The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1902-08-08
COMING THE COIN
Uncle Sam Loses on Ten Dol
lar Gold Pieces.
Government Makes a Bit of Money
on the oppers What Becomes
of the Pennies?

/ ,On6 or the sQue6reSG factS In C0nnec
ton with the coinage system of thu
United States is that the government
loses money in coming gold, bu
makes big profit in coming pennies
In a $40 gold piece there is exactly
$40 wCrth of gold and 10 per cent o.
lcopper-put in TO harden the precionl
metaEbesides the cost of mjnting
A silver piece of money is about hall
profit, but the cent pays Uncle San
best of all.
The United States government OBJ
tains for 1910 cents the copper blanks
which by~the process of stamping are
transformed into one dollars worth OF
pennies.
What becomes of tine millions of
pennies coined eacn year by the gov
eminent is an unsolyed problem. To
supply the demand the mint at Phila-
delphia must keep on turning out new
pennies at an average rate of (, 600. 900
q month.
The useful little coin has its begin
ming, OF, course, Ill a copper mine.
By the process of smelling the copper
is separated from the iron or lead or
silver in the ore and is bought by
agents, who sell it to a firm in Water
bury, Conn, who are under contract
to supply the government with copper
blanks-that it,, pennies unstsmped.
At Waterbury the new copper is
melted and mixed with tin and zinc
according to recipe prescribed by the
treasury department at Washington
and then hardened into bricks.
These are cut into slices the thick
ness of cent, and the strips are pass
ed through machines with punches
that work up and down at an epor-
nous pressure and stamp out the little
round disks just the size of a penny.
These blanks are put up in strong
boxes and sent by express to the mint
at Philadelphia, where they are stamp
ed with the head on one side and the
denomination on the other.
Pennies drop from the stamping
machine at the rate of 100 per minute
silver dollars and So gold pieces at
the rate of eighty per minute. The
bright new coins are gathered up-the
pennies look more like gold than cop
per and counted by girl who uses a
device known as a counting board,
which reckOns $40 at time.
In 1885 was coined New York
cent. The diverse bears bust sup
posed to have been intended for Gen
eral Washington in the costume of the
Continental Army. Encircling it is
the motto, mon vi VIRTUE Vici."
The reverse has the figure of Liberty,
seated on pedestal, holding in her
right hand staff surmounted by a
liberty cap. and in her left the scales
of justice. Around the coin are the
words, "Neo Eboracensis, with the
date in the exergue, 1855.
The Vermont cents were coined for
four successive years. One variety has
On the diverse an eye with rays ex-
tending from it which are divided by
thirteen stars. Around the coin are
the words ''Quarta Decima Stella -
reverse, the sun rising from behind |
the mountains. a plough in the fore
ground, with the legend, Vermont
Erium Res Publica," with the date,
1856. Another type has ON the diverse
! poorly cut head, with the words
Vermont Auctori :" on the reverse
'Inde ct Lib with the date, 1888.
Another with the same legend reads,
Eft Lib indie, 1888. -
The Connecticut cents bear date
1856, 1856 and 1857. The diverse has
! head, with the words "Auctori
Jonnec;" on the reverse S. figure of
liberty holding s.aff in one hand
nd an olive branch in the other, sur
ounded by the motto, "Inde ct Lib,
nd the dare. There are many varie-
les of this cent, all of which are very
oorly executed. ...
Without date is a cent having on
ne side the motto, 'Unanimity is
he strength of society,"" encircling a
and holding scroll on which is {
Inscribed "Our cause is just. :" Re-
erse, fifteen stars in the form of a
riangle on the stars are indented the
initials of the several states, Kentucky
eading the column. This was struck
Lancaster, England, in 1871, for ,
REGULATION in America, and was call
4 the Kentucky cent. ....
In 1857 Massachusetts ordered from {
Is mint copper coin having on one }
de an Indian with his bow and ar +
wv, near his forehead a star, and =
round the coin the word Common
ealth' on the other side the Ameri- e
IN eagle, holding in his right talon
q olive branch, in the left a bunch Of
rows, on his breast a shield on
hich is inscribed the word cent"
17S7." Half cents of s.
e same type were struck.
This coinage was continued for two
Ears, but upon the adoption of the
institution of the United States, t.
hich prohibited the several states 81
ON coming Money, the minting of it "
as abolished. &
In 1871 the celebrated Washington n
mt was issued, bearing a well-cut 7
lst of Washington in military cos al
me, around which was insert bed a.
President. On the re- 81
rise a spread eagle with appraised o.
lngs; eight stars below q circle Of b.
buds; in the right talon of the eagle b.
branch of olive, in The left bunch ts
arrows; below the figure the words =
One Cent. This type is of the
eatest variety.
Another variety bears the same style b
head and inscription the eagle on 3
9 reverse is much larger than the a
st mentioned and holds in his beak Z
scroll on which is incribed "E g
uribus Unum;'' over it's head the y
0rds Zone Cent :" in his right talon 3.
branch of olive and in his left a
inch of thirteen arrows on the outer =;
ge of the coin is indented Omitted e
ates of America
The words SIN God We Trust n
ere first placed on the two-cent piece,
1lch came into our subsidiary coin n
g In 1855, but is now no longer part s
it. The motto was placed there by b
rection of James Pollock, then d. b
ctor of the United States Mint at &
liladelDhia and not nv any IaoisIo q