The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1894-09-21
MELTING OLD JEWELRY.
HEIRLooMs IN THE LOAN BRoK-
ER'S CRUCIBLE.
The Silver and Gold Turned Into
Coin at the Governments Big
Mlnts-Pawnshop Secrets.

~ 1A ANiAhJj AOSHA 4V'
r All the same there are a
dozen of those machines
going at least once week
in this city that the public never
heard about before. When you I'M
derstand it you will be able to tell
your friends what becomes of the gold |
and silver they leave with their uncle
and never redeem. ON the dead,
now; don't give me away and I'll tell |
you some of the secrets Of the pawn
brokers' trade.
The remark was made in q little
dark room in the rear of one OF the
big loan Offices of Chicago to a re.
porter for the Tribune of that city.
The proprietor went on to say the re-
ports show that ten to fifteen per cent.
of all articles placed in "hock" is
never called for. Then often gold and
silver is purchased outright by the
pennyweight or ounce, and in one way
ar another a large amount of the
precious metals is accumulated. To
turn old-style goods into ready cash is
the problem that confronts the loan
broker. Bankrupt stocks of new de-
signs and fresh goods fill the cases in
the counters and show windows, and
the old material goes into new golden
eagles with Uncle Sans stamps upon
them.
On the floor of the back room,
reached after setting half a dozen
electric alarms going and the pressing
of numerous buttons, was peculiar
continuance looking like a six-inch tile
stood on end with brass barrel Gov
cred with pipes by its side. A copper
pan, some iron tools and some bowls
that looked like common flower pots
lay on the floor.
This copper barrel" said the pro-
prietor, sis filled with naphtha; these
pipes lead to this tile or furnace
this handle here is for the forcing OF
air behind the naptha so it will make
strong blast; these pots are crucibles.
Into the furnace weplace the crucible,
into the crucible goes the gold. Hot,
isn't it? So hot that we are compelled
to wear colored glasses to see what's
going on. But that's nothing to the
way the thing is done in Uncle Sans
furnaces. Now here goes to fill the
crucible."
Into the stone jar went gold watch
cases and chains with family histories,
crests, and initials, souvenir spoons
and breastpins of forgotten dates,
rings that could have spoken of wed.
ding bells and birthdays in the long
ago, golden charms, scarf pins with
the Jewels removed, and odds and ends
collected in a weeks trade. The esti
mated value of the hatful of stock was
$1,000 in pure gold. Into the melting
collection went a handful of borax.
That was to make the gold flow wher
sufficiently melted. There was nc
smoke, nothing but sickly smell O.
naphtha, the noise of the blast, anC
the glittering whiteness of the cruel
BILE.
To get q closer look at the melting
gold pair of green glasses was fur
nished. AS the broker stirred the con
tents of the crucible with an iron poker,
black bubbles would come to the top
pieces of coarser metal would be seer
struggle to the surface, only to sinh
back into the yellow gold, now turned
to fluid. The broker lifted the cruel
BILE out of the furnace and poured it,
white hot contents into an iron mold
The mold rested in a pan of water
All the gold settled into the mold ant
the borax, turning black as it hit thu
water, stayed on top. In few min
utes the borax was knocked off and on
fell bar of gold weighing severa
pounds, eight inches long and proba
bly, three-fourths of an inch square
After cleaning, the bar was laid aside
for shipment to the Treasury.
"We do this once week, " said tn
proprietor, as he shut off the valve t.
the naphtha barrel. ''From here tn
bars go to Washington by express
Before It's value is returned we vii
pay out nearly 81 ON $1,000. At Unol
Sans works the bar will be remelte
by fercer heat. Then the meltel
mass will be poured into water, wher
it will form into shots or pellets o
gold and silver and copper. Thes
pellets are then placed in acid and tn
different metals separated, No, 20
can't fool the Government for a min
ute. Science does the work in goo
shape. After this process the Treas
ury ships gold eagles for the gol
and silver coin for the silver metz
contained in the bar. So you see tn
old battered watch case, the broke
chain, or out of date ornament come
back in new coin of the realm. Owe