The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1905-08-22
INTERESTING MACHINES THAT
ARE USED IN THE GOVERN
MENT MINTs.
Counting Board Enables One Man to
Count 4 Million Pennies Every
Working Day.

PORTLAND, Aug. pa million
pennies a day-that is the capacity OF
strange machine which Uncle Sam
used in the Philadelphia mint to count
he coin Of smallest value made by the
government. The machine, known as
a counting table, is exhibited in the
government building as a part of
Uncle Sans 100000 display on the
peninsula in Guilds lake at the Lewis
and Clark exposition.
The counting board is about as large
as a big kneading board such as
housekeepers use. The surface of it
is wide enough to hold row of forty
pennies. When the pennies are to be
counted, several thousand are heaped
onto the board, which is placed above
a hopper Then an operator tips the
board backward and forward, and
sideways so that the pennies slide
about, and finally settle in the grooves
made by the brass partition strip.
When the board is full, there are 1000
pennies on it. 1t is then dumped into
a receptacle just outside the hopper,
and the pennies which have slipped off
the board into the hopper are caught
by a box underneath. Pennies are
coined only at the Philadelphia mint,
and the government finds the coming
of them profitable, because the value
of the metal they contain is only
about three-fourths of a cent.
The upsetting machine is another
interesting mechanical contrivance. 1t
is used for turning the edges of coins.
The coin discs, Of the proper size and
thickness, but with their edges still
rough are put into tubes to fit them.
These tubes are placed upright be-
side a round-topped, revolving table.
At each revolution of the table, one of
the discs drops into a groove between
the table and an outer shell, and the
pressure on the edges of the disc
makes them smooth.
Stamping the coins is the last pro-
cess, and this is done BY means of
great machine which weighs Is tons
four such machines in the Philadel-
phia mint The discs which are to be
MI i,, fy1h
case of the upsetting machine. Two
steel fingers take hold of the bottom
disc, and move it over to the disc.
Then the die above presses down on
the disc, so that the impression is
made on both sides. At the same time,
the edges of the disc are milled, and
when the upper die raises, the steel
fingers push the finished coin out of
the way and bring a disc into position.
The machine at the Portland expo
sition, which is used in stamping
twenty dollar gold pieces, has a capa-
city of 80 a minute. A pressure of
$50 tons is necessary to stamp a sill
yer dollar, but $50 tons pressure will
stamp a double eagle. Smaller coins
require less pressure.
In connection with the exhibit at
the western worlds fair, coins of this
years number in all denominations
except the silver dollar are displayed.
None of tho minis is now coming
dollars, because the government has
on hand 6OO00OOO0 which are being
held for the purpose of redeeming sill
yer certificates. There is also on eX-
addition at Portland the first coming
press ever used by the United States
government, a crude machine which
was operated by hand, and was used
in 1898 for making copper pennies.