Year: 1878

PREmJ1R1TI0NS EOR COINAGE 1T
No Coin Yet Ready for Use How Dol


A recent telegram from Philadel-
phia to tho New York Herald says {:
For tho past twonty~four hours a
rumor has gained crcdence through
out the Eastern cities that the
Philadelphia Mint had already
coined and ready for delivery one-
quarter Of q million Of the now
silver dollars. Those conversant
with mechanical processes could at
once perceive the absurdity of the
report, but the public, who are pre-
sumed to be but little acquainted
with the details of money ma nufac-
turing, were quick to believe that
which they had SO long and ardently
desired. Your correspondent at
once took measures to ascertain the
advance made toward coming the
new dollar, and found that not only
is there no coin Of tho new order
ready for delivery, but that there
has been none struck off, nor are
the dies ready for the process.


PREPARATIONS FOR THE WORK.


The Morgan design for the new
dollar, the design adopted, was not
completed until last Monday. The
hub, or base upon which the design
is cut, and from which the dies
are struck, was finished late that
evening, and yesterday the first i'm
pressions were struck out. The
mode Of preparing the dies is slow,
requiring great care, first in tho
separation of tho material, and
second in the annealing and adjust
ment for the blow. Each die under
ordinary usages is subject to one
blow day ; but Mr.. Morgan, in
order to facilitate the production of
dies to meet the present urgent calls,
has undertaken to give them two
blows every twenty~four hours.
This is but an experiment, and may
prove failure. In preparation for
the blow the die must be brought
gradually to q cherry heat in
charcoal furnace and permitted to
gradually cool within the furnace,
the operation occupying from six
teen to twenty-four hours. Tho
blow producing the impression is
from a hydraulic press, exerting
power of about one hundred tons.
1t is not q rapid blow, but may be
truly termed a pressure exerting o
quick but not persuasive power. A
percussion always crystalizes the
metal, IN objection entirely avoided
by this application of force.


A SLOW PROCESS.


Tho preparation of the dies, as
will be seen by the above dcscrip.
ton, must be slow, and, taking into
consideration the time necessarily
occupied in their adjustments, it
would be impossible, under the
most favorable circumstances, that
coming could begin prior to the 14th
of this month if then. The first
delivery of ingots for the coinage
was made on the 4th inst, and blanks
arc being cut rapidly, the chief
coiner, Mr.. Bosbyshell, giving as his
opinion that already there are sufli-
cicnt on hand voting stamping to
amount to 100000. The Mint is
being placed in effective condition
to do all that it's contracted quarters
will permit toward supplying the
demands that the bill calls for.
Ninety thousand ounces of silver arc
now delivered from tho refining and
melting department, al amount that
will produce somewhere near $780,.
900. At twenty-six working days
in tho month it will not need much
calculation to figure out the prob
lem that, pushing this Mint to it's
utmost capacity, it will fall short of
the demands about to DO made on
it. A new cleaning room is being
added, but tho principal source of
rapid production, the smelling de-
partment, cannot be increased to-
any great extent in the quarters at
present occupied by the Mint.


.s------


It is a great pity to see how many