnem
without increasing the width. The oars
are then ready to be cut. One machine
cuts the coins, another stamps them alteI
the process Of milling has been perform
cd. Milling, in mint parlance, has some.
what of different Specification than !, 10
ordinary vernacular. 1t signifies the
rolling over of the edge of the coin pre-
paratory to STAN ping It with the minute
denticulations, which are commonly
known as the milling. The latter Is part
of the process of stamping, and is done al
the time that the sighet is put on the coin.
Speaking of stamping introduces the
large corps of women who form consid'
erable part of the working force OF the
mint. About one hundred of them are
employed, and they attend entirely to the
adjusting and stamping. 1t may be saio
in explanation of the process OF the term
"adiusting' that every coin before 1t Is
shaped is carefully weighed. II too
heavy the edge is delicately filed until
the coin is of lawful weight; If too !lgn'
the piece is sent to be remelted. This
process of weighing and adjusting is an
employment to which women, Win Gneli
delicacy of touch, are we'll suited. They
are also in charge of the stamping. Incl
dentally it may be said that most presse:
stamp from eighty to one hundred ano
ten coins every minute. In one short
hour S45,OOO in $40 gold pieces can be
stamped around the edge and on bott
sides.
There is another part Of the work which
comes under the charge OF the wo-ner
employed at the mint. They do the
sewing. At first thought it seems tritie
incongruous to associate sewing witt
money minting, but all the bags used bJ
the mint are sewed in the building. Tht
bags are made of white duck and run uE
by machine, being sewed twice foI
security. The bag making Is no small
thing when you come to consider the
number it takes to pack up the newly
coined wealth of the country each year
The 5 cent pieces are packed in $50 bags
and the pennies in $40 bags, small silver
in $1,000 and the gold in $1,000 pouches
Roughly speaking, last year fully 2,ool
bags were made for gold alone, $4,000 To-
silver s, 900 for half dollars, besides many
thousands of smaller coins.