Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1902-07-12
or raised edge which protects each

coins race 1rOnl aUTdSlOH. 1 lie Nliiieo
blanks are then heated to cherry red
by passage through an automatic heat
ing furnace, from which they dip into
copper colander, and are then lifted
by a crane into a bath of muratic acid,
are revolved in this bath and are finally
dropped into a revolving screen filled
with basswood sawdust. such as jew
ellers use. which thoroughly cleanses
and dries them ready for coinage.
Against the long wall Of the coming
room there are "a great heavy presses,
each with a vertical face Of polished
steel, cast in the shape of giant letter
"O." At a sort Of manger, filled with
glistening planchets. there sits feeding
each machine a young woman with a
canvas apron, in which she now and
then places handful Of the new disks.
The mouth of each machine Is small
upright tube Of the diameter Of the
coin to be stamped. and into this the
blanks are continually inserted in high
cylindrical stacks. From the upright
brass tube a pair Of automatic fingers
rapidly take each bottom coin and place
it upon the lowermost of two dies, rap
idly clashing together like hungry
paws.
These at one blow strike the top and
bottom impression, and at the same
time, by force Of expansion, the disk
of metal tightens within a fluted collar
which gives the finished coin reeded
edge.
Silver dollars and gold coin are
stamped at the rate of IS a minute;
quarters and half dollars. 80 a minute:
nickles, 10 minute; cents, 120 min
ute.
You will note that this is the first
time nickels and cents have been men
toned. They are distinctly Philadel-
phia coins, not being stamped at other
mints. But the stamping is the first
process which Uncle Sam subjects
them to. Their planchets are supplied
by a New England firm.
From the coming room the finished
money goes to the proving department.
where it's accuracy is again tested. 1t
is now ready for the counting room.
In this department gold coins, silver
dollars and half dollars are all counted
by weight, being stacked up inside
steel frames and swept off into the pan
of huge pair of scales. The quarters,
dimes, nickels and cents are shuffled
over large boards with parallel strips
of brass, between which a row Of coins
fits losely.
Being filled with the money, 1t Is
tilted until the pieces flowing over 1t
fil, all the spaces between strips. In
this way $1,000 in dimes are counted on
a single board every 1s seconds, and
thrown into an aperture at the front
of the counters table. Leaving the
counters the new money is put into
steel strong boxes to await shipment.
The loss of a grain Of gold or silver
dust is prevented. If possible, at the
new mint by making recoveries from
the roof to the very wells of the cellar.
The floors Of the melting room are OF
honeycombed iron. Anything dropped
thereupon will go through.
This honeycomb in the neighborhood
of the furnace is removed daily. The
dust then swept from the bare floor is,
together with all broken crucibles,
crushed in a mill and put through a
process for separating the precious
metal particles.
The clothing which the smelters and
moulders wear, also the aprons Of the
women coiners, must never leave the
building. The working apparel and
mittens when worn out are burnt, and
the gold and silver extracted from
them. These recoveries from the melt
ing department average $12,4OO year,
while the total loss in the entire mint
is falling below $500 year.