The free press., 1893-12-14
SCENES IN A MINT.
Making Money is Just Like Max
ing Cake.
WOman's Delicate Touch Re-
quired in Finishing Com.

1t is rather difficult to attempt de-
scription of how money is made, says
the Philadelphia Times. Even encly-
olopedias, which are supposed to be
equal to any and all emergencies. OBJ
ject to that. In a measure they are
right. To get the best idea of the
multiple and minute processes of mint
ing one must be an eye witness. 1t
adds charm to the proceedings to stand
by the dusty furnaces, arranged in
sentinel-like rows, to see them open
their jaws and to look right down in
the fiery cavern, where Unsuitable
tongues of flame are licking up the
molten masses of silver and gold.
A day or two ago Officer Brown,
standing beside a visitor who had
watched with all the fascination of a
novice the great iron mouths opening
and closing, betrayed himself into a
neat little explanation of the process
OF minting 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 in nutshell:
"Making money % said he, with
one of those eloquent waves of the
hand he keeps by him to use on exz
planatory occasions such as these, '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 left overs, rolls them again, and
cuts more cakes.
In other words, the amount of metal,
say the equivalent of 800, 900 in gold,
which chemically is made up of ninety
per cent. gold and ten per cent. cop
per, 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 watch
es 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 fit mon
keys 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
molds holding 81, 900 each.
Nothing can be more beautiful than
the fiery stream of young and pure
gold as it glides into the locked arms
of the iron mold. When the liquid So
lidifes it forms bar, or, to be techni
cally correct, an ingot about twelve
inches long and about four inches
thick.
These ingots are subjected to pro-
cess of rolling out which lengthens
them without increasing their 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
parlance, has somewhat of II different
signifoation than in ordinary vernac-
ular. 1t signifies the rolling over of
the edge of the coin preparatory to
stamping it with the minute denticu-
lations which are commonly known as
the milling. The latter is part of the
process of stamping and is done at the
time that the signet is put on the coin.
Speaking of stamping introduces
the large corps of women who form
considerable 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 explanation of the
process of the term adjusting" 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 women,
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 eighty
to ITO coins every minute. In one
short hour $40, 900 in $40 gold pieces
can be stamped around the edge Aid