Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-22
CHRISTMAS COINAGE
Extra Demand for Five Millions
in Gold.
NORMAL MONTHLY OUTPUT
Philadelphia Mint Running Two
Shifts to Meet Orders.
OLD JEWELRY BEING MELTED
New Processes of Minting to Supply
Bright Pieces the Call for Which
Means Great Prosperity.
OLD JEWELRY BEING MELTED
DOWNRIGHT 1906 by John Elfreth Watkins

copyright, 1906, by John Elfreth Watk1ns)
This years special demand upon Uncle
Sam for new, shiny Christmas coin by far
surpasses that of any other holiday season
In the entire history of the treasury In
recent years about So, Oo0, 900 worth of extra
Christmas coins have been turned out for
the parents, uncles and aunts who have
wished to give only brand new gold and
silver pieces to the youngsters of the realm.
This demand came principally from the
east, but now the call is being heard from
every section of the land, from the state
of Washington down to Florida.
So, especially for this Christmas. Uncle
Sam has prepared to supply upward Of five
instead of three extra millions of dollars
worth of new gold money alone.
This unprecedented call for Christmas
coin means that the nation as a whole is
more prosperous than it has been at any
previous yuletide. That his little nephews
and nieces may have all of the glistening
holiday money that their elders may wish
to give them, Uncle Sam has doubled the
work at his greatest money factory, the
Philadelphia mint. Here since December l,
his hundreds of money makers have been
working in two SHIFTS, making sixteen
hours per day instead of eight. Through
out the year the mints. especially those at
San Francisco and Denver, have been turn
ing out gold coins. principally rim dpa double
month, and silver half dollars, quarters
and dimes at the rate of nearly 100000
worth per month, while nickels have been
rolling out at the rate of nearly 3,ooo,ooo
pieces per month and pennies at the rate
of 10000 per month. The totat weight
of the pennies and nickels coined this year
has been about $50 tons.
Yet the appetite of the land for metal
h..
NAL business purposes. The treasury is
practically bare of all of these nickels and
pennies and there is absolutely dearth
of silver coin all over the country.
Hitherto the most popular Christmas
coins have been the five and two and one
half dollar gold pieces. But this year the
special holiday demand is running to from
five up to twenty dollar gold coins. and the
call for the twenty-dollar pieces is far be-
yond all precedent which shows that thou
sands of our children are going to get
bigger Christmas coins than they have re-
ceved in previous years.
How the Gold is Bought.
The precious metal out of which these
extra Christmas gold pieces are being
coined is bought at the mints in the form Of
bars, humps, grains, dust, amalgum, dent
lists plate old jewelry, but neither filled
nor plated ware is ever accepted. Last year
about 81, DOC, 600 worth of gold and 100000
worth of old silver jewelry and plate were
bought for the mints. United States gold
coin issued before 1884, or which Is defaced,
or which in the wear of twenty years cir
culation has lost more than one-half per
cent of it's weight is also, along with foreign
gold coin, bought, as the raw material out
of which your Christmas gold pieces are
stamped Most of the gold received at the
mint comes in the form of bullion pigs,
resembling large metal bricks. These are re-
ceiyed from the different assay offices of
| l. h,.o, ,rrl,k
from the mines and smelters. Practically
all of the mints nickel comes from the
mines in the Gap, in Lancaster county, Pa.
most of the copper for pennies, from differ
| ent smelters who supply it under contract.
| To meet the present rush orders some of
| the nickel and copper has been purchased
already cut into blanks having the shape
| of coins, and ready to have the final de-
| signs stamped upon them. Until year or
| two ago all nickel and copper was bought
| In this way.
| All gold brought to the mint goes first to
| the deposit ROOM In the depositor's pres
| ence it is weighed on gigantic though deli
| cate scales, and receipt, with. the deposit
| number is given. The precious metal is
| then placed in a strong box, under double
| ock and is kept entirely separate until
after it is melted and assayed, or tested for
: purity. The exact value, based on the
weight after melting, is then ascertained.
and on the third day after bringing In his
| gold the seller returns to be paid for 1t in
gold coin or bars. If the original metal
| when delivered contained also silver, the
value of the white metal is paid for in sill
| yer coin, at the price fixed by Mr.. George
/ E. Roberts, the director of the mint. Troy
1 ounce of pure gold is worth $20.67 In native
| gold it takes from six to eight ounces to
| produce value of $100. Bullion containing
| less than 300 parts of gold per thousand is
| refused at the mint, and where base met
as are present, as in jewelry and dentists
| plate the depostor finds a proportionate
amount deducted from his pay.
| Hair-Splitting Honesty.
The large consignments of gold bullion
| now received during this, month for the
| Christmas rush, as well as the deposits of
nickel and bronze, are weighed on scales
with a beam six feet long and swinging
some five feet above the floor.
| The working parts are inclosed in glass,
| for Uncle Sam is a hair-spltter, and this
prevents particles of dust from disturbing
| the equilibrium and giving some one in the
| realm jot more or less than he deserves.
| The beam of this giant balance rests upor
| a knife blade of steel and so delicate is the
| poise that 1t will weigh anything from a
| gold mass of 10000 Troy ounces about 6S5
| pounds) to few grains of gold dust weigh
| ing the hundredth part of an ounce and
| looking like the point of a pencil in the
palm Of your hand. All of the nickels and
| pennies of our realm are coined at the
Philadelphia mint. although the big money
| factories at San Francisco. Denver and
New Orleans will soon be given the equip
| ment for making them. The ready made
| blanks are received from the contractors in
! bi1 box-loadS. They are ScoOped out, placed