The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-06-20
MAKING OF HARD CASH
HOW 1T is DONE IN UNCLE SANS BIG
MINT AT .PHILADELPHIA.
Comprehensive View of the Interior
of a Money MiII-Miss Williams,
the "SiIver Dollar Woman"
Letter in Springfield Republican,

Letter IN springfield Republican.
We have of late heard so much about the
money question in all it's phases, that it is
of interest to visit place where the real
article is turned out and less said about it.
The first mint in the country was estab-
lished here in 1871, and was q small affair,
but it has grown with the country and now
has branches in New Orleans San Fran
cisco and Carson City. The site has been
secured and the appropriation made for a
larger. modern building for the mint in this
city. The present Philadelphia mint build
ing is not an imposing one. 1t was erected
in 1882 and is a low, two-story marble build
ing, situated in the heart of the city, and
looks very much out of keeping with the
towering modern buildings which surround
it. The mint, however, needs no show win
dows; it Is one of the few concerns which
make money without advertising.
The first sight of the mint as you enter
reminds you of a brass foundry; blocks of
gold and silver which look very much like
pigs of copper and tin, are piled up on
trucks and taken to the molding room,
where they are melted in crucibles like any
common metal and run into molds. The
mold leaves the metal in the form of a bar
perhaps a foot long and a half-inch in
thickness. The floor of the molding room is
an iron grating and all the drops of molten
gold or silver which run from the moldS
in pouring fall through the grating to a
place where they can be swept together.
The sweepings OF this room amount to be-
tween $l5000 and $4,000 year. The bars of
gold or silver are then run through heavy
rollers which roll the metal out to the
thickness of the coin which is being made,
and 1t is then by means of a punch cut up
into blanks and is ready to be coined and
taken to the press.
The first coin press used in the United
States was imported from France, as at
that time no one in this country could
make one. Now the American presses, for
rap1dtty and fine work. are unsurpassed by
any in the world. The government still has
the old French press, which is used to
strike off medals and souvenirs of the mint.
The modern coin press is mechanical
wonder. The operator simply keeps hop
per filled with blank coins and the machine
does the rest. 1t feeds itself, stamps the
coin on both sides, mills the edges and
turns out the coins of the smaller Kinds at
the rate of 10 a minute. When it is re-
membered that pressure of sixty tons is
required to stamp coin, the rapidity and
power of such a machine become evident.
On the day / visited the mint they were
making tWenty-dollar gold pieces, and the
turning out the shining discs took my fam
cy. Every minute it piled up $1,700, every
hour 100000.
NO PROFIT ON EAGLES.
The government does not make anything
on twenty-dollar pieces, for they contain
lWGHly QOIldIS WOIIn VI SOlQ D6SIutS Tic
alloy. On the smaller coins there is a mar
gin of profit. The blanks for cent pieces and
nickels are supplied by outside firms and
only coined at the mint. Probably a nickel
does not actually cost over two cents, and
a half dozen pennies could be sold for one
cent at fair profit. Many of the operators
on the machines | turn out small
coins are women al ey are also en-
ployed in counting the icy. An ingenious
device is used in C, ting the smaller
coins; a board something like CHECKER
board, but larger, and having certain
number Of depresSionS the size and depth
of the coins to be counted, after having
quantity of coins poured upon IL rs taken ken
shakes it from side to side until the COINS
slide into the depressions. On the board
used for counting cents there are one thou
sand depressions and when these are all
full the board ii course, contains Sl0, ana
it is astonishing how rapidly money can be
counted in this way. The money is not only
counted but weighed. and those in charge
OF the different operations are held respon-
sible If any shortage is found. The scales
used in weighing the money are the most
accurate and delicate that can be
made and are incased in glass to prevent
any dust from getting into the bearings.
down to the smallest fraction of an ounce
and the man in charge said that II ny
would alght upon them and lounge around
for few seconds he could catch his exact
weight.
The largest vault in the mint contains
SITS, O0O0 600 in gold and silver coin. This in
cludes fifty-three million silver dollars
which are deposited to cover the silver GER
tificates issued in the form of 81 and 81 bills
This coin is stacked up in bags, each one
containing one thousand silver dollars. 1t
is of interest to note that the profile on the
silver dollar, representing the Goddess of
Liberty, is not a fanciful one, but cor
rect likeness of a Philadelphia lady, Miss
Anna w Williams, who is at present
teacher of philosophy in the Girls Normal
School in this city When the United States
treasury department was preparing to issue
the Bland silver dollar, world-renowned
artist designer and engraver was engaged
from the mint of England, and came to
Philadelphia to prepare designs for the pro-
posed coin. He began on the reverse or
eagle side of the dollar. and found no spe-
cial difficulty, as he had numerous pictures
of Uncle Sans pet as suggestions, and the
nounted birds in the Academy OF Natural
Sciences were glad to pose and look pleas
ant for hours at time. but when 1t came
to the features of a goddess, that was an
other matter.
WANTED A TYPICAL FACE.
He could of course, have drawn face
from fancy. but he WAS not satisfied to do
this He wished the face TO represent the
true type of American beauty, and decided