Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1893-10-25
GLlMPSES IN A MINT.

CLlMPSES IN A MINT.
Somcth nS About the Process Of Coin.
ing the Precious Metals.
1t is rather difficult to attempt a de-
scrlption Of how money is made. Even
encA cl"pcdias. which are supposed to be
equal t" any aud all emergencies, object
TO Il ut. In u measure they are right.
TO get tho best idea of the multiple aud
minute processes of minting one must be
an eyewitness. 1t adds charm to the
proceedings to stand by the dusty fur
''ac's. arranged in sentinellike rows. to
see them ":,en their jaws and look right
Gown INTO the fiery cavern. where insa-
tab tongues OF flame are licking up the
molten masses of silver and gold.
day or two ago Officer Brown.
standing beside visitor who had
watched with all the fascination of a
novice the great iron mouths opening
ana closing, betrayed himself into neat
little explanation OF the process Of mint
ing 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 pro-
cess in a nutshell:
Making money" said he. with one of
those eloquent waves of the hands he
keeps 10y him to use on explanatory oc.
casions sach as these, lis 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 left-overs, rolls them again and
cuts more cakes"
In other words, an amount of metal.
say the equivalent of 500, 900 in gold,
which chemically is made up Of so per
cent. gold and 10 per cent copper, is
put into black lead crucible about the
size OF peck measure. 1t is kept in the
furnace one hour and fifteen minutes.
The workman watches his gold as sacred
ly as the cook her cakes, aud when the
molten liquid is brought to the proper
consistency he takes three cornered
black lead cup, about the size that
would fit 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 81, 900 each. Moth
ing can be more beautiful than the fiery
stream OF young and pure gold as it
glldcs into the locked arms of the
iron mould. When the liquid solidifes
it forms bar, or, to he technically cor
rect, an ingot about twelve inches long
and about half an inch thick.
These ingots are subjected to process
OF rolling out which lengthens them with
out increasing the width. The bars are
then ready to be cut. One machine cuts
the coin, another stamps them after the
process of milling has been performed.
Milling, in mint parlancc. has somewhat
OF different Specification than in ordin-
airy vernacuar. 1t signifies the rolling
over Of the edge of the coin preparatory
to stamping it with the minute denticula-
lions, which are commonly known as the
milling. The latter is part Of the pro-
cess of stamping. and is done at the time
that the signct is put on the coin.
Speaking of stamping, introduces the
large corps of women who form con-
siderable part of the working force of the
mint. About 100 of them are employed.
and they attend entirely to the adjusting
and stamping. 1t may be said in ex-
PLANTATION of the process of the term lad.
justing' that every coin before it is
shaped is carefully weighed. If too
heavy the edge is delicately filed until
the coin is Of lawful weight; if too light
the piece is sent to be remelted.
This process of weighing and
adjusting is an employment to which wo-
men, with their delicacy of touch, are
well suited. They are also in charge of
the stamping. Incidentally it may be
said that most presses stamp from SO to
llOcoi every minute. In one short hour
$40, GEO in teI-dolar gold pieces can be
stamped around the edge and on both
sides.
There is another part of the work
which comes under Tie charge of the wo-
men employed at the mint. They do the
sewing. At first thought it seems trile
lncongruous to associate sewing with
money minting, but all the bags used by
the mint are sewed in the building. The
bags are made of white duck and run up
by machine, being sewed twice for Sc
curity. 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 five,cent pieces are packed in $50
bags and the pennies in $40 bags, and
the small silver in $1,000 and the gold
in 1000 pouches. Roughly speaking.
last year fully 2, 600 bags were made ND
for gold alone, 10000 for silver, 5000
for half dollars, besides mnny thousands
for the smaller coins. philadelphia
Times.
Electricity In Gardening.