Evening star., 1894-03-24

the 100000 ounces of silver. Gold is
melted in a black lead pot, which costs
about one-tenth as much as the iron pot,
but the black lead pot is good for only
about thirteen melts. No silver passes
through the iron crucible. A little is alb
so-bed by it and this IS recovered when the
crucible is melted after 1t has seen the
last of its usefulness Nothing that could
yield any of the waste silver is allowed to
get away from the mint without chemical
treatment to extract the precious metal
The melting pots, the SlagS, the ashes from
the furnaces and even the outside pickngs
from the brick Innings of the furnaces are
ground and sifted to obtain metallic grains,
and these grains are refined. The residue
from the sieveS is put into a sweep ma
chine, which extracts the smaller particles
And the very minute particles of metal
pass in the water of the sweep machine to
settling watts and wells. These wells are
cleaned out at very long intervals and they
always yield a little gold and silver.
The aSsayer takes from the crucible
both top and bottom samples of the melt
If 1t is of standard fineness the ingots are
passed to the rolling room. The reas son
the assayer takes his samples from the
molten metal, as | have said, is because
the silver alloy is very liable to seg.ega-
ton-that is partial separation Of the
silver from the copper-while cooling An
ingot has been known to vary from $50
to 1913 fine, and still to average 900 fine.
Nhen an lngot passes the assayer it is
taken TO the rolling room, each melt being
separate. In the rolling room the ingots
are passed through graduated sets of rolls
which reduce them to long strips of about
the thickness of the silver dollar When
the lngot has gone through the rolls nine
times II IS anr ealed in an omen wood
furnace. This annealing process takes
about ffteen minutes. After the annealing
the strips are passed through the rolls four
or nye times more, and then are taken to
the draw-bench to be a little further re-
duced In thickness. Before they are drawn
on the draw-bench they are creased with
taliow The first few strips put between
a,e draw,plates are tested A few planch-
cts or blanks are cut from them ana
weighed If they need a further reduction
they are drawn again. IT. by any mistake
the strips should have been drawn too thin
melting-pot. '-e
Punching Out the Blanks.
When the strips have been made of the
necessary thickness. they are nassed
throuch machines which punch out of eocb
the circular blank" Before being passed
on theSe blanks are weighed with the clip-
piiss ana The defective ingots to show inst
no" much OF the melt has been lost; and
.iils Is carefully noted. When the blanks
nave been cut they are separated into
drafts OF $4,000 each and passed on to the
adjusting room. Here the forewoman puts
-oo blanks in each of a number of mans
Each pan has number corresponding to
lhe seat occupied by the adjuster to whom
II is 10 go. The adJuSlers sit at marble-t.n
'dpIes, each with delica teiy adjusted ba.-
enSe before her. These balances are sens,-
1--WE 10 l-oi OF a grain OF Meisnt L.acn an
Justei has standard of weight ana with
@ t-ia She tests lor an hour or TWO the pro-
peIuoh OF The blanks running above. ar ha-
low tne STANDARD IN weight So - IN enahl.
the ch4eI Weigher 10 ADJUST mis- delivery nT
neaNy, hSht ana standard weight coins, SO
mat the weight III bulk shall rrespond to
the standard prescribed ~ law. After an
average mas been obtained each aaiuster
takes d counter weight r,e-IoUrtns .t q
grain above the standard, and with thar
tests IN the balance all OF the blanks An
thdt iau below the weight OF the counter
balance are put IN d pan by themselves and
claSSed as lights" All that weigh mora
than the cOunterbalance are filed until they
are reduced 10 its weight; then they are
put IN another pan Reserved Tor the ..heay-
les The "heaVles'' are taken to eXuert
WelShers, who test them. The lights" are
sent To other experts, who have a counter
weight three-fourths of a grain below the
standard of the dollar. The lights are
All tested by this counter weight and any
that fall below ii are sent back to the NEIL
ing room condemned.
After the adjustment the blanks and their
filings are weighed, and the exact loss of
weight in this process is noted Then the
blanks are taken to the milling machine
Wnere the edge of each is thrown up The
blanks are then put in cast-iron boxes
sealed with potters' clay and placed in an
annealing furnace heated by a wood fire
From this furnace the blanks go to an acid
bath. which cleanses them and gives TO the
surface of each that dead whiteness which
is a characteristic of coin fresh from the
mint. This process also removes all dirt
or grease. The acid does not remove any
OF the silver, but 1t removes a very little
copper from the alloy. The loss in silver is
chiefly from this whitening process and the
cutting process.
The blanks remain in the acid about five
minutes. Then they are thrown into a re-
volving riddle" with sawdust to dry. The
drying takes from five to fifteen minutes
Then the blanks are again weighed and
finally are sent to the coming machine
where they are fed to the dies, which stamp
the coin design on each as it falls from the
hopper. Through the coming process the
light, heavy and standard coins are kept
apart from each other. The chief weigher
unites them in drafts of 5000 each so as
to make the delivery uniform After the
delivery the assayer picks out indiscrimi-
nately from every $1,000 one coin, which is
placed in a linen envelope, sealed with the
assayer's seal. The envelope is marked
with the particulars of the mintage of the
coin. The envelope is placed in box which
is not opened until the annual assay, when
1t is opened in the presence of the commits
sioners appointed by the President to ex-
anime into the accuracy of the mint work
for the year.
This is. in brief. the process through which
all of the fifty-ive million dollars will have
to 60 The cost of n,inting them will be
] IL cents each. 1t will cost the Treasury
Department $685. to do the work, and as
I have said. it will take about two years to
complete it. When all of the silver bars
have been converted into shining dollars
these dollars will be put in sacks holding
900 coins each, these sacks in boxes which
will hold two sacks each; and most of these
boxes will find their way to Washington.
to be stored in the big vaults under the
treasury building.
GEORGE GRANTHAM BAIN