The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1895-05-16
UNCIlEEz SANS zGOLD,
WHERE TT IS ANDs WHAT Is
EOCNE WITH IT,
The Geld Vaults OF the Treasury a.
Washington-Sacks Of Yellow
s= Coins-Refning the.
Raw Metal 4

SOuaI TSpI oaenGS1AfS Va GA0 1IeetSuIS SI
of the United States being required.
One of these funetionaries held the
secret combination for opening the
outer door, while the other had that Of
the inner portal. When both huge and
massive gates Of steel had been un.
locked the interior of an immense safe
as big as a good-sized drawing-room
was disclosed. That is to say, though
pitch dark, its internal arrangement
could be seen when a gas jet wa
lighted.
Running straight through the middl,
from the entrance was a sort of hall
way, on either side of which was row
of iron lattice work compartments
There were in all fourteen of these lat
tice work rooms, somewhat resembling
cells along prison corridor, and al
but one of them were filed as full as
they could hold with bags of coin.
However, this coin was not gold, but
silver. The compartment excepted
WAS the first one to the left of the
doorway. It alone contained the en-"
tire stock Of gold now held in the
Treasury at Westinghouse total OF
$40, 5O0,00 The small show made b!
t was surprising.
Instead OF being chokefun like the
compartment containing silver, this
one seemed almost empty. Even tina
floor was not covered with the bags Of
yellow coin, which were stacked IL
small heaps around the walls as i to
make some sort of show. Yet value in
this form is SO highly concentrated as
to give occasion for all the precautions
above described, while few feet away
from this vault is an enormous box Of
iron lattice work exposed to the view
of the public all day, though within
it is stored s101, ,0o0,0 in standard
silver dollars. Fortunately, this
quantity of gold is only a fraction Of
Uncle Sans stock Of that metal There
is more of it in the subtreasuries st
either New York or San Francisco thar
s kept here.
The mints also hold great amount
Of gold belonging to the Government.
In a room adjoining the business Office
of the big coin factory on Chestnut
street, Philadelphia, may be seen about
$50, 10000 worth of the yellow metal
in the shape of shining bricks, stacked
upon shelves, just as delivered from
the asssy offices. That is wealth in g
form better realized than the specie
done up in bags at the Treasury. II
does not seem to be so carefully
guarded as it is here, but the only
theft ever accomplished from the
Quaker City institution was that Of a
silver brick which a laborer slyly
threw into barrel ofrefuse, thus con,
veying it out of the building. But,
though he was not detected, the
massive ingot proved itself to him a
veritable white elephant, and he was
caught in trying to dispose of it II
New York.
Though the show Of gold at the
Treasury is not impressive at the first
glance one has more respect for it
when the contents of the bags are
enumerated. Stacked in heaps around
the compartment referred to are
ninety-eight sacks, each containing
1000 yellow double eagles. Poured
out on the floor they would make a
very decent pile of glittering metal,
representing altogether 100000.
Besides these there are four hundred
hadsixty nine bags, each holding $500
shining eagles, or $685. 900 in all.
Then there are 1913 sacks, each con-
tanning 1000 SIS pieces, or total OF
s5,sse,o0 Lastly, there are fifteen
sacks, each filed to bursting with
1000 Of those annoying $3.50 pieces,
which are so easily mistaken for cents
that no more of them are to be coined
by the mints.
One Of che most interesting sights
In the world is the refining of the raw
gold bullion at the United States Assay
Office on Wall street, New York. Ar.
riying there from the mines it is first
melted, 10 free it from all earthly mat
ser and other foreign substances. Then
certain qusntity of silver is added to
it and the mixture is immersed in a
bath of nitric ao:d. The acid has nc
effect Oh the gold. but it dissolves the
silver into a liquid which looks just
like pure water. This limpid liquid is
drawn of, leaving the gold at the bot
tom of the tub. The precious metal
thus purified looks like so much fine
red gravel. To get rid of all moisture
it is subjected to pressure. On com
ing out Of the squeezing machine il
appears in the shape Of big cakes, re.
sembling angel food cakes in form.
These cakes are worth about. .S25, ,000
each, ard one could afford to pay
$4,000 for a slice of very moderat'
size.
This is the material out of which the
gold ccins are made. The gold is
melted into crucible, from which il
is dipped out with ladle and poured
into iron molds. When cooled the
nolds are unlocked and taken apart,
the precious metal then appearing in
she shape of what are termed Gin.
sots. For the coinage one-tenth part
Of copper is mixed with gold, but the
Government also makes business Of
,aanufact- ring merchants bars" TO,
the use Of jewelers., gold leaf makers
and dentists, who require the virgin
metal i'll their trades. Such bars are
as near to perfect purity IS can be.
being 999 fine out of possible 1000
The Government, while it makes big
profit by coming silver, gains nothing
by mintipG gold pieces. the intrirs;c
value of which is equal to their face.
There is always some loss by wasting,
too. The sweepings of the Philadel-
phia mint alone sell for $4,000 an