The Tomahawk. [volume] (White Earth, Becker County, Minn.) 1903-192?, 1916-11-09
Jewellers USED GOLD COINS
How Government Stopped Practice OF
Converting Money Into Articles
of Adjournment.

New York.-There are few things
more interesting to the average stu
dent of business matters than the odds
ard ends that often crop up IN con-
yersatiOn with veterans of the manu-
featuring or whOlesaling trades when
found in q reminiscent mood. 1t was
in such mood that a reporter found
julius WOdiSka the other afternoon.
Mr.. Wodiska, who is Il manufacturer
of jewelry, is widely known in the
trade.
1t may have been the recent rise in
iridium or it may have teen the re-
cent heavy shipment of gold to this
country, or both, that caused Mr.. Wod-
iska to tell how the United States
government stopped some forty-odd
years ago the melting up Of $50 gold
pieces in order to use the metal in
the manufacture of gold jewelry. In
those days it was the custom Of many
Of the jewelry makers to use these
coins instead of buying fine gold, as Il
matter of convenience. So they went
to bank and got $40 gold pieces
enough or $40 ones, for that matter,
to supply the sufficient metal for the
work in hand. The gold pieces being
% karats fine, "a karats being abso-
lutely pure gold, it was not difficult
for the jewelers. to melt them up and
add the necessary alloys to produce
the degree Of fineness desired for the
jewelry they were going to make.
However," related Mr.. WOdiska, 1T
was not long after this practice be-
came more or less general that the
government authorities began to won
der what was becoming of the $50
gold coins. They began missing the
$40 ones, too, but the disappearance
Of the former was by far the more
rapid. The officials did not think that
the people of the country were hoard
ing the gold, because 1lost Of the small
Ter coils remained in circulation. SO
4 quiet Investigation was begun, and
it was not long before it was discOv-
cred that the makers Of gold jewelry
were meltiag them UP for trade. pur-
poses.
"Having found the cause, it was not
difficult for the officials to effect a
cure. They cid it by 'peppering the
$50 coins with iridium. Now iridium,
which is not altogether unlike black
emery in the crude state, requires
heat of 3,542 degrees Fahrenheit to
Iaelt it. In the degree OF heat required
for this purpose it is only second to
rEodiu7l, which needs q temperature
Of 3,C32 degrees Fahrenheit to reduce
it to liquid state. Gold, on the
other hard, can he melted Mt 1913 de-
grecs Fahrenheit. From this it is easy
to see that the uIsuspecting manufac-
turcr, melting up gold pieces at the
temperature required, got number
Of u2I1elted specks OF iridium In his
metal whel he let it cool. This made
trouble when the metal was worked
Up.
"At the time this was being done
there was great vogue Of fine Etrus-
can work in solid gold, which required
perfectly smooth surface in order
to be produced properly. Imagine the
disE2ay of the jewelers., therefore,
when they found the mucl-needed
smooth surface dotted here and there
with little pe2rerlke specks of iridi-
Urn. TO leave them in meant that the
decorative work could not be done
properly, and to take them out meant
leaving the piece pock1narked with
tiny holes. It was not long before
Ike gold pieces, whether they con-
tanned iridium or lot, were eyed with
suspicion by the manufacturers, who
then secured their metal from other
sources"