Arizona weekly citizen. [volume] (Tucson, Ariz) 1880-1901, 1894-02-03
A MINT IN THE HILLS.
Where Mexican Dollars are
Doubled in Value.
Chris Loss of Casa Grande Finds a
Mine of His Supplied With a
Counterfeiting Outflt.
CASA GRANDE, Jan. %, 1893.

CASA GRANDE, Jan. 70, 1898.
Editor CITIZEN:
Recently your correspondent dis
covered evidences that offer food for
thought and real cause for alarm upon
the silver question.
Your correspondent owns a gold
mine some twelve miles south of this
place, known as the Standard mine,
upon which work was suspended some
time ago, as the property was cuff
GENTLY developed to demonstrate the
same to be a vsluabls gold niue;
and requiring extensive machinery to
reduce the ore. Hence during the shut
down the blacksmith shop and tunnel to
the mine were locked up.
Tue other day had occasion to visit
the property, and found the blacksmith
shop broken into. 1t had practically
been converted into mint. A lot Of
the stone coal had been used, and the
discarded moulds and some plaster of
Par.s and other evidences that mint
had been in full blast remain.
The place is in a most secluded spot
up iu the mountain and commanding a
view of all the approaches. Hence no
better place could have been selected.
The only drawback is that water is too
scarce and must be brought from we'll
two miles distant.
VINO the parties are and where they
have gone is a profound myctery. No
doubt to some other place.
The discovery put your correspondent
to think over the present condition of
our silver question. How do We know
but that the standard dollars We are
only to glad To take for goods. beef, and
all payments of accounts are but Mexi-
can dollars in the garb of the standard
dollar.
DOLLAR FOR 80 CENTS.
Why can not private mInts be running
all over the country, both on large
and small scale. The Mexican dollars
can be bought for fifty three cents, and
contains more bullion than the Ameri-
can dollar. By adding the proper alloy
who can tell the difference when nodded?
not one cut of Thousand can; and
having the same weight, ring, color and
touch, who cares?
THE PROCESS OF IT.
How it is done? Why simple by
taking two tin rigs one inch wide and
two and half inchs in diameter; piece
of window glass; lot of plaster of
Paris; a bottle of sweet oil; strong
cord and the neces sary crucibies to
melG the bullion; and the mint is COM
plete.
The operators place the dollar upon
the glass, then they place a tin ring
around ths dollar; then I'LL the ring
with plaster of Paris. When dried and
hard they turn over the ring containing
the plaster of Paris and mbedded dol
lar. Thus they have a cast of one side
of the dollar and all of the milling on
the edge. They then bore three holes
in the plaster of Paris half inch deep
with q pen knife, then cover the surface
of the whole face of the dollar and
moulds with sweet oil being careful to
oil the holes; then place the other tin
rings upon the upper side and fill with
plaster OF Paris tamped in solid. They
then bind the whole With a strong cord,
and leave from three to four days to
harden, then they bore hole through
to the edge of the enclosed dollar to
pour the bullion through.
When ready for work they take the
cords off and the dollar will drop out
They place the moulds together again
and the mould Is complete for turning
out bright new silver dollars. The
teat that forms on the edge of the
milling when the bul ion is poured is
cut off with sharp knife or pair Of
pippers and two or three of the bars of
the milling are made with saw file
and the dollar is complete and defies
detection.
In the operation the Mexican dollars
has doubled its value.
If this can be done in q small way,
what may not be done on a large scale,
when capital is at the back of it, with
machin ry to stamp money the same as
in the U nited States mints?
In this connection | will eek. Why is
there such unprecedented demand for
Mexican dollars to that extent that
Mexico had to increase her mint capa-
city? 1t is claimed they are shipped to
China, but facts do not bear that
theory out; for according to statistics
China has been rejecting silver and ex-
changing silver for gold, ever since
the depreciation of silver in this country
and Mexico. Would they buy it on
speculation? No. For they are nation
of scalpers and closely watch the market
IN Europe and America and are con-
tented with small profits.
AS neither Indis nor England are
buying where then does it go to. together
with all the bullion that is thrown upon
the market at sixty-three cents? Pos
sibly through private mints in this and
other countries, into standard dollars OF
the United States and exchanged for
American goods.
Xnnrc frnly