L£3>A 
 
 Property of ' 
 
 Lewis J. LlgtoOj Jr* 
 
 
 • * 'i 
 
 
 
 
 » 
 
ILLUSTRATED HISTORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 UNITED STATES MINT 
 
 WITH SHORT HISTORICAL SKETCHES AND ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE BRANCH MINTS 
 AND ASSAY OFFICES, AND A COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF 
 
 AMERICAN COINAGE 
 
 From the earliest period to the present time ; the 
 Process of Melting, Refining, Assaying, 
 and Coining Gold and Silver being 
 fully described 
 
 WITH BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF THE 
 
 MINT OFFICERS FROM ITS FOUNDATION TO THE PRESENT TIME. 
 
 TO WHICH ARE ADDED 
 
 A GLOSSARY OP MINT TERMS 
 
 LATEST OFFICIAL TABLES 
 
 OF THE 
 
 .Operations of the different Mints and Assay Offices, showing 
 the Annual Products of Gold and Silver in the United 
 States and Foreign Countries, with Monetary 
 Statistics of the World. 
 
 WITH PHOTO-ILLUSTRATIONS AND FINE ENGRAVINGS AND TWENTY-FOUR 
 PLATES OF RARE COINS. 
 
 New Revised Edition , Edited by the Publisher. 
 
 (Ninety-first Thousand). 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 GEORGE G. EVANS, Publisher, 
 
 1.314 Filbert Street. 
 
 1893. 
 
Copyrighted by 
 
 George G. Evans, 
 1885. 
 
 Beeopyrighted 1885 and 18*. 
 
 DUNLAP PRINTING CO. 
 Pbintkrs and Book Biivdhks, 
 1306 - 8-10 Filbkbt Stuhbt 
 Philadelphia* 
 
INDEX, 
 
 PAG 1C 
 
 Adjusting room.•.*•... 32 
 
 American coinage, history of from 1792 to 1890.•. 81 89’ 
 
 Ancient coining. " 
 
 “ Greek coins. 44 
 
 “ Persian coins. 4 *> 
 
 *• Koman coins. 4 £ 
 
 Approximate distribution, gold and silver,from the mines of the different States 
 
 and Territories for the year 1891. 138 
 
 Appropriations, Mint and Assay offices, 1892.- 14? 
 
 Architecture indebted to coins. * 
 
 Assav, process of. 2 | 
 
 Assayers of Mint. 
 
 Assaying gold. 24 
 
 “ silver. 
 
 “ rooms. 24 
 
 Barber, Charles E„ Mint Engraver. 
 
 “ William, “ “ . 
 
 Bond of indemnity signed by employees of first Mint, 1799. 
 
 Booth, James C., Melter and Refiner. 
 
 Boudinot, Elias... 
 
 Bosbyshell, Colonel O. C., Coiner. 
 
 “ “ “ Superintendent. 
 
 Boyd, N. B., Assistant Melter ad Refiner.. 
 
 Brazilian coins.... 
 
 Bullion, delivered on purchases of silver. 
 
 “ operations, Melting Department, 1891. 
 
 “ operated upon, 1891. 
 
 “ delivered on Silver purchases. 
 
 Burchard, Horatio C., second Director. 
 
 128 
 
 127 
 
 17 
 
 123 
 102 
 116 
 110 
 
 124 
 58 
 
 143 
 
 135 
 
 136 
 
 144 
 100 
 
 Cabinet of coins and relics. . . 
 
 Cashiers of the Mint. 
 
 Childs, George H., Coiner. 
 
 Chiuese coins. 
 
 Circulation of silver dollars. 
 
 Cloud, Joseph. 
 
 Cobb, Mark H., Chief Clerk. 
 
 Coinage Act of 1873 . 
 
 “ and milling rooms . 
 
 “ fiscal year. 
 
 “ of first silver dollar. 
 
 “ fiscal year, 1891. 
 
 Coiners of Mint. 
 
 Coin dealers. 
 
 Coins, classification of.. 
 
 “ English, of the Commonwealth and Cromwell. 
 
 “ issued at the Philadelphia Mint from its establishment in 1792 to 1890. 
 
 “ of Athens. 
 
 ” of China. 
 
 “ of Egypt.. 
 
 of Ferdinand and Isabella. 
 
 “ of Siam. 
 
 “ of Switzerland. 
 
 “ of Syria. 
 
 Colonial coins. . 
 
 “ pine tree money. 
 
 Confederate coins (C.S.A). 
 
 Copy of paper laid in corner-stone of the Mint. 
 
 “ old pay-roll. 
 
 Costumes on coins... 
 
 Cost of coinage, each Mint, 1891. 
 
 Cox, Albion. 
 
 Curator of the Mint.. 
 
 Curiosities and minerals, . .. ...... 
 
 41 
 
 129, 130 
 116 
 51 
 lt4 
 123 
 123 
 99,100 
 35 
 135 
 15 
 132 
 114-1.8 
 179 
 48-68 
 56-57 
 81-80 
 47 
 51 
 
 45 
 67 
 50 
 55 
 
 46 
 59 
 59 
 63 
 18 
 12 
 
 5 
 
 142 
 
 129 
 
 130 
 4a 
 
IV 
 
 Deliveries on purchases of silver, 1891. 
 
 “ on purchases of silver, 1890-91. 
 
 “ on purchases of silver, 1878. 
 
 Deposit melting room. 
 
 “ weighing room... 
 
 Deposits and purchases of gold and silver. 
 
 DeSaussure, Henry William, Director. 
 
 Directors and Superintendents of Mints.... 
 
 Dollar of 1804, history of.. 
 
 “ standard, history of. 
 
 “ tra^e, history of. 
 
 Donations of old coins. 
 
 Double eagle of 1849, history of.. 
 
 Du Bois, William E., Assayer. 
 
 142 
 
 143 
 143 
 
 23 
 
 2i 
 
 134 
 
 101 
 
 101-111 
 
 04 
 
 32 
 
 01 
 
 09 
 
 06 
 
 121-123 
 
 Earnings of Mints and Assay offices. 
 
 Eckfeldt, Adam, Coiner.. " 
 
 “ George N., M. I)., Director.. 
 
 “ Jacob B., Assayer. 
 
 English coi ns..... ................ 
 
 “ silver tokens.. 
 
 Engravers and die-sinkers at the Mint. 
 
 Engraving dies.. 
 
 Egyptian coins. 
 
 Establishment of the Mint. 
 
 Estimated value of foreign coins (official table of) .. 
 
 Exports of silver, 1891........" 
 
 Extract from Constitution of the United States relating to coining. 
 
 “ from resolution of Congress relating to Mint. 
 
 “ from the Director’s last report. 
 
 138 
 115 
 
 103 
 
 128-120 
 55, 56 
 57 
 125 
 34 
 54 
 13 
 
 147-148 
 
 139 
 132 
 
 19 
 
 WO 
 
 Family coins (Grecian). 47 
 
 First silver dollar.15 
 
 First U. S. money coined.............,..........7"V. 15 
 
 Foreign coins, value of in United States Money (table of) !!1!!!11111111!11111!1!!1111111111! 147 
 
 Fox,Hon. Daniel M„ Superintendent. 108-109 
 
 French coins, Marie Antoinette, etc.. . . 54 
 
 German coins. 
 
 Glossary of Mint terms. I".""". 
 
 Gobrecht, Christian. 
 
 Gold and silver productions of the world..7.7.'.'.'.'.'ll...... llll.'.'l 
 
 “ coins ofOliver Cromwell.711.111111!!!!! 
 
 “ and silver coins manufactured at the Philadelphia Mint since its establish¬ 
 
 ment in 1792...‘. 81-89 
 
 “ and Silver bullion in the Mints and Assay Offices, 1891.......”...!!. .. ... .. ] 4 o 
 
 “ imports, 1891 . 439 
 
 “ exports, 1891 ......!!....!!!.!!!!! !11. .1111.7'.'.'.'..."!!! iks 
 
 “ and silver bars manufactured.7111 145 
 
 “ medalic ducat, head of Luther. !.!!!......!.!!!.! 55 
 
 Golden daric of Persia.'.'.'.'.'..'.'.'..1117117 45 
 
 Grecian coins. ..777.7!!!!77711!77!!111".77'1 44 
 
 Greek Republic.■■....!!!!!!."!!!!!!r."!!!.V.V"!!!!""."**."!"J”r"r 46 
 
 Gun Money of James II..11111.1.11.llllllllllllllllllllllll 57 
 
 Hamilton, Alexander. 92 
 
 Head of Jupiter Ammon (a specimen of). 47 
 
 “ of Minerva, with Greek helmet.!.... !!!.....! !!!!!! 55 
 
 Heraldic emblems. .'.'ll!!!!! 5 
 
 Historical sketch of first U. S. Mint.!!!!."..!1!.V!!!!.V.1111 !!!**!!!! 7-10 
 
 History of coinage, ancient and modern.7.1111 1-6 
 
 “ of present U. S. Mint.1....... ...111.1 18 
 
 Highest and lowest price of gold, New York. 149 
 
 Humor pictured in medals and coins. 5 
 
 Imports of silver, 1891. 449 
 
 Incidents of history on coins.'ll..H.H 4 
 
 Introduction. . . !!!!...'.".".'."!! 1-2 
 
 Japanese coins. 53 
 
 Jefferson, Thomas.90 91 
 
 “Joe” and half “ Joe ”.1. .1.... .1!!!!.'.'.... 11.1.1..'... 1 ’ 58 
 
 Kimball, James Putnam. 93 94 
 
 Key, William H., Assistant Engraver.1.!.'.'!!!!.' ’ng 
 
 Kneass, William, Engraver. )14 
 
 Knox, John Jay...!"...... !..!! 95-98 
 
Y 
 
 Language upon coins and medal9... 6 
 
 Leech, Edward O., Director...•• 96 
 
 Linderman, Henry Kichard, M. D. 104-108 
 
 Longacre, James B., Engraver. 115 
 
 List of Superintendents... 164 
 
 McClure, R. A., Curator .. 129 
 
 McCullough, Richard S. 123 
 
 Medals obtained at the Mint. 154-155 
 
 Melter and Refiner’s office. 23 
 
 Melters and Refiners of the Mint. 123,124 
 
 Melting rooms. 26 
 
 Metallic stock, Nov. 1 , 1891..- 141 
 
 Metallic money in Colonial times.*. 60 
 
 Mexican coins. 58 
 
 Minor coinage, 1891. 137 
 
 Money of Great Britain... 65 
 
 “ of the Chinese Empire. 51 
 
 “ “ French “ 64 
 
 “ “ German “ 55 
 
 “ “ Grecian “ 46 
 
 “ “ past and present. 1 
 
 “ “ Roman Empire. 46 
 
 “ “ time of Moses. 46 
 
 “ “ Turkish Empire. 46 
 
 “ “ United States. 61 
 
 Moore, Samuel, M. D„ Director. 102 
 
 Morgan, George T., Assistant Engraver. 128 
 
 Morris, Robert, diary of. 7 
 
 New York doubloon.. 61 
 
 Notes on the early history of the Mint . 7-10 
 
 Oak tree money. 
 
 Oliver Cromwell, cast of... 
 
 Operations, minor assay offices, 1891. 
 
 Oriental coins. 
 
 Our gold and silver. 
 
 Pacific coast coins.. 
 
 Paper and specie circulation, principal countries, 
 
 Parting ana refining. 
 
 Patterson,Robert, LL. D., Director. 
 
 “ Robert M., Director. 
 
 Pay-roll of first Mint. 
 
 Peale, Franklin, Coiner and Assayer. 
 
 Penny of William the Conqueror. 
 
 Parisian coins. 
 
 “ Peter ” the Eagle (Mint bird). 
 
 Pettit, Thomas M., Director. 
 
 Pine tree money. 
 
 Pollock, James, A. M., L.L. D., Director. 
 
 Portraiture upon coins. 
 
 Portuguese and Spanish coins.. 
 
 Pound sterling, Charles First. 
 
 Product of gold and silver in the world. 
 
 Profit on silver coinage. 
 
 Progress in coining. 
 
 60 
 142 
 35 
 50, 67 
 157 
 62 
 150 
 26 
 102 
 1U2 
 12 
 115 
 56 
 45 
 43 
 103 
 59 
 103 
 3 
 
 58 
 
 58 
 
 141 
 
 137 
 
 33 
 
 Rarity and condition of coins.. 
 
 Rare coins. 
 
 Relics. 
 
 Resolution of Congress establishing the Mint. 
 
 Richardson, John, Assayer. 
 
 “ Joseph, “ . 
 
 Rittenhouse, David, First Director.. 
 
 Rolling gold and silver. 
 
 Rolling room. 
 
 Roman coin, imperial. 
 
 Rules and regulations ot first Mint. 
 
 Rush, Beniamin, Treasurer. 
 
 Russian coins. 
 
 “ double rouble, head of Peter the Great. 
 Ryal or ropal of Queen Elizabeth. 
 
 178 
 180 
 42 
 11 
 130 
 130 
 101 
 20 
 28 
 46 
 15, 16 
 128 
 55 
 
 55 
 
 56 
 
 Scott, Robert, Engraver. 
 
 Scotch groat, of Robert Bruce. 
 “ pennies. 
 
 125 
 
 56 
 
 67 
 
VI 
 
 Selections of rare coins. 66,6f 
 
 Separating room. 26 
 
 Siamese coins..... 5# 
 
 Silver coins of the United States (see table)." 133 
 
 Silver, first American. 14 
 
 Snowden, Col. A Loudon, Coiner,Superintendent. 104 
 
 “ James Ross, L.L D., Superintendent... 104 
 
 Sovereign of Oliver Cromwell. 67 
 
 Standard weights. 130,13# 
 
 Steel, William'S. Coiner. 116 
 
 Steel plate of present Mint.. 13 
 
 Stock of money, principal countries. 146 
 
 Stock of U. S. coin, July 1, 1889. 15* 
 
 Table showing where the precious metals in the U. S. come from. 133 . 
 
 “ The temple sweepers,” Grecian coin. 49 
 
 The Carson Mint, Carson City, Nev. 17# 
 
 I he St. Louis Assay office. 164 
 
 The gold and silver eras. 151 
 
 1 The U. S. Assay office, Helena, Montana. 173 
 
 1 Che U. S. Assay office, Boise City, Idaho. 174 
 
 trade dollar, history of..’. 62 
 
 Twenty dollar gold pieceof 1849. 63 
 
 Turkish coins. 54 
 
 Tutt-le, Di. David K., Melter and Refiner..... 124 
 
 United States coins. 61 
 
 “ “ Mint first established. 4 
 
 “ Mint, San Francisco, Cal. 169 
 
 “ Mint at New Orleans. 163 
 
 “ “ Mint test for gold and silver. 153 
 
 “ “ Assay office, New York. 158 
 
 “ “ Branch Mint, Denver, Col. 17* 
 
 Visiting the mint. 2f 
 
 Voigt, Henry Coiner. 114 
 
 “ Widow’s mite,” history of.-. 68 
 
 World’s coinage. 148 
 
 Wright, Joseph, Engraver... 128 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Ancient coining press... 
 
 Ancient and modern Japanese gold coins. 
 
 Ancient Chinese coins. 
 
 Ancient Greek an<h Roman coins. 
 
 Ancient Jewish and Greek coins. 
 
 Automatic weighing scales. 
 
 Carson Mint, Carson City,Nev. 
 
 Casting Ingots. 
 
 Coining press. 
 
 Continental paper money. 
 
 Counting board. 
 
 Cutting machine. 
 
 Delicate scales. 
 
 Dies. 
 
 Drawing bench... 
 
 First United States Mint. 
 
 Hamilton, Alexander. 
 
 Indian Wampum. 
 
 Ingots. 
 
 Leech, E. O., (Director U.S. Mints) . 
 
 Milling Machine. 
 
 Morris, Robert (Financier). 
 
 Perfected coining press. 
 
 Planchet Strip. 
 
 Rolling machine. 
 
 Steam coining press. 
 
 Steel bullion vaults. 
 
 Transfer lathe. 
 
 Troy standard pound. weight. 
 
 United States gold coins. 
 
 United States silver coins. 
 
 United States copper coins. 
 
 United States Assay office, New York.......... 
 
 United States Assay office, Boise City, Idaho. 
 
 United States Branch Mint, Denver, Col.. 
 
 United States Mint, New Orleans, La. 
 
 United States Mint, San Francisco, Cal. 
 
 Washington coins andtnedals. 
 
 Weighing room scales . 
 
 33 
 
 ... Plate 53 
 .... Plate 55 
 .... Plate 61 
 ,m Plate 59 
 22 
 171 
 27 
 38 
 152 
 40 
 
 31 
 
 32 
 
 34 
 
 30 
 13 
 92 
 
 .... Plate 51 
 27 
 97 
 
 36 
 7 
 
 37 
 
 31 
 29 
 
 34 
 1 
 
 35 
 132 
 
 89 
 
 . Plate 9 
 
 .... (Plate 23 
 159 
 175 
 167 
 165 
 161 
 
 PI. 37, 39,41 
 21 
 
 GROUP No. 1. (In Bound Book.) 
 
 Boudinot, Elias...1 
 
 DeSaussune, Henry William.I 
 
 Eckert, George N;. 
 
 Moore, Samuel...... 
 
 Patterson, Robert.I 
 
 Patterson Robert Maskell.1 
 
 Rittenhouse, David. J 
 
 GROUP No. 2. (In Bound Book.) 
 
 Bosbyshell, Col. O. C. 
 
 Fox, Daniel M. ; .. 
 
 Linderman, Hon. Henry Richard. 
 
 Pettit, Thomas M. 
 
 Pollock, James. 
 
 Snowden, Hon. James Ross. 
 
 ISnowden, Col. Ai \oudon, 
 
STEEL VAULT^t’OR THE STORAGE OF BULLION. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 MONEY OF THE PAST AND PRESENT. 
 
 The need of a circulating medium of exchange has been* 
 acknowledged since the earliest ages of man. In the primeval 
 days, bartering was the foundation of commercial intercourse 
 between the various races; but this gave way in time, as ex¬ 
 changes increased. In the different ages many commodities 
 have been made to serve as money, —tin was used in an¬ 
 cient Syracuse and Britain; iron, in Sparta; cattle, in Rome 
 and Germany ; platinum, in Russia ; lead, in Burmah ; nails,, 
 in Scotland; silk, in China; cubes of pressed tea, in Tar¬ 
 tary ; salt, in Abyssinia ; slaves, amongst the Anglo Saxons; 
 tobacco, in the earliest settlements of Virginia; codfish, in. 
 New Foundland; bullets and wampum, in Massachusetts; 
 logwood, in Campeachy; sugar, in the West Indies; and 
 soap, in Mexico. Money of leather and wood was in cir¬ 
 culation in the early days of Rome; and the natives of Siam, 
 Bengal, and some parts of Africa used the brilliantly-coloreds 
 cowry shell to represent value, and some travelers allege that it 
 is still in use in the remote portions of the last-named country. 
 But the moneys of all civilized nations have been, for the greater 
 part, made of gold, silver, copper, and bronze. Shekels of silver 
 are mentioned in the Bible as having existed in the days of 
 Abraham, but the metals are believed to have been in bars, from 
 whfch proportionate weights were chipped to suit convenience. 
 The necessity for some convenient medium having an intrinsic- 
 value of its own led to coinage, but the exact date of its intro¬ 
 duction is a question history has not yet determined. It is 
 supposed the Lydians stamped metal to be used as money twelve 
 hundred years before Christ, but the oldest coins extant were 
 made 800 B. C., though it is alleged that the Chinese cir¬ 
 culated a square bronze coin as early as 1120 B. C. All of 
 these coins were rude and shapeless, and generally engraved with 
 representations of animals, deities, nymphs, and the like; but 
 the Greeks issued coins, about 300 B. C., which were fine 
 specimens of workmanship, and which are not even surpassed 
 in boldness and beauty of design by the products of the coiners, 
 of these modern times. Even while these coins were in circu¬ 
 lation spits and skewers were accepted by the Greeks in ex¬ 
 change for products, just as wooden and metal coins were cir* 
 
2 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 culated simultaneously in Rome, 700 B. C., and leather and 
 metal coins in France, as late as 1360 A. D. The earliest coins 
 bearing portraits are believed to have been issued about 480 
 B. C., and these were profiles. In the third century, coins 
 stamped with Gothic front faces were issued, and after that date 
 a profusion of coins were brought into the world,as every self- 
 governing city issued money of its own. The earliest money 
 of America was coined of brass, in 1612, and the earliest colo¬ 
 nial coins were stamped in Massachusetts, forty years later. 
 
 Ancient and extensive as the use of money lias been in all its 
 numerous forms and varied materials, it merely represented a 
 property value which had been created by manual labor and pre¬ 
 served by the organic action of society. In a primitive state, 
 herds of cattle and crops of grain were almost the only forms of 
 wealth ; the natural tendency and disposition of men to accumu¬ 
 late riches led them to fix a special value upon the metals, as a 
 durable and always available kind of property. When their value 
 in this way was generally recognized, the taxes and other revenues, 
 created by kings and other potentates, was collected in part or 
 wholly in that form of money. The government, to facilitate 
 public business, stamped the various pieces of metal with their 
 weight and quality, as they were received at the Treasury; and 
 according to these stamps and marks, the same pieces were paid 
 out of the Treasury, and circulated among the people at an au¬ 
 thorized and fixed value. The next step was to reduce current 
 prices of metal to a uniform size, shape, and quality, value and 
 denomination, and make them, by special enactment, a legal 
 tender for the payment of all taxes or public dues. 
 
 Thus, a legalized currency of coined money was created, and 
 the exchangeable value of the various metals used for that pur¬ 
 pose fully established, to the great convenience of the world at 
 large. 
 
 Ancient Coining. 
 
 The die for the obverse of the piece to be struck having been 
 engraved, so as to properly pi esent the religious or national 
 symbol used for a device and whatever else was to be impressed 
 upon the coin, was fixed immovably in an anvil or pedestal, face 
 upwards. The lumps or balls of metal to be coined, having 
 been made of a fixed and uniform weight and nearly of an 
 oblate sphere in form, were grasped in a peculiarly constructed 
 pair of tongs and laid upon the upturned die. A second oper¬ 
 ative then placed a punch squarely upon the ball of metal; 
 heavy blows from a large hammer forced the punch down until 
 the metal beneath it had been forced into every part of the die, 
 and a good impress secured. In the meantime the punch 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 3 
 
 would be imbedded in the lump of metal, and on being with¬ 
 drawn the reverse of the coin would show a rough depression 
 corresponding to the shape given the end of the punch, thereby 
 making an uneven surface and disfiguring the piece; punch 
 marks gradually developed into forms, and these forms combined 
 with figures wrought into artistic design, until, by degrees, the 
 punch itself became a die, making the reverse of each piece 
 upon which it was used equal in every respect to the obverse 
 of which it was the opposite. This perfection of the reverse 
 was, however, secured at the expense of the effectiveness of the 
 punch for its original purpose. 
 
 The striking of coin between two dies, which were required to 
 accurately oppose each other, was an operation requiring great 
 dexterity, and the results were not at all certain. The artisans 
 at this stage of the work, hit upon the expedient of using both 
 the obverse and reverse die in a ring of such a size and depth, 
 as to be a guide to each of them. The balls or disks of metal 
 being struck inside the ring, between the dies, were forced to 
 assume an even thickness, and a circular form corresponding 
 with the inside of the ring. After the ring had been used in 
 this way for some time, it was engraved upon the inside, and 
 the coins produced were not only circular in shape, but stamped 
 upon their edges. Thus was produced the perfect coin, and 
 through the introduction of machinery has secured uniformity 
 in the result and saved an immense amount of labor in striking 
 vast sums of money ; the artistic beauty of some of the antique 
 specimens has not been surpassed in modern times. 
 
 Portraiture upon Coins. 
 
 It is said that no human head was ever stamped upon coins 
 until after the death of Alexander the Great; he being regarded 
 as somewhat of a divinity, his effigy was impressed upon money, 
 like that of other gods. 
 
 The knowledge of coins and medals, through the inscriptions 
 and devices thereon, is, to an extent, a history of the world 
 from that date in which metals were applied to such uses. 
 Events engraven upon these, remain hidden in tombs or buried 
 in the bosom of the earth, deposited there in ages long past, by 
 careful and miserly hands, only awaiting the research of the pa¬ 
 tient investigator to tell the story of their origin. Numismatic 
 treasures are scanned as evidence of facts to substantiate state¬ 
 ments upon papyrus or stone, and dates are often supplied to de¬ 
 fine the border line between asserted tradition and positive his¬ 
 tory. Gibbon remarks: “If there were no other record of 
 Hadrian, his career would be found written upon the coins of 
 his reign." 
 
4 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The rudeness or perfection of coins and medals furnish testi¬ 
 mony of the character and culture of the periods of their produc¬ 
 tion. This is equally true of that rarest specimen of antiquity, 
 the Syracusan silver medal—the oldest known to collectors—and 1 
 the latest triumph of the graver’s art in gold, the Metis medal. 
 
 It is not generally known that the rarest portraits of famous 
 heroes are found upon coins and medals. The historian, es¬ 
 pecially the historic artist, is indebted to this source alone for 
 the portraits of Alexander, Ptolemy, Cleopatra, Mark Antony, 
 Caesar, and many other celebrities. Perhaps the valuation of 
 a, rare coin or medal may be estimated by reference to one piece- 
 in the Philadelphia Mint. It is an Egyptian coin as large as ; 
 a half-eagle, and has on the obverse the head of the wife of 
 Ptolemy—Arsinoe—the only portrait of her yet discovered. 
 
 Incidents of History 
 
 Are not alone recorded; and as an example of a very different 
 nature may be cited the medals commemorating the destruction 
 of Jerusalem, and the whole series marking that episode, es¬ 
 pecially those classed “Judasa capta.” They tell sadly of a 
 people s humiliation : the tied or chained captive ; the mocking 
 goddess of victory, all made more real by reason of the intro* 
 duction, on the reverse of each piece, of a Jewess weeping 
 bitterly, and though she sits under a palm-tree, the national 
 lament of another captivity is forcibly recalled. 
 
 An interesting specimen of the series above mentioned was- 
 recently found in the south of France called, “ Judgea Na- 
 villas,” valuable particularly because it strengthens Josephus’s 
 assertion which had provoked some comment, viz. : the fact of 
 the escape of a large number of Jews from the Romans, by 
 means of ships, at Joppa. 
 
 Coins and medals mark the introduction of laws; for 
 example, an old Porcian coin gives the date of the “ law of 
 appeal,” under which, two centuries and a half later, Paul 
 appealed to Cassar. Another relic dates the introduction of 
 the ballot-box; and a fact interesting to the agriculturist is 
 established by an old silver coin of Ptolemy, upon which a 
 man is represented cutting millet (a variety of India* corn) 
 w ] th a scythe. Religions have been promulgated by coins. 
 Islam ism. says upon a gold coin, “No God but God Mo¬ 
 hammed is the Prophet and God’s chosen apostle.” 
 
 Persian coins, in mystic characters, symbolize the dreadful 
 sacrifices of the Fire-Worshippers. Henry VIII, with charac¬ 
 teristic egotism, upon a medal announces in Hebrew, Greek, 
 and Latin: “Henry Eighth, King of England, France, and 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 5 
 
 Ireland; Defender of the Faith, and in the land of England 
 and Ireland, under Christ, the Supreme Head of the Church.” 
 
 Costumes on Coins. 
 
 We also find stamped upon coins and medals the costumes 
 of all ages, from the golden net confining the soft tresses of the 
 “ sorceress of the Nile,” and the gemmed robe of Queen Irene, 
 to the broidered stomacher of Queen Anne, and the stately ruff 
 of Elizabeth of England. 
 
 In this connection may be mentioned the “bonnet piece ” of 
 Scotland, a coin of the reign of James VI., which is extremely 
 rare, one of them having been sold for <£41. The coin received 
 its name from a representation of the king upon it, with a 
 curiously plaited hat or bonnet which this monarch wore, a 
 fashion that gave occasion for the ballad, “ Blue Bonnets over 
 fhe Border.” 
 
 Heraldic Emblems 
 
 Are faithfully preserved through this medium; in truth, 
 medalic honors may be claimed as the very foundation of 
 heraldic art. We discover medals perpetuating revolutions, 
 sieges, plots, and murders, etc. We prefer directing attention 
 to the fact that coins and medals are not only the land-marks 
 of history, but a favorite medium of the poetry of all nations. 
 Epics are thus preserved by the graver’s art in exceedingly 
 small space. Poets turn with confidence to old coins for symbol 
 us well as fact. 
 
 One of the most graceful historical allusions is conveyed in 
 the great seal of Queen Anne, after the union of Scotland with 
 England. A rose and a thistle are growing on one stem, while, 
 from above, the crown of England sheds effulgence upon the 
 fender young plant. 
 
 Humor Pictured on Medals. 
 
 The medal of George I., on the reverse, boastfully presents 
 
 the horse of Brunswick” flying over the northwest of Europe, 
 symbolizing the Planoverian succession. The overthrow of the 
 “Invincible Armada” was the occasion of a Dutch medal, 
 showing the Hollanders richer in faith than in art culture, for 
 the obverse of this medal presents the church upon a rock, in 
 mid-ocean, while the reverse suggests the thought that the 
 luckless Spanish mariner was driving against the walls of the 
 actual building. 
 
 Architecture indebted to Coins. 
 
 Architecture is largely indebted to coins, medals, and seals 
 Tor accuracy and data. We learn from the medal of Septimus 
 
6 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Severus the faultless beauty -of the triumphal arch erected t$ 
 celebrate his victory over Arabs and Parthians. This meda! 
 was produced two centuries before the Christian era, and is a 
 marvel of art, for its perspective is wrought in bas-relief—an 
 achievement which was not again attained before the execution 
 of the celebrated Bronze Gates by Ghiberti, for the Baptistery 
 at Florence,' A. D. 1425. This exhumed arch was excavated 
 long after its form and structure were familiar to men of letterr 
 through the medals. 
 
 Language upon Coins and Medals. 
 
 The effect of coin on language is direct, and many words 
 may be found whose origin Avas a coin, such as Daric, a pure 
 gold coin; Talent, mental ability; Sterling, genuine, pure; 
 while Guinea represents the aristocratic element, and, though 
 out of circulation long ago, “ no one who pretends to gentility 
 in England would think of subscribing to any charity or fash¬ 
 ionable object by contributing the vulgar pound. An extra 
 shilling added to the 'pound makes the guinea , and lifts the 
 subscriber at once into the aristocratic world.” 
 
 Copper is much preferred to gold for medals. Its firm, un¬ 
 changing surface accepts and retains finer lines than have yet 
 been produced upon gold and silver, and it offers no temptation 
 to be thrown into the crucible.* 
 
 In the preparation of this work, I am much indebted to 
 Honorable E. 0. Leech, Director of the United States Mint; 
 also, to the late R. Coulton Davis, Ph. G., and to E. Locke 
 Mason, acknowledged authorities on the subject of numismatics. 
 
 If it shall be found useful to the public, and especially to 
 visitors of the Mint, it will be a source of satisfaction, and 
 more than repay the labor bestowed in its preparation. 
 
 G. G. E. 
 
 Philadelphia , March 1 , 1892. 
 
 * Collectors estimate the loss to numismatography as very great by reason of the temp¬ 
 tation the gold possesses for hoarding, and they are possibly the only class of people wht 
 have any apology to offer for the miser. Yet the world is debtor to this despised habit 
 for some of its most invaluable specimens of art, and important corroborative history 
 of the old world. 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 The subject of a National Mint for the United States was 
 first introduced by Robert Morris,* the patriot and financier 
 of the revolution; as head of the Finance Department, Mr. 
 Morris was instructed by Congress to prepare a report on the 
 foreign coins, then in circulation in the United States. On the 
 15th of January, 1782, he laid before Congress an exposition of 
 the whole subject. Accompanying this report was a plan for 
 American coinage. But it was mainly through his efforts, in 
 connection with Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton,, 
 that a mint was established in the early history of the Union 
 of the States. On the 15th of April, 1790, Congress in¬ 
 structed the Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, 
 to prepare and report a proper plan for the establishment of a 
 National Mint, and Mr. Hamilton presented his report at the 
 next session. An act was framed establishing the mint, which 
 finally passed both Houses and received President Washington’s 
 approval April 2, 1792.f 
 
 NOTES ON THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE MINT. 
 
 From Robert Morris’s Diary. 
 
 1781. July 16th. Wrote to Mr. Dudley at Boston inviting him hither 
 in consequence of the Continental Agent Mr. Bradford’s Letter respecting 
 him referred to me by Congress. 
 
 July 17th. Wrote Mr. Bradford respecting Mr. Dudley. 
 
 Nov. 10th. Ordered some money on application of Mr. Dudley to pay 
 his ex pences. 
 
 Nov. 12th. Sent for Mr Dudley to consult him respecting the quantity 
 of Alloy Silver will bear without being discoloured, he says he can put 6 
 drops into an ounce. Desired him to assay some Spanish. Dollars and 
 French Crowns, in order to know the quantity of pure Silver in each. 
 
 Nov. 16tli. Mr. Dudley assayed a number of Crowns and dollars for our 
 information respecting the Mint. 
 
 1782. Jan. 2d. Mr. Benjamin Dudley applied for money to pay his 
 Board which I directed to be paid by Mr. Swanwick, this gentleman is de¬ 
 tained at the public expence as a person absolutely necessary in the Mint, 
 which I hope soon to see established. My propositions on that subject are 
 to be submitted to Congress so soon as I can get the proper assays made on 
 Silver coins &c. 
 
 * Robert Morris was born in England, and came to America when he was thirteen 
 years old, (Sparks’ life of Governeur Morris.) 
 
 f During the Confederation the different States had the unquestioned right to coin 
 money, but only according to the standard of fineness, weight, and value, prescribe® 
 by the central government. 
 
 CO 
 
I 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 Jan. 7th. Mr. Dudley applies about getting his wife from England. I 
 promised him every assistance in my power.* 
 
 Jan. 18th. I went to Mr. Gouvr Morris’s Lodging to examine the plan 
 we had agreed on, and which we had drawn up respecting the Establish¬ 
 ment of a Mint, we made some alterations and amendments to my satisfac¬ 
 tion and from a belief that this is a necessary and salutary measure. I 
 have ordered it copied to be sent into Congress". 
 
 Jan. 26th. Mr. Dudley applied for money to pav his Lodgings &c. I 
 ordered Mr. Swanwick to supply him with fifty dollars, informed him that 
 -the Plan of a Mint is before Congress, and when passed, that he shall be 
 directly employed, if not agreed to by Congress, I shall compensate him 
 for his time &c. 
 
 Feb. 26th. Mr. Benjamin Dudley brought me the rough drafts or plan 
 
 for the rooms of a Mint &c. I desired him to go to Mr. Whitehead Hum¬ 
 phreys to consult him about Screws, Smithwork &c. that will be wanted for 
 the Mint, and to bring me a list thereof with an estimate of the Cost. 
 
 Feb 28th. Mr. Dudley informs me that a Mr. Wheeler, a Smith in the 
 Country, can make the Serews, Rollers &c. for the Mint. Mr. Dudley pro¬ 
 poses the Dutch Church, that which is now unoccupied, as a place suitable 
 for the Mint, I sent him to view it, & he returns satisfied that it will answer, 
 •wherefore I must enquire about it. 
 
 March 22d. Mr. Dudley and Mr. Wheeler came and brought with them 
 -some Models of the Screws and Rollers necessary for the Mint. I found 
 Mr. Wheeler entertained some doubts respecting one of these Machines 
 which Mr. Dudley insists will answer the purposes and says he will be 
 -responsible for it I agreed with Mr. Wheeler that he should perform the 
 work; and, as neither he or I could judge of the value that ought to be 
 ipaid for it, he is to perform the same agreeable to Mr. Dudley’s directions, 
 and when finished, we are to have it valued by some Honest Man, judges 
 •of such work, he mentioned Philip Syng, Edwd. Duffield, William' Rush 
 •and all of whom I believe are good judges and very honest men, 
 therefore I readily agreed to this proposition. And I desired Mr. Dudley 
 to consult Mr. Rittenhouse and Francis Hopkinson Esquire, as to the 
 Machine or Wheel in dispute, and let me have their opinion. 
 
 March 23d. Mr. Dudley called to inform me that Mr. Rittenhouse & 
 Mr. Hopkinson agree to his plan of the Machine &c. 
 
 April 12th. Mr. Dudley wants a horse to go up to Mr. Wheelers &c. 
 
 * The following, from the Morris Papers, serve to illustrate this subject: 
 
 “ 1.—Robt. Morris to Richard Yates. 
 
 „ s “ Piiilad’a, Jan. 23, 1782. 
 
 „ the request of a very honest Man who seems much distressed for the welfare of 
 his wife, now in London, I beg to trouble you with the enclosed Lei ter, praying that 
 you will forward it, and if in consequence thereof Mrs. Dudley should come to New 
 Aork > 1 be S $ f y° u t0 procure Liberty for her to come to her Husband at this place 
 the money for her Passage and reasonable expenses in New York, which must be 
 reasonable as possible, she may draw upon her Husband, Mr. Benjamin Dudley, and 
 I engage that the Draft shall be pam. I shall thank you for your attention to this 
 poor Lady when she arrives, and remain Sir, 
 
 “vour most obedient and 
 “humble servant 
 
 “Robert Morris.” 
 
 “Sir, 
 
 “2.—Robt. Morris to the Commissary General op Prisoners. 
 
 “ Philad’a, Jan. 23, 1782. 
 
 “I send herewith an open letter for Mr. Richard Yates containing one for Mrs Dud- 
 „ ley in London, from her Husband now here. I wish these may be safely delivered t« 
 Yates, and therefore pray you to send them into New York, by some person that 
 'will not only promise, but perform the delivery of them. I am Sir, 
 
 “ your most obedient and 
 “ humble servant 
 
 “Robert Morris." 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 9 
 
 May 20th. Mr. Dudley wrote me a Letter this day and wanted money. 
 I directed Mr. Swanwick to supply him, and then disired him to view the 
 Mason’s Lodge to see if it would Answer for a Mint, which he thinks it 
 will, I desired him to go up to Mr. Wheelers to see how he goes on with 
 .the Rollers &c. 
 
 June 17th. Mr. Dudley applied for money to pay his Bill. I directed 
 Mr. Swanwick to supply him. 
 
 June 18ih. Issued a warrant in favor of B. Dudley £7.11.6. 
 
 July loth. Mr. B. Dudley applied for money, he is very uneasy for want 
 ■ of employment, and the Mint in which he is to be employed and for 
 which I have engaged him, goes on so slowly that I am also uneasy at 
 having this gentleman on pay and no work for him. He offered to go and 
 assist Mr. Byers to establish the Brass Cannon Foundry at Springfield. I 
 advised to make that proposal to Genl. Lincoln and inform me the resu't 
 to-morrow.* * 
 
 July 16th. Mr. B. Dudley to whom I gave an order on Mr. Swanwi 
 for fifty dollars, and desired him to seek after Mr. Wheeler to know whethei 
 the Rollers &c. are ready for him to go to work on rolling the copper for 
 the Mint. 
 
 August 22d. Mr. Sami. Wheeler who made the Rollers for the Mint, 
 applies for money. 1 had a good deal of conversation with this ingenious 
 gentleman. 
 
 August 26th. Mr. Dudley called and pressed very much to be set at work. 
 
 Sept 3d. Mr. B. Dudley applied for a passage for his Friend Mr. 
 Sprague, pr. the Washington to France & for Mrs. Dudley back. Mr. 
 Wheeler applied for money which I promised in a short time. 
 
 Sept. 4th. Mr. Wheeler for money. I desired him to leave his claim 
 with Mr. McCall Secretary in this office, and I will enable the discharge 
 of his notes in the Bank when due. 
 
 Novr. 8th. Mr. Dudley applies for the amount of his Bill for Lodgings 
 and Diet &c. and I directed Mr. Swanwick to pay him, but am very uneasy 
 that the Mint is not going on. 
 
 Dec. 23d. Mr. Dudley and Mr. Wilcox brought the subsistance paper, 
 and I desired Mr. Dudley to deliver 4000 sheets to Hall and Sellers, f 
 
 * This letter will illustrate this subject: 
 
 Robert Morris to the Rev. William Gordon, D. D. 
 
 [From the Morris Papers.] 
 
 M Sir, “Philad’a 25th July, 1782. 
 
 “ lu consequence of your Letter of the nineteenth of June, I sent for Mr. Dudley, 
 “told him the information you had so kindly given to me, and assured him of my desire 
 “to make him easy and happy. The business in which he is intended to be employed, 
 “is like many other important matters, retarded by the tediousness of the States in 
 “supplying the Continental Treasury. 
 
 “ The Hon’ble Secretary at War has commenced a correspondence with General Gates 
 “ at my request, which I think, will produce what he wishes. Be assured that I take 
 “ particular pleasure in promoting the interest and happiness of worthy men, and that 
 “ I am with great esteem Sir, 
 
 “ your most obedient 
 “and humble Servant, 
 
 “Robert Morris." 
 
 j- This letter will illustrate this matter: 
 
 Robert Morris to Benjamin Dudley. 
 
 [From the Morris Papers.] 
 
 * Sir, “ Office of Finance, 29 Novr., 1782. 
 
 “You will herewith receive the Form for making a particular kind of Paper—You 
 “are to proceed to the Paper Mill of Mr. Mark Wilcox, in Ash Town Chester County, 
 “who has the Stuff prepared, and there to superintend the making of sundry reams of 
 “Paper upon this Form—in doing of which you are to be particularly careful not to 
 “leave it in the power of any person or persons to make any paper upon this Form 
 “without your immediate Inspection. 
 
 “You are to attend the Workmen constantly whilst they are at work, and when you 
 ¥ retire from the Mill upon any occasion you are to take the Form with you. You are 
 “to count the Paper as it is made sheet by sheet and when you have finished the whole, 
 ■'you are to bring it to me together with the Form. I am Sir, 
 
 “Your most obedient servant, 
 
 “Robert Morris.” 
 
10 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 Deer. 26th. Mr. Hall the printer brought 100 Sheets of the subsistence 
 notes thi° day. and desired that more paper might be sent to his Printing 
 Office, accordingly I sent for Mr. Dudley and desired him to deliver the 
 same from time to time, until the whole shall amount to 4000 Sheets. 
 
 _ 1783. April 2d. I sent for Mr. Dudley who delivered me a piece of 
 Silver Coin, being the first that has been struck as an American Coin. 
 
 April 16th. Sent for Mr. Dudley and urged him to produce the Coins 
 to lay before Congress to establish a Mint. 
 
 April 17th. Sent for Mr. Dudley to urge the preparing of Coins &c for 
 Establishing a Mint. 
 
 April 22d. Mr. Dudley sent in several Pieces of Money as patterns of 
 the intended American Coins. 
 
 May 6th. Sent for Mr. Dudley and desired him to go down to Mr. Mark 
 Wilcox’s, to see 15,000 Sheets of paper made fit to print my Notes on. 
 
 May 7th. This day delivered Mr. Dudley the paper Mold for making 
 paper, mark’d United States, and dispatched him to Mr. Wilcok’s, but was 
 obliged to advance him 20 dollars. 
 
 May 27th. I sent for Mr. Dudley to know if he has compleated the paper 
 at Mr. Wilcock’s paper mill for the Certificates intended for the pay of the 
 Army. He says it is.made, but not yet sufficiently dry for the print* rs use. 
 I desired him to repair down to the Mill and bring it up as soon as possible. 
 
 May 28th. Mr. Whitehead Humphreys to offer his lot and buildings for 
 erecting a Mint. 
 
 July 5th. Mr. Ben.jn. Dudley gave notice that, he has received back 
 from Messrs. Hall and Sellers the Printers, three thousand sheets of the 
 last paper made by Mr. Wilcocks. I desired him to bring it to this office. 
 He also informs of a Minting Press being in New York for sale, and urges 
 me to purchase it for the use of the American Mint. 
 t July 7th. Mr. Dudley respecting the Minting Press, but I had not 
 time to see him. 
 
 August 19th. I sent for Mr. Benjamin Dudley, and informed him of 
 my doubts about the establishment of a Mint, and desired him to think of 
 some employment in private service, in which I am willing to assist him 
 all in my power. I told him to make out an account for the services h« 
 had performed for the public, and submit at the Treasury office for inspec¬ 
 tion and settlement. 
 
 August 30th. Mr. Dudley brought the dies for Coining in the American 
 Mint. 
 
 Sept. 3d. Mr. Dudley applies for money for his expenses which I agree 
 to supply, but urge his going into private business. 
 
 Sept. 4th. Mr. Dudley for money, which is granted. Directed him to 
 make three models for constructing Dry- 
 
 Nov. 21st. Mr. Dudley applies for money. He says he was at half a 
 guinea a week and his expenses borne when he left Boston to come about the 
 Mint, and he thinks the public ought to make that good to him. I desired 
 him to write me and I will state his claims to Congress. 
 
 Nov. 26th. Mr. Dudley for money, which was granted. 
 
 Dec. 17th. Mr. Dudley with his account for final settlement. I re 
 f'erred him to Mr. Milligan. 
 
 1784. Jan. 5th. Mr. Dudley applies for a Certificate of the Time 
 which he was detained in the public service. I granted him one ac¬ 
 cordingly. 
 
 Jan 7th. Mr. Dudley after the settlement of his account, which I com¬ 
 pleted by signing a warrant. 
 
[Fac simile of original, photo-engraved by Levy type Company. 3 
 -- 
 
 Congrefs of the United States: 
 
 AT THE THIRD SESSION, 
 
 Begun and held at the City of Philadelphia, on. 
 Monday the lixth of December, one thou- 
 fand feven hundred and ninety. 
 
 R ESOLVED hy the Senate and House of Representatives of 
 ' the United States of America in Congrefs affembled , That a mint 
 (hall be eitabliihed under fuch regulations as ihallbe dire&edby law* 
 
 Refolded, That the Prefident of the United States be, and he is 
 hereby authorized to caufe to be engaged, fuch principal artifts as 
 (hall be neceffary to carry the preceeding refolution into effect, and to 
 ftipulate the terms and conditions of their fervice, and alfo to caufe to 
 be procured fuch apparatus as ihallbe requifite for the fame purpofe. 
 
 EREDERICK AUGUSTUS MUHLENBERG, 
 
 Speaker of the Houfe of Reprefentat’wes . 
 
 JOHN ADAMS, Tue-Prefdent of the United States, 
 and Prefdent of the Senate . 
 
 Approved, March the third, 1791. 
 
 GEORGE WASHINGTON, Prefident of the United States* 
 
 Deposited among the Rolls in the Oeiice of the Secretary 
 of State. 
 
 
12 
 
 ILLUrTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 The following is a copy of an old pay roll, framed and hanging wpon tAe will ef 
 
 the Cabinet. 
 
 In ames and Salaries of the Officers, Clerks, and Workmen 
 Employed at the Mint the 10th October, 1795. 
 
 Henry Wm. DeSaussure, Director.@ 2,000 Drs. per Ann 
 
 Nicholas Way, Treasurer.. "" 1,200 “ “ 
 
 Henry Voigt, Chief Coin«r.. 1^500 “ “ 
 
 Albion Cox, Assayer... 1 500 “ “ 
 
 Robert Scott, Engraver.. 1*200 “ “ 
 
 David Ott, Melter ana Refiner pro tem. 1^200 “ “ 
 
 Nathaniel Thomas,, Clerk to the Treasurer. 700 “ “ 
 
 Isaac Hough, ditto to Director and Assayer. 500 “ “ 
 
 Lodewyk S'navp, ditto to Chief Coiner. 500 “ * 
 
 John 3. Gardiner, Assistant Engraver. 936 “ u 
 
 AasuiJ Eckfeldt, Die Forger and Turner. 500 “ 
 
 Workmen Employed in Chief Coiner's Department. 
 
 Wages per day. L>ol) Jta 
 
 yohn Schreiner, Chief Pressman. 1 80 
 
 John Cope, Cliief Adjuster. 1 60 
 
 William Haylev, Roller. 1 40 
 
 Nicholas Sinderling, Annealer. 1 40 
 
 John Ward, Miller... 1 20 
 
 Joseph Germon, Drawer. 1 20 
 
 Lewis Laurenger, Brusher. 1 20 
 
 Henry Voigt, Junr, Adjuster. 88 
 
 Sarah Waldrake, ditto. 50 
 
 Rachael Summers, ditto. 50 
 
 Lervis Bitting, ditto. 1 20 
 
 Lawrence Ford, ditto. 1 20 
 
 Christopher Baum, Pressman. 1 
 
 John Keyser, ditto. 1 
 
 Frederick Bauck, ditto. 1 
 
 Barney Miers, Cleaner. 1 
 
 Martin Summers, Doorkeeper. 1 
 
 Adam Seyfert, Hostler. 1 
 
 John Bay, Boy. 66 
 
 Workmen Employed at the Furnace of the Mint. 
 
 Peter LaChase, Melter. 1 60 
 
 George Myers, ditto. 1 50 
 
 Eberhart Klumback, ditto. 1 40 
 
 Patrick Ryan, Filer. 1 25 
 
 Valentine Flegler, Labourer. 1 25 
 
 Andrew Brunet, ditto. 1 
 
 William Rvan, ditto. 1 
 
 Endorsed in two places, “Names and Salaries of the Officers, Clerk# and ' 
 Workmen employed in the Mint the 10th Oct. 1795.” 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 13 
 
 THE PHILADELPHIA MINT. 
 
 THE FIRST MINT IN THE UNITED STATES, ERECTED IN 1792 . 
 
 cions usually effect changes in its directorship, with hut slight 
 interference, however, with the other officials, as those of at¬ 
 tainments, skill, and long experience in the professional 1 
 branches, required to intelligently perform the various duties 
 assigned, are few in all countries. Those occupying positions 
 are chosen for their proficiency in the various departments, 
 their characters being always above question. The confidence 
 repo.W in the officials of the United States Mint has never 
 bf~*' violated, us, for nearly a century of its operations, no 
 
 The popular estimation in which the Mint is held in the 
 United States, is, for obvious reasons, more distinctively 
 marked than that entertained for other public institutions. 
 Its position, in a financial point of view, is so important, its use 
 so apparent, and its integrity of management so generally con¬ 
 ceded, that it enjoys a pre-eminence and dignity beyond that 
 accorded to general governmental departments. Party muta- 
 
14 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 shadow of suspicion has marred the fair name of any identified 
 with its history. 
 
 The need of a mint in the Colonies was keenly felt to be a 
 serious grievance against England for years before the Revolu¬ 
 tion, and as soon as practicable after the establishment ot Inde¬ 
 pendence, the United States Mint was authorized by an Act 
 f Congress—April 2, 1792, 
 
 A lot of ground was purchased on Seventh Street near 
 ^rch, and appropriations were made for erecting the requisite 
 buildings. An old still-house, which stood on the lot, had 
 first to be removed. In an account book of that time we find 
 an entry on the 31st of July, 1792, of the sale of some old 
 materials of the still-house for seven shillings and sixpence, 
 which “ Mr. Rittenhouse directed should be laid out for punch, 
 in laying the foundation stone. * _ .. 
 
 The first building erected in the United States foi public 
 use, under the authority of the Federal Government, was a 
 structure for the United States Mint. This was a plain brick 
 edifice, on the east side of Seventh street, near Arch, the 
 corner-stone of which was laid by David Rittenhouse, Director 
 of the Mint, on July 31, 1792. In the following October 
 operations of coining commenced. It was occupied for abou 
 forty years. On the 19th of May, 1829, an Act was passed by 
 Congress locating the United States Mint on its present site. 
 
 The first coinage of the United States, was silver half-dimes 
 in October, 1792, of which Washington makes mention in his 
 address to Congress, on November 6, 1792, as follows: " heie 
 
 has been a small beginning in the coinage of half-dimes; the 
 want of small coins in circulation, calling the first attention to 
 them.” The first metal purchased for coinage was six pounds 
 of old copper at one shilling and three pence per pound, which 
 was coined and delivered to the Treasurer, m 17 . ie is 
 
 deposit of silver bullion was made on July 18,1 1 94, by the Ban 
 of Maryland. It consisted of “ coins of France, amounting 
 to $80 715.731. The first returns of silver coins to the ireas- 
 urer, was made on October 15,1794. The first deposit of gold 
 bullion for coinage, was made by Moses Brown, merchant, of 
 Boston, on February 12, 1795; it was of gold ingots, worth 
 
 $2,276.72, which was paid for in silver coins. 
 
 The first return of gold coinage, was on July 31, 11^0, ana 
 consisted of 744 half eagles. The first delivery of eagles 
 in September 22, same year, and consisted of four hundred 
 
 pieces. _ 
 
 “UnU buildingis Still standing (MarctUl^) Nos. 37 and 39 North Seventh street, and 
 is occupied for various purposes. 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 19 
 
 The names of the officers of the Mint of the United States 
 &t this time, are as follows: 
 
 Doctor Samuel Moore, Director, 
 
 Adam Eckfeldt, Coiner, 
 
 Joseph Cloud, Melter and Refiner, 
 
 Joseph Richardson, Assayer, 
 
 Doctor James Rush, Treasurer, 
 
 Wm. Kneass, Engraver, 
 
 George Ehrenzelder, Clerk. 
 
 Mint of the United States, 
 Pluladelphia , March SO, 1838. 
 
 To Hon. Leyi Woodbury, 
 
 Secretary of the Treasury. 
 
 Sir:—I had the honor to receive your letter asking my 
 attention to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 
 United States, passed March 5, 1838, as follows : 
 
 Extract from Resolution of Congress relating to Mint. 
 
 “ Resolved , That the Secretary of the Treasury report to 
 this House the cost of erecting the principal Mint and its 
 branches, including buildings, fixtures, and apparatus; the 
 salaries and expenses of the different officers ; the amount ex¬ 
 pended in the purchase of bullion; the loss arising from wast¬ 
 age, and all other expenses; and the average length of time it 
 requires to coin at the principal Mint all the bullion with which 
 it can be furnished; and further, what amount of coin has been 
 struck at the several branch mints, since their organization.” 
 
 Mint of the United States, Philadelphia. 
 
 The cost of the edifice, machinery, and fixtures, was... $173,390 
 Ground, enclosure, paving, etc... 35,840 
 
 Total cost of buildings, etc... $209,230 
 
 This amount does not include expenditures made under spe¬ 
 cial appropriations for the years 1836 and 1837, for milling 
 and coining by steam power; and for extensive improvements 
 in the assaying, melting, and parting rooms, and machine shops, 
 amounting to $28,270. 
 
 It may be proper to mention that the Mint building is on 
 the best street in the city, is of large dimensions, with the 
 whole exterior of marble, and two Ionic porticos; and that the 
 machinery and apparatus are of the best construction. The 
 cost must therefore be considered as very moderate. The new 
 Mint lately erected by the British India Government at Cal¬ 
 cutta, cost 24 lacs of rupees, or about $1,138,000. 
 
20 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 The Director receives per annum. $3,500 
 
 Treasurer. 2,000 
 
 Chief Coiner. 2 000 
 
 Assay er. 2*000 
 
 Melterand Refiner. 2,000 
 
 Engraver. 2*000 
 
 Second Engraver. 1,500 
 
 Assistant Assay er. 1,300 
 
 Treasurer’s Clerk. 1,200 
 
 Bookkeeper. 1,000 
 
 Clerk of the weighing room. 1,200 
 
 Director’s Clerk. ’700 
 
 Total for salaries. $20,400 
 
 No expenses are allowed, beyond the above sums, to nnj 
 officer, assistant, or clerk, for the performance of his duties. 
 
 As all the gold and silver brought to the Mint is purchased 
 at the nett Mint price, there is no expense, properly so called, 
 incurred on this account. 
 
 R. M. PATTERSON, 
 
 Director of the Mint. 
 
 Previous to the passage of the law by the Federal government 
 for regulating the coins of the United States, much perplexity 
 arose from the use of no less than four different currencies or 
 rates, at which one species of coin was recoined, in the different 
 parts of the Union. Thus, in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, 
 Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, Virginia and Ken¬ 
 tucky, the dollar was recoined at six shillings; in New York 
 and North Carolina at eight shillings; in New Jersey, Pennsyl¬ 
 vania and Maryland at seven shillings and six pence; in 
 Georgia and South Carolina at four shillings and eight pence. 
 The subject had engaged the attention of the Congress of the old 
 confederation, and the present system of the coins is formed 
 upon the principles laid down in their resolution of 1786, by 
 which the denominations of money of account were required to 
 be dollars (the dollar being the unit), dismes or tenths, cents or 
 hundredths, and mills or thousandths of a dollar. Nothing can 
 be more simple or convenient than this decimal subdivision. 
 The terms are proper because they express the proportions 
 w hich they are intended to designate. The dollar Avas wiselv 
 chosen, as it corresponded with the Spanish coin, with which 
 we had been long familiar. 
 
 AUsiting the Mint. 
 
 The Mint, on Chestnut street near Broad, is open to the pub¬ 
 lic daily, excepting Sundays and holidays, from 9 to 12 A. M. 
 Visitors are met by the courteous ushers, who attend them through 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 21 
 
 the various departments. It is estimated that over forty thousand 
 persons have visited the institution in the course of a singie year. 
 Owing to the immense amount of the precious metals which is 
 always in course of transition, and the watchful care necessary 
 to a correct transaction of business, the public are necessarily 
 ■excluded from some of the departments. These, however, are 
 of but little interest to the many and are described under their 
 proper heads. The system adopted in the Mint is so precise and 
 the weighing so accurate, that the abstraction of the smallest 
 particle of metal would lead to almost immediate detection. 
 
 On entering the rotunda, the office of the Cashier is to the 
 right. Farther in, in the hall, to the rear, on the right, is 
 the room where the large silver bars are weighed, and still 
 further back a large vault, on which has been built a room in 
 which nickels and cents are counted. 
 
 The Deposit or Weighing-room. 
 
 On the left is the Deposit or Weighing-room, where all the 
 gold and silver for coining is received and first weighed. The 
 largest weight used in this room is five hundred ounces, the 
 
 SCALES. 
 
 ■smallest, is the thousandth part of an ounce. The scales are 
 wonderfully delicate, and are examined and adjusted every 
 morning. On the right in this room is one of the fifteen 
 
22 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY 01 
 
 vaults in the building. Of solid masonry, several of them are 
 iron-lined, with double doors of the same metal and most com¬ 
 plicated and burglar-proof locks. 
 
 It is estimated that about fifteen hundred million dollars 
 worth of gold has been received and weighed in this room; 
 probably nine-tenths of this amount was from California, since 
 its discovery there in the year 1848. Previous to that time 
 the supplies of gold came principally from Virginia, North 
 Carolina, and Georgia. During the past ten years considerable 
 quantities have been received from Nova Scotia, but most of 
 
 AUTOMATIC WEIGHING SC A EES. 
 
 the gold that reaches the Mint, at the present time, comes 
 from Montana, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, Dakota, 
 Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and New Mexico. 
 
 Formerly the silver used by the Mint came principally from 
 Mexico and South America, but since the discovery of the 
 immense veins of that metal in the territories of the United 
 States the supply is furnished from the great West. 
 
 The copper used comes principally from the mines of Lake 
 Superior, the finest from Minnesota. The nickel is chiefly 
 from Lancaster County, Pa. 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 28 
 
 The Deposit Melting Room. 
 
 After the metal has been carefully weighed in the presence 
 of the depositor and the proper officials, it is locked in iron 
 boxes and taken to the melting room, where it is opened by 
 two men, each provided with a key to one of the separate 
 locks. There are four furnaces in this room, and the first 
 process of melting takes place here. The gold and silver, 
 being mixed with borax and other fluxing material, is placed in 
 pots, melted and placed in iron moulds, and when cooled is 
 again taken to the deposit room in bars, where it is reweighed, 
 and a small piece cut from each lot by the Assayer. From 
 this the fineness of the whole is ascertained, the value calcu¬ 
 lated, and the depositor paid. All of the metal is kept in the 
 vault in the weigh-room until the end of the month and is 
 then transferred to the Melter and Refiner. 
 
 Office of the Melter and Refiner. 
 
 Adjoining the Deposit Melting Room are the Melter and 
 Refiner and assistants. This is the general business office of 
 the head of this department, and is also used for weighing the 
 necessary quantities of the metals used in alloying coin. 
 
 The Process of Assay. 
 
 The two essential things regarding every piece of metal 
 ©ffered in payment of any dues were, first, the weight or quan¬ 
 tity, next, the fineness or purity of the same. The process of 
 weighing even the baser metals used in coining must be con¬ 
 ducted by the careful use of accurate scales, with precise notes 
 of the results. In precious metals, gold, silver, and their high 
 grade alloys, & very small variation in the fineness makes a 
 great difference in the value. Nothing is more essential than 
 the accurate determination of the weight of the sample and of 
 the metal obtained from it. It requires keen sight and most 
 delicate adjustment in the hand which manipulates the Lillipu¬ 
 tian scales of an Assayer’s table. The smallest weight used 
 in the Mint is found in the Assay Room; it is the thirteen- 
 hundredth part of a grain, and can scarcely be seen with the 
 naked eye, unless on a white ground. The Assay Department 
 is strictly a technical and scientific branch of the service. It 
 has been practically under one regime, for the last fifty years. 
 There have been but three Chief Assayers in that time, the 
 only removals being by death, the only appointments by pro¬ 
 motion. Its workmen are all picked men, selected from other 
 parts of the Mint for special fitness and good character. 
 
24 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 The Assaying Rooms. 
 
 These are on the second floor, in the southwest corner of 
 the building. In one of these are fires, stills, and other ap¬ 
 pliances used in the delicate and complicated process of assay, 
 by which the specific standard of the fineness and purity of 
 the various metals are established and declared. 
 
 Assaying Gold. 
 
 The gold is melted down and stirred, by which a com¬ 
 plete mixture is effected, so that an assay piece may be 
 taken from any part of the bar after it is cast. The piece 
 taken for this purpose is rolled out for the convenience of 
 cutting. It is then taken to an assay balance (sensible to the 
 ten-thousandth of a half gramme or less), and from it is 
 weighed a half gramme, which is the normal assay weight for 
 gold, being about 7.7 grains troy. This weight is stamped 
 1000; and all the lesser weights (afterwards brought into 
 requisition) are decimal divisions of this weight, down to one 
 ten-thousandth part. 
 
 Silver is next weighed out for the quartation (alloying), and 
 as the assay piece, if standard, should contain 900-thousandths 
 of gold, there must be three times this weight, or 2700-thou- 
 .sandths of silver; and this is the quantity used. The lead 
 used for the cupellation is kept prepared in thin sheets, cut in 
 ■square pieces, which should each weigh about ten times as 
 much as the gold under assay. The lead is now rolled into 
 the form of a hollow cone; and into this are introduced the 
 assay gold and the quartation silver, when the lead is closed 
 around them and pressed into a ball. The furnace having been 
 properly heated, and the cupels placed in it and brought to 
 the same temperature, the leaden ball, with its contents, is put 
 into a cupel (a small cup made of burned bones, capable of 
 absorbing base metals), the furnace closed, and the operation 
 allowed to proceed, until all agitation is ceased to be observed 
 in the melted metal, and its surface has become bright. This 
 is an indication that the whole of the base metals have been 
 converted into oxides, and absorbed by the cupel. 
 
 The cupellation being thus finished, the metal is allowed to 
 ■cool slowly, and the disc or button which it forms is taken 
 from the cupel. The button is then flattened by a hammer; 
 is annealed by bringing it to a red heat; is laminated by 
 passing it between the rollers; is again annealed; and is rolled 
 loosely into a spiral or coil called a cornet. It is now ready 
 Tor the process of quartation. This was formerly effected in 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 25 
 
 a glass matrass, aud that mode is still used occasionally, when 
 there are few assays. But a great improvement, first introduced 
 into this country by the Assayer in 1867, was the—“plati¬ 
 num apparatus,” invented in England. It consists of a plati¬ 
 num vessel in which to boil the nitric acid, which is to dissolve 
 out the silver, and a small tray containing a set of platinum 
 thimbles with fine slits in the bottom. In these the silver is 
 taken out, by successive supplies of nitric acid, without any de¬ 
 canting as in the case of glass vessels. The cornets are also 
 annealed in the thimbles; in fact there is no shifting from the 
 coiling to the final weighing, which determines the fineness of 
 the original sample by proportionate weights in thousandths. 
 In this process extra care has to be taken in adding the pro ¬ 
 portions of silver, as the “shaking ” of any one cornet, might 
 damage the others. 
 
 Assaying Silver. 
 
 The process of assaying silver differs from that of gold. To 
 obtain the assay sample, a little of the metals is dipped from 
 the pot and poured quickly into water, producing a granu¬ 
 lation, from portions of which that needed for assay is taken. 
 In the case of silver alloyed with copper there is separation, to 
 a greater or less degree, between the two metals in the act of 
 solidification. Thus an ingot or bar, cooled in a mould, or any 
 single piece cut from either, though really 900-thousandths 
 fine on the average, will show such variations, according to the 
 place of cutting, as might exceed the limits allowed by law. 
 But the sudden chill produced by throwing the liquid metal 
 into water, yields a granulation of entirely homogeneous 
 mixture that the same fineness results, whether by assaying a 
 single granule, or part of one, or a number. 
 
 From this sample the weight of 1115 thousandths is taken; 
 this is dissolved in a glass bottle with nitric acid. The standard 
 solution of salt is introduced and chloride of silver is the result, 
 which contains of the metallic silver 1000 parts ; this is repeated 
 until the addition of the salt Avater shows but a faint trace of 
 chloride below the upper surface of the liquid. For instance : 
 if three measures of the decimal solution have been used with 
 effect, the result will show that the 1115 parts of the piece con¬ 
 tained 1003 of pure silver; and thus the proportion of pure 
 ailver in the whole alloyed metal is ascertained. Extensive 
 knowledge and experience are required in such matters as 
 making the bone-ash cupels, fine proof gold and silver, testing 
 acids, and other special examinations and operations. The 
 Assayer must, himself, be familiar with all the operations of 
 minting, as critical questions are naturally carried to him. 
 
26 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 The rendering of decisions upon counterfeit or suspicious coins 
 has long been a specialty in this department. Once a year the 
 President appoints a scientific commission to examine the coins 
 of the preceding year. There has never yet been a Philadelphia 
 coin found outside of the tolerance of fineness. 
 
 The Separating Room. 
 
 This department occupies the largest part of the west side of 
 the building, on the second floor. Here the gold and silver 
 used by the Mint in the manufacture of coin and fine bars are 
 separated from each other, or whatever other metals may be 
 mixed with them, and purified. It goes to this room aftei 
 having been once melted and assayed. In separating and puri¬ 
 fying gold, it is always necessary to add to it a certain quantity 
 of pure silver. The whole is then immersed in nitric acid, 
 which dissolves the silver into a liquid which looks like pure 
 water. The acid does not dissolve the gold, but leaves it pure. 
 The silver solution is then drawn off, leaving the gold at the 
 bottom of the tub. It is then gathered up into pans and 
 washed. 
 
 The silver in the condition in which it is received from the hands 
 of the depositor, and generally filled with foreign impurities, is 
 melted and then granulated, after which the whole mass is dis¬ 
 solved with nitric acid. The acid dissolves the base metals as 
 well as the silver. The liquid metals are then run into tubs pre¬ 
 pared for it, and precipitated, or rendered into a partially hard 
 state, by being mixed with common salt water.. After being 
 precipitated it is called “ chloride,” and resembles very closely 
 new slacked lime. By putting spelter or zinc on the precipi¬ 
 tated chloride, it becomes metallic silver, and only needs wash¬ 
 ing and melting to make the purest virgin metal. The base- 
 metals remain in a liquid state, and being of little value are 
 generally thrown away. The process of refining silver is of 
 two kinds; that of melting it with saltpetre, etc., which was 
 known some thousands of years since, and the modern process 
 of dissolving it in nitric acid, like the method of extracting it 
 from gold in the above described operation. 
 
 After the separating process has been completed, the gold 
 or silver is conveyed to the Drying Cellar, where it is put 
 under pressure of some eighty tons, and all the water pressed 
 out. It is then dried with heat, and afterwards conveyed in 
 large cakes to the furnaces. 
 
 The Melting Rooms. 
 
 are on the first floor, in the west side of the building. Here 
 all the metal used in coining is alloyed, melted and poured into- 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 27 
 
 INGOTS. 
 
 These are stamped with their weight and value in the deposit 
 room. The floors that cover the melting rooms are made of 
 iron in honey-comb pattern, divided into small sections, so 
 
 narrow moulds. These castings are called ingots; they are 
 about twelve inches long, a half-inch thick, and vary from one 
 to two a half-inches in breadth, according to the coin for which 
 they are used, one end being wedge-shaped to allow its being 
 
 CASTING INGOTS. 
 
 passed through the rollers. The value of gold ingots is from 
 $600 to $1,400; those of silver, about $60. The fine gold 
 and silver bars used in the arts and for commercial purposes, 
 are also cast in this department. 
 
28 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OP 
 
 that they can be readily taken up to save the dust; their 
 roughness acting as a scraper, preventing any metallic particles 
 from clinging to the soles of the shoes of those who pass through 
 the department, the sweepings of which, and including the 
 entire building, averages $23,000 per annum, for the last five 
 years. 
 
 The copper and nickel melting rooms, wherein all the base 
 metals used are melted and mixed, is on the same side and 
 adjoining to the gold and silver department. Up to the year 
 1856, the base coin of the United States was exclusively 
 copper. In this year the coinage of what was called the 
 ,nickel cents was commenced. These pieces, although called 
 nickel, were composed of one-eighth nickel; the balance was 
 copper. 
 
 The composition of the five and three cent pieces is one^ 
 fourth nickel; the balance copper. The bronze pieces were 
 changed in 1859, and are a mixture of copper, zinc and tin, 
 about equal parts of each of the two last; the former contribut¬ 
 ing about 95 per cent. There are seven furnaces in this room, 
 each capable of melting five hundred pounds of metal per day. 
 When the metal is heated and sufficiently mixed, it is poured 
 into iron moulds, and when cool, and the rough ends clipped 
 off, is ready to be conveyed to the rolling room. 
 
 The Rolling Room. 
 
 From the melting rooms through the corridor we reach the 
 rolling room. The upright engine, on the right, of one hun¬ 
 dred and sixty horse power, supplies the motive force to the roll¬ 
 ing machines, four in number. Those on the left, are massive 
 and substantial in their frame-work, with rollers of steel, 
 polished by service in reducing the ingots to planchets for 
 coining. The first process or rolling is termed breaking down ; 
 after that it requires to be passed through the machine until it 
 is reduced to the required thinness—ten times if gold, eight if 
 silver, being annealed in the intervals to prevent breaking. 
 r The rollers are adjustable and the space between them can be 
 increased or diminished at pleasure, by the operator. About 
 two hundred ingots are run through per hour on each pair of 
 rollers. 
 
 The pressure applied is so intense that half a day’s rolling 
 heats, not only the strips and rollers, but even the huge iron 
 stanchions, weighing several tons, so hot that you can hardly 
 hold your hand on them. 
 
 When the rolling is completed the strip is about six feet long, 
 or six times as long as the ingot. 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 29 
 
 It is impossible to roll perfectly true. At times there will be 
 a lump of hard gold, which will not be quite so much compressed 
 as the rest. If the planchets were cut from this place, it 
 would be heavier and more valuable than one cut from a thinner 
 portion of the strip. It is, therefore, necessary to “ draw ” the 
 strips, after being softened by annealing. 
 
 Rolling Machine. 
 
 Annealing Furnaces. 
 
 These are in the same room, to the right facing the rollers. 
 The gold and strips are placed in copper canisters, and then 
 placed in the furnaces and heated to a red heat; silver strips 
 being laid loosely in the furnace. When they become soft and 
 pliable, they are taken out and allowed to cool slowly. 
 
 The Drawing Benches. 
 
 These machines resemble long tables, with a bench on either 
 side, at one end of which is an iron box secured to the table. 
 In this are fastened two perpendicular steel cylinders, firmly 
 supported in a bed, to prevent their bending or turning around, 
 and presenting but a small portion of their circumference to 
 the strip. These are exactly at the same distance apart that 
 the thickness of the strip is required to be. One end of the 
 
60 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 which operating on the thick part of the strip with greater power 
 than upon the thin, reduces the whole to an equal thickness. 
 When the strip is through, the strain on the tongs instantly 
 ceases, which allows a spring to open them and drop the strip. 
 At the same time another spring raises the hook and disengages 
 the carriage from the chain. A cord fastened to the carriage 
 runs back over the wheel near the head of the table, and then 
 up to a couple of combination weights on the wall beyond, 
 which draw the carriage hack to the starting place, ready for 
 another strip. 
 
 The Cutting Machines. 
 
 After being thoroughly washed, the strips are consigned to 
 the cutting machines. These are in the rear of the rolling mills, 
 
 strip is somewhat thinner than the rest, to allow it to pass 
 easily between the cylinders. When through, this end is put 
 between the jaws of a powerful pair of tongs, or pincers, 
 fastened to a little carriage running on the table. The carriage 
 to the further bench is up close to the cylinders, ready to receive 
 a strip, Avhich is inserted edgewise. When the end is between 
 the pincers, the operator touches a foot pedal which closes the 
 pincers firmly on the strip, and pressing another pedal, forces 
 down a strong hook at the left end of the carriage, which 
 catches in a link of the moving chain. This draws the 
 carriage away from the cylinders, and the strip being con¬ 
 nected with it has to follow. It is drawn between the cylinders, 
 
 DRAWING BENCH. 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 STRIP FROM WHICH PLANCHETS ARE CUT. 
 
 ing. Now as the wheel revolves and brings the long side near¬ 
 est the rod , it will push forward the rod, and when the long 
 side of the wheel is away from the rod , it draws the rod with it. 
 
 The upper shaft, on which are seen the three large wheels, 
 has also fastened to it, over each press, an eccentric wheel. In 
 
 axis is placed, say four inches from the centre, then it would 
 revolve with a kind of hobble. From this peculiar motion 
 its name is derived. Suppose the tire of the wheel is arranged, 
 not to revolve with, but to slip easily around the wheel, and a 
 rod is fastened to one side of the tire which prevents its turn- 
 
 CUTTING MACHINE. 
 
 and are several in number, each when in active operation 
 cutting two hundred and twenty-five planchets per minute. 
 The press now used, consists of a vertical steel punch, which 
 works in a round hole or matrix, cut in a solid steel plate. 
 The action of the punch is obtained by an eccentric wheel. 
 For instance, in an ordinary carriage wheel, the axis is in the 
 centre, and the wheel revolves evenly around it. But if the 
 
ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 32 
 
 the first illustration will be seen three upright rods running 
 from near the table to the top. The middle one is connected 
 with a tire around the eccentric wheel, and rises and falls with 
 each revolution. The eccentric power gives great rapidity of 
 motion with but little jerking. 
 
 The operator places one- end of a strip of metal in the im¬ 
 mense jaws of the press, and cuts out a couple of planchets, , 
 which are a fraction larger than the coin to be struck. As the 
 strips are of uniform thickness, if these two are of the right 
 weight, all cut from that strip will be the same. They are 
 therefore weighed accurately. If right, or a little heavy, they 
 are allowed to pass, as the extra weight can be filed off. If too 
 light, the whole strip has to be re-melted. As first as cut the 
 planchets fall into a box below, and the perforated strips are 
 folded into convenient lengths to be re-melted. From a strip 
 worth say eleven hundred dollars, eight hundred dollars of 
 planchets will be cut. 
 
 Adjusting Room. 
 
 The planchets are then removed to the adjusting room, where 
 they are adjusted. This work is performed by ladies. After 
 
 DELICATE SCALES. 
 
 inspection they are weighed on very accurate scales. If a 
 planchet is too heavy, hut near the weight, it is filed off at the 
 edges; if too heavy for filing, it is thrown aside with the light 
 
I 
 
 THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 33 
 
 ones, to be re-melted. To adjust coin so accurately requires 
 great delicacy and skill, as a too free use of the file would 
 make it too light. Yet by long practice, so accustomed do 
 the operators become, that they work with apparent unconcern, 
 scarce glancing at either planchets or scales, and guided as it 
 were by unerring touch. 
 
 The exceedingly delicate scales were made under the direc¬ 
 tion of Mr, Peale, tvho greatly improved on the old ones in 
 use. So precise and sensitive are they that the slightest breath 
 of air affects their accuracy, rendering it necessary to exclude 
 every draft from the room. 
 
 Progress in Coining. 
 
 The methods of coining money have varied with the progress 
 in mechanic arts, and are but indefinitely traced from the 
 beginning; the primitive mode, being by the casting of 
 the piece in sand, the impression being made with a hammer 
 
 ANCIENT COINING PRESS. 
 
 and punch. In the middle ages the metal was hammered into 
 sheets of the required thickness, cut with shears into shape, 
 and then stamped by hand with the design. The mill and 
 screw, by which greater increase in power, with finer finish was 
 gained, dates back to the Sixteenth Century. This process, 
 with various modifications and improvements, continued in use- 
 in the Philadelphia Mint until 1836. 
 
34 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 The first steam coining press was invented by M. Thonnelier, 
 of France, in 1833, and was first used in the United States 
 Mint in 1836. It was remodeled and rebuilt in 1858, but in 
 1874 was superseded by the one now in operation, the very 
 
 STEAM COINING PRESS. 
 
 perfection of mechanism, in which the vibration and unsteady 
 
 bearing of the former press were entirely obviated, and pre¬ 
 cision attained by the solid stroke with a saving of over seventy- 
 five per cent, in the wearing and breaking of the dies. 
 
 Dies. 
 
 The dies for coining are prepared by engravers, especially 
 employed at the Mint for that purpose. The process of en¬ 
 graving them consists in cutting the devices and legends in 
 soft steel, those parts being depressed which, in the coin, appear 
 
 in relief. This, having been finished 
 and hardened, constitutes an “ origi¬ 
 nal die ,” which, being the result of 
 a tedious and difficult task, is deemed 
 too precious to be directly employed 
 in striking coins; but it is used for 
 multiplying dies. It is first used to 
 impress another piece of soft steel, 
 
 DIES. 
 
 which then presents the appearance of a coin, and is called a 
 hub. This hub, being hardened, is used to impress other 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 35 
 
 pieces of steel in like manner which, being like the original 
 die, are hardened and used for striking the coins. A pair of 
 these will, on an average, perform two iveeks’ work. 
 
 Transfer Lathe. 
 
 The transfer lathe, a very complicated piece of machinery, is 
 used in making dies, for coins and medals. By it, from a large 
 {cast, the design can he transferred and engraved in smaller 
 size, in perfect proportion to the original. 
 
 The Coining and Milling Rooms. 
 
 This department, the most interesting to the general visitor, 
 occupies the larger portion of the first floor on the east side of 
 the building. The rooms are divided by an iron railing, which 
 separates the visitors, on either side, from the machinery, etc.. 
 but allows everything to be seen. 
 
36 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 The planchets, after being adjusted, are received here, and r 
 in order to protect the surface of the coin, are passed through 
 the milling-machine. The planchets are fed to this machine 
 
 MILLING MACHINE. 
 
 through an upright tube, and, as they descend from the lower 
 aperture, they are caught upon the edge of a revolving wheel 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 37 
 
 and carried about a quarter of a revolution, during 'which the 
 edge is compressed and forced up—the space between the wheel 
 and the rim being a little less than the diameter of the plan- 
 chet. This apparatus moves so nimbly that five hundred and 
 sixty half-dimes can be milled in a minute ; but, for large 
 pieces, the average is about one hundred and twenty. In this 
 
 PERFECTED COINING PRESS. 
 
 room are the milling machines, and the massive, but delicate, 
 coining presses, ten in number. Each of these is capable of 
 coining from eighty to one hundred pieces a minute. Only 
 the largest are used in making coins of large denominations. 
 
 The arch is a solid piece of cast iron, weighing several tons, 
 ■and unites with its beauty great strength. The table is also 
 
38 
 
 ILLUSTRAXED HISTORY OF 
 
 of iron, brightly polished and very heavy. In the interior of 
 the arch is a nearly round plate of brass, called a triangle. It 
 is fastened to a lever above by two steel bands, termed stirrups, 
 one of which can be seen to the right of the arch. The stout 
 arm above it, looking so dark in the picture, is also connected 
 
 with the triangle by a ball-and-socket joint, and it is this arm 
 which forces down the triangle. The arm is connected with 
 the end of the lever above by a joint somewhat like that of the 
 knee. One end of the lever can be seen reaching behind the 
 arch to a crank near the large fly-wheel. When the triangle 
 
T1IE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 
 is raised , the arm and near end of the lever extends outward. 
 When the crank lifts the further end of the lever it draws in 
 the knee and forces down the arm until it is perfectly straight. 
 By that time the crank has revolved and is lowering the lever r 
 which forces out the knee again and raises the arm. As the tri¬ 
 angle is fastened to the arm it has to follow all its movements. 
 
 Under the triangle, buried in the low er part of the arch, is a 
 steel cup, or, technically, a “die stake.” Into this is fastened 
 the reverse die. The die stake is arranged to rise one-eighth 
 of an inch; when down it rests firmly on the solid foundation 
 of the arch. Over the die stake is a steel collar or plate, in 
 which is a hole large enough to allow a planchet to drop upon 
 the die. In the triangle above, the obverse die is fastened, which 
 moves with the triangle; when the knee is straightened the die 
 fits into the collar and presses down upon the reverse die. 
 
 Just in front of the triangle will be seen an upright tube made 
 of brass, and of the size to hold the plan diets to be coined., 
 These are placed in this tube. As they reach the bottom they 
 are seized singly by a pair of steel feeders, in motion as similar 
 to that of the finger and thumb as is possible in machinery, 
 and carried over the collar and deposited between the dies,, 
 and, while the fingers are expanding and returning for another 
 planchet, the dies close on the one within the collar, and by a 
 rotary motion are made to impress it silently but powerfully. 
 The fingers, as they again close upon a planchet at the mouth 
 of the tube, also seize the coin, and, while conveying a second 
 planchet on to the die, carry the coin off, dropping it into a 
 box provided for that purpose, and the operation is continued 
 ad infinitum. These presses are attended by ladies, and do 
 their work in a perfect manner. The engine that drives the 
 machinery is of one hundred and sixty horse-power. 
 
 After being stamped the coins are taken to the Coiner’s room, 
 and placed on a long table—the double eagles in piles of ten each. 
 It will be remembered that, in the Adjusting Room, a differenec 
 of one-half a grain was made in the weight of some of .the double 
 eagles. The light and heavy ones are kept separate in coining, 
 and when delivered to the treasurer, they are mixed together in I 
 such proportions as to give him full weight in every delivery. 
 By law the deviation from the standard weight, in delivering to 
 him, must not exceed three pennyweights in one thousand double 
 eagles. The gold coins—as small as quarter eagles being counted 
 and weighed to verify the count—are put up in bags of $5,000 
 each. The three-dollar pieces are put up in bags of $3,000, 
 and one-dollar pieces in $1,000 bags. The silver pieces, and 
 sometimes small gold, are counted on a very ingenious con¬ 
 trivance called a “counting-board.” 
 
40 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 COUKTINO BOARD. 
 
 By this process twenty-five dollars in five-cent pieces can be 
 counted in less than a minute. The “boards” are a simple flat 
 surface of wood, with copper partitions, the height and size of the 
 coin to be counted, rising from the surface at regular intervals, 
 and running parallel with each other from top to bottom. They 
 somewhat resemble a common household “washing board,” with 
 the grooves running parallel with the sides but much larger. 
 The hoards are worked by hand, over a box, and as the pieces 
 are counted they slide into a drawer prepared to receive them. 
 They are then put into hags and are ready for shipment.* 
 
 * For the various duties of the Mint there are over three hundred persons employed 
 «8 clerks, workmen, etc.—say about two-thirds men and one-third women—the number 
 depending, of course, upon the amount of work to be done. 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 41 
 
 THE CABINET. 
 
 The room in tlie Mint used for the Cabinet is on the second 
 door. It was formerly a suite of three apartments connected 
 by folding-doors, but the doors have been removed, and it is 
 now a pleasant saloon fifty-four feet long by sixteen wide. 
 The eastern and western sections are of the same proportions, 
 each with a broad window. The central section is lighted 
 from the dome, which is suported by four columns. There is 
 an open space immediately under the dome, to give light to 
 the hall below, which is the main entrance to the Mint. 
 Around this space is a railing and a circular case for coins. 
 The Cabinet of Coins was established in 1838, by Dr. R. M. 
 Patterson, then Director of the Mint. Anticipating such a 
 demand, reserves had been made for many years by Adam 
 Eckfeldt,* the Coiner, of the “master coins” of the Mint; a 
 term used to signify first pieces from new dies, bearing a high 
 polish and struck with extra care. These are now more com¬ 
 monly called “proof pieces.” With this nucleus, and a few 
 •other valuable pieces from Mr. Eckfeldt, the business was 
 •committed to the Assay Department, and especially to Mr. 
 Du Bois, Assistant Assayer. The collection grew, year by 
 year, by making exchanges to supply deficiencies, by pur¬ 
 chases, by adding our own coin, and by saving foreign coins 
 from the melting-pot—a large part in this way, at a cost of 
 not more than their bullion value, though demanding great 
 care, appreciation, and study. Valuable donations were also 
 made by travelers, consuls, and missionaries. In 1839, Con¬ 
 gress appropriated the sum of $1,000 for the purchase of 
 “specimens of ores and coins to be preserved at the Mint.” 
 Annually, since, the sum of $300 has been appropriated by the 
 Government for this object. More has not been asked or de¬ 
 sired, for the officers of the Mint have not sought to vie with 
 the long established collections of the national cabinets of the 
 old world, or even to equal the extravagance of some private 
 numismatists; but they have admirably succeeded in their 
 purpose to secure such coins as would interest all, from the 
 schoolboy to the most enthusiastic archaeologist. The economic 
 principle upon which the collection has been gathered is a 
 lesson to all governmental departments in frugality, as well as 
 a restraint upon the natural tendency to extravagance which 
 has heretofore distinguished those who have a passion for old 
 coins. There are thousands of coin collectors in the United 
 
 * Adam Eckfeldt’s portrait, by Samuel Du Bois, hangs in the Cabinet. A short sketch 
 of him will be found in the list of Coiners. 
 
42 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 States, and fortunes have been accumulated in this strang* 
 way. More than one authenticated instance has been known 
 in this country where a man has lived in penury, and died 
 from want, yet possessed of affluence in time-defaced coins. 
 
 Relics. 
 
 Having referred to the portraits of the Directors of thf 
 Mint, we will cite other interesting subjects of observation, 
 before describing the coins. 
 
 The first object in the Cabinet attracting attention is a 
 framed copy of the law of Congress establishing the Mint, 
 with its quaint phraseology with the signature of Thomas 
 Jefferson. (See fac simile on page 11.) 
 
 In the first section, near the western window, is the assort¬ 
 ing machine, the invention of a Frenchman, Baron Seguier. 
 and which is now in use in the Mint at Paris. 
 
 The planchets for coinage are liable to be a little too heavy 
 or too light; it is therefore necessary, at least in the case of 
 gold, to assort them by weighing. This machine is designed 
 to enable one person to do the work of many. “The planchets 
 are thrown into the hopper at the rear, and, being arranged 
 by the action of the wheel, slide down balances. By ma¬ 
 chinery beneath they are carried one by one to the nearest 
 platforms to be weighed. If too heavy, the tall needle of the 
 beam leans to the right and lifts a pallet-wire, which connects 
 with an apparatus under the table by which the planchet is 
 pushed off and slides into one of the brass pans in front. If 
 the piece be light, the needle is drawn over to the left, and 
 touches the other pallet, which makes a passage to another 
 brass pan. If the piece be of true weight, or near enough, 
 the needle stands perpendicular between the pallets, and the 
 piece finds its way into the third brass pan.” 
 
 On the opposite wall is a fine cast of Cromwell, a duplicate* 
 of one taken shortly after his death. It was placed here by 
 Mr. W. E. Du Bois, who received it from H. W. Field, Esq., 
 late Assayer of the Royal Mint, London, who is a descendant 
 of the great Protector. Below the cast of Cromwell is a cas* 
 showing progressive “alloys of gold.” The plates comprise 
 gold alloyed with copper, gold alloyed with silver, and gold 
 fine. 
 
 In the eastern section are the Standard Test Scales, used to 
 test the weights sent to all the mints and assay offices in the 
 United States, and are so delicate as to weigh the twenty• 
 thousandth part of an ounce. These scales were manufactured 
 by employees of the Mint, and have been in use more than a 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 43 
 
 quarter of a century. The beam is hollow, and filled with 
 Spanish cedar to guard against the effect of dampness; the 
 bearings are edges of knife-blades, which impinge on a surface 
 of agate plate. These scales are tested by the Annual Assay 
 Committee, which meets on the second Tuesday in February of 
 every year. 
 
 Curiosities and Minerals. 
 
 The most interesting objects of this curious display are 
 three golden images from graves in the Island of Chiriqui, off 
 Central America. They were dug up in 1858, and sent to 
 the Mint as bullion, to be melted. They are of pure gold, 
 but the workmanship is very crude. The images are in the 
 forms of a reptile, a bird, and a man with symbols of power in 
 his hands, not unlike those designating Jupiter. There are 
 also, in the first section, two large cases with choice selections 
 of mineral specimens, carefully classified and labeled. These 
 are from well selected results of years of patient collecting, and 
 are deserving of more study than can be devoted to them by 
 casual visitors. They are chiefly from different parts of the 
 United States, and are an “index book” to the vast mineral 
 wealth of the nation. 
 
 Near the exit door of the Cabinet, in a large glass case, is a 
 magnificent American eagle,. which is worthy of the visitor’s 
 attention. It is superbly mounted, with grand breadth of 
 wing and wondrous piercing eyes. The portrait of this “ pet ” 
 can be recognized on Reverse of the “ Pattern ” Silver Dollars 
 of 1836, 1838, and 1839, and on the Obverse of the first 
 nickel cent pieces coined in 1856. 
 
 “ Peter,” 
 
 the name which the noble bird recognized, w*as an inhabitant of 
 the Mint six years. He would fly about the city, but no one 
 interfered with the going or coming of the “ Mint bird,” and 
 he never failed to return from his daily exercise before the 
 time for closing the building. In an evil hour he unfortunately 
 perched upon a large fly wheel, and getting caught in the 
 machinery, received a fatal injury to his wing, and this ended 
 rather an unusual career for an eagle. 
 
 Eastern Corridor. 
 
 Opening into the eastern corridor are the rooms of the 
 Superintendent, the Chief Clerk, and the Bookkeeper. The 
 Library of Historical and Scientific Works, including many 
 valuable books upon coinage, is near by. Passing to the 
 
44 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 gallery, we enter the Machinists’ and Engravers’ rooms. 
 Here are engraved and finished the dies used in this Mint 
 and in all the branch mints. Visitors are not ordinarily 
 allowed access to these rooms, or to the assay office, or to the 
 cellar. (In the latter are a number of immense vaults, and 
 in the main cellar are engines, which supply the'power and 
 light used throughout the building.) Here are also black¬ 
 smith, carpenter, and paint shops; and in the rear, west side, 
 is the medal-striking room, where medals are struck by a 
 screw press, worked by hand. The cellar also contains the 
 “sweep” grinding rooms. Near this room are the wells, 
 which are receptacles for the water used in washing the 
 precious metals. Ihese wells are cleaned out every few years 
 and the deposit is then treated in the same wav as the 
 sweepings. 
 
 The United States Express Company and the Adams Ex¬ 
 press Company bring to the Philadelphia Mint millions of 
 dollars worth of precious metals in the shape of bullion to be 
 converted into coin, which is transported by the same com¬ 
 panies to various points to be put into circulation. 
 
 Coins. 
 
 The ancient coins are chiefly arranged in upright cases 
 against the walls in the doorways and the middle section of 
 the saloon. The modern coins are placed in nearly level 
 cases at either end of the room and in the circular or cen¬ 
 tral cases. Of antique coins the portion labeled Cabinet Nos. 
 97, 98, 99, “Massilia,” are interesting as belonging to a 
 Greek colony which settled about six hundred years before 
 Christ upon the coast of Gaul, on the spot now known as 
 Marseilles. This little colony fled their native country and 
 the rule of a governor placed over it by a Persian monarch. 
 They were distinguished for their civilization, and the work 
 upon these small coins is the most palpable witness of that 
 fact in existence to-day. 
 
 Greek Coins. 
 
 Their surfaces, of gold, silver, and bronze, bristle with lance 
 and spear, helmet and shield. On one of these coins Jove is 
 seated and bearing an eagle, defying Alexander of Macedon, 
 while on the obverse the same mighty conqueror imperson¬ 
 ates Hercules. The oldest coin here is supposed to date back 
 to 550 b.c. It is well to mention the fact that coins were 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 45 
 
 never dated until the fifteenth century; and previous to that 
 time the ages of coins can only be determined by the legends 
 upon them, as answering to the page of corroborative history 
 and the art era to which they belonged. No. 9 bears on 
 the obverse the Macedonian horse, a favorite animal, which 
 the then war-loving Greeks are said to have' deified At this 
 period the haughty royal families began to chronicle in coin 
 their line of descent. The kings of Macedon claimed Her¬ 
 cules for an ancestor, and in proof thereof the lion s skin was 
 a roval insignia. An old historian says, Hie kings ol Mace¬ 
 don," instead of the crown, the diadem, the purple, bear upon 
 their effigy the skin of a lion.” Several pieces of money in 
 this case, upon which are heads of Alexander, have lings in 
 them, and were worn by gracious dames as ornaments. The 
 value of this series of coins is priceless, as furnishing portraits 
 of the heroes of that period which can be received without 
 question as accurate, for the art patronage of the kingdom was 
 regulated by the strictest laws. Alexander was especially 
 jealous of how the future nations should regard his physique, 
 allowing only three artists, during his reign, the privilege of 
 drawing, painting, or modeling his head.* To such royal 
 guardianship may be attributed the perfection to which Greek 
 art attained; and it may well be a matter of regret that the 
 same firmness in this regard was not universal. The last coin 
 of this series is a small bronze coin, and was issued by Per¬ 
 seus, the last king of Macedon. 
 
 Persian. 
 
 In this case is a collection of Persian coins, very choice, 
 and of no mean workmanship, and, of course, portraying the 
 faith and rites of the fire-worshippers. One era is distinctly 
 Greek in style, and marks the period of Greek supremacy. 
 The oldest gold coin known to the collector is the gold Daric 
 of King Darius, with the head of the king in bold relief; and 
 all Persian coins are so called in remembrance of this mon¬ 
 arch. Their money was very fine, so the word Daric has be¬ 
 come incorporated into numismatic terminology to designate 
 any pure gold coin. Nos. 58 to 67, inclusive, of this series, 
 are silver coins of the Sassanian kings. 
 
 Egypt 
 
 is also represented in this case, as is proper, for that nation 
 had no coinage until it was taught the art when conquered by 
 
 * Horace says that Alexander the Great ordained that no one should take his portrait 
 on gems but Pyrgoteles; no one should paint him but Apelles; and no one should stamp 
 his head on coins but Lysippus .—American Bibliopolist. 
 
46 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 Alexander. Here are some very attractive data of Egyptian 
 history, and from these coins are obtained the only portraits 
 of Arsinoe, Cleopatra, and others. 
 
 The Syrian Coins 
 
 are embraced in the division called “ Greek monarchies,” and 
 in them are found many coins not only important in history, 
 but of the very finest Greek art, from the third* to the first 
 century b.c. In this period the Syriac and Hebrew coins 
 become intermingled, a fact abundantly sustained by the Jew¬ 
 ish shekel of Simon Maccabees. The legend of this inter¬ 
 esting relic is in the language of Samaria; on one side the 
 budding rod of Aaron, legend, “Jerusalem the Holy;” on 
 the other, a cup of incense or pot of manna, and the inscrip¬ 
 tion, “ Shekel of Israel.” This shekel is well preserved, and 
 is one of the most prized coins known. (See Plate and Case 
 XV., marked “ Selections .” In this collection are some coins 
 from Bactria, considered priceless by savahs. These are tro¬ 
 phies of recent British explorations, and are judged to be of 
 sufficient importance to call forth from an English professor 
 an extended treatise on the “Antiquities and Coins of Afghan¬ 
 istan.” They are exceedingly rude in workmanship, and 
 nearly all of baser metal, the most important being a small, 
 square, brass coin, in the case marked ‘‘ Selections.” 
 
 Roman Coins. 
 
 The collection of Roman coins in this Cabinet number* 
 nearly one thousand, and an acquaintance with it is invaluable 
 for object teaching, as in it is the condensed history, not onty 
 of the glory of Rome, “Mistress of the World,” but of her cus¬ 
 toms, faith, conquests, wealth, culture, divisions, and downfall. 
 Through this entire section of time—one-third of the known 
 history of the world—Roman art, though high, never reached 
 the exalted purity of Greek lines. In their finest coins we see 
 no Phidias, no Myron, no Praxiteles, but they deteriorate and 
 fluctuate visibly when in or out of contact with the influence 
 of the Grecian mind. 
 
 Greek Republic 
 
 will be first in interest, both historic and artistic. It is con¬ 
 ceded that to the Greeks the world owes the introduction of 
 the art of coinage, and though centuries numbered by tens 
 have passed, some of the old Greek coins equal many modem 
 productions in purity of lines, and surpass nearly all in poetic 
 
tilE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 47 
 
 sentiment. On the first coins no earthly potentate was 
 allowed to be pictured, no deed of heroism portrayed. The 
 glory of the gods was considered the only appropriate theme 
 for impressions on the surface of bronze, silver, and gold. 
 The coins of the republic embrace a large variety, as nearly a 
 thousand towns were allowed the privilege of coinage. Upon 
 this varied issue are preserved nearly all the legends of Greek 
 mythology. Upon the coins are the heads of Jupiter, Juno, 
 Minerva, Bacchus, Apollo, and Diana, with many sacred 
 animals, and the work is to-day the standard of artistic per¬ 
 fection. Of course, the collection of this ancient period can¬ 
 not be extensive. In this case there are, however, more than 
 one hundred and fifty specimens, and these present a study 
 so attractive and so intense that it is almost impossible to 
 imagine what classic poetry would be without it. 
 
 Nos. 4, 5, and 6, are silver coins of iEgina, which have on 
 the obverse, for a device, the tortoise, emblematic of the se¬ 
 curity of the island amid the waves, and the protection of the 
 gods of the sea. On the reverse are the marks of the punches 
 only, probably denoting the value of the coins. These are 
 claimed to belong to an era seven hundred years before Christ. 
 No. 28 is a silver coin of Athens, with a head of Minerva 
 splendidly drawn upon the obverse, while the reverse presents 
 a large owl, the bird sacred to the goddess of Wisdom. H'he 
 devices upon this coin indicate its age to be from twenty-one 
 to twenty-three centuries. The Greek proverb of “taking 
 owls to Athens” referred to this coin, which was necessarily 
 **f great importance to the tradespeople of that city. 
 
 Family Coins. 
 
 These comprise about one hundred and seventy-five, of 
 which one hundred and twenty-six are in the collection. 
 They were struck to record the heroic deeds which first intro¬ 
 duced any notable ancestor to fame, and hence are to-day 
 family charts of respectability for many of the patricians of 
 Rome, albeit some of them have plebeian roots. Be that as 
 it may, they are as much the trusted patents of aristocracy as 
 is the “Book of the Peerage” of England. Here are found 
 the same distinctions between patrician and plebeian which 
 mark all countries, the patricians being always designated by 
 a symbol of warfare, while the plebeians were indicated by 
 the tools and instruments of common trade. The more no¬ 
 ticeable of the coins are as follows: No. 16, Acilia; the re¬ 
 verse a female leaning against a pillar, with a serpent 
 clutched in her right hand, indicating the wisdom or courag* 
 
48 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 of some ancestor. No. 20, ^Emilia; on the obverse of this 
 curious coin is a figure kneeling by the side of a camel, pre¬ 
 senting an olive branch, from which depends a fillet or ancient 
 diadem ; on the reverse, a figure guiding a triumphal chariot, 
 a scorpion in the field. Josephus tells us of an invasion of 
 Arabia, and that Aretus, the king of the country, purchased 
 peace of the Romans for five hundred talents. The diadem 
 hanging from the olive branch chronicles the entire humilia¬ 
 tion of Aretus, and the scorpion doubtless indicates the month 
 of the Roman triumph. No. 30, Aquillia, a small silver 
 coin; the reverse shows a woman kneeling before a soldier. 
 
 I lie motto below the figures (or in the exergue of the coin, as 
 is the art term) is u Sicil.” This commemorates the suppres¬ 
 sion of a revolt of slaves in Sicily, which was achieved by 
 Manlius Aquillia. No. 41, Calpurnia, the family of Caesar’s 
 noble wife; reverse, a horseman riding at full speed, a head 
 of wheat above him; legend, L. Piso-Trugi. The coin recalls 
 the fact that in the year 507 b. c. there was a famine in 
 Rome, and Calpurnius Piso was dispatched to Africa to buy 
 corn. This seemingly small service is magnified upon a large 
 number of coins. Nos. 95 and 96, Hostilia, a coin with a 
 sacrifice to Pallor and Pavor (fear and trembling), offered by 
 Tullus Hostilius in some great emergency. No. 97, Julia; 
 obverse, a helmeted head; legend, Caesar; reverse, a warrior 
 in a chariot drawn by two horses. 
 
 No. 98, Junia; obverse, head of Liberty; reverse, Junius 
 Brutus guarded by lictors, and preceded by a herald, showing 
 that an ancestor of Junius Brutus was the first consul of 
 Rome. Nos. 181, 182, Tituria. The reverse shows two sol¬ 
 diers throwing their shields upon a prostrate female, illustrat¬ 
 ing the famous story of the “ Tarpeian Rock.” Reverse rep¬ 
 resents the Romans carrying off Sabine women—a witness in 
 coin of the fact that the family of Tituria trace their ancestry 
 from the Sabines. To do justice to this case is impossible, for 
 here are coins relating to the ancestors of Antonia, Aurelia, 
 Cornelia, Fulvia, Horatio, Lucretia, Lucilla, Sempronia, Titia 
 Valeria, and many others familiar to the readers of history. 
 
 This era of coins terminated about the time of the birth of 
 Christ, when the 
 
 Imperial Coins 
 
 were introduced. In noticing these, little save the labels on 
 the case can be given. 
 
 Division II. 
 
 Julius Ciesar to Trajan, inclusive. Beginning 49 B. c., and 
 ending 117 a.d. A simple catalogue of the illustrious names 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 49 
 
 on these coins would convey an idea of their importance. All 
 the victories of Caesar are marked by coinage ; but out of the 
 two hundred belonging to this case reference need only be 
 made to No. 24, a beautiful gold coin, with the undraped head 
 of Augustus, exquisitely severe, the interest attaching chiefly 
 to the legend, “ The Son of God,” referring tq the deification 
 of Caesar. 
 
 Division III. 
 
 embraces from Hadrian to Elagabalus, 117-222. In the reign 
 of Hadrian much coin was issued, though it did not bear marks 
 of the disasters and revolts that signalized the foregoing. That 
 he was a merciful ruler is indicated by the coins, especially 
 one—Hispania; the reverse showing the emperor raising 
 Spain—a female figure—from the ground. His travels are 
 also illustrated in coin. 
 
 Division IV. 
 
 From Severus Alexander to Claudius Gothicus, 222-270. 
 These coins indicate the vicious effect of the rulers immediately 
 preceding. 
 
 Division V. 
 
 From Aurelian to the end of the Western Empire ; includes 
 270-47b. A brilliant succession; Aurelian’s busy reign, 
 ending in assassination; the war-like Probus, the slave-em¬ 
 peror ; Diocletian’s despotism and vindictive persecution of 
 Christians ; the usurpation of Carausius ; the happy reign of 
 Constantine the Great, Julian, Theodosius, down to Julius 
 Nepos. These are a few of the historic names and events 
 presented in this division. 
 
 Division VI. 
 
 covers the period of the Byzantine or Eastern Empire, and a 
 lapse of eight centuries; but the coinage is not comparable 
 «vith that of other eras, nor were events of so stirring and 
 heroic a character. A general decay, painful to contemplate, 
 marked this long lapse of time, which began near the accept¬ 
 ance of Christianity, and extended through the dark ages. 
 
 “ The Temple Sweepers.” 
 
 A small case attracts no little attention, because it contains 
 a single coin ; and the interest does not decrease when the in¬ 
 scription is read: “ Struck in the Philadelphia Mint, at least 
 two thousand years ago.' ’ The late Assayer of the Philadelphia 
 
50 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 Mint, Mr. W. E. Du Bois, under title of “ The Temple Sweep¬ 
 ers,” wrote, not long since, a valuable sketch of this coin, made 
 in the City of Attalus Philadelphus, Asia Minor, and for which 
 William Penn called his city, because the ancient one was a 
 monument of “brotherly love. ’ Diana was the patroness of 
 Philadelphia. 
 
 “On one side, then, we have a head; not a king’s nor an 
 emperor’s; as yet the free city had a pride and a privilege 
 above that. It is a female head, an ideal, representing the 
 city itself; or rather the dwellers in it, the Demos. Here in 
 this head and title, we have the radix of Democracy. 
 
 “ This is all we can gather from the obverse. On the other 
 side we have a larger variety : a running female figure ; a dog 
 also on the trot; a legend of some length and of more signifi¬ 
 cance. 
 
 “ The half-clad figure is that of the goddess known to the 
 Greeks as Artemis, to the Latins as Diana; and otherwise 
 called Selene, Phoebe, Delia, or Cynthia. 
 
 “ She was the favorite divinity of the cities of Asia Minor. 
 Once the patroness of chastity and purity. Goddess of the 
 chase.” 
 
 The legend on the obverse of this coin explains its name: 
 “ Friends of Philadelphia’s [her] Temple Sweepers.” 
 
 ORIENTAL. 
 
 Oriental coins are not as attractive as other varieties, though 
 there are special coins among them which have no rival in his¬ 
 toric importance. Antique coins from the East were usually 
 without device, and, their legends being rudely inscribed in a 
 dead language, proved frequently to be sealed fountains to the 
 thirsting antiquarian. Therefore in cases marked “ Oriental” 
 the visitor is undetermined where to begin to study, and often 
 decides to give it but little time. 
 
 Those having for device the sacred peacock are from Bur- 
 mah; there is, however, in the division marked “ Selections” 
 a very curious coin belonging to that country, which certainly 
 formed a part of its earliest currency. It is a common gravel- 
 stone, encased in a circling band of brass. 
 
 Coins of Siam. 
 
 The coins of Siam are much sought for. Some of them, known 
 to European travelers as “ bullet money,” are lumps of gold or 
 silver, hammered by rude implements into a doubtful round¬ 
 ness, and a few Siamese characters stamped irregularly upon 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 51 
 
 »Aem. The sacred elephant*is found on a large proportion of 
 their money. A Siamese coin in the Cabinet, of modern date, 
 is quite handsome in both workmanship and design. On the 
 obverse is the sacred elephant in ponderous proportion, which 
 delights the eyes of the devout, and the reverse presents a 
 group of three pagodas, finely drawn. In the case marked 
 44 Selections” is a Siamese coin of gold, comparatively modern, 
 called “ Tecal,” corresponding in some respects to the “ Shekel,” 
 ®r “ Oxen,” of biblical fame. 
 
 Chinese Coins. 
 
 On the south side of the first section is a case of seven hun¬ 
 dred coins of the Celestial Empire. With but few exceptions' 
 these coins are bronzed. Dynasty succeeds dynasty ; usurpa¬ 
 tion, insurrection, are all writ in bronze. The Chinese assert 
 an uninterrupted coinage for forty-one centuries. The manu¬ 
 script attesting this is in the case, and was prepared under au¬ 
 thority. Large numbers of their coins were considered charms, 
 sufficient to protect the owner against fever, or even the more 
 dreaded horrors of spiritual menace. In this connection it 
 may be said that the Chinese had an exalted reverence for the 
 coin-charm, and a small coin was often placed in thq mouth of 
 the dead (now, if a Chinaman dies in California, a small silver 
 United States coin is placed on his tongue). These coins 
 were covered with cabalistic characters, symbolic animals, 
 birds, etc. Two worthy of notice in this regard, and said to 
 be of the oldest issue, are Nos. 1 and 2. The first might be 
 mistaken for an iron safeAey; the second is known as the 
 “ razor coin,” its form and almost its size being that of a 
 razor. 
 
 In another case, appropriately labeled, is the Chinese por¬ 
 celain money.” They are the only people who have made 
 porcelain a “ legal tender,” though it would appear that almost 
 every part of the three kingdoms of nature has been laid under 
 contribution. The specimen here may be mistaken for the 
 popular Chinese sleeve-button, bought in any bazaar for a fev 
 cents. The Chinese, as did also the Afrtcans, utilized tin 
 small sea-shells for trade. In the same case are some of the 
 variety legalized. Ten small shells made one “ cash.” This 
 is a small, round, copper-bronzed coin, with a square hole in 
 the centre. The Chinese dames of high degree wore such 
 strung around their throats. One thousand of them are equal 
 to our dollar. The Japanese, however, outcount their neigh¬ 
 bors, as they have a bronze coin called the “ One-hundredth,” 
 of which just seven thousand make one Spanish dollar. 
 
52 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OP 
 
 Shell money of pure gold, “or gold beaten into small solid 
 shells, was made by those natives who supplied the Portuguese 
 slave-traders with slaves,” and was called by the traders 
 “Spondylus Macutus,” from which, some contend, came the 
 slang term “spondulics.” Forty of those small coins, each 
 worth about a dollar of Spanish money, was a high price for 
 a slave. 
 
 > There is also in the Cabinet a valuable collection of African 
 ring money. These ornaments are very massive and pure, 
 comprised of elaborately carved “signet-rings, armlets, ank¬ 
 lets,” etc. One article, more novel and valuable than the 
 others, is a pipe of fine gold, bowl and handle of curious bas- 
 relief figures, and a heavy, square-linked chain attaching a large 
 medallion, on which is the head of a monarch poorly drawn. 
 
 The Chinese government, like all despotisms, is very jealous 
 of its coining prerogatives; yet it does not fail to appreciate 
 an advantage when offered, as is evident to us by the following: 
 
 Proclamation for general information: 
 
 “Whereas, The foreign silver (coin) in daily use among 
 the people of the Kwang Tung Provinces has long been in 
 circulation, and is moreover admitted to be advantageous and 
 convenient. In the 5th and 11th years of Tung Chih (1866 
 and 1872) the Hong Kong Mint coined a new Dollar which, 
 upon comparison with pure silver, bore a proportion of fully 
 ninety per cent., and as the Records will prove. Proclama¬ 
 tions were issued notifying the people that it might come into 
 general circulation. There has lately come to Hong Kong a 
 newly coined American Eagle Dollar, called the° “ Trade 
 Dollar,” and Sir Brooke Robinson, the British Consul, having 
 requested that officers might be appointed to assay it, the 
 Viceroy and Haikwan thereupon appointed officers to melt it 
 down and assay it, in concert with (an officer from the British 
 Consulate), when, taking the Haikwan Tael of pure silver as 
 the standard, an outturn was obtained of fully 89. 61—or 
 
 Taels 111.6 of this new Eagle Dollar are equal to 100 
 Haikwan Taels of pure silver. Minutes of the assay were 
 drawn up in proof thereof. 
 
 “ For the convenience of Traders and people, therefore, this 
 coin should be allowed to be tendered in payment of duties at 
 the rate of touch obtained at the assay, and to come into daily 
 circulation. It becomes the duty then of the Viceroy and his 
 colleagues to issue a Proclamation on the subject for general 
 information. 
 
 “This Proclamation, therefore, is for the information of 
 you merchants, traders, soldiers, and people of every district 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 53 
 
 You must know that the ‘Eagle Trade Dollar’ that has lately 
 come to Hong Kong has been jointly assayed by officers 
 specially appointed for the purpose, and it can be taken in 
 payment of duties, and come into general circulation. You 
 must not look upon it tvith suspicion. At the same time 
 rogues, sharpers, and the like, are hereby strictly forbidden to 
 fabricate spurious imitations of this new Eagle Dollar, with a 
 view to their own profit. 
 
 “And should they dare to set this prohibition at defiance, 
 and fabricate false coin, they shall, upon discovery, most 
 assuredly be arrested and punished. Let every one obey with 
 trembling! Let there be no disobedience! 
 
 “A Special Proclamation. Tung Chih 12th year, 9th 
 moon—day (October, 1873.) 
 
 “ Translated by 
 
 “(Signed) WALTER C. HILLIER.” 
 
 Japan. 
 
 Perhaps t^ie peculiar adaptability of the Japanese character 
 cannot be better illustrated than by their late monetary revo¬ 
 lution, especially as their coinage is hedged around with laws, 
 with penal attachments of no doubtful character. In the 
 small morocco case marked “Japan” are a few specimens of 
 their original coin. Of this series the large gold plate, four 
 inches by three and a half, is known as the “ Gold Oban,” 
 their most valuable coin, worth about seventy-five dollars. 
 This coin is of perfectly smooth surface, with an elaborate 
 black inscription of Japanese text, burnt in by a chemical 
 process. To take the “Gold Oban” out of the kingdom is 
 punishable with death; to remove it by mistake, subjects the 
 offender to imprisonment for life. The other coins in this case 
 are, in their composition and shape, as distinctive as the Japan¬ 
 ese are peculiar as a people. The progressive character of the 
 Japanese is exemplified by their recent acceptance of the 
 United States system of coinage. 
 
 The mind of the Japanese proletaire has been much troubled 
 in recent years w : ith regard to the coinage of his country; not 
 that he ever has much of the currency in question, but the 
 Japanese proletaire has no pockets, and he finds it awkward to 
 carry in his hands such coins as he contrives to possess. In 
 ancient times his rulers were more considerate. They punched 
 square holes in the centre of the coins, through which he 
 passed a string, and was thus able to carry about his available 
 -capital bed around his neck or to his waistband, which in those 
 
54 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 days was his sole garment. The coins were not large in amount; 
 it took a thousand of them to make a few shillings, while a 
 cart was required to convey five dollars worth. But with 
 civilization came an improved coinage, larger in value, and 
 with no holes, and the pocketless proletaire naturally grumbled 
 that civilization treated him hardly in this respect. Paper 
 currency for small amounts partially satisfied him for a time; 
 but at last his cries have been heard, and the Japanese Govern¬ 
 ment has promised to issue a new coin specially for his behoof. 
 Its value is rather less than one cent, and is to possess the in¬ 
 dispensable hole, by which he can string it as a child strings 
 beads, and he is probably content. 
 
 Turkey. 
 
 Turkish coins often bear texts from the Koran on either 
 side, so it may be said the tenets of their religion are their 
 circulating medium. The piastres in this collection are gen¬ 
 erally those now in circulation. 
 
 Egypt. 
 
 Egypt’s antique coins were of Greek or Roman workman¬ 
 ship, of which the very finest is in the case marked “ Selec¬ 
 tions,” and has not its superior for interest or beauty in the 
 world. It was the work of some Greek. artist, and presents 
 the head of Arsinoe, wife of Ptolemy. It was found in 1868, 
 and bought by the United States Government at a high price; 
 but as only three had been found, its market value may be 
 named by thousands, though its metal value is not more than 
 twenty dollars. 
 
 This notice of Oriental coins may conclude with suggestive 
 reference to the “Cufic coins,” of which there are some valua¬ 
 ble specimens. The first is the silver dirhem of Walid, the 
 eccentric caliph of Damascus, a. d. 713. There is also in case 
 XV. a coin of the reign of Haroun Alraschid. 
 
 French Coinage. 
 
 The French have the credit of making the greatest improve- 
 'ments in modern coinage. The French coins are a history of 
 that nation, from the small coin issued in the reign of Louis 
 “the Meek” to the last currency of the republic of France, 
 spanning a period of one thousand years. 
 
 In design and execution the French coins bear the impress 
 of the national character, and also give assurance of the art 
 patronage in which her rulers, failing in much, have never 
 wavered, but brought all their power and cunning to bear on 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 55 
 
 securing the best artists, as in the instance of Francis I. beguil¬ 
 ing from the holy father that exquisite artist Benvenuto 
 Cellini, or the later enterprise of Napoleon Bonaparte. No. 
 83,—a medalet of the unhappy Marie Antoinette,—which is 
 in itself very beautiful, and from its tragic association attracts 
 general interest. 
 
 Germany. 
 
 The collection of Germany is very large and divided and 
 sub-divided by its kingdoms and principalities. 
 
 One of the most interesting coins of any age, and excelling 
 in beauty as well, is the gold medallic ducat on which are the 
 heads of Martin Luther and Philip Melanchtlion. This coin 
 is very generally admired by visitors to the Cabinet. 
 
 Coins of Savitzerland. 
 
 Switzerland is modestly represented in all her cantons, eacji, 
 like the classic Greek town, enjoying the coining privilege. 
 There are several pieces of commemorative and artistic worth,, 
 especially the two issues of the republic of 1796. 
 
 Russian Coins. 
 
 The double rouble, with a magnificent draped head of Peter 
 the Great, is unexcelled for strength of outline, and valuable 
 as a correct portrait of one of the very greatest and most self- 
 reliant of modern rulers. Turning to another rouble, the 
 features of Elizabeth II. are recognized. It may be assumed, 
 with all due deference to royalty, that this portrayal is the 
 most laughter-provoking figure ever stamped on metal. She 
 is so fat as to have the effect of “spreading herself” all over 
 the coin. Another rouble presents the majestic Catherine II. 
 
 Of the coins marked Denmark, Norway, SAveden, there 
 can be only the copper half-daler of Sweden mentioned. This 
 coin is four inches square, Aveighs about twelve ounces, and is 
 equivalent to a United States silver half-dollar. The daler of 
 Sweden, thaler of Germany, dollar of Spain and America, are 
 all synonymous terms. 
 
 England. 
 
 The first coins of Great Britain were of tin, according to 
 Caesar’s authority, who mentions the “ tin money of Britain,” 
 which has lately been sustained by the discovery, in some work 
 of excavation, of coins of that metal in antique design. These 
 coins are, however, of little use, by reason of the obscure in¬ 
 scription, or rather the frequent absence of all device. 
 
 The English collection in the Cabinet begins with a coin 
 made after the stater of Greece, presenting the head of Minerva, 
 
ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 56 
 
 ■with Greek helmet on obverse, while the reverse gives the 
 figure of a woman most crudely drawn. It is supposed this 
 rude attempt at art was coined about the time of the Roman 
 invasion. Note the contrast presented in placing this relic by 
 the side of the Victorian sovereign, where, on the obverse, is 
 the queen’s head superbly cut; on the reverse, Wyon’s inimita¬ 
 ble figure of Una and the Lion. These two coins are the 
 Alpha and the Omega of British coinage, while the thou¬ 
 sands issued between them are progressive links to civilization. 
 
 Two small coins are placed here, thought to be contempo¬ 
 rary with the Christian era, having no device, but an attempt 
 to portray the sun on one side. No. 2 is the skeattae of 
 Ethelbert I, king of Saxony, and is the first Saxon coin ivhich 
 has yet been appropriated. It bears upon the obverse the 
 head of the king; on the reverse is the figure of a bird. 
 
 Next in interest is No. 6, the penny of William the Con¬ 
 queror. The bust of that famous monarch is attempted; 
 1068 is about the year it is supposed to have been made. 
 During the three centuries following, the condition of England, 
 whether she was at peace or war, is plainly indicated by her coin¬ 
 age. Every added province is memorialized in coin. The 
 rose, thistle, and fleur-de-lis, all tell in strange language for 
 flowers of bloody battles, long sieges, perils by the sea and 
 land; at last all resistance bowing before the ever-increasing 
 power of Great Britain. 
 
 The first coin of English issue was dated in 1553, being 
 either the close of Edward VI.’s or the beginning of Queen 
 Mary’s reign. This is claimed by many to be the first coin 
 dated, though old medals of the preceding century have been 
 found with date. 
 
 In 1558, the ryal or royal of Queen Elizabeth was issued. 
 On the obverse the queen is grandly enthroned, while the 
 reverse is a large rose, in the centre of which are the Danish 
 arms of Britain, and the arms of Anjou quartered. This 
 coin and the pound sterling of Charles I. are in Case XV., 
 ‘‘Selections.” 
 
 This pound sterling is one of the famous “siege pieces” 
 of that unhappy king,—which were often made on the field 
 with hammer and anvil out of the family plate brought to the 
 closely-pressed Stuart by his faithful followers. It is to be 
 regretted that so much valuable family plate of no mean work¬ 
 manship was thus sacrificed. This “siege piece is the 
 largest silver coin known. The legend upon it, rudely in¬ 
 scribed, is, “Let God arise; let his enemies be scattered;’* 
 above are three fleurs-de-lis, with date, “1642.” 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 57 
 
 In 1684-88, during the short reign of James II., several 
 varieties of new coins were introduced, notably, “Maundy 
 Money,” a small coin made to be distributed by the king 
 on “Maundy Thursday.” Beggars, on that day, received 
 from his majesty bags containing as many maundy pieces as 
 the king had lived years. 
 
 King James II. also had issued “gun money.” This 
 variety was made out of old cannon, after the suppression of 
 an Irish rebellion. Though not even giving a glance towards 
 the interesting series of Queen Anne, it is impossible to pass 
 unnoticed the beautiful bust of George IV., by Chan trey, 
 upon a pattern five-sovereign piece. This well-executed bust 
 of “the handsomest man in Europe,” was said to be the 
 means of Sir Francis Chan trey being knighted. That vain 
 monarch was as careful about how his face would appear to 
 future generations as was Alexander of Macedon; and Chan- 
 trey well knew if he placed upon the shoulders of sixty years 
 the head of forty years, he had given the cabalistic words 
 which would be the “open sesame” to royal favor. 
 
 The gold sovereign of Victoria, Nos. 183-184, has, on the 
 reverse, an evidence of coins as a deposit of law archives. 
 The shield surrounded by a crown, and bearing the arms of 
 Great Britian quartered; but the arms of Hanover are omitted. 
 Although Victoria was next heir to William IV., she was pre¬ 
 vented by the Salic law from assuming the sceptre of Hanover. 
 On this coin, it may be remembered, are very beautifully pre¬ 
 sented the rose, the thistle, and the shamrock. 
 
 A recent addition has been made to the Mint Cabinet of a 
 very fine sovereign of the times of Oliver Cromwell, purchased 
 at the coin sale of May 14 and 15, 1885. 
 
 Scotch moneys of any variety, are very much prized by 
 collectors (see, in Case XV., “Selections,” “Groat of Robert 
 Bruce, 1602.”) A very rare coin is the penny of Robert II. 
 of Scotland, said to be the only specimen in existence of that 
 monarch’s reign. In the seventeenth century the coinage of 
 Scotland merged into that of England. 
 
 English Silver Tokens, 
 
 issued in England, Scotland, and Ireland. “During the long 
 suspension of specie payments, occasioned by the wars with 
 Napoleon, the minor currency of England was supplied, not 
 with small paper notes, but with silver tokens, issued by banks 
 and traders, and made redeemable in bank notes. They 
 were of reduced weight, to keep within the premium, and to 
 
58 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 prevent hoarding. They continued to circulate until the re¬ 
 turn of better times and of regular silver coinage. There 
 were many varieties, most of which are here. 
 
 Portugal and Spain. 
 
 The coinage of Portugal and Spain in the fifteenth century, 
 held greater sway than that of other countries. Of their coins, 
 there are many fine specimens in the Mint Cabinet. The “joe 
 and half-joe*” of Portugal are known of all nations, while the 
 Spanish dollar, with its pretentious two globes under a crown, 
 did not claim too much, and only tells the almost limitless rule 
 of the great Philip. The coins of these nations became, through 
 their possessions in the New World, the circulating medium of 
 that portion of the earth. Spanish and Mexican dollars -were 
 almost synonymous, while the real and joe of South America 
 was patterned after that of Portugal, which fact can be learned 
 in this Cabinet. As nations decay it will be seen their coins 
 become inevitably less trustworthy; even a glance at the cases 
 marked “Portugal,” “Spain,” will give this lesson. In the 
 Mexican collection there are issues which seem to contradict 
 this assertion, for the “Mexican dollar” has, for generations, 
 had a position in the monetary world of almost unchallenged 
 credit, yet not by reason of the recognition given Mexico, but 
 because of the United States using it so extensively; for, until 
 the introduction of the “trade dollar,” this country had no 
 currency that would meet the demand of the Oriental market. 
 
 Mexico. 
 
 The Mexicans use only gold and silver, and their national 
 series is full of tragic interest, embracing, as it does, three and 
 a half centuries of Mexican history, from Cortez to Maximilian. 
 The “pillar dollar,” “windmill dollar,” “cast dollar” (the 
 Mexicans are the only nation that cast money), and the “ cob 
 money ” (a series so called by reason of its clumsiness), are all 
 to be seen in this collection. 
 
 Coins of Brazil. 
 
 • 
 
 One coin, a gold “ half-joe,” issued in 1832, with the infant 
 head of Dom Pedro, is very beautiful. By the side of this, in 
 every way a contrast to it, is a series of copper coins of a late 
 issue with the head of the “ child ” now seated on the throne. 
 
 * “ In box, three pictures (miniatures), two half joes, two small pieces of gold.” Dee. 
 26,1780.—Martha Washington. These were sent to be used in the manufacture of th« 
 miniature cases for the above pictures. This letter is in the possession of R. Coultor 
 Davis, Ch. G., of this city. 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 59 
 
 The coins of Bolivia proudly present the bust of Simon 
 Bolivar. Among the West Indies are many samples of “ cut 
 money.” The law permitting money to be quartered had to 
 be repealed, because the traders of the West Indies made the 
 wonderful mathematical discovery that jive quarters make a 
 whole! 
 
 Leaving both the eastern and the western world and their 
 coins, there is a single piece, of small commercial valne, which 
 is yet a light-house in mid-ocean.” This is the one cent of the 
 Sandwich Islands, the only venture of that kind made by the 
 enterprising little kingdom. The inscription is “ Kamehameha( 
 III., one hundredth, Hawaii.” The name of the king being/ 
 interpreted signifies “ the solitary one,” which is singularly 
 well adapted to the coin. 
 
 Colonial Coins. 
 
 In 1684, the charter of the Massachusetts Bay Company 
 was revoked, and the governor recalled ; one of the alleged 
 grievances by the crown was a colonial law concerning the 
 Mint. The currency used by the colonies was chiefly from 
 England, Spain, and Portugal, but the supply was limited from 
 these sources, and the mother-country was jealous of any in¬ 
 fringement of her prerogative of coinage. There are various 
 specimens of the “ pine-tree ” money of Massachusetts in the 
 Cabinet. Some doubt has arisen as to the species of tree 
 intended, but it is generally accepted as the emblematic pine. 
 This is claimed to be about the second colonial issue, a kind of 
 semi-official coin. The first was from the Bermudas.* It is 
 a shilling piece, stamped by one John Hall, silversmith, of 
 the city of Boston, 1652, who made a very good speculation of 
 the privilege. There has lately been added to the Cabinet a six¬ 
 pence of this rare money. The work on this species of coins is so 
 exceedingly simple as to present little save a planchet. On the 
 obverse, a double ring around a pine-tree; legend, “Massa¬ 
 chusetts in;” and on the reverse, a double ring also, containing 
 the legend, “New England An Dom.f” 
 
 Charles II., it appears, was easily deceived in regard to the 
 significance of the “pine-tree shilling.” Sir Thomas Temple, 
 a friend of the colonies, adroitly presented one of these ob¬ 
 noxious coins to the irate monarch, explaining that the tree 
 
 * This issue being made at Sommer Islands, gave the name of “Sommer money.” 
 
 + The old story of the weighing of John Hall’s daughter on her marriage-day is re¬ 
 called in seeing these coins. Herdowry was her weight in “pine-tree” shillings; and 
 the suggestion is allowable that these specimens formed a part of the portion of the 
 blushing bride two centuries ago. 
 
60 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 was the “royal oak” which had saved his majesty’s life. 
 Whereupon the king, laughing, denominated his trans-Atlantia 
 subjects “honest dogs,” and allowed the coinage to proceed. 
 
 During the reign of George I. a new species of coin was 
 issued from the English Mint, denomination half penny, 
 and it is asserted upon good authority that this was the only 
 issue ever authorized by the home government for general cir¬ 
 culation in the colonies. It Avas a coin of mixed metal, resem¬ 
 bling brass. The head of the king was on the obverse; 
 inscription, “Georgius Rex.” The reverse, a large double 
 rose under a crown; legend, “Rosa Americana.” Upon a 
 scroll, “Utile Dulci.*” 
 
 “Peltry,” we learn, was one of the principal articles of 
 currency, and was known as “pelt,” or Massachusetts cur¬ 
 rency, and was extensively used in trading between Indians 
 and whites, sometimes called “Beaver Money,” “ Corne, 
 Wheate, Barley, and Rye; ’ ’ and a still more quaint currency 
 w r as established, as will he found in an old Massachusetts court 
 order, as follows : “ It is likeivise ordered that masJcett halletts 
 of a full boare shall passe current for a farthing a peece, pro¬ 
 vided that noe man be compelled to take above 12d. att a 
 tyme of them ” 
 
 In Maryland, not only cattle, tobacco, and other produce 
 was accepted as currency, but powder and shot were also in¬ 
 cluded. • Lord Baltimore, in 1660, sent over to Maryland the 
 “Baltimore” shilling. In the colonial case there is a series 
 of these exceedingly rare coins. They were a shilling, -six¬ 
 pence, groats, and are all of the same design, differing only 
 in denomination. They Avere coined in London, and compare 
 favorably Avith any minting of that age. The bust of Lord 
 Baltimore on the obverse is very well cut; his name “Cecil,” 
 is the legend. On the reverse, the coat of arms of Cecil, 
 Lord Baltimore, is given; this device has been re-adopted by 
 the State of Maryland. The substitution of any legal tender 
 seems to be fraught with danger, and at best is jealously 
 scanned by the people; and there Avas trouble to put this coin 
 into circulation. The people, though demanding coin, did 
 not yield their old currency of “wheat, corn, tobacco , powder , 
 and shot," without a demonstration. The Carolinas, Virginia, 
 and NeAV Hampshire all folloAved Maryland in the introduction 
 of a colonial coinage. 
 
 In the interval of the Revolution, known as the Confed¬ 
 eracy, the growth of the spirit of independence in the people 
 
 * This is the coin which caused such excitement and so much feeling in Ireland, and 
 which Dean Swilt attacked from the pulpit. 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 61 
 
 is plainly written on their coins, especially upon their tokens 
 or individual coins. We notice one inscription attributed to 
 Franklin, “Mind your business and others, such as “Good 
 copper ,” “Cut your way through ,” and like characteristic ex¬ 
 pressions. The “New York Doubloon” was coined in 1787, 
 value sixteen dollars. This coin is highly esteemed by reason 
 of its rarity, and its market value to-day is about five hundred 
 dollars, as only three or four are known to be in existence. 
 
 The Washington cent of 1791 (so-called) was not a coin of 
 the United States, but was struck at a private mint in Bir¬ 
 mingham, England, (Boulton’s), partly, no doubt, to bespeak 
 the “job,” and partly to please Americans generally. 
 
 It has been said that Washington objected to putting his 
 head on the coins, and it may be true; but it was also objected 
 that no man’s head should appear on the coin of a republic, 
 which, whether good doctrine or not, is still the prevailing 
 idea. The “cent of 1791” is of two types, one very rare 
 and costly, with a small eagle. The other, with a large eagle, 
 is more common, and perhaps sells for about five dollars at 
 a public coin sale. 
 
 United States Coins. 
 
 The first copper coins made by the United States Mint were 
 one cent and one-half cent issues, of which there were four 
 designs: 1st, the “chain cent;” 2d, the “wreath cent;’ 5 3d, 
 the “flowing hair;” and 4th, the “liberty cap,” which was 
 used for a number of years. The “chain” device was not 
 acceptable to the sensitive American mind, and of conse¬ 
 quence the accidental breaking of the die was not a subject of 
 regret, but “quite the contrary.” The pattern sections of 
 United States coins are very beautiful and varied, especially 
 those in gold. 
 
 The Trade Dollar. 
 
 This coin bears on the obverse a female figure seated on 
 bales of merchandise, holding in her left hand a scroll on 
 which is the word “liberty.” At her back is a sheaf of 
 wheat; this and the bales of goods indicate the commercial 
 character of the coin. Her right hand, extended, offers the 
 olive branch. On a scroll beneath the figure are the words 
 “In God we trust,” and the date below, “1873.” The re¬ 
 verse has a circling inscription, “ United States of America, 
 Trade Dollar.” In the centre is an eagle, in his claws three 
 arrows and a sprig of olive. On a label above are the words 
 “E Pluribus Unum.” Below, “420 grains fine,” very beau¬ 
 tiful in design. 
 
62 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 History of the Trade Dollar. 
 
 The coinage of the Trade Dollar was authorized by act of 
 February 12, 1873, and was not intended for circulation in 
 the United States, but for export to China. 
 
 It was designed to compete with the Spanish and Mexican 
 dollar. That empire, having no mint for the coinage of gold 
 or silver, depended upon foreign coin for its domestic ciicula- 
 tion, and until the institution of the Trade Dollar the prin¬ 
 cipal shipments of coin to China were in the form of Mexican 
 dollars. 
 
 The Trade Dollar was made a trifle more valuable than the 
 American and Mexican dollar, thus not only affording a 
 market for the surplus silver of the mines of the Pacific Coast, 
 but furnishing merchants and importers from China with silver 
 in a convenient form for payment for commodities, instead of 
 their being obliged to purchase Mexican dollars for that 
 purpose.. 
 
 When its coinage was authorized it was inadvertently made 
 a legal tender to amount of five dollars, but this was repealed 
 by section 2, Act of July 22, 1876. 
 
 Brief History of the Standard Silver Dollar. 
 
 Authorized to be coined, Act of April 2, 1792. Weight, 
 416 grains, standard silver; fineness, 892.4; equivalent to 
 371£ grains of fine silver, with 44f grains alloy of pure 
 copper. 
 
 Weight changed, Act of January 18, 1837, to 412J grains, 
 and fineness changed to 900, preserving the same amount of 
 pure silver=371|- grains, with rV alloy. 
 
 Coinage discontinued, Act of February 12, 1873. 
 
 Total amount coined, from 1792 to 1873, $8,045,838. 
 
 Coinage revived, two million dollars per month required to 
 be coined, and issue made legal tender for all debts, public and 
 private, Act of February 28, 1878. 
 
 Total amount coined, February 28, 1878, to November 1, 
 1884, $184,730,829. 
 
 Pacific Coast. 
 
 The semi-official coins of-the Pacific coast present quite a 
 glittering array of monetary enterprise, and signify the great- 
 wealth and daring spirit of that part of the world. The fifty- 
 dollar octagon gold piece, issued in 1851, is a very beautiful 
 coin. “Gold slugs” are novelties; are oblong gold pieces. 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 63 
 
 and are valued at sixteen dollars. The Utah coins also attract 
 attention. They are of gold, fine. The device is an “all- 
 seeing eye” and two clasped hands; reverse, “ a bee-hive,” 
 with inscription, “ Holiness to the Lord.” Some have for 
 legend, “G. S. L. C. P. G.,” which the initiated receive as 
 “Great Salt Lake City, Pure Gold.” 
 
 The series of the United States coins is complete, and can 
 be readily examined. The changes have been very gradual. 
 The motto, “ In God we trust,” was introduced in 1866. 
 
 There is one specimen which illustrates how a coin may be¬ 
 come famous without the least premonition, and also is a witness 
 of the positive law which protects and governs coinage. A law 
 passed Congress in 1849 ordering twenty-dollar gold pieces to 
 be issued. One piece was struck. Something intervened to 
 delay the work, and the year closed; then, of course, the dies 
 had to be destroyed, as no more could be lawfully issued of 
 1849. The coin just beside this, marked 1850, of same value, 
 is not worth the collector’s consideration, while “ 1849 ” can¬ 
 not to be purchased. It is marked “unique,” and is really 
 the only one in gold. One specimen exists in brass. 
 
 Coins of the Southern Confederacy. 
 
 It has been said and repeated as a historical fact that the 
 Southern Confederacy had no metallic currency. After a 
 lapse of eighteen years the following official document from 
 the Confederate archives explains itself, and substantiates the 
 fact that silver to a limited extent was coined at the New Or¬ 
 leans Mint by order of the Confederate Government, in the 
 early days of the rebellion, and only suspended operations on 
 account of the difficulty in obtaining bullion for coinage. 
 
 War Department, 
 
 Adjutant General’s Office, 
 
 Washington, March 27, 1879. 
 
 Dr. B. F. Taylor, 
 
 New Orleans, La. 
 
 Dear Sir :—The enclosed circular will explain to you the nature of the 
 duties upon which I am now engaged; I would like to have from you,* 
 from file with confederate archives, a letter stating when you were. ap4 
 pointed Chief Coiner of the Confederate States Mint, instructions received'! 
 copies of the originals of any official papers, sketches, descriptions, etc.* 
 of all the coins made, etc. This will make a valuable addition to Con-, 
 federate history, and I know no one but you can give it. 
 
 *Very truly yours, 
 
 MARCUS J. WRIGHT. 
 
 New Orleans, La., April 7,1879. 
 
 To Hon. Marcus J. Wright. 
 
 Dear Sir: —Your favor requesting a statement of the history of the 
 New Orleans Mint, in reference to the coinage under the Confederate 
 
64 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 Government, is received. That institution was turned over by the Stata 
 of Louisiana, the last of February, 1861, to the Confederate States of 
 America, the old officers being retained and confirmed by the government, 
 viz.: Wm. A. Elmore, Superintendent; A. J. Guyrot, Treasurer; M. F. 
 Bonzano, M. D., Melter and Refiner; and Howard Millspaugh, Assayer, 
 In the month of April, orders were issued by Mr. Memminger, Secretary of 
 the Treasury, to the effect that designs for half-dollars should be submitted 
 to him for approval. Among several sent, the one approved bore on the 
 obverse of the coin a representation of the Goddes§ of Liberty, surrounded 
 by thirteen stars, denoting the thirteen States from whence the Con¬ 
 federacy sprung, and on the lower rim the figures, 1861. On the reverse 
 there is a shield with seven stars, representing the seceding States; above 
 the shield is a liberty-cap, and entwined around it stalks of sugar cane and 
 cotton, “Confederate States of America." The dies were engraved by A. 
 H. M. Peterson, Engraver and Die Sinker, who is now living in Commer¬ 
 cial Place. They were prepared for the coining press by Conrad Schmidt, 
 foreman of the coining room (who is still living), from which four pieces 
 only were struck. About this period an order came from the secretary 
 suspending operations on account of the difficulty of obtaining bullion, 
 and the Mint was closed April 80, 1861. 
 
 Of the four pieces mentioned, one was sent to the Government, one pre 
 sented to Prof. Biddle, of the University of Louisiana, one sent to Dr. E 
 Ames of New Orleans, the remaining one being retained by myself 
 Upon diligent inquiry I am unable to find but one piece besides my own 
 that being in the possession of a Confederate officer of this city, who" trans 
 mitted it to his son as a souvenir of his father’s in the Confederate cause. 
 
 So soon as copies are made I will take pleasure in sending you a speci 
 men for the archives you represent. 
 
 Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 B. F. TAYLOR, M. D. 
 
 Formerly Chief Coiner C. S. A. 
 
 The most notable and valuable silver coin is the dollar of 
 1804. It is said that the scarcity of this dollar was owing to 
 the sinking of a China-bound vessel having on board almost the 
 entire mintage of the 1804 dollars in lieu of the Spanish milled 
 dollars. It is believed that there are not more than seven, pos¬ 
 sibly eight, genuine 1804 dollars extant. The rarity of the 
 piece and the almost. fabulous prices offered for it are patent 
 facts. 
 
 Sketch of the 1804 Dollar.* 
 
 This coin among collectors is known as the “king of Ameri¬ 
 can rarities.” But seven or eight pieces are known to exist. 
 The 1804 dollars are of two classes, to wit: first, originals, 
 which are from but one obverse and one reverse die,—draped 
 bust of Liberty facing right; the head bound with a fillet; hair 
 flowing; 6 stars before and 7 behind the bust above LIBERTY, 
 tipper right hand star almost touching letter y ; reverse her¬ 
 aldic eagle bearing on his breast a broad shield, in his beak a 
 Bcroll, inscribed E Pluribus Unum; 12 arrows in right talon, 
 a branch of olive in left; above, an arc of clouds from wing to 
 
 * From Chapman’s Collection Catalogue, May 14-15, pp. 24-25. 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 65 
 
 wing of eagle; in field beneath 13 stars; UNITED STATES 
 OF AMERICA; edge lettered ONE HUNDRED CENTS, 
 ONE DOLLAR OR UNIT, which are lightly struck in some 
 parts. The first specimen in the Mint Cabinet weighs 415.2 
 grs.; second, Mr. M. A. Stickney procured from the Mint in 
 1843 in exchange for other coins; third, W. S. Appleton 
 bought, at an advance of $750, in 1868, from E. Cogan, who 
 purchased it from W. A. Lilliendahl, who bought it at a sale 
 of collection of J. J. Mickley, 1867, for $750; fourth, L. G. 
 Parmelee bought, at sale of E. H. Sandford’s collection, 1874, 
 for $700, who obtained it in 1868 from an aged lady, who got 
 it at the Mint many years before; fifth, W. B. Wetmore 
 bought of Mr. Parmelee, 1868, for $600, from sale of H. S. 
 Adams’ collection, 1876, at $500, from sale of M. J. Cohen’s 
 collection, 1875, at $325 (in fair condition) ; sixth, present 
 owner unknown to us, formerly in possession of collection of 
 Mr. Robert C. Davis, of Philadelphia, and recently sold for 
 $1200 ; seventh, S. H. and H. Chapman purchased October, 
 1884, at a sale in Berlin, and resold to a Mr. Scott, a dealer in 
 coins, for $1000 at their Philadelphia sale, in May, 1885. 
 
 Restrikes. There were struck at the Mint in 1858 restrikes 
 with plain edges, of which three were recovered after diligent 
 search; two of these were destroyed in the Mint, and the other 
 placed in the Cabinet, where it remains. The difference be¬ 
 tween these and the originals are as follows: obverse, the 
 original die was re-cut in the word Liberty, the stars and date, 
 which made them larger and deeper, especially noticeable in 
 the stars, which are broadened; also in the date, it making 
 the outline sharp and square, whereas in the originals they are 
 somewhat rounded; reverse, not having the original die, they 
 used another, which differs in many respects, most easily no¬ 
 ticeable in that the A touches the eagle’s claw, the OF much 
 nearer of the end of eagle’s wing than S in States (in the 
 original it is equally spaced); edge, plain; w r eight, 381.5 
 grains. One specimen is in the Mint and another in England, 
 —-struck between 1860 and 1869, as in the latter year all dies 
 remaining were destroyed, same as the above, but endeavors 
 were made to letter the edges in the absence of a complete 
 collar by using pieces of collars which did not contain all the 
 letters, but repeated some of them several times. There was 
 one of these pieces sold in the Berg collection in 1883 for 
 $740, and showed all the peculiarities mentioned, and its 
 weight was said to be inaccurate. The dies were destroyed in 
 the winter of 1868-69. No counterfeit dies of the 1804 dol¬ 
 lar were ever made. After the close of each year all dies are 
 sow destroyed. 
 
66 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OP 
 
 Double Eagle. 
 
 Among the rare coins in the Cabinet at the Mint is a Double 
 Eagle. The dies for this piece were made in 1849, and only 
 one was struck. “ Unique ” and beyond price. There is also 
 a Quarter Eagle of 1842, and the only one known extant at 
 the Mint. 
 
 SELECTIONS. 
 
 Having referred many times to this case, it may be as well 
 to append the entire list of its contents, as they, almost with¬ 
 out exception, are rare, spanning the world from remotest 
 antiquity to the present day, beginning with the gold Daric of 
 Darius, and ending with the twenty-mark piece of Kaiser 
 William. 
 
 Greece. 
 
 1. Four drachma, Athens, b. c. 500 ; 2. Oboloi of Athens; 
 3. One-half obolos, 1^ of a cent; 4. Daric, Darius, of Persia, 
 B. c. 520, value, five dollars and fifty cents; 5. Silver Daric; 
 6. Brass Ob. Berenice, B. c. 284; 7. Ptolemy and Berenice, 
 copy; 8. Maneh of Ptolemy Philadelphus, b. c. 284, value, 
 $17.70; 9. Drachma, Cyrene, b. c. 322; 10. Coin of Syra¬ 
 cuse, copy, about b. c. 300; 11. Silver coin, Bactria, E. c. 
 126; 12. Brass of Bactria, b. c. 180; 13. Cleopatra, b. c. 
 30 ; 13a. Denarius of Cleopatra and Mark Antony; 14. Alex¬ 
 ander the Great, b. c. 36; 15. Philip, b. c. 323; 16. Stater 
 of Seleucus; 17. Alexander Balas, b. c. 150; 18. Antiochus 
 VI; 19. Philip, King of Syria, b. c. 93. 
 
 Rome. 
 
 20. Roman aes, B. c. 500 ; 21. Denarius of Augustus, b. o. 
 31; 22. Tiberius, A. D. 14; 23. Simon, Bar Cochab, false 
 Christ, a. d. 133; 24. Vespasian, a. d. 49; 25. Gold bezants, 
 A. D. 610 ; 26. Justinian, a. d. 527 ; 26a. Kingdom of Cyprus 
 and Jerusalem, Peter 1, 1361 to 1372, testoon, Kingdom'of 
 Jerusalem; 2 Qb. Amaury II., 1194 to 1205. 
 
 English. 
 
 27. Gold of Britain; 28. Carausius, Roman Emperor tff 
 Britain, A. D. 287; 29. Penny of Ethelbert, King of Kent, 85 8 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 67 
 
 A. D. ; 30. Harold the Dane, a. d. 1036; 31. William the 
 Conqueror, 1066, A. D. ; 32. Edward the Confessor, a. d. 
 1041; 33. Robert the Bruce, a. d. 1306; 34. Elizabeth, 
 Double Ryal, a. d. 1558; 35. James I, 1603, Ryal (30 shil¬ 
 lings) and sovereign; 36. Charles I, sovereign; 37. Siege 
 pound of Charles I, 1642; 37a. Gold sovereign of Oliver 
 Cromwell; 38. Crown, and half crown and shilling, Oliver 
 Cromwell, 1658; 38a. Farthing, Queen Anne; 39. George 
 IV; 40. Coins of Australia. 
 
 France. 
 
 41. Deniers of Charlemagne 806; 42. Medalet, Marie An¬ 
 toinette ; 43. Five francs, Napoleon I; 44. Gold, Napoleon I, 
 1851; 45. Five francs, Paris Commune. 
 
 Germany. 
 
 46. Bracteats; 47. German Crown, Ob. St. Stephen; 48. 
 Ducat, Ob. Luther and Melancthon, 1730; 49. Crown, Max¬ 
 imilian, A. D. 1615; 50. Ducat, Nuremburg; 51. Ducat Ham¬ 
 burg; 52. Monument, Bavaria; 53. King’s family, Bavaria; 
 54. Coins of Prussia; 55. Silver piece, Frederick William 
 and Augusta. 
 
 Spain. 
 
 56. Ferdinand and Isabella; 57. Charles II., Spain; 58. 
 Alphonso, Spain. 
 
 Italy. 
 
 59. Silver of Venice under the Doges, twelfth century; 
 60. Ducat of Venice; 61. Copper of San Marino; 62. Silver 
 piece of Lombardy; 63. Gold twenty lira piece; 64. Swiss 
 crown, ob. St. Vincent; 65. African shell money; 66. African 
 ring money. 
 
 Oriental. 
 
 67. Siamese coins; 68. Chinese tael; 69. Widow’s mite; 
 70. Jewish shekel; 70a. Herod the Great, 37 b. c.; 705. 
 Herod Archelaus, 4 b. c.; 71. Glass coin, Egypt; 72. Gold 
 of Alnaser, a. d. 1222; 73. Dirhem of Mahomet V., A. D. 
 854 ; 74. Dirhem of Walid, Caliph of Damascus, A. d. 713; 
 
ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 75. Haroun Alrascliid, Koran text, 806; 76. Fire Worship¬ 
 pers, a. d. 300; 77. Gold of Japan, 1634; 78. Gravel stone 
 of Burmali; 79. Late coin of Turkey; 80. Mexican dollar 
 used in China; 81. Coin of Cochin China. 
 
 The most notable coin in this case, and perhaps the most 
 celebrated coin in the world, is the “Widow’s Mite.” Its 
 name bespeaks its commercial insignificance. Yet visitors every 
 day, upon entering the Cabinet of the Mint, ask first to see the 
 “ Widow’s Mite.” 
 
 The following letter from Wm. E. Du Bois, will be found of 
 interest to the reader. 
 
 THE WIDOW’S MITE. 
 
 Sir: The curators of the mint cabinet do not consent to the intimation 
 in a statement recently made that their widow’s mite is not the real coin. 
 
 The expression of a doubt as to any received fact is thought to be a sign 
 of superior insight. Hence we have so much “ destructive criticism,” a 
 good deal of it being fatal to the critic himself. 
 
 The widow’s mite in our showcase of specialties, always attracting much 
 attention, is precisely what the Scriptures speak of—a lepton, the smallest 
 of Greek and Syriac coins. The name comes from leplos, very small. The 
 word “mite” is English, and was formerly a weight representing the 
 twentieth part .of a grain, but has long fallen into disuse. It was employed 
 in the translation of the New Testament to represent the word lepton, sim¬ 
 ply because it was so very small. 
 
 It is pretty certain that there was no Jewish or Hebrew coin so small as 
 the lepton; that people depended very much upon outside coins for their 
 circulation. Even their money terms had changed to those of the Syrian- 
 Greek Empire and of Rome, as we see from all the instances in the New 
 Testament. What few copper or bronze pieces they had, struck by local 
 princes for a limited time, and now very rare, were large enough to bear a 
 Bhow of devices and inscriptions, for which the lepton was too minute. The 
 one in our cabinet has a diameter of only three-tenths of an inch, and 
 weighs but ten grains. On one side nothing is discernible, on the other a 
 mint monogram, such as were common in that era, occupies the space. It 
 is much like the letter x, with a line crossing it near the top. Whether it 
 iB Samaritan, or Syriac, or Greek, we cannot be sure; nor is it of any con¬ 
 sequence. It is enough to show that it is a coin, and belongs to the age 
 shortly before and after the advent of Christ, and its size proves it to be a 
 lepton. 
 
 It is an interesting and confirmatory fact, that this piece was found 
 among the rubbish of the Temple grounds, by Dr. Barclay, long resident 
 in Jerusalem, and author of “The City of the Great King.” By him it was 
 presented to the mint cabinet. The objector may soberly doubt whether 
 this was one of the identical mites offered by the widow ; for the rest of his 
 doubts they are of no value. 
 
 We are often asked how much this famous offering amounted to ? There 
 is some obscurity and confusion about their coin-tables, and, therefore, some 
 variety in the estimation. We may say, however, that the current »alue 
 of the lepton, or mite, was about one-fifth of a cent in our money; being 
 eighty to the drachma or denarius, which was 16 or 15 cents. 
 
 But as the purchasing or paying power of a drachma was probably as 
 great in that day and country as a dollar is in ours, we may say that the 
 value of a lepton, judged by our ideas, was about one cent. As the treasurer 
 .would not take a less gift than two lepta, it follows that the poor but very 
 liberal woman contributed fully two cents, which is more than some- 
 persons—neither poor nor in widowhood—throw into the church basket 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 69 
 
 It is worth while to add that a visitor at the mint saw a similar piece in 
 Jerusalem, and tried to obtain one, but on account of its rarity did not 
 •succeed. 
 
 W. E. D. 
 
 DONATIONS OF OLD COINS. 
 
 Extract from the, American Journal of Numismatics , Apr il, 1884. 
 
 Under the head of donations, we have from Quartermaster General Meigs, 
 a half-dollar and pistareen of Carolus and Johana of Spain. These pieces 
 were presented to General Meigs at Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1870. The 
 ■special interest attached to them, is their having been found on the beach 
 of Padre Island, off the southerly coast of Texas. The supposition is that 
 they were washed up from a sunken treasure ship wrecked on the coast, 
 while carrying funds to the Army of Cortez, who entered the City of Mexico 
 in 1519. Their good condition may warrant our accepting this brinv 
 romance Cum grano salis. Antiquarian stories must expect to stand the 
 test of the chemist, as well as of the historian. This reminds me, however, 
 of some specimens of the Mint Cabinet, from the wreck of the San Pedro, 
 some account of which may not be uninteresting here.* “ Early in 1815, a 
 naval armament was fitted out in Spain, by Ferdinand VII., for the purpose 
 of reducing the Rebellious Colonies in South America. The military force 
 of this expedition amounted to ten thousand men, of whom two thousand 
 were on board the flag ship “ San Pedro.” The vessel was also freighted to 
 a large amount with gunpowder, cannon balls and specie.” 
 
 The account then goes on to state that the fleet touched at the Island of 
 Marguerita near the coast of Venezuela. After leaving the island, the vessel 
 took fire, burnt four hours until the magazine caught and exploded, and 
 the wreck went down with four hundred men. The right of working the 
 wreck, was granted about thirty years after, to a Baltimore Company, known 
 as the “San Pedro Company.” Divers were set to work, and the wreck 
 found in sixty feet of water on a hard bed of coral. Over this there was a 
 deposit of mud, and again over this a layer of coral, which had to be pierced 
 to arrive at the treasure. 
 
 The Spanish dollars recovered were sent to Philadelphia, and (up to 
 September, 1848) about seventy-five thousand dollars had been recovered 
 and re-coined. The dollars were much corroded and encrusted, the coating 
 having first to be removed, to bring the pieces into fit condition for mint¬ 
 ing; the loss from corrosion was considerable; one dollar with the impres¬ 
 sion still visible, being reduced to thirty-four cents in value. In the light 
 of these and other facts, it is difficult to conceive how the pieces found in 
 Texas, could have come so clean from their reputed berth, of over three 
 hundred years, but they are worth keeping for all that, and General Meigs 
 has the thanks of the Republic for them. 
 
 * From the proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, reported by Wm. L. 
 Do Bois, in October, 1845. 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 71 
 
 COLONIAL COINAGES. 
 
 Nova Constellatio. 
 
 Obverse: An eye, the center of a glory, thirteen points 
 cross, equidistant; a circle of as many stars. Legend: 
 “NOVA CONSTELLATIO.” 
 
 Reverse: “U. S. 500” inscribed in two lines, a wreath 
 surrounding. Legend: “libertas justitia 1783.” Border, 
 beaded; edge, leaf work. Known as the “ Quint.” 
 
 No. 2.—Obverse: An eye, around which a narrow, plain, 
 cvcular field; outside a glory, thirteen points cross, equidis¬ 
 tant; a circle of as many stars. Legend: “nova constel¬ 
 latio.” 
 
 Reverse: “U. S. 1000” inscribed in two lines, a wreath 
 surrounding. Legend:“ libertas justitia 1783.” Border, 
 a wreath of leaves; edge, leaf work ; silver; size, 21; weight, 
 270 grains. Known as the “Mark.” 
 
 The Immune Columbia. 
 
 Obverse: An eye, on a small, plain, circular field; from the 
 outside of the field radiates a glory of thirteen blunt points, 
 crossing, equidistant, the spaces between as many stars in a 
 circular constellation. Legend: “nova constellatio.” 
 Border, serrated. 
 
 Reverse: The Goddess of Liberty, seated upon a paneled 
 cubic pedestal, facing right; her left hand is well extended and 
 balances the scales of justice. A short liberty staff, crowned 
 with a cap and bearing a flag, rests against her right shoulder, 
 and is supported by the right hand. Legend: “immune 
 Columbia.” Exergue: the date 1785. Border, serrated; 
 edge, plain or milled; size, 17; weight, gold, 128.8 grains; 
 silver, 92 grains; copper 148 grains. 
 
 Bermuda Shilling—(“ Hogge-Penny ”). 
 
 Obverse: Device—A hog, standing, facing left, above 
 ffhich are displayed the Roman numerals “XII.,” the whole 
 surrounded by a beaded circle. Legend: “sommer islands” 
 around which is a beaded circle like that enclosing the device. 
 
 Reverse: Device—A full-rigged ship under sail to the left, 
 a flag flying from each of her four masts—enclosed in a beaded 
 circle, the beads larger than on the obverse. Copper; size, 
 19; weight, 177 grains. 
 
72 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 New Jersey Immunis. 
 
 Obverse: Goddess of Liberty, seated upon a globe, facing 
 right; in her extended left hand the scales of justice; right 
 hand staff of liberty bearing a flag and crowned with a cap. 
 Legend: “immunis Columbia.” Exergue: “1786.” Bor¬ 
 der, serrated; edge, plain; size, 18; weight, 160 grains. 
 
 Reverse: A shield argent, six pales gules, a chief azure. 
 Legend: “e pluribus unUiM.” Border, serrated; edge, 
 plain; size, 18; weight, 160 grains. 
 
 CONFEDERATIO AND INIMICA TyRANNIS. 
 
 Obverse: A circular central field, size 6, covered with a 
 cluster of thirteen small stars ; around this device a glory of 
 fine rays, presenting a corrugated outline of sixteen points. 
 Legend: “confederatio 1785.” Border, serrated. 
 
 Reverse: An Indian, standing beside an altar or pedestal, 
 his right foot upon a crown, an arrow in his right hand, a bow 
 in his left; at his back a quiver full of arrows. Legend: 
 “INIMICA TYRANNIS America.” Border, serrated; edge, 
 plain; size, 18 ; weight, 112 grains. 
 
 Connecticut Cent, 1788. 
 
 Obverse : Identical with one of 1787. 
 
 Reverse: The same as one of the coins of Vermont. Another 
 Connecticut coin of this year, has the same reverse as the 
 “ georgivs III rex” issue of Machin & Co., from tlfe mint 
 established by them in the State of New York. 
 
 Note.— The obverse and reverse dies of the Connecticut cents are too 
 numerous to mention, there being no less than one hundred and sixty-four 
 of the first, and eighty-four of the latter. 
 
 New England Token. 
 
 Obverse : Same as that of the common type of the Carolina 
 Token of 1694, and from the same die as that and the “Lon¬ 
 don Halfpenny.” 
 
 Reverse: An inscription, in five lines, occupying the whole 
 field, “god preserve new England 1694.” Borders, 
 milled; edge, plain; copper; size, 18 J; weight, 138 and 236 
 grains. 
 
 Good Samaritan Shillings. 
 
 The same general type and variety as the Pine Tree Shil¬ 
 ling, but bearing upon the obverse a well-executed device, 
 illustrating the parable of the Good Samaritan; but two or 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 73 
 
 three specimens of this coin have been known, two of which 
 are in existence and of unique varieties; they are supposed to 
 have been pattern pieces, struck at the origin of the Mint of 
 Massachusetts Colony. 
 
 Massachusetts Half Cent, 1787. 
 
 Obverse: Same general description as the Cent of 1787. 
 
 Reverse: Same in general as the Cent of 1787, except that 
 the shield upon some specimens, bears only “half cent.” 
 Borders, milled; edge plain; size, 15 to 15J ; weight, 75 to 
 83 grains. 
 
 The “ Cent,” 1788. Twelve Types. Thirteen Varieties. 
 
 Massachusetts Cent, 1788. 
 
 Obverse: A clothed Indian, standing, facing left, in his 
 right hand a bow, in his left an arrow. Legend: “common¬ 
 wealth.” 
 
 Reverse: A spread eagle, a broad shield upon his breast, six 
 pales gules (upright), a chief azure (open or plain). Upon the 
 chief, or upper part of the shield, the word “cent,” in bold 
 Roman lettering. In exergue, beneath a heavy horizontal bar, 
 the date 1787. Borders, milled; edge, plain; size, 16J to 
 19; weight, 146 to 165 grains. 
 
 Fugios or Franklin Cents. 
 
 The Fugios or Franklin Cents are the earliest coins issued 
 by authority of the United States. They being all dated 1787, 
 and made in conformity with resolution of Congress, dated 
 July 6, 1787: 
 
 “ Resolved , That the Board of Treasury direct the con¬ 
 tractor for the copper coinage to stamp on one side of each 
 piece the following devices, viz.: Thirteen circles linked to¬ 
 gether, a small circle in the middle, with the words ‘ united 
 states’ round it, and in the centre the words, ‘WE are one’ ; 
 on the other side of the same piece the following device, viz.: 
 a dial with the hours expressed on the face of it; a meridian 
 sun above, on one side of which is to be the word ‘fugio,’ and 
 on the other the year in figures ‘ 1787 ’; below the dial the 
 
 words ‘ MIND YOUR BUSINESS.’ ” 
 
 The Bar Cent, or U S A Copper. 
 
 ✓ 
 
 This coin, presumed to have belonged to the same issue as 
 the Nova Constellatio Coppers, was probably made in Bir- 
 
74 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 mingham, England, by Thomas Wyon, for circulation in 
 America. The “US A” Copper was first passed as money 
 in the City of New York, in November, 1785. The device 
 was taken from an old Continental button, to which fact and 
 the light weight of the piece, has been attributed the disfavor 
 shown the coinage and the limited circulation given the same. 
 
 Obverse: Large Roman “U S A” in a monogram, on a 
 plain field. 
 
 Reverse: Thirteen horizontal bars. Border, serrated; Edge, 
 plain; size, 15|; weight, 85 grains. Two pairs of dies. 
 
 Maryland Penny. 
 
 The Maryland Penny. One Type. One Variety. Unique. 
 
 Obverse: Similar to that of the sixpence. 
 
 Reverse: A Ducal Coronet, upon which are erected two 
 masts, each bearing a flying pennant. Legend: “denarivm 
 terre-marias.” Copper; size, 13. 
 
 The only specimen of this piece extant was imported into 
 America from England, at a cost of <£75, and was sold for 
 $370 with the collection of J. J. Mickley, Esq., of Philadelphia. 
 
 Rosa Americana Half-Penny, 1722. 
 
 Obverse: Laureated head of King George I, facing right. 
 Legend: “georgius dei gratia rex.” 
 
 Reverse: A full double rose; from this project five barbed 
 points. Legend: “rosa americana utile dulci 1722” 
 which encircles the piece. Border, beaded; edge, plain; 
 “ Bath Metal;” size, 16 to 18 ; weight, 139 grains. 
 
 Devices: Same as those of the Penny of this coinage. Le 
 gends: Same import as those upon the Penny, but varied by 
 abbreviations and in punctuation. Border, beaded; edge, 
 plain; “Bath Metal;” size, 13 to 14; weight, 75 grains. 
 
 Liber Natus Libertatem Defendo— First. 
 
 Reverse: Arms of the State of New York. Upon an oval 
 shield at the center is shown the sun rising from behind a 
 range of hills, the sea in the foreground; left of the shield, 
 Justice, with sword and scales; right, Liberty, with staff and 
 cap. Upon a hemisphere, above the shield, stands an eagle, 
 wings outspread, facing right. Exergue: 1787; beneath this, 
 next the border, “excelsior.” Border, serrated; edge, 
 plain; size, 17 ; weight, 157 grains. 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 75 
 
 Liber Natus Libertatem Defendo.— Second. 
 
 Obverse: An Indian, standing, crowned with feathers, and 
 facing left; in his right hand he wields a tomahawk, his left 
 supports a bow, the end of which rests on the ground near 
 his feet; over his right shoulder appears the top of a quiver 
 of arrows, which is borne upon his back. Legend: “liber 
 natus liberatem defendo.” 
 
 Reverse: A hemisphere of the globe, marked by longi¬ 
 tudinal and meridianal lines; upon this stands a large heavy¬ 
 bodied eagle, wings spread, somewhat drooping, beak toward 
 the right. Legend: “neo-eboracus 1787 excelsior.” 
 Border, serrated; edge, plain; size, 17 ; weight, 153 grains. 
 
 Granby or Higley Token, 1787. 
 
 Obverse: A deer, standing, facing left, occupying the whole 
 field. Legend: “valve me as you please.” Exergue: The 
 Roman numerals III upon a small scroll; a little crescent is 
 shown below. 
 
 Reverse: Three hammers, each bearing a crown upon the 
 head. Legend: “i am good copper 1737.” 
 
 Washington Cent, 1783. 
 
 ■ Obverse: Large laureated bust of Washington, draped, 
 facing left. Legend: “Washington & independence 1783.” 
 
 Reverse: A figure of a female, facing left, seated upon a 
 rock; right hand holds an olive branch; left, staff of liberty, 
 with cap. Legend: “united states.” Exergue: t. w. t. 
 e. s. Border, beaded; edge, plain; size, 17J; weight, 120 
 grains. Two obverse and three reverse dies. 
 
 Washington Liverpool Half-Penny. 
 
 Obverse: Bust of Washington, in uniform, facing left, hair 
 in a queue. Legend: “Washington president.” 
 
 Reverse: A ship, under sail, to the right: Legend: 
 “halfp:nny t ” under the ship, waves, and in the foreground, 
 on a panel, the date 1793. Border, milled; edge, lettered: 
 “PAYABLE IN ANGLESEY LONDON OR LIVERPOOL.” Size, 19; 
 weight, 163 grains. 
 
 Washington Naked Bust Cent, 1792. 
 
 Obverse: A classical bust of Washington, undraped, facing 
 right; the head is encircled by a fillet, confining the hair, 
 which is cut short and is curly; the fillet is tied at the back 
 of the head by a bow knot with long pendent ends. Legend: 
 “WASHINGTON PRESIDENT 1792.” 
 
76 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 Reverse: A small eagle, displayed, wings upraised; on his 
 breast a shield argent, six pales gules; right talon, an olive 
 branch, fourteen leaves, six berries; left talon, thirteen arrows; 
 about the head of the eagle are six mullets, and above is the 
 word “cent.” Border, milled; edge, plain, or inscribed: 
 “UNITED STATES of America.” Size, 19; weight, 198 
 grains. Some six or eight specimens only are known. 
 
 Non Dependens Status. 
 
 Obverse: A full bust, facing right; flowing hair to the 
 shoulders. Upon the drapery of the bust a small oval shield 
 as an epaulet, emblazi ned with a staff bearing a flag; across 
 jthe staff, saltierwise, rests a naked sword. In each angle of 
 'this device is displayed a fleur de lis. Upon the breast of the 
 bust is a head with spreading wings. Legend : “ non-depen- 
 DENS STaTTS.” 
 
 Reverse: An Indian, seated upon a globe, facing left; nude, 
 except a cap or bandeau upon his head, and a feather tunic 
 around the lower part of the body. In his extended right 
 hand he holds a bunch of tobacco; the left reaches behind 
 him and rests upon a shield, bearing the same emblems dis¬ 
 played upon the epaulets upon the bust on the obverse. Le¬ 
 gend: “amer ica,” divided by the figure of the Indian. 
 Exergue: 1778. Border, plain ; edge plain ; size, 19. 
 
 Some coin dealers advertise the Non Dependens Status as 
 “a rare copper, worth $100.” 
 
 Pattern Cent, 1792. 
 
 Obverse: A bust of Liberty, facing to right, the hair con¬ 
 fined by a fillet. Above is inscribed the word “ liberty,” 
 end beneath the date “ 1792.” 
 
 Reverse: A portion of a globe, on which stands an eagle, 
 with raised wings. Legend : “ united states of America.” 
 This cent has a grained edge, like the cents of 1793. Some 
 numismatists give it the preference as the first cent. 
 
 George Clinton Copper, 1787. 
 
 The George Clinton Copper has the bust of Governor Clin¬ 
 ton facing right, with legend “ George Clinton.” 
 
 Reverse: The State arms of New York, and in the exergue, 
 “1787 excelsior. This last reverse is found also combined 
 with the Liber Natus, which has an Indian standing, facing 
 left, with tomahawk in the right hand and bow in the left, a 
 bundle of arrows also at his back. Legend: “liber natus 
 libertatem defendo.” This latter obverse is also found 
 combined with another reverse as follows: An eagle stands 
 upon a section of the globe. Legend: “neo emboracus 
 1787 EXCELSIOR.” 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 77 
 
 Kentucky Token or Cent 
 
 Has a hand holding a scroll inscribed “Our Cause is Just.” 
 Legend: “unanimity is the strength of society.” Re¬ 
 verse: A radiant pyramid, triangular in shape, of fifteen stars 
 united by rings, each star having placed in it the initial of a 
 State, Kentucky being at the top. Legend: “e pluribus 
 unum.” 
 
 Shekel (Simon Maccabees). 
 
 The Shekel was originally a weight. The first form in 
 which money was used by the Jews, and by all other nations 
 of which we have any knowledge, was the pieces without any 
 regular shape or any marks or devices upon them. Precious 
 metals passed by weight. Thus it is said of the purchase 
 made by Abraham of the cave and field of Machpelah, “And 
 Abraham hearkened untoEphron; and Abraham weighed to 
 Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the 
 sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current with the 
 merchant.” Gen. xxiii. 16. 
 
 The weight of a shekel was a little less than one-half an 
 ounce troy. The term “current with the merchant,” probably 
 refers to the purity of the silver, which was about ninety-five 
 per cent, fine, and the value in our money was fifty-eight 
 cents. It first appeared as a coin in the time of the Maccabees, 
 who lived about 140 B. C. The amount of silver in the coin 
 is the same as was contained in the piece of silver denomi¬ 
 nated a shekel. It will be seen that on one side is the golden 
 cup that had manna (see Exod. xvi. 33, and Heb. ix. 4), with 
 the inscription in old Hebrew character, “shekel of Israel;” 
 on the other side appears Aaron’s rod that budded with the 
 legend in the same character, “Jerusalem the holy.” This 
 specimen is in the Mint cabinet; one of the most rare and 
 interesting coins in the collection. 
 
 Immunis Columbia, 1787. 
 
 Obverse: The Goddess of Liberty, seated upon a globes 
 facing right; in her fully extended left hand she balances the 
 scales of justice; the right hand supports a liberty stalf, 
 bearing a flag and crowned with a cap. Legend: “immunis 
 COLUMBIA.” Exergue: 1787. 
 
 Reverse: An eagle, displayed; right talon, an olive branch, 
 thirteen leaves; left talon, thirteen arrows. Legend: “B 
 pluribus unum.” Borders, serrated; edge, plain; size, 164; 
 weight. 135 grains. 
 
78 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 Massachusetts Pine Tree Shilling. 
 
 “ John Hull and Robert Saunderson were equal officers in 
 the ‘ gainful business ’ of the Mint. How much they coined in 
 all for the colony, or the exact amount of their profits under 
 the contract they carried out, cannot he determined.’' The 
 coinage was certainly large in amount, and they, as was well 
 understood, became men of wealth and substance. When the 
 daughter of John Hull was married to Judge Samuel Sewall, 
 the founder of the town of Newbury, Mass., the prosperous 
 mint-master gave the hr^de a dowery of her weight in silver. 
 At the conclusion of the wedding ceremony, a large steel-yard 
 ‘was brought into the room, and the blushing bride placed upon 
 one or the platforms of the same, while into a tub upon the 
 other side were poured the Pine Tree Shillings, until the 
 steel-yard balanced. 
 
 Chain Cents. 
 
 These have a bust with flowing hair, looking right, with the 
 date below and word “ liberty” above it; on the reverse side, 
 in the centre, is “ one cent,” with “rk” below it, enclosed in 
 an endless chain ot fifteen links, typifying the number of 
 States then in the Union. The legend is “ united states of 
 America” in all excepting one die, which reads ‘‘united 
 STATES of ameri,” the engraver evidently not having room 
 to complete the word. 
 
 The Myddleton Tokens. 
 
 Obverse: A figure, representing Hope, beside an anchor; 
 she presents two children to a female, the last extending her 
 right hand in reception of the charge; the left hand supports 
 a liberty staff, which is crowned with a cap; in front of the 
 figure with the staff is an olive branch and a wreath, to the 
 rear a cornucopia. Legend: “British settlement Ken¬ 
 tucky.” 
 
 Reverse: Brittania, seated disconsolate amid the down-cast 
 emblems of her power, and facing left; her head is bowed; she 
 holds in her right hand an inverted spear, the head of which 
 penetrates the ground; at her right side a bundle of fasces or 
 Hctors’ rods have fallen near the cap of Liberty; upon the 
 ground, before the figure, are the scales of justice, upon which 
 Brittania has set her left foot and the sword of justice, with 
 broken blade; the left arm of the figure rests upon a large 
 shield, bearing the cross of the British ensigns. Legend: 
 “payable by p. p. p. myddleton.” 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 79 
 
 The Small Pattern Cent. 
 
 Obverse: A head, facing right, hair unconfined, floating 
 backward in flowing locks. Legend: “liberty parent of 
 science & indust.” Exergue: Beneath the head the date 
 1792. 
 
 Reverse: A wreath, two olive branches crossed at the lower 
 ends and tied with a ribbon; within the wreath a field bearing 
 an inscription “one cent” in two lines. Legend: “united 
 states of America.” Exergue: Border, milled; edge, 
 
 reeded; size, 14 ; weight, 65 grains. Extremely rare. 
 
 The Double Head Washington 
 
 A small head on both obverse and reverse. The former 
 has the legend, “Washington;” the latter the legend “one 
 Cent.” No date. 
 
 New York Washington Cent. 
 
 Bust of Washington with a wig, and with military draping, 
 face right. Legend: “non vi virtute vici.” 
 
 Reverse: The Goddess of Liberty, seated, with liberty pole 
 and scales of justice. Legend: “neo eboracensis.” Date, 
 1786. 
 
 Carolina Elephant (Token.) 
 
 A token much prized by collectors is known as the Carolina 
 Elephant. The obverse is from a rather common English 
 token known now as the London Elephant. The animal is 
 standing with his head down. There is no legend. 
 
 Reverse: “god preserve Carolina and the lords pro- 
 Prieters 1694.” 
 
 Copper Half-Cent of 1794. 
 
 In 1794 and 1795 similar device to that of 1793; but face 
 Liberty facing to the right. Weight, 104 grains. 
 
 Cent, 1799. 
 
 The liberty cap is omitted, as is the lettering on the edge, 
 not to reappear on the American cent. Liberty Cap Cents 
 are very rare. 
 
 In the year 1798 a slight change was made in the obverse 
 of the cent, giving some of the curls a different termination 
 from those of 1796, 1797, and the early part of 1798. The 
 latter device was continned each year, until and including 
 1807. The reverse remained unchanged during the same time, 
 excepting some slight variations, probably unintentional, if 
 not positive mistakes. For instance, in 1797 and 1802 we 
 find some without stems to the wreaths, and in one case only 
 
80 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 one stem. In 1801 and 1802 some have shs instead of the 
 fraction rib. In addition to this error, a variety of the cent of 
 1802 has “ United,” instead of “ United.” In 1790 we hav8 
 in one instance “Liherty,” instead of “Liberty.”. 
 
 Liberty Cent, 1809. * 
 
 In 1809 an obverse head of Liberty; forehead encircled bv 
 a band, “liberty” inscribed upon it, surrounded by thirteen 
 stars. Exergue: “1809.” 
 
 Reverse. Wreath in a circular garland inclosing the words 
 “one cent.” No change took place during the issues of 1808 
 to 1814, inclusive. 
 
 Half-Cent of 1793. 
 
 The first half-cent was issued in 1793, having on obverse: 
 
 Rust of Liberty, facing to the left; staff surmounted by 
 liberty-cap over right shoulder. Legend: “liberty.” Ex¬ 
 ergue: “1793.” 
 
 Reverse; Inscription, “half cent,” surrounded by a 
 wreath, tied with a ribbon. Weight, 132 grains. 
 
 Wreath Cent. 
 
 Obverse: Bust of Liberty, hair flowing. Legend: “ lib¬ 
 erty.” Exergue: “1793.” 
 
 Reverse: A wreath with berries, the stems of wreath tied in 
 a bow with a ribbon. Inscription: “one cent.” Legend: 
 “united states of America.” Exergue: “ T for.” 
 
 Third. Known as the “Liberty Cap Cent.” 
 
 Liberty and Security Washington Coin. 
 
 Obverse: A bust of Washington, in uniform, facing right, 
 hair in a queue. Legend: “george Washington.” 
 
 Revei se. A shield with sixteen argent and gules impaling 
 argent, fifteen mullets; above the shield an eagle, left talon, 
 an olive branch, right talon, six arrows. Legend: “liberty 
 and security. Exergue: “17 95,” divided by the point 
 of the shield. Border: A plain circle, and outside of the 
 same, milled edge, lettered “an asylum for all nations.” 
 
 Size, 20-J; weight, 310 grains. This piece is extremely rare. 
 
 Virginia Half-Penny. 
 
 The well-known Virginia half-pennies seem to have been 
 very plentiful A number of different dies were used. A lau- 
 reated bust of George the Third is surrounded, as on the Eng¬ 
 lish half-penny, with his title, “Georgiys III. rex.” The 
 reverse has an ornamental and crowned shield, emblazoned 
 quarterly: 1, England empaling Scotland; 2, France; 3, Ire¬ 
 land; 4, the electoral dominions. Legend: “Virginia. ’ 
 
 i 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 «)■ 
 
 Coins issued at the United States Mint at Phila¬ 
 delphia, from its establishment in 1792 to 1890. 
 
 Gold. 
 
 Double Eagle. 
 
 Authomed to be coined, Act of March 3, 1849. Weight, 516 grains-; 
 fineness, 900; size, 21 
 
 1850 to 1865,inclusive. No. 1. Obverse: Liberty head, facing left, hair 
 tied behind, a coronet on the forehead inscribed “ liberty,” thirteen stars 
 and date. 
 
 Reverse: An eagle with shield upon its breast, and an olive branch a 
 three arrows in its talons; in its beak, an elaborate scroll, inscribed “e 
 pltjribus UNUM.” Above, a circle of thirteen stars and a curved line of 
 rays extending Lfutn wing to wing. “ united states of America, 
 “twenty d.” 
 
 1866 to 1876, inclusive. No. 2, same, with the motto “ in god we trust” 
 inscribed within the circle of stars on the reverse. 
 
 >877. No. 3. Same, with “twenty dollars” for “twenty d.” 
 
 Eagle . 
 
 Authorized to be coined, Act of April 2, 1792. Weight, 270 grains; 
 fineness, 916f. Weignt changed, Act of June 28, 1834, to 258 grains. 
 Fineness changed, Act of June 28, 1834, to 899.225. Fineness changed, 
 Act of January 18, 1837, to 900. 
 
 1795. Obverse: Liberty head, wearing a cap, facing right. Fifteen 
 stars. Above, “liberty;” beneath, “1795;” size, 21. 
 
 Reverse: An eagle with displayed wings, standing on a palm branch; 
 in beak, a laurel wreath, “united states of America.” 
 
 1796. Same, with sixteen stars. 
 
 1797. No. 1. Same, with sixteen stars. 
 
 1797. No. 2. Obverse: Same, with sixteen stars. 
 
 Reverse: An eagle with the United Stales shield upon its breast^ a 
 bundle of arrows in the right talon, and an olive branch in the left; in jta 
 beak, a scroll inscribed “e pluribus unum.” Around the head are six¬ 
 teen stars; above, is a curved line of clouds extending from wing to wing. 
 “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.” 
 
 1798 to 1801, inclusive. Same, with thirteen stars cn the obverse. Of 
 1798, two varieties with four stars facing. 
 
 1802. None issued. 
 
 1803 and 1804. Same as No. 2 of 1797. Thirteen stars. 
 
 1805 to 1837, inclusive. None issued. 
 
 1838 to 1865, inclusive. Obverse: Liberty head facing left, hair tied 
 behind, a coronet on the forehead inscribed “ liberty,” thirteen stars, and 
 iate. 
 
 Reverse: An eagle with the United States shield upon its breast, and 
 *n olive branch and three arrows in the talons, “united states of 
 America.” Size, 17. 
 
 1866. Same, with a scroll above the eagle inscribed “in GOD WB 
 TRUST.” 
 
 Half Eagle. 
 
 Authorized to be coined, Act of April 2, 1792. Weight, 135 grains; 
 fineness, 916f. Weight changed, Act of June 28, 1834, to 129 grain* 
 
82 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 Fineness changed, Act of June 28, 1834, to 899.225. Fineness changed 
 Act of January 18, 1837, to 900. 
 
 1795. No. 1. Same type as the Eagle; size, 16. 
 
 1795. No. 2. Obverse: Same. 
 
 Reverse: An eagle, wings extended upwards, with the United States shield 
 Upon its breast, a bundle of thirteen arrows in the right talon, and an olive 
 branch in the left. In its beak, a scroll inscribed “ e pluribus unum.” 
 Around the head are sixteen stars, and above is a curved line of clouds 
 extending from wing to wing, “united states of America.” 
 
 1796. Same as No. 1 of 1795; fifteen stars on obverse. 
 
 1797. No. 1. Same as No. 1 of 1795. 
 
 1797. No. 2. Same, with sixteen stars on obverse. 
 
 1797. No. 3. Obverse: Same, with fifteen stars. 
 
 Reverse: Same as No. 2 of 1795, sixteen stars around the eagle. 
 
 1798. No. 1. Same as No. 1 of 1795, with thirteen stars. 
 
 1798. No. 2. Obverse: Same. 
 
 Reverse: Same as No. 2 of 1795, thirteen stars. 
 
 1799 and 1800. Same as No. 2 of 1795, with thirteen stars on the obverse 
 
 1801. None issued. 
 
 1802 to 1806, inclusive. Same as No. 2 of 1795, with thirteen stars on 
 the obverse. 
 
 1807. No. 1. Obverse: Same as No. 1, 1795, with thirteen stars. 
 
 Reverse: Same as No. 2, 1795. 
 
 1807. No. 2. Obverse: Liberty head, facing left; bust, draped, wearing 
 a kind of turban witli a band in front inscribed “ liberty,” thirteen stars, 
 and date. 
 
 Reverse: An eagle, with the United States shield upon its breast, an 
 olive branch and three arrows in the talons. Above, a scroll, inscribed 
 “e pluribus unum.” United States of America “5. D.” 
 
 1808 to 1812 inclusive. Same as No. 2 of 1807. 
 
 1813 to 1815, inclusive. Obverse: Liberty head, facing left, wearing a 
 kind of turban, a band in front inscribed “liberty.” Thirteen stars and 
 date. No shoulders. 
 
 Reverse: Same as No. 2 of 1807. 
 
 1816 and 1817, inclusive. None issued. 
 
 1818 to 1828, inclusive. Same as 1813. 
 
 182b. No. 1. Same as 1813; size, 16. 
 
 1829. No. 2. Same, but smaller; size, 15. 
 
 1830 to 1833, inclusive. Same as No. 2 of 1829. 
 
 1834. No. 1. Same as No ; 2 of 1829. 
 
 1834. No. 2. Obverse: Liberty head, facing left, hair confined by a band 
 inscribed “ liberty.” 
 
 Reverse: Same as No. 2 of 1807, without the motto “ E PLURIBUS UNUM* 
 omitted; size, 14. 
 
 1835 to 1838, inclusive. Same as No. 2 of 1834. 
 
 1839 to 1865, inclusive. Same type as the Eagle of 1838. 
 
 1866. Same type as Eagle of same date. 
 
 Three-Dollar Piece. 
 
 Authorized to be coined, Act of February 21, 1853. Weight, 77.4 
 grains; fineness, 900. 
 
 1854. Obverse: An Indian head, wearing a crown of eagle feathers, on 
 band of which is inscribed “ liberty ”— “ united states of America.” 
 
 Reverse: “ 3 dollars 1854 ” within a wreath of corn, wheat, cotton, 
 tobacco. Size, 13. 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 83 
 
 Quarter-Eagle. 
 
 Authorized to be coined. Act of April 2, 1792. Weight, 67.5 grains; 
 fineness, 916Weight changed, Act of June 28, 1834, to 64.5 grains. 
 Fineness changed, Act of J une 28, 1834, to 899.225. Fineness changed. 
 Act of January 18, 1837, to 900. 
 
 1796. No. 1. Obverse: Liberty head, facing right, above “ liberty 
 •ixteen stars. 
 
 Reverse: Same type as No. 2 half-eagle of 1795, size 13. 
 
 No. 2. Same, with no stars on obverse. 
 
 1797-1798. Same as No. 1 of 1796, with thirteen stars. 
 
 1799-1801, inclusive. None issued. 
 
 1802. Same as 1798. » 
 
 1803. None issued. 
 
 1804 to 1807, inclusive. Same as 1798. 
 
 1808. Same type as No. 2 half-eagle of 1807, with “21 D. n 
 
 1809 to 1820, inclusive. None issued. 
 
 1821. Obverse: Same type as the half-eagle of 1813, size 12. 
 
 Reverse: Same type as No. 2 half-eagle of 1807. 
 
 1822 and 1823. None issued. 
 
 1824-1827, inclusive. Same as 1821. 
 
 1828. None issued. 
 
 1829 to 1833, inclusive. Same as 1821. 
 
 1834. No. 1. Same as 1821. No. 2. Same type as No. 2 half-eagle of 
 1834, size 11. 
 
 1835 to 1839, inclusive. Same as No. 2 of 1834. 
 
 1840 to 1865. Same type as the eagle of 1834 
 
 1866. Same type as eagle of 1866. 
 
 Dollar. 
 
 Authorized to be coined, Act of March 3, 1849. Weight, 25.8 grains; 
 fineness, 900. 
 
 1849 to 1853, inclusive. Obverse: Same type as the eagle, without date. 
 
 Reverse: “ 1 dollar 1849 ” within a laurel wreath, “ united states 
 OP America.” Size 8. 
 
 1854. No. 1. Same. No. 2. Same type as the three-dollar piece, 
 size 9. 
 
 Silver. 
 
 Dollar. 
 
 Authorized to be coined, Act of April 2, 1792. Weight, 416 grains; 
 fineness, 892.4. Weight changed, Act of January 18, 1837, to 412£ grains. 
 Fineness changed, Act of January 18, 1837, to 900. Coinage discontinued, 
 Act of February 12,1873 Coinage reauthorized, Act of February 28,1878. 
 
 1794. Obverse: Liberty head, facing right, flowing hair, fifteen stars; 
 above, “liberty;” beneath, “1794.” 
 
 Reverse: An eagle with raised wings, encircled by branches of laurel 
 crossed; “ united states of America.” On the edge, “ hundred cents, 
 one dollar or unit.” Size, 24. 
 
 1795. No. 1. Same. 
 
 1795. No. 2. Bust of Liberty, facing right, hair bound by a ribbon, 
 shoulders draped, fifteen stars. 
 
 Reverse: An eagle with expanded wings, standing upon clouds, within a 
 Wreath of palm and laurel, which is crossed and tied, “united STATES 
 OF AMERICA.” 
 
 1796. Same as No. 2, of 1795. 
 
84 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OP 
 
 1797. No. 1. Same as No. 2 of 1795, with sixteen stare, six of whidb 
 are facing. 
 
 1797. No. 2. Same, with seven stars facing. 
 
 1798. No. 1. Same as No. 2 of 1795, with fifteen stare. 
 
 1798. No. 2. Same, with thirteen stars. 
 
 1798. No. 3. Obverse: Same, with thirteen stare. 
 
 Reverse: An eagle with raised wings, bearing the United States shield 
 npon its breast, in beak, a scroll inscribed “e pluribus unum.” 4 
 bundle of thirteen arrows in the right talon, and an olive branch in the 
 left. Above, are clouds, and thirteen stars. “ united states or America.” 
 Size, 25. 
 
 1799 to 1804, inclusive. Same as No. 3, of 1798. 
 
 1805 to 1839, inclusive. None issued. 
 
 1840 to 1805, inclusive. Obverse: Liberty seated upon a rock, support' 
 jng with her right hand the United States shield, across which floats a scroll 
 inscribed “ liberty,” and with her left the staff and liberty cap ; beneath, 
 the date. * 
 
 Reverse: An eagle with expanded wings, bearing the United States shield 
 upon its breast, and an olive branch and three arrows in its talons. ‘‘ united 
 states or America.” “one DOLL.” Reeded edge; size, 24. 
 
 1806 to 18/3, inclusive. Same, with a scroll above the eagle, inscribed, 
 “in god ave trust.” 
 
 1874 to 1877, inclusive. None issued. 
 
 1878. Obverse: Liberty head facing left, upon which is a cap, a wheat 
 and cotton wreath, and a band inscribed “liberty;” above, “e pluribus 
 UNUM ;” beneath, the date. Thirteen stars. 
 
 Reverse: An eagle with expanded wings pointing upwards; in right talon 
 an olive branch with nine leaves; in the left, three arrows. In the field 
 above, “in god we trust;” beneath, a semi-wreath, tied and crossed, 
 reaching upwards to the wings; “united states of America.” Some 
 pieces of the above date (1878) were coined with eight feathers in the tail 
 during the year, but seven have been adopted. 
 
 Silver. 
 
 Trade Dollar. 
 
 Authorized to be coined, Act of February 12, 1873. Weight, 420 grains; 
 fineness, 900. ° ’ 
 
 1873. Obverse: Liberty seated upon a cotton bale, facing left; in her ex¬ 
 tended right hand an olive branch ; in her left a scroll incribed “ liberty •” 
 behind her a sheaf of wheat; beneath, a scroll inscribed “ in god we 
 trust ;” thirteen stare; “ 1873.” 
 
 Reverse: An eagle with expanded wings; in talons three arrows and an 
 olive branch; above, a scroll inscribed “e pluribus unum;” beneath, on 
 field, 420 grains;” “ 900 fine.” “ united states of America. Size, 24. 
 
 Half Dollar. 
 
 „ Authorized to be coined, Act of April 2, 1792. Weight, 208 grains- 
 fineness, 892.4. Weight changed, Act of January 18, 1837, to 206] grains! 
 fineness changed, Act of January 18, 183/, to 900. IVeight changed Act 
 of February 21,1853, to 192 grains. Weight changed, Act of February 12. 
 1873, to 12] grammes, or 192.9 grains. 
 
 1794 and 1795. Same type as the dollar of 1791. On the edge “Fifty 
 
 CENTS OR HALF A DOLLAR.” Size, 21. 
 
 1796. No. 1 Same type as No. 2, dollar of 1795, with the denomination. 
 
 2 , inscribed on the base of the reverse. No. 2. Same, with sixteen stare- 
 on the obverse. 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 85 
 
 1797. Same as No. 2, of 1796. 
 
 1798 to 1800, inclusive. None issued. 
 
 1801 to 1803, inclusive. Same type as No. 3, dollar of 1798. 
 
 1804. None issued. 
 
 1805 and 1806. Same as No. 3, dollar of 1798. 
 
 1807. No. 1. Same. 
 
 No. 2. Obverse: Liberty head facing left, wearing a kind of turban, with 
 '‘liberty” inscribed upon the band. Thirteen stars and date. 
 
 Reverse: An eagle with expanded wings pointing downwards, bearing 
 upon its bre;ist, the U. S. Shield, an olive branch and three arrows in it8 
 talons; above, in the field, a scroll inscribed “e pluribus unum beneath 
 50 C. “ UNITED STATES OP AMERICA.” 
 
 1808 to 1835 inclusive, same as No. 2 of 1807. 
 
 1836. No. 1. Same as No. 2 of 1807. 
 
 No. 2. Obverse: Same. 
 
 Reverse: An eagle with expanded wings pointing downwards, the U. S. 
 shield upon its breast, an olive branch and three arrows in its talons, 
 “united states op America,” reeded edge. 
 
 1837. Same as No. 2 of 1836. 
 
 1838. Obverse: Same as No. 2 of 1836. 
 
 Reverse: Same; “ half dol.” for “ 50 c.” 
 
 1839. No. 1. Same as 1838. 
 
 No. 2. Same type as dollar of 1840. 
 
 1840 to 1852 inclusive, same. 
 
 1853. Obverse: Same with an arrow head on each side of the date. 
 Reverse: Same, with a halo of rays around the edge. 
 
 1854. Same, without the rays. 
 
 1855. Same. 
 
 1856 to 1865 inclusive, same, without the arrow beads. 
 
 1866 to 1872 inclusive, same, with scroll above the eagle inscribed “in 
 god we trust.” (Some have been occasionally met with, which have been 
 issued by the San Francisco Mint, without this legend in 1866.) 
 
 1873. No. 1. Same. 
 
 No. 2. Same, with arrow heads on each side of the date. 
 
 1874. Same. 
 
 1875. Same, without the arrow heads. 
 
 Silver. 
 
 Quarter Dollar . 
 
 Authorized to be coined, Act of April 2, 1792. Weight, 104 grains; 
 fineness, 892.4. Weight changed, Act of January 18, 1837, to 103J grains 
 Fineness changed, Act of January 18, 1837, to 900. Weight changed. 
 Act of February 21, 1853, to 96 grains. Weight changed, Act of Febru¬ 
 ary 12, 1873, to 6£ grammes, or 96.45 grains. 
 
 1796. Same type as No. 2 dollar of 1795, with reeded edge; size, 18; 
 fifteen stars. 
 
 1797 to 1803. None issued. 
 
 1804 to 1807, inclusive. Same type as No. 3 dollar of 1798, beneath, 
 41 25c.” 
 
 1808 to 1814, inclusive. None issued. 
 
 1815. Same type as No. 2 half dollar of 1807. 
 
 1816 and 1817. None issued. 
 
 1818 to 1825, inclusive. Same type as No. 2 half dollar of 1807, size 17. 
 
 1826. None issued. 
 
 1827 and 1828. Same type as No. 2 half dollar of 1807. 
 
 1829 and 1830. None issued. 
 
86 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 1831 to 1837, inclusive. Same type as half dollar of 1807, with the 
 diameter reduced from size 17 to size 15, and a corresponding increase in 
 thickness and decrease of the size of devices, and the omission of the 
 scroll, inscribed “ e pluribus ukum” 
 
 1838. No. 1. Same as 1837. No. 2. Same type as the dollar of 1840, 
 with “quar. dol.” for “one doll.” 
 
 1839 to 1852, inclusive. Same as No. 2 of 1838. 
 
 1853. No. 1. Same. No. 2. Same, with arrow heads on each side of 
 date, and a halo of rays around the edge. 
 
 1854 and 1855. Same, without the rays. 
 
 1856 to 1865. Same, without the arrow heads. 
 
 1866 to 1872, inclusive. Same, with the scroll above the eagle, inscribed 
 “in god we trust.” 
 
 1873. No. 1. Same. *No. 2. Same, with an arrow head on each side 
 of the date. 
 
 1874. Same. 
 
 1875. Same, without the arrow head. 
 
 Twenty-Cent Piece. 
 
 Authorized to be coined, Act of March 3, 1875. Weight, 5 grammes, 
 or 77.16 grains; fineness, 900. Coinage discontinued, Act of May 2, 1878. 
 
 1875 to 1878, inclusive. Obverse: Same type as the dollar of 1840. 
 
 Reverse: An eagle with displayed wings, three arrows, and an olive 
 branch, two of the leaves of which nearest the stem, together with those 
 drooping from the centre, overlap; the terminating leaves on the end of 
 the branch, however, do not. On each side a star. Plain edge. “ united 
 STATES OF AMERICA.” “ TWENTY CENTS.” Size, 14. 
 
 Dime. 
 
 Authorized to be coined, Act of April 2, 1792. Weight, 41.6 grains; 
 fineness, 892.4. Weight changed, Act of January 18, 1837, to 41^ grains. 
 Fineness changed, Act of January 18, 1837, to 900. Weight changed, 
 Act of February 21, 1853, to 38.4 grains. Weight changed, Act of Feb¬ 
 ruary 12, 1873, to 2j grammes, or 38.58 grains. 
 
 1796. Same type as the No. 2 dollar of 1795; size 13 ; fifteen stars. 
 
 1797. No. 1. Same, witli sixteen stars on the obverse. No. 2. Same, 
 with thirteen stars on the obverse. 
 
 1798. No. 1. Same type as No. 3 dollar of 1798, with sixteen stars. No 
 2. With thirteen stars on the obverse. 
 
 1799. None issued. 
 
 1800 to 1805, inclusive. Same as No. 3 of 1798. 
 
 1806. None issued. * 
 
 1807. Same as No..2 of 1798. 
 
 1808. None issued. 
 
 1809. Same type as No. 2 half-dollar of 1807 ; size, 12. 
 
 1810. None issued. 
 
 1811. Same as 1809. 
 
 1812 to 1813, inclusive. None issued. 
 
 1814. Same as 1809. 
 
 1815 to 1819, inclusive. None issued. 
 
 1820 to ls25, inclusive. Same as 1809. 
 
 1826. None issued. 
 
 1827 to 1836, inclusive. Same as 1809. 
 
 1837. No. 1. Same as 1809 No. 2. Obverse: Liberty seatad. No stars. 
 
 Reverse: “one dime” within a wreath of laurel, “united states of 
 
 America.” Size, 11. 
 
 1838. No. 1. Same as No. 2 of 1837. No. 2. Same, with thirteen stars. 
 
 1839 to 1852, inclusive. Same as No. 2 of 1838. 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 87 
 
 1853. No. 1. Same. No. 2. Same, with an arrow head on each side of 
 
 1854 and 1855. Same as No. 2 of 1853. 
 
 1856 to 1859, inclusive. Same, without arrow heads. 
 
 1860 to 1872, inclusive. Obverse: Same, with “united states OP 
 America” instead of stars. 
 
 Reverse: “one dime” within a wreath of corn, wheat, cotton, and 
 tobacco. 
 
 1873. No. 1. Same. No. 2. Same, with an arrow head on each side of 
 the date. 
 
 1874. Same as No. 2 of 1873. 
 
 1875. Same, without arrow heads. 
 
 Half Dime. 
 
 Authorized to be coined, Act of April 2, 1792. Weight, 20.8 grains; 
 fineness, 892.4. Weight changed, Act of January 18, 1837, to 20| grains. 
 Fineness changed, Act of January 18, 1837, to 900. Weight, changed, Act 
 of February ‘21, 1853, to 19.2 grains. Coinage discontinued, Act of Feb¬ 
 ruary 12, 1873. 
 
 1794 and 1795. Same type as the half dollar; size, 10. 
 
 1796. Same type as No. 2 dollar of 1795; fifteen stars. 
 
 1797. No. 1. Same, with fifteen stars. No. 2. Same, with sixteen stars. 
 No. 3. Same, with thirteen stars. 
 
 1798 and 1799. None issued. 
 
 1800 to 1803, inclusive. Same type as No. 3 dollar of 1798. 
 
 1804. None issued. 
 
 1805. Same as 1800. 
 
 1806 to 1828, inclusive. None issued. 
 
 1829 to 1873. See dime. 
 
 Three Cent Piece. 
 
 Authorized to be coined, Act of March 3, 1851. Weight, 12§ grains; 
 fineness, 750. Weight changed, Act of March 3, 1853, to 11.52 grains. 
 Fineness changed, Act of March 3, 1853, to 900. Coinage discontinued, 
 Act of February 12, 1873. 
 
 1851 to 1853, inclusive. Obverse: A star bearing the United States 
 shield, “united states of America.” 
 
 Reverse: An ornamented “c,” within which is the denomination “hi;” 
 around the border, thirteen stars; size, 9. 
 
 1854 to 1858. Obverse: Same, with two lines around the star. 
 
 Reverse : An olive branch above the “ in,” and three arrows below, all 
 within the “ c.” 
 
 1858 to 1873, inclusive. Same, with one line around the star. 
 
 Minor Coins. 
 
 Five cent 'piece. ( Nickle .) 
 
 Authorized to be coined. Act of May 16, 1866. Weight, 77.16 grains; 
 composed of 75 per cent, copper, and 25 per cent, nickle. 
 
 1866. Obverse: A United States shield surmounted by a cross, an olive 
 branch pendent at each side, back of the base of the shield are two arrows, 
 the heads and feathers are only visible; beneath, “1866;” above, in the 
 field, “in god we trust.” 
 
 Reverse: “ 5 ” within a circle of thirteen stars, and rays, “ UNITED STATES 
 OF America.” Size, 13. 
 
 1867. Same. No. 2. Same, without the rays 
 
 1868. Same as No. 2 of 1867. 
 
 1869 to 1882. Same as No. 2 of 1867. 
 
'88 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 1883. No. 1. Same. No. 2. Obverse: Liberty head wearing a coronet 
 which is inscribed “ liberty,” thirteen stars, and date, “ 1883.” 
 
 Reverse: A “ V ” within a wreath of corn and cotton. Legend, “ u nited 
 ■states of America.” Exergue, “ E pluribus unum.” No. 3, Obvers e : 
 Same as No. 2. 
 
 Reverse: Same, with “ cents” as the exergue, and “ e pluribus unum ” 
 above the wreath. 
 
 1884. Same as No. 3 of the preceding. 
 
 Three cent piece. ( Nickle .) 
 
 Authorized to be coined, Act of April 3, 1865. Weight, 30 grains; 
 ■composed of 75 per cent, copper, and 25 per cent, nickle. 
 
 1865. Obverse: Liberty head, facing left, hair bound by a ribbon, on the 
 forehead a coronet inscribed “liberty;” beneath, the date, “united 
 
 STATES OF AMERICA.” 
 
 Reverse: “in” within a laurel wreath. 
 
 Minqr Coins. 
 
 Two Cent Piece {bronze). 
 
 Authorized to be coined, Act of April 22, 1864. Weight, 96 grains, 
 composed of ninety-five per cent, copper and five per cent, of tin and zinc. 
 Coinage discontinued, Act of February 12, 1873. 
 
 1864 to 1873, inclusive. Obverse: The United States shield, behind 
 which are two arrows, crossed, on each side a branch of laurel; above, a 
 scroll inscribed “in god we trust” ; beneath, the date. 
 
 Reverse: “2 cents” within a wreath of wheat, “united states of 
 America.” Size, 14. 
 
 Cent (copper). 
 
 Authorized to be coined, Act of April 22, 1792. Weight, 264 grains. 
 Weight changed, Act of January 14, 1793, to 208 grains. Weight changed 
 by proclamation of the President, January 26, 1796, in conformity with an 
 Act of March 3, 1795, to 168 grains. Coinage discontinued, Act of Feb¬ 
 ruary 21, 1857. 
 
 1793. No. 1. Obverse: Liberty head, facing right, flowing hair. Above, 
 “ liberty” : beneath, “ 1793.” 
 
 Reverse: A chain of fifteen links, within which is inscribed “one cent” 
 ami the fraction “ T ^ 7 .” United States of America; reeded edge; size, 17. 
 
 No. 2. Same, with the abbreviation “ ameri.” in the Legend. 
 
 No. 3. Obverse: Same as No. 1, with a sprig beneath. 
 
 Reverse: “one cent” within a wreath of laurel, “united states of 
 America. Reeded edge. 
 
 No. 4. Obverse: A bust of Liberty, facing right, with pole and liberty 
 cap. Above, “liberty”; beneath, “ 1793.” 
 
 Reverse: Same as No. 3; on the edge, “one hundred for A DOLLAR.* 
 Size, 18. 
 
 1794 and 1795. Same as No. 4 of 1793. 
 
 1796. No. 1. Same. No. 2. Same, with hair bound by a ribbon, and 
 without pole and liberty cap on the obverse. Plain edge. 
 
 1797 to 1807 inclusive. Same as No. 2 of 1796. 
 
 1808 to 1814, inclusive. Obverse: Liberty head, facing left, hair confined 
 by a band, inscribed “ lirerty.” Thirteen stars and date. 
 
 Reverse: “one cent,” within a laurel wreath, “united states of 
 America.” The fraction “ r ^” is omitted. 
 
 1815. None issued. 
 
Silver Colonial Coins— with prices at recent sales 
 
 $16.00 
 
 $15.00 
 
 $15.00 
 
 $ 210.00 
 
 $17.25 
 
 $3(J.OO 
 
 $10.50 
 
 $15.50 
 
 $101.00 
 
 $50.00 
 
 $50.00 
 
 $12.00 
 
 $130.0u 
 
 $175.00 
 
American Colonial Coins—C ontinued. 
 
 Non Dependens 
 Status 
 
 $45.00 
 
 Carolina 
 Elephant Token. 
 1694. 
 
 $75.00 
 
 Nova Constellatio, 
 “Quint.” 1783. 
 $ 20.00 
 
 New York. 
 
 $2.00 
 
 Bar Cent. 
 
 $10.00 
 
 Fugio. 
 
 $ 2.00 
 
 Liber Natus 
 Libeunatum Defendo. 
 First. 
 
 $60.00 
 
 Nova Constellatio, 
 Immune Columbia. 
 
 $40.00 
 
 Myddelton Token. 
 
 $ 20.00 
 
American Colonial Coins— Continued 
 
 Sommer Island. 
 Shilling. 
 
 $75.00 
 
 Rosa Americana. 
 $ 20.00 
 
 New England 
 Elephant Token. 
 Very Rare. 1694. 
 
 $70.00 
 
 New Jersey 
 Immunis. 
 $50.00 
 
 CONFEDERATIO 
 • Inimica, ETC. 
 
 $ 00.00 
 
 Massachusetts Half Cent. 
 
 $4.00 
 
 Rhode Island Melai . 
 $3-00 
 
 Pattern Cent. 
 1792. 
 
 Fugio. 
 
 “ Mind Your Business 
 
 $25.00 
 
 $3.00 
 
American Colonial Coins— Continued 
 
 Fugio. Rare. 
 
 M YDDLETON TOKEN. 
 
 
 Rosa Americana Farthing. 
 
 $12.00 
 
 1794 Dollar. Copper. 
 
 $11.00 
 
 $40.00 
 
 Immunis Columbia, 
 
 $40.00 
 
 N. Y. Token. 
 
 $ 2.00 
 
 Pitt Token 
 
 $5.00 
 
 Massachusetts Cent. 
 $ 2.00 
 
 N. Y. Colonial Cent. 1787. 
 
 $3.00 
 
American Colonial Coins— Continued, 
 
 Immunis Columbia. 
 
 1787. 
 
 $ 10.00 
 
 George Clinton 
 Copper. 1787. 
 
 $32.00 
 
 Kentucky Token. 
 
 $4.00 
 
 Washington Coins, 
 
 Washington Cent 
 
 1783. 
 
 Washington Liverpool 
 Half Penny. 
 
 1793. 
 
 $3.00 
 
 “Naked Bust.” 
 Washington Cent. 
 1792. 
 
 $37.00 
 
 Washington Cent. 1791 . 
 
 $5.00 
 
 Washington Medal. 1789. 
 
 $5.00 
 
Washington Coins. 
 
 Rare Colonial Cent, 
 op New Jersey. 
 $160.00 
 
 Washington Half Dollar, 
 
 1792. 
 
 $50.00 
 
 Washington Cent. 
 1783. 
 
 $ 1.00 
 
 
 Double Head 
 Washington. 
 $ 1.00 
 
 Liberty and Security 
 AVashington Medal. 1795. 
 
 $40.00 
 
United States Eagles and Half Eagles 
 
 No. 3. $42,50. 
 
 No. 2. $27.00 
 
 No. 1. $19.50 
 
 No. 5. $11.75, 
 
 Rev. of Nos. 1, 2, 3. 
 
 Rev. of Nos. 4, 5, 6. 
 
 No. 6. $12.50 
 
 Rev. of Nos. 1, 2, 3, 
 
 No. 2 $17.50 No. 3. $40.00 
 
 No. 5 $40.00 No. 6. $900.00 
 
 No. 4. $235.00 
 
United States Gold Half and Quarter Eagles 
 
 Continued. 
 
 No. 8. $50.00 No. 9. $40.00 
 
 $35.00 
 
 $15.CO 
 
 $14.00 $33.50 
 
 $4.75 
 
 Rev. 
 
 $ 20.00 
 
 $9.00 
 
 $50.00 
 
 $12 50 
 
 $11.50 
 
 Philadelphia Mint Unique. 
 
 No. 7. $12.75 
 
 Rev. 4 to 9. 
 
 $44.00 
 
 Reverse. $49.00 
 
 Reverse. 
 
 $17.50 
 
 $ 20.00 
 
 Rev. 
 
Various United States Gold Coins, 
 
 Double Eagle, 1849. 
 “Unique,” beyond price. 
 
 Gold Dollar, Double Eagle. Rev. 
 
 1849. ' t - 885 - 
 
 $ 2.00 
 
 Half Eagle, 1S49. 
 
 $5.00 
 
 Eagle, 1795. 
 
 $19.50 
 
 Half Eagle, 1885. Rev. 
 
 $5.00 
 
 Eagle, 1S49. 
 
 $ 10.00 
 
 Half Eagle, 1795. 
 
 $9.00 
 
 Eagle, 1885. 
 
 $ 10.00 
 
 Three Dollars, 
 1885. 
 
 $4.00 
 
 Quarter Eagle, 
 1847. 
 
 $3.00 
 
 Quarter Eagle:, 
 1885. 
 
 $3.00 
 
 Gold Dollar, 
 1885. 
 
 $ 2.00 
 
United States Silver Coins. 
 
 1794 Half Dollar, 
 
 realized at recent sales: 1849 dollar, $13.00; 1794 dollar, $225.00; 1/94 half 
 10.00; 1795 dollar, $12.00; 1795 half dollar, $15.00; 1796 half dollar (15 stars) 
 1796 half dime, $20.00; 1801 half dollar, $20.50; 1797 half dime, $13.50; 1796 
 lar (16 stars), $130.00; 1797 dollar, $11.50; 1798 dime, $85.00; 1800 dime, 
 
 1801 dollar, $26.00; 1802 dime, $40.00; 1803 dime, $80.00 1794 half dune, 
 
 1802 half dime, $205.00; 1846, half dime, $10.00; 1875 twenty-cent piece, $20.00. 
 
United States Silver Coins—C ontinued. 
 
 Rev. of 1804 Dollar, 
 The King among Rarities. 
 
 Prices the above coins brought at recent sales in New York 1804 dollar, $1,000.00; 1839 
 dollar, $62.00; 1846 dollar, $18.00; 1847 dollar, $23.75; 1848 dollar, $20.00; 1851 dollar, 
 $50.00; 1852 dollar, $40.00 ; 1858 dollar, $40.00; 1796 quarter, $18.00; 1815 quarter, $5.50; 
 1822 quarter, $6.00 ; 1809 dime, $18.00 ; 1846 dime, $10.00. 
 
United States Silver Halves. Quarters and Dimes. 
 
 Nearly Unique. 
 
 $171.00 
 
 New Half Dollar. 
 
 $ 10.00 
 
 $19.00 
 
 $12.75 
 
 $ 10.00 
 
United States Cents and Half Cents. 
 With prices at the recent sales. 
 
 
 $ 51.00 $ 51.00 
 
 $ 70.00 
 
 $80 00 
 
 $ 167.00 
 
 $ 79.00 $ 80.00 
 
 $ 75.00 
 
 $ 85.00 
 
 $ 25.00 $ 19.00 
 
 $ 21.00 
 
 $ 18.00 
 
 $ 16.00 
 
 $ 17.00 
 
 $ 15.00 
 
 $24.00 
 
 $52.00 
 
 $13.00 
 
United States Copper Cents and Half Cents— Continued, 
 
 $26.00 
 
 $25.00 
 
 $15.50 
 
 $110.00 
 
 $40.00 
 
 $56.00 
 
 $12.00 
 
 $65.00 
 
 $57.00 
 
 $ 11.00 
 
 $49.00 
 
 $34.00 
 
 $ 22.00 
 
 $56.00 
 
 $19.75 
 
 $26.00 
 
 $26.00 
 
United States Copper Cents and Hale Cents— Continued 
 
 
 $ 21.00 
 
 $75.00 
 
 $18.50 
 
 $18.00 
 
 $10.50 
 
 $23.00 
 
 $18.00 
 
 $23.00 
 
 $24.00 
 
 $16.00 
 
 $30.00 
 
 $16.00 
 
 $17.50 
 
United States Half Cents 
 
 $ 21.00 
 
 $23.00 
 
 $ 21.00 
 
 $18.00 
 
 $16.00 
 
 $15.75 
 
United States Half Cents—C ontinued. 
 
 $16.00 
 
 “Kittanning Medal,” one of the earliest Medals executed in America 
 
 $9.50 
 
 $15.50 
 
 Medal of 1776, Commemorative of the Nations Independence. 
 
 $17.50 
 
United States Pattern Pieces. 
 
 One Cent. 
 $3.00 
 
 Two Cent. 
 $3.00 
 
 Half Dollar. 
 $ 2.00 
 
 Twenty Cent 
 $ 10.00 
 
 One Cent. 1854. 
 $ 2.00 
 
 Confederate States Half Dollar. 
 
 Value, $600.00 
 
 Tiie Lord’s Prayer Medalet. 
 
 This fac-simile presents the smallest space in which the Lord’s Prayer 
 was ever known to be struck on metal. 
 
 It was made on the first “ Steam Coining Press,” used by the U. S. 
 Mint in 1836. This press is now in the possession of G. B. Soley, 
 Philadelphia. 
 
 These medalets are not for sale at the Mint, but are presented to 
 purchasers of the Mint book. 
 
Ancient Greek and Roman Coins, 
 
 Antiochus VII. 
 
 Antiochus VIII. 
 Eimphanes. 
 
 Abdera. 
 
 Widow’s Mite. 
 
 Alexander the Great. 
 
 Panormus. 
 
Ancient and Modern Japanese Gold Coin. 
 
 The large coin—Oban—value, $75. Under the old regime the penalty was 
 death for taking it out of the country; but, if taken out by accident, the punish¬ 
 ment was imprisonment for life. 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 89 
 
 1816. Obverse: Liberty head, facing left, the hair is confined by a roll, 
 and tied by a cord, whilet he forehead is bedecked with a tiara, inscribed 
 “ LIBERTY.” 
 
 Reverse: Same as 1808. 
 
 1817. No. 1. Same. No. 2. Same, with fifteen stars. 
 
 1818 to 1836. Same as No. 1 of 1817. 
 
 1837. No. 1. Same. No. 2. Same, with the hair tied by a string of beads 
 instead of a cord. 
 
 1838 to 1857, inclusive. Same as No. 2 of 1837. 
 
 Cent ( Nickle ). 
 
 Authorized to be coined, Act of February 21, 1857. Weight 72 grains; 
 composed of 88 per cent, copper and 12 per cent, nickle. Coinage discon¬ 
 tinued, Act of April 22, 1864. 
 
 1857 and 1858. Obverse: An eagle flying to the left, “united states 
 
 OF AMERICA.” 
 
 Reverse: “one cent,” within a wreath of corn, wheat, cotton, and to¬ 
 bacco. Size, 11. 
 
 1859. Obverse: An Indian-head, facing left, bedecked with eagle plumes, 
 confined, “united states of America.” Beneath, the date. 
 
 Reverse: “one cent.” within a wreath of laurel. 
 
 1860 to 1864, inclusive. Obverse : Same. 
 
 Reverse: “one cent,” within an oak wreath and shield. 
 
 Cent (Bronze). 
 
 Coinage authorized, Act of April 22,1857. Weight, 48 grains; composed 
 *f 95 per cent, copper and 5 per cent, of tin and zinc. 
 
 1864. Same type as nickle cent of 1860. Size, 12. 
 
 Half Cent (Copper). 
 
 Authorized to be coined, Act of April 2, 1792. Weight, 132 grains. 
 Weight changed, Act of January 14, 1793, to 104 grains. Weight changed 
 by pioclamation of the President, January 26, 1796, in conformity with 
 Act of March 3, 1795, to 84 grains. Coinage discontinued, Act of Febru¬ 
 ary 21, 1857. 
 
 1793. Same type as cent No. 4, 1793, with head facing left. On the 
 edge, “ TWO HUNDRED FOR A DOLLAR.” Size, 14. 
 
 1794. Same type as the cent of 1794. 
 
 1795 to 1797, inclusive. Same, with plain edge. 
 
 1798 and 1799. None issued. 
 
 1800. Same type as No. 2 cent of 1796, with the fraction on the 
 
 base of the reverse. 
 
 1801. None issued. 
 
 1802 to 1808, inclusive. Same as 1800. From 1808, the fraction 
 emitted. - 
 
 1809 to 1811, inclusive. Same type as cent of 1808. 
 
 1812 to 1824, inclusive. None issued. 
 
 1825 and 1826. Same type as cent of 1808. 
 
 1827. None issued. 
 
 1828. _No. 1. Same type as cent 1808, with thirteen stars. No. 2. 
 Same, with twelve stars. 
 
 1829. Same, with thirteen stars. 
 
 1830. None issued. 
 
 1831 to 1836, inclusive. Same type as cent of 1808. 
 
 1837 to 1839, inclusive. None issued. 
 
 1840 to 1857, inclusive. Same type as No. 2 cent of 1837 ; size, 14 . 
 
90 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 THOMAS JEFFERSON, 
 
 an eminent American Statesman, and third President of the 
 United States, was born April 2, 1743, at Shadwell, Vir¬ 
 ginia, near the spot which afterwards became his residence, 
 with the name of Monticello. He was the oldest son in a 
 family of eight children. His father, Peter Jefferson, was a 
 man of great force of character and of extraordinary physi¬ 
 cal strength. His mother, Jane Randolph, of Goochland, was 
 descended from an English family of great note and respecta¬ 
 bility. Young Jefferson began his classical studies at the age 
 of nine, and at seventeen he entered an advance class at William 
 and Mary College; on his way thither, he formed the acquaint¬ 
 ance of Patrick Henry, who was then a bankrupt merchant, 
 but who afterwards became the great orator of the Revolution. 
 At college, Jefferson was distinguished by his close application, 
 and devoted, it is said, from twelve to fifteen hours per day to 
 study, and we are told became well versed in Latin, Greek,. 
 Italian, French, and Spanish, at the same time proficient in his 
 mathematical studies. After a few years course of law under 
 Judge Wythe, he was admitted to the bar in 1767. His suc¬ 
 cess in the legal profession was remarkable; his fees during the 
 first year amounted to nearly three thousand dollars. In 1769, 
 Jefferson commenced his public career as a member of the 
 Virginia House of Burgesses, in which he had while a student 
 of law, listened to Patrick Henry’s great speech on the Stamp 
 Act. In 1773 he united with Patrick Henry and other revo¬ 
 lutionary patriots in devising the celebrated committee of cor¬ 
 respondence for disseminating intelligence between the Colonies, 
 of which Jefferson was one of the most active and influential 
 members. He was elected in 1774 to a convention to choose 
 delegates to the first Continental Congress at Philadelphia, 
 and introduced at that convention his famous “ Summary view 
 of the rights of British America.” On the 21st of June, 1775, 
 Jefferson took his seat in the Continental Congress. His 
 reputation as a Statesman and accomplished writer at once 
 placed him among the leaders of that renowned body. He 
 served on the most important committees, and among other 
 papers drew up the reply of Congress to the proposal of Lord 
 North, and assisted in preparing in behalf of the Colonies, a 
 declaration of the cause of taking up arms against the Mother 
 Country. The rejection of a final petition to King George, 
 destroyed all hope of an honorable reconciliation with England. 
 Congress, early in 1776, appointed a committee to draw up a 
 Declaration of Independence, of which Jefferson was made 
 Chairman; in this capacity he drafted, at the request of the- 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 91 
 
 other members of the committee, (Franklin, Adams, Sherman, 
 and Livingston), and reported to Congress, June 28, the great 
 Charter of Freedom, known as the “ Declaration of American 
 * Independence,” which, on July 4, was unanimously adopted, 
 and signed by every member present, with a single exception. 
 “The Declaration of Independence,” says Edward Everett, 
 “ is equal to anything ever borne on parchment, or expressed 
 in the visible signs of thought.” “The heart of Jefferson in 
 writing it,” adds Bancroft, “and of Congress in adopting it, 
 beat for all humanity .” After resigning his seat in Congress, 
 Jefferson revised the laws of Virginia; among other reforms,' 
 he procured the repeal of the laws of entail, the abolition of 
 primogeniture, and the restoration of the rights of conscience, 
 a reform which he believed would abolish “ every fibre of 
 ancient or future aristocracy;” he also originated a complete 
 system of elementary and collegiate education for Virginia. 
 In 1779, Jefferson succeeded Patrick Henry as Governor of 
 Virginia, and held the office during the most gloomy period of 
 the Revolution, and declined a re-election in 1781. In 1783, 
 he returned to Congress, and reported the treaty of peace, 
 concluded at Paris, September 3, 1783, acknowledging the 
 independence of the United States. He also proposed and 
 carried through Congress a bill establishing the present Federal 
 system of coinage, which took the place of the English pounds, 
 shillings, pence, etc., and also introduced measures for estab¬ 
 lishing a Mint in Philadelphia, (the first public building built 
 by the general Government, still standing on Seventh street, 
 east side, near Filbert). In 1785, he succeeded Dr. Franklin 
 as resident Minister at Paris. In organizing the Government 
 after the adoption of the Constitution, he accepted the position 
 of Secretary of State, tendered him by President Washington 
 during his first term. Jefferson was Vice-President of the 
 United States from 1797 to 1801, and President for the two 
 consecutive terms following. After participating in the inaugu¬ 
 ration of his friend and successor, James Madison, Jefferson 
 returned to Monticello, where he passed the remainder of his 
 life in directing the educational and industrial institutions of 
 his native State and entertaining his many visitors and friends. 
 His death occurred on the same day with that of John Adams, 
 July 4, 1826. 
 
92 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 ALEXANDER HAMILTON, 
 
 Statesman, orator, and financier, born in the West Indian 
 island of Nevis, 11th of January, 1757. His father was a Scotch 
 merchant, and his mother was the daughter of a French Huguenot. 
 He was educated at King’s College, N. Y. When he was 18 
 years of age he surprised the people by his public speeches and 
 pamphlets in favor of American independence. He was com¬ 
 missioned Captain of a Company of Artillery in March, 1776, 
 and served with distinction at the battles of Long Island, White 
 Plains, Trenton, and Princeton, and was appointed Aid-de-camp 
 and Private Secretary to General Washington in March, 
 1777, and gained his special favor and confidence in planning 
 campaigns and devising means to support the army. In 1782 
 he was elected a member of the Continental Congress, and 
 Washington expressed the opinion that no one excelled him in 
 probity and sterling virtue. He was an active member of an 
 anti-slavery party in New York, and offered a resolution in 
 1784, that every member of that society should liberate his own 
 slaves. He was a delegate to the convention which met in 
 Philadelphia in May, 1787, to form a Federal Constitution and 
 to promote the Union of the States, and it appears was the 
 principal author of the movement. Hamilton was appointed 
 Secretary of the Treasury in 1789, at the time the nation was 
 burdened with a heavy debt, almost destitute of credit, and 
 on the verge of bankruptcy. The results of his financial policy 
 were the restoration of public credit, protection to American 
 industry, and a rapid revival of trade and commerce. He re¬ 
 signed his office to resume his practice of law, January 31, 
 1795. He declined the position of Chief Justice of the Supreme 
 Court of the United States previously tendered him. Wash¬ 
 ington testified his great esteem for Hamilton by consulting 
 him in the preparation of his Farewell Address, as well as 
 in many other acts of his noble career. 
 
 In 1804, Aaron Burr, presenting himself as a candidate for 
 Governor of New York, but Hamilton opposed his election 
 expressing the opinion that “Burr was a dangerous man and 
 unfit to be trusted with power.” The election of Gen. Lewis 
 blasted the ambitious projects of Burr, who insolently de¬ 
 manded an explanation of Hamilton, and finally challenged 
 him, Hamilton accepted the challenge, was mortally wounded 
 at Weehawken, and died July 12, 1804. His death was pro¬ 
 foundly lamented throughout the country. 
 
 Note.—H is ddest son liad been killed in a duel by a political adversary ab'at 1802 
 Mr. Hamilton was the principal author of the Federalist., and the real father of oui 
 financial system. Immediately after adopting the constitution, he strongly advocated 
 the establishment ot a Mint, so that the New World would not be dependant on the Old 
 lor a circulating medium. 
 
ALEXANDER HAMILTON 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 93 
 
 HON. JAMES PUTNAM KIMBALL, 
 
 Director of the Mint, appointed in 1885, resigned in 1889. 
 
 was born in Salem, Mass., April 26, 1836. After graduating 
 at the High School of his native town in 1854, he entered 
 the Lawrence Scientific School of Harvard University. In 
 the summer of the following year he went to Germany, and 
 matriculated at the University of Frederick Wilhelm, Berlin, 
 in the Fall of the same year, and was graduated at the Uni¬ 
 versity of George Augusta, at Gottingen, in the Autumn of 
 1857, with the degrees of Master of Arts and Doctor of 
 Philosophy. Upon his graduation he entered upon a prac¬ 
 tical course in Mining and Metallurgy, at the Mining School 
 of Freiburg, in Saxony. 
 
 . After making a tour of the Continent and England, he re¬ 
 turned home and engaged as the Assistant of Prof. J. D. 
 Whitney, now of Harvard University, in the State Geological 
 Surveys of the States of Wisconsin and Illinois, embraoing 
 the Upper Mississippi lead region. He continued with Prof. 
 Whitney during the survey, comprising the southeastern part 
 of Iowa. 
 
 On the establishment of the New York State Agricultural 
 College at Ovid, the foundation of which was subsequently 
 merged with that of Cornell University, Dr. Kimball was 
 appointed to the Chair of Professor of Chemistry and Eco¬ 
 nomic Geology. Upon the appointment of the President of 
 the college, Gen. Patrick, as Brigadier-General of Volunteers, 
 Dr. Kimball became that officer’s Chief of Staff, with a com¬ 
 mission from the President of the United States, as Assistant 
 Adjutant-General of Volunteers, with the rank of Captain. 
 This was in 1862. His first service in the field was with the 
 Army of the Rappahannock, under Gen. McDowell. He took 
 part in numerous engagements, notably, those of Groveton, 
 Manassas, Chantilly, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericks¬ 
 burg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg. General Patrick hav¬ 
 ing been assigned to duty as Provost-Marshal of the Army 
 of the Potomac, Capt. Kimball accompanied him, and served 
 on the General Staff of that army under Generals McClellan, 
 Burnside, Hooker, and Meade, successively. 
 
 When the army went into winter quarters, Capt. Kimball, 
 whose health had become impaired, resigned from the army, 
 and settled in New York. He resumed the practice of his 
 profession as Mining Engineer and Metallurgist. Upon his 
 marriage, in 1874, he accepted an honorary Professorship in 
 Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pa., removing from New York 
 to one of the houses in the beautiful park and grounds of that 
 
94 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OP 
 
 institution, though retaining his office and business in New 
 York City. 
 
 Dr. Kimball has been largely identified with the mineral 
 development of Bedford County, Pa., and at the time of his 
 appointment as Director of the Mints, was President of the 
 Kverett Iron Company, whose blast furnace, built in 1883-84 
 is one of the largest and finest in this country. As a scientist 
 he is a contributor to various scientific journals at home and 
 abroad, aud among others the American Journal of Science 
 published at New Haven. Several of his papers have appeared 
 l in the proceedings of the American Institute of Minina- Engi¬ 
 neers, of which he has been Vice President. Dr. Kimball ifas 
 traveled extensively in the United States, Mexico, and the 
 
 est Indies, in prosecuting his professional practice, and as a 
 man of scientific accomplishments and of affairs, bears a de¬ 
 servedly high reputation. 
 
 Dr. Kimball comes of Revolutionary stock. His paternal 
 great-grandfather WiHiam Russell, of Boston, was associated 
 with the Sons of Liberty, and the leaders in public affiiirs in 
 the times that tried men’s souls. He jvas present, disguised as 
 as an Indian, and assisted in the famous Tea Party in Boston 
 Innbor on the memorable 16th of December, 1773. Later 
 Mr. Russell was adjutant of the Massachusetts Artillery, raised 
 for the defense of Boston, and which served in the Rhode 
 Island campaign of 1777-78. Still later, while serving as 
 Secretary to Commander John Manley, of the U. S. war vessel 
 Jason, Russell was captured by the British frigate Surprise 
 and confined in Mill prison till June 24, 1782, when he was 
 exchanged. But so sturdy a patriot could not rest unemployed 
 and twenty days after his liberation, found him again in the 
 naval service. He was again made prisoner by the British, in 
 November following, and consigned to the notorious British 
 prison ship, Jersey, lying off New York. 
 
 An anecdote is related by Mr. James Kimball, father of the 
 subject of this sketch, in a memoir on the Tea Party in Boston 
 harbor furnished the Essex Institute Historical collections 
 (IS i 4), which illustrates the temper of Mr. Russell as a patriot. 
 Returning to lus home after the destruction of the tea, he took 
 oft his shoes, and carefully dusted them over the fire; he then 
 took the tea canister and emptied its contents. Next morning 
 he had printed on one side of the canister, “Coffee,” and on 
 the other, No lea. This was the brief decree of banish¬ 
 ment promulgated by the Tea Destroyers, and the prohibited 
 luxury disappeared from their tables. 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 95 
 
 HON. JOHN JAY KNOX, 
 
 Late Comptroller of the Currency, then President of the Na¬ 
 tional Bank of the Republic, New York City. We are 
 indebted to The Financier , August , 1885, for the following 
 biographical sketch : 
 
 Hon. John Jay Knox was Comptroller or Deputy Comp¬ 
 troller of the National currency for seventeen years. He was 
 born in Oneida county, New York, March 19,1828. His an¬ 
 cestors were Scotch Irish, and came originally from Strabane, 
 County Tyrone, Ireland, in 1759. He received his early edu- ’ 
 cation at the Augusta Academy and the Watertown Classical 
 Institute, and was graduated from Hamilton College in the Class 
 of 1849. Among those in college with him were Senator Hawley 
 of Connecticut, and Chas. Dudley Warner. After leaving col¬ 
 lege he became teller in a bank at Vernon, of which his father 
 was President, at a salary of $300 a year, where he remained 
 from 1850 to 1852. He spent some time in the Burnet Bank 
 '\t Syracuse, and was afterwards cashier of the Susquehanna 
 Valley Bank at Binghampton. He and his brother, Henry 
 M. Knox, established a banking house at St. Paul, Minnesota, 
 in 1857, shortly before that State was admitted into the Union. 
 
 The first steamboat launched on the Red River of the North, 
 establishing a most important communication for the business 
 interests of Minnesota, was transported in the dead of winter 
 across country on runners, from Sauk Rapids to Breckeniidge, 
 and Mr. Knox was one of the few who paid the expenses of 
 the enterprise. 
 
 In the financial discussions which preceded the establish¬ 
 ment of the National banks, Mr. Knox took a prominent part, 
 and made many valuable suggestions on the currency question. 
 He advocated a safe and convertible currency, the issue of a 
 uniform series of circulating notes to all the banks, and the 
 guarantee by the Government of circulation secured by its 
 own bonds. 
 
 In 1862 he was introduced to Secretary Chase and the Hon., 
 Hugh McCulloch, then Comptroller of the currency. The at¬ 
 tention of the Secretary had previously been attracted to the 
 financial articles of Mr. Knox, published in Hunt s Merchants 
 Magazine . 
 
 He was shortly afterward appointed to a clerkship under 
 Treasurer Spinner, and was subsequently transferred to the 
 office of Mr. Chase, as disbursing clerk, at a salary of $2,000 
 a year. After three years in this position he became cashier 
 ©f the Exchange National Bank at Norfolk, Va., but finding 
 
96 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 the southern climate uncongenial, after a year he returned to 
 Washington. He was commissioned by Secretary McCulloch 
 to examine the mint at San Francisco, and to select a site there 
 for a new one. His report upon the Mint service of the 
 Pacific Coast was printed in the Finance Report of 1866, with 
 a complimentary notice by the Secretary. The site selected 
 was purchased from Eugene Kelly of New York for $100,000. 
 
 He subsequently visited New Orleans and discovered a de¬ 
 ficiency of $1,100,000 in the office of the Assistant Treasurer. 
 He took possession of that office, and for some weeks acted as 
 Assistant Treasurer of the United States. 
 
 The promotion of Mr. Knox to the office in which he was 
 able to do himself the most credit, and perform those services 
 to the country which are part and parcel of its financial pro¬ 
 gress, occurred in 1867. At this time a vacancy was brought 
 about in the Deputy-Comptrollership of the Currency, and 
 Secretary McCulloch appointed him to fill it. Until May 1, 
 1884, he remained as Deputy or head of the Bureau, his terms 
 of office being as follows : Five years as Deputy-Comptroller, 
 from 1867 to 1872; five years as Comptroller, from 1872 to 
 1877, appointed by General Grant; five years, second term 
 as Comptroller, from 1877 to 1882, by President Hayes, on 
 the recommendation of Secretary Sherman—the reappoint¬ 
 ment being made without his knowledge, before the expiration 
 of the preceding term, and confirmed by the Senate without 
 reference to any committee. He was again reappointed, by 
 President Arthur, April 12, 1882. 
 
 EDWARD OWEN LEECH, 
 
 Appointed Director of the Mint October 16, 1889, is a lineal 
 descendent of Lawrence Leach, who was born in England in 
 1589, and died in Salem, Mass., in 1662. This ancestor of 
 Mr. Leech was one of the “planters” who came to America 
 with Rev. Francis Higginson in 1629, and was a man of 
 considerable repute in his native land. He was for many 
 years Salem’s representative in the Colonial Legislature. 
 
 Edward O. Leech’s great-grandfather was Captain Hezekiah 
 Leach, and served in the French, Indian and Revolutionary 
 Wars. 
 
 His father was Daniel D. Tompkins Leech, who was born 
 in Nassau, New York, in 1810, graduated at Union College 
 in 1829, taught languages there, and was afterwards a tutor 
 in the Albany Academy under Joseph Henry. He removed 
 to Washington in 1837, and for over thirty years was a 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT 
 
 9 T 
 
 trusted Government official in the Post Office and Treasury- 
 Departments, where his linguistic attainments enabled him to 
 render exceptionally valuable services to the public until his 
 death in 1869, in the fifty ninth year of his age. It was 
 characteristic of his mental activity and elasticity, as well as 
 o£ his philanthropic and patriotic nature, that during the 
 War of the Rebellion, when over fifty years of age, he mas¬ 
 tered the German language in order to enable him to talk to 
 and encourage the soldiers of German nativity in the service 
 of the country. 
 
 Edward Owen Leech, the subject of the present sketch, 
 was born in Washington, D. C., December 9, 1850, and at 
 the date of his appointment was thirty-eight years of age, the 
 youngest Director the Mint service has ever had. He re¬ 
 ceived his education at the Everett Institute, at Washington, 
 D. C., and afterwards at the Columbian University, from 
 which institution he graduated in 1869, receiving the degree 
 of A. B., and taking the second honor in the class. On the 
 death of his father he received an appointment as clerk in 
 the Bureau of Statistics, Treasury Department, at a salary of 
 $1,200 per annum, which was soon increased to $1,400. 
 When the Bureau of the Mint was organized, in April, 1878, 
 Mr. Leech was selected by Dr. H. R. Linderman, the first 
 Director, as one of his assistants. His salary was soon in¬ 
 creased to $1,800. He held successively the positions of 
 assay clerk, adjuster of accounts and computer of bullion, in 
 the Bureau of the Mint. In 1887, while serving in the 
 latter capacity, Mr. Leech’s salary was, by Act of Congress, 
 raised to $2,500 per annum, on account of efficiency in his 
 responsible position. 
 
 While thus engrossed with important Government duties 
 during the day, Mr. Leech found leisure, or rather made it, in 
 the evening to take a course of law at the National Law 
 University at Washington, and was graduated as Master of 
 Laws in 1886, after a three years’ course of study, in each of 
 which he carried off the gold metal for proficiency in his class, 
 an honor never before attained by any student in the history 
 of the University. After his graduation in law, however, Mr. 
 Leech decided not to enter upon the active practice of the 
 profession, but continued in his position in the Bureau of the 
 Mint, taking special charge of the technical bullion and coin 
 accounts, and making special and annual examinations of the 
 mints and assay offices, duties for which his thorough famil¬ 
 iarity with the operations and general business of the mints 
 eminently fitted him. For many years he has had the direc- 
 
98 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF THE 
 
 tion of the preparation of the monetary statistics published in 
 the reports of the Director of the Mint, and the statistics of 
 the production of gold and silver in the United States and 
 other countries, which appear annually in the reports on the 
 “ Production of the Precious Metals,” issued from the Bureau 
 of the Mint. These reports are eagerly looked for by econo¬ 
 mists and public men in Europe and the United States. Ex¬ 
 perts on monetary subjects in both hemispheres consider them 
 authoritative and award them the highest praise. In the dis¬ 
 cussions of bi-metallism in Germany, France, and England, 
 and wherever currency reforms are debated, they are appealed 
 to and considered as a guide. Mr. Leech deservedly enjoys 
 the reputation of being the best informed man in the United 
 States on the monetary systems, past and present, of the differ- 
 ent countries of the world, and on monetary and precious- 
 metals statistics generally. His studies in monetary matters 
 have led him to be a pronounced bi-metallist. President 
 Harrison did credit to himself, and rendered a real service to 
 the country, when he selected Edward 0. Leech for the re¬ 
 sponsible position of Director of the Mint. Trained in the 
 mint service, he was better qualified for the position than any 
 one could possibly be who had had no such training. There 
 are schools outside of the Treasury for the training of attorneys 
 general, solicitors, and accountants ; there is none for making 
 a Director of the Mint, for the simple reason, that outside of 
 the Government service, there are no mints. 
 
 Mr. Leech was married on October 25, 1871, to Celia 
 Helen Kent, of Pittsburgh, Penna., a lady of most noble and 
 lovable character, who unfortunately did not live to see her 
 husband reap the reward of his faithful service to the Govern¬ 
 ment by his appointment to the Directorship of the Mint, 
 having died a few months before of consumption, after a 
 lingering illness. 
 
 Three of Mr. Leech’s brothers entered the ministry. One 
 of them, Rev. B. F. Leech, is dead. The Rev. Dr. S. V. 
 Leech is a distinguished member of the Troy Annual Confer¬ 
 ence of the M. E. Church. The third, Rev. Dr. George Y. 
 Leech, belongs to the Baltimore Annual Conference of the 
 same denomination. 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 99 
 
 The Coinage Act of 1873. 
 
 The enactment of the Mint Law of 1873 marks an era in 
 the Mint Service of the United States. Prior to this, the 
 Director of the Mint at Philadelphia was the Director of all 
 the Mints—the institution at Philadelphia being regarded as 
 the Mother Mint,” and the others, at San Francisco, New 
 Orleans, etc., were called Branch Mints. Each branch had 
 its Superintendent, reporting direct to Philadelphia. But the 
 authors of the Act of 1873 regarded the Mint Service as so 
 large and important a part of the Government, that it should 
 be constituted a separate Bureau of the Treasury, with thei 
 Director located at W ashington. One of the promoters of this 
 Act was the Hon. John Jay Knox, late Comptroller of the 
 Currency, and late President of the National Bank of the 
 Republic, New York. The following sketch of the origin and 
 history of the new law may prove of interest. It tvas origi¬ 
 nally published in Rhodes’ Journal of Banking, July, 1884. 
 Referring to Mr. Knox, the author says : 
 
 “ In 1870 he made an elaborate report to Congress (Senate 
 Mis. Doc. No. 132, XLI. Cong., 2d Sess.), including a codifi¬ 
 cation of the Mint and Coinage laws, with important amend¬ 
 ments, which was highly commended. The method adopted 
 in this codification was, first, to arrange in as concise a form 
 as possible the coinage laws then in existence, with such addi¬ 
 tional sections and suggestions as seemed valuable. The 
 proposed bill was then printed upon paper having a wide 
 margin, and transmitted to the officers of the different Mints 
 and Assay offices, and to such other gentlemen as were known 
 to be conversant and intelligent upon the subject of the coin¬ 
 age, with the request that the printed bill should be returned 
 with such notes as experience and education should dictate. 
 In this way the views of many gentlemen who were conversant 
 with these subjects were obtained, with but little inconvenience 
 to such correspondents. This correspondence was subsequently 
 published by order of Congress, in H. R. Ex. Doc. No. 307, 
 XLI. Cong., 2d Sess. Having received these suggestions, the 
 bill, which comprised within the compass of eight or ten pages 
 of the Revised Statutes every important provision contained in 
 more than sixty different enactments upon the Mint and Coin¬ 
 age of the United States—the result of eighty years of legisla¬ 
 tion—was prepared and submitted to Congress. This bill, 
 with but slight amendments, was subsequently passed, and was 
 known as ‘ The Coinage Ac f of 1873and the Senate Finance 
 
100 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 Committee, in recognition of the services of the Comptroller of 
 the Currency, by an amendment, made that officer an ex-officio- 
 member of the Assay Commission, which meets annually at 
 the Mint in Philadelphia for the purpose of testing the weight 
 and fineness of the coinage of the year. Upon his suggestion 
 the coinage of the silver dollar was discontinued, and the para¬ 
 graph in the report upon this subject was as follows: 
 
 “ The coinage of the silver dollar-piece, the history of which 
 is here given, is discontinued in the proposed bill. It is by 
 law the dollar unit; and, assuming the value of gold to be 
 fifteen and one-half times that of silver, being about the mean 
 ratio for the past six years, is worth in gold a premium of 
 about three per cent., its value being $1.03.12, and intrinsically 
 more than seven per cent, premium in our other silver coins, 
 its value thus being $1.07.42. The present laws consequently 
 authorize both a gold dollar unit and a silver dollar unit, differ¬ 
 ing from each other in intrinsic value. The present gold 
 dollar-piece is made the dollar unit in the proposed bill, and 
 the silver piece is discontinued.” 
 
 The first Director of the Mint under this new law, was the 
 Hon. Henry R. Linderman. The title of the chief officer at 
 Philadelphia being changed to Superintendent—the first in¬ 
 cumbent with that title was the Hon. James Pollock; 
 
 Biographical notices of these officers will be found in their 
 appropriate place in this volume. 
 
 On March 5, 1879, Horatio C. Burchard, who had repre¬ 
 sented the Sixth District of Illinois in the National House 
 of Representatives for a number of terms, was appointed 
 Director of the Mint, and served until June 30, 1885. 
 
 Dr. James P. Kimball, who at the date of his appointment 
 was professor of economic geology in Lehigh University, was 
 appointed Director of the Mint July 1, 1885, and served until 
 the date of his resignation, October 15, 1889. 
 
 Edward O. Leech, appointed Director of the Mint by Presi¬ 
 dent Harrison, October, 1889. Mr. Leech has been connected 
 with the Mint Bureau of the Treasury Department since its 
 organization in 1873, and for a number of years has had 
 charge of the computation of bullion and the preparation of 
 the reports of tlie Bureau. The country is fortunate in the 
 preferment of a gentleman thoroughly competent and well 
 qualified to administer all the affairs connected with Mints 
 and Assay Offices of the United States. 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 101 
 
 DIRECTORS OF THE MINT. 
 
 DAVID RITTENHOUSE, 
 
 First Director op the Mint. 
 
 Entering the Cabinet, the portraits of the different Di¬ 
 rectors attract attention. That of David Rittenhouse is the 
 copy of a painting by Charles Willson Peale. Mr. Ritten¬ 
 house was appointed by Washington, April 14, 1792, and re¬ 
 mained in charge of the Mint until June, 1795, when his 
 declining health compelled him to resign. 
 
 At an early age he indicated mechanical talent of a high 
 order in the construction of a clock, and his studies from that 
 time were principally mathematical. His genius soon at¬ 
 tracted attention, and he was appointed by the colonial gov¬ 
 ernor a surveyor, and in that capacity determined the famous 
 Mason and Dixon line. He succeeded Benjamin Franklin as 
 President of the American Philosophical Society. Mr. 
 Barber, late Engraver of the Mint, executed a bronze medal 
 •of Dr. Rittenhouse. Possibly, excepting Duvivier’s head of 
 Washington after Houdon, it cannot be surpassed in the Cab¬ 
 inet. The engraver had a very fine subject, and treated it in 
 the highest style of art. On the obverse is “ David Ritten¬ 
 house,” with date of birth and death. On the reverse, inscrip¬ 
 tion, “He belonged to the whole human race.”—“Wm. Bar¬ 
 ber.” This beautiful memento is highly prized. 
 
 HENRY WILLIAM DESAUSSURE, 
 
 Second Director of the Mint. 
 
 The portrait of Henry William Desaussure, now in the cabi¬ 
 net, was painted by Samuel Du Bois, from a daguerreotype 
 taken from a family picture. This Director was distinguished 
 for his legal ability, as well as his strict integrity. He entered 
 upon his duties with a protest, as he claimed no knowledge of 
 the requirements of the position, having long been a practicing 
 lawyer; but he was reassured by Alex. Hamilton, then Secre¬ 
 tary of the Treasury, and proved himself a fine officer for the 
 short term of his service. He was appointed by Washington, 
 July 8,1795, but resigned in the following October. Washing¬ 
 ton not only expressed regret at losing so valuable an officer, 
 but consulted him as to the selection of a successor. 
 
102 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 ELIAS BOUDINOT, 
 
 Third Director of the Mint, 
 
 was appointed October 28,1795, and remained in office eleven 
 years. In the summer and autumn of 1797 and the two fol¬ 
 lowing years, and also of 1802 and 1803, the Mint was closed 
 on account of the ravages of the yellow fever. Mr. Boudinot 
 resigned in 1805, and devoted the remainder of his life te 
 benevolent and literary pursuits. He died on the 24th of 
 October, 1821, at the advanced age of eighty-two. The fine 
 portrait of this venerable Director seen in the Cabinet was 
 presented by a relative, and is a good copy of a painting by 
 Waldo and Jewett. 
 
 ROBERT PATTERSON, LL.D., 
 
 Fourth Director of the Mint, 
 
 was appointed by President Jefferson, January 17, 1806. He 
 was a native of Ireland, distinguished for his acquirements 
 and ability. He held the office of Director for an exception¬ 
 ally long term of service. His portrait, which hangs in the 
 Cabinet, is a copy of a fine original by Rembrandt Peale. 
 
 SAMUEL MOORE, M.D. 
 
 Fifth Director of the Mint, 
 
 was appointed by President James Monroe, July 15, 1824. 
 He was a native of New Jersey, and the son of a distinguished 
 Revolutionary officer. He was one of the first graduates of 
 the Penn University, in 1791, and was afterwards a tutor in 
 that institution. During his directorship the Mint was re¬ 
 moved to the present building. His portrait was painted from 
 life by B. Samuel Du Bois, now in the Cabinet. 
 
 ROBERT MASKELL PATTERSON, M.D. 
 
 Sixth Director of the Mint, 
 
 son of a former Director, was appointed by President Andrew 
 Jackson, May 26, 1835. His term of office was marked bv 
 an entire revolution in the coinage, and the ready acceptance 
 of those improvements ivhich followed so rapidly upon the in¬ 
 troduction of steam. Dr. Patterson possessed the advantage 
 of foreign travel; and having become familiar with the dis¬ 
 coveries which had been adopted in the French Mint, he in¬ 
 augurated and perfected them, also introducing improvements, 
 which are still in use, in the machinery of the Mint. Hia 
 portrait is in the Cabinet. 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 103 
 
 GEORGE N. ECKERT, M. D. 
 
 Seventh Director of the Mint, 
 
 was appointed by President Fillmore, July 1, 1851. He 
 served nearly two years, and, resigning, was followed by 
 
 THOMAS M. PETTIT, 
 
 Eighth Director of the Mint, 
 
 who was appointed by President Pierce, April 4, 1853. He 
 died a few weeks after his appointment. No portrait of him 
 in the Cabinet. He was succeeded by 
 
 HON. JAMES ROSS SNOWDEN, LL.D. 
 
 Ninth Director of the Mint. 
 
 Mr. Snowden, who was appointed by President Pierce, June- 
 3, 1853, was formerly a member of the State Legislature, and 
 served two terms as Speaker; was afterwards elected for two 
 terms as State Treasurer. During his official term the build¬ 
 ing was made fire-proof, the large collection of minerals was 
 added, and nickel was first coined. 
 
 Mr. Snowden has placed the numismatic world under many 
 obligations, by directing the publication of two valuable quarto 
 volumes,—one of them a description of the coins in the Cabi¬ 
 net, under the title of “ The Mint Manual of Coins of all 
 Nations,” the other “ The Medallic Memorials of Washington,” 
 being mainly a description of a special collection made by 
 himself. In the preface to the former work he gives due 
 credit to the literary labors of Mr. George Bull, then Curator, 
 and also to a reprint of the account of the ancient collection, 
 by Mr. Du Bois, who^lso furnished other valuable material. 
 These books are valuable as authority, and by reason of the- 
 national character of the last mentioned. 
 
 JAMES POLLOCK, A.M., LL.D., 
 
 Tenth Director and First Superintendent, 
 was appointed by Abraham Lincoln in 1861, and was re-ap¬ 
 pointed by President Grant to succeed Dr. Linderman in 1869 
 to 1873. Born in Pennsylvania in 1810; graduated at Prince¬ 
 ton College, New Jersey, in 1831, and commenced the practice 
 of the law in 1833; he served in Congress three terms; was 
 elected Governor of Pennsylvania in 1854, and in 1860 was a 
 peacedelegate to Washington from his State to counsel with 
 representatives from different parts of the Union as to the pos¬ 
 sibility of amicably adjusting our unhappy national troubles. 
 His portrait, by Winner, hangs in the eastern section of the* 
 Cabinet.* He died April 19, 1890, aged 79. 
 
 * After the resignation of ex-Governor Pollock the title of Director was changed to- 
 Superintendent. The Director of all the Mints is now located at Washington. 
 
ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OB 
 
 104 
 
 HON. HENRY RICHARD UNDERMAN, M. D., 
 
 DIRECTOR. OF THE MINTS AND ASSAY OFFICES OF THE UNITED STATES, 
 
 was the eldest son of John Jordan Linderman, M. D., and 
 Each el Brodhead. He was horn in Pike county, Pennsyl¬ 
 vania, the 25th of December, 1825. The elder Dr. Linderman 
 was one of the most noted physicians in northeastern Penn¬ 
 sylvania, and practiced medicine for nearly half a century ir 
 the valley of the Delaware, in this State, and New Jersey 
 He was a graduate of the College of Physicians and Surgeons, 
 of New York, where he had studied under the famous Dr. 
 Valentine Mott. Dr. Linderman’s grandfather, Jacob vod 
 Linderman, came to this country during the disturbed period 
 of the Austrian War of Succession, during the first half cl 
 the last century, and settled in Orange county, where he pur¬ 
 chased a tract of land. The property is still in the possession 
 of the family. Jacob von Linderman was the cadet of* an 
 ancient and honorable family of Saxony, which had been dis¬ 
 tinguished for two centuries in the law and medicine, several 
 of his ancestors having been counsellors and physicians to the 
 Elector. He was a descendant of the same family as Mar¬ 
 ietta Linderman, the mother of the great Reformer, Martin 
 Luther. ' Of this paternal stock, Dr. Henry R. Linderman 
 was, by his mother, a nephew of the late Hon. Richard Brod- 
 head, Senator of the United States from Pennsylvania; grand¬ 
 son of Richard Brodhead, one of the Judges of Pike county, 
 =and great-grandson of Garrett Brodhead, an officer of the 
 Revolution, and a great-nephew of Luxe Brodhead, a Captain 
 in Col. Miles’ Regiment, and of Daniel Brodhead, Colonel of 
 the 8th Pennsylvania Regiment of the Continental Line; the 
 latter was afterwards a Brigadier-General, was one of the 
 original members of the Cincinnati of this State, and Sur¬ 
 veyor-General of the Commonwealth when the war closed. 
 His only son Daniel was a First Lieutenant in Colonel Shee’s 
 Battalion, was taken prisoner by the British, and died after 
 two years’ captivity. General Brodhead married Governor 
 Mifflin’s widow, and died in Milford, Pike county, in 1803. 
 The nephew of these three brothers, Charles Wessel Brodhead, 
 of New York, was also in the Revolutionary army, a Captain 
 of Grenadiers. They all descended from Daniel Brodhead. a 
 Captain of King Charles II.’s Grenadiers, who had a com¬ 
 mand in Nichol’s expedition, which captured New York from 
 the Dutch in 1664. Captain Brodhead was of the family of 
 that name in Yorkshire, which terminated in England so re¬ 
 cently as 1840 in the person of Sir Henry T. L. Brodhead, 
 baronet. 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 105 
 
 Dr. Henry R. Linderman, after receiving an academic 
 education, entered the New York College of Physicians and 
 Surgeons. When barely of age he graduated, returned to 
 Pike county and began practice with his father, and earned a 
 reputation as a skillful and rising physician. 
 
 In 1855 his uncle, Richard Brodhead (United States 
 Senator), procured his appointment as chief clerk of the 
 Philadelphia Mint. He held this position until 1864, when 
 he resigned and engaged in business as a banker and broker 
 in Philadelphia. In 1867 he was appointed Director of the 
 Mint by President Johnson. In 1869 he resigned. In 1870 
 he was a commissioner of the Government to the Pacific coast 
 to investigate the San Francisco and Carson Mints, and to 
 adjust some intricate bullion questions. In 1871 he was 
 a commissioner to Europe, to examine the coinage systems 
 of the Great Powers. In 1872 he was a commissioner, with 
 the late Dr. Robert E. Rogers, of the University of Pennsyl¬ 
 vania, for fitting up the Government refinery at the San Fran¬ 
 cisco Mint. In the same year he wrote an elaborate report 
 on the condition of the gold and silver market of the world. 
 u In this report he called attention to the disadvantages arising 
 from the computation and quotation of exchange with Great 
 Britain on the old and complicated Colonial basis, and from the 
 undervaluation of foreign coins in computing the value of for¬ 
 eign invoices and levying and collecting duties at the United 
 States Custom Houses.” He was the author of the Act of 
 March 9th, 1873, which corrected the defects above referred 
 to. His predictions in this report on the decline in the value 
 of silver as compared to gold were fulfilled to the letter. 
 
 He was thoroughly familiar with the practice, science, and 
 finance of the Coinage Department of the Government, and 
 about this time he wrote the Coinage Act of 1873, and 
 secured its passage through Congress. General Grant, then 
 President, considered him as the fittest man to organize the 
 new Bureau, and, though a Democrat, appointed him first 
 Director under the new Act; the Director being at the head 
 of all the Mints and Assay Offices in the United States. 
 
 For the remainder of his life until his last illness, which 
 began in the fall of 1878, he worked incessantly. Under his 
 hands the Bureau of the Mints and the entire Coinage and 
 Assay service were shaped in their present form. Much is due 
 to his official subordinates, but his was the master mind, his the 
 skillful and methodical direction, the studious and laborious 
 devotion to the duties and obligations of his high position at 
 the head of the Coinage Department of this great nation, 
 
106 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 which have given the United States the best coinage system in 
 the world. It was Dr. Linderman who projected the “trade 
 dollar,” solely for commerce, and not intended to enter into 
 circulation here. It was a successful means of finding a 
 market for our great surplus of silver, which Dr. Linderman 
 sought to send to Oriental countries rather than flood our own 
 and depreciate its fickle value. The old silver dollar by the 
 Coinage Act of 1873 was abolished. The codification of all 
 the legislation of Congress since the foundation of the Mint in 
 1792 was thus accomplished. Other needed legislative enact¬ 
 ments were passed by Congress on his recommendations. 
 
 In 1877 Dr. Linderman wrote, and Putnam published, 
 “Money and Legal Tender in the United States,” a valuable 
 and interesting contribution to the science of finance, which 
 was favorably received abroad as well as here. The same year 
 his official report presented one of the most exhaustive, pro¬ 
 found, and able efforts which has ever emanated from the 
 Government press. The fact that several of his reports were 
 in use as text books of technical information in some of the 
 technical schools (notably that at Harvard University), Avill 
 serve to show the estimation in which the late Dr. Linderman 
 was held as an authority upon coinage, mining, and finance. 
 When the Japanese established their mint, that government 
 made him the liberal offer of $50,000 to stay in their country 
 one year and organize their mint service. 
 
 When M. Henri Cernuschi, the eminent financier and the 
 Director of the French Mint, was in this country in 1878, he 
 said, “ Dr. Linderman’s name is as celebrated on the continent 
 of Europe in connection with his opinions on the double stand¬ 
 ard of metallic currency, as that of Garibaldi in connection 
 with the Italian revolution.” 
 
 In 1877 Dr. Linderman was appointed a commissioner, with 
 poAver to name two others, to investigate abuses in the San 
 Francisco Mint and Custom House. He appointed ex- 
 Governor Loav, of California, and Mr. Henry Dodge, and this 
 commission sat as a court of inquiry in San Francisco in 1877. 
 He returned to Washington in the autumn of that year. His 
 report of thecommission was duly approved, and all the changes 
 it advised were made by the Government authorities. 
 
 In 1856 Dr. Linderman married Miss Emily Davis, a highly 
 accomplished and talented lady, daughter of George H. Davis, 
 one of the pioneer coal operators of the Wyoming and Carbon 
 districts. Dr. Linderman died at his residence in Washington 
 in January, 1879, after a long illness superinduced by his 
 aeif-sacrificmg care and solicitude for public interests. His 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 107 
 
 conscientious and valuable aid and advice in counsel, his con¬ 
 ception of public duty, which so entirely guided his conduct 
 in all his official relations connected with our present monetary 
 system, established through his efforts, justly entitle him to 
 be held in grateful remembrance for the benefits he conferred 
 Upon his fellow countrymen. 
 
 COL. A. LOUDON SNOWDEN, 
 
 Second Superintendent. 
 
 Was born in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, and descends 
 from one of the old families of Pennsylvania. 
 
 He was educated at the Jefferson College in Washington, 
 Pennsylvania. On the completion of his collegiate course he 
 studied law, but on May 7, 1857, just before being admitted 
 to the bar, accepted the position of Register, tendered him by 
 his uncle, the late Hon. James Ross Snowden, then Director 
 of the United States Mint. 
 
 In 1866, a vacancy having occurred in the office of Coiner 
 of the Mint, he was appointed by the President, and entered 
 upon the duties of this office October 1, 1866. 
 
 At the request of President Grant, in 1876, he was induced 
 to accept the Postmastership of Philadelphia. 
 
 He assumed the duties of that office January 1, 1877, with 
 much reluctance, hut soon manifested as Postmaster the same 
 capacity for thorough discipline and organization which had dis¬ 
 tinguished him in the Mint. President Hayes, in December, 
 
 1878, tendered him the position of Director of all the Mints 
 of the Pnited States, made vacant by the expiration of the 
 commission of Dr. Linderman. After the death of Dr. Lin- 
 derman the President again sent for him and urged his accept¬ 
 ance of the place, which he was believed to have declined pre¬ 
 vious to Dr. Linderman’s death from motives of delicacy, 
 having long been the friend of the late Director. 
 
 This offer he again declined, as the acceptance of it would 
 necessitate his removal from Philadelphia to Washington. 
 
 In the following February the President again made a ten¬ 
 der of office. This time it was the superintendency of the 
 Philadelphia Mint, and, as its acceptance of it restored him 
 to a service agreeable to him in every particular, and permitted 
 him to remain among his friends in Philadelphia, he promptly 
 accepted, and assumed control of the Mint on the 1st of March, 
 
 1879, and continued in charge of the “Parent Mint” of the 
 United States until June, 1885, when he resigned his commis¬ 
 sion. In 1889 he was appointed Minister Resident and Con¬ 
 sul-General to Greece, Servia and Roumania, by President 
 Harrison. 
 
108 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 In January, 1878, lie was elected vice-president of the Fire 
 Association, one of the oldest and largest fire insurance com 
 panies of the United States. In 1868 he was elected its pres¬ 
 ident. In October, 1880, he was elected president of the 
 “ United Fire Underwriters of America,” an organization 
 embracing the officers of more than one hundred and fifty of 
 the leading American and foreign companies doing business in 
 the United States, representing a capital of over $118,000 3 Q0 l\ 
 
 DANIEL M. FOX. 
 
 Hon. Daniel M. Fox, third Superintendent of the United 
 States Mint, was born in this city on the 16th of June, 1819. 
 His ancestors, both on his father’s and inother’s side, are not 
 without fame, many of them having figured more or less con¬ 
 spicuously in the early history of the country. Daniel Miller, 
 his maternal grandfather, took quite a prominent part in the 
 Revolutionary war, being present with Washington at German¬ 
 town, Pa., New Brunswick, N. J., the Highlands, N. Y., Valley 
 Forge, Pa., the siege of Yorktown, and witnessed the surren¬ 
 der of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown. During the campaign 
 in New Jersey he was taken by the British as a spy and 
 brought to Philadelphia, but effected his escape and rejoined 
 the army. At the termination of the war he finally settled 
 with his family in the old Northern Liberties, where Mr. Fox’s 
 grandfather, by the father’s side, John Fox, resided. Here 
 Daniel's father and mother were born, and here he himself 
 first saw the light, and was reared and educated. 
 
 His parents were possessed of very little of this world’s 
 goods, but that did not prevent them from giving their son a 
 liberal education, which he was not backward in taking advan¬ 
 tage of. After leaving school the first two years were em¬ 
 ployed as clerk in a store, after which he turned his attention 
 to conveyancing, as he intended to make that his permanent 
 profession. He devoted the next five years to the close study 
 of all its intricate details in the office of the late Jacob F. 
 Iloeckley, who at that period stood at the head of the profes¬ 
 sion in this city, and graduating with eminent credit he com¬ 
 menced practice for himself. 
 
 The profession is one affording many temptations to men 
 who are not well grounded in strict integrity, and sustained in 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 109 
 
 the paths of rectitude and virtue by a conscientious regard for 
 the meum and tuum of a well-ordered business life; but Mr. 
 Fox, looking upon his profession as one of dignity and trust, 
 soon commanded and permanently secured the confidence of 
 the public, by avoiding those speculative ventures which have 
 brought so much disrepute upon it, and by a scrupulous regard 
 for the interests of those who placed their property in his 
 keeping. In consequence, the business entrusted to him has 
 increased to such an extent from year to year that it is said he 
 has more estates in his charge for settlement, as administrator, 
 executor, or trustee, than any other single individual in Phila¬ 
 delphia. His practice constantly increasing as time rolled on, 
 the laws touching real estate operations becoming more com¬ 
 plicated year by year, and appreciating the necessity in many 
 cases for court proceedings to secure perfection of title, he 
 submitted himself to a legal examination, and was admitted to 
 the Philadelphia bar in November, 1878. 
 
 His Public Career. 
 
 His first step in public life was at the age of twenty-one, 
 when he was elected a member of the Board of School Direc¬ 
 tors of the district in which he then lived, and for many years 
 prior to 1854, when the city was consolidated, and the law in 
 that regard changed, he was President of the Board. For 
 many years he had taken an active interest in the public 
 schools, and was a pioneer in the night-school system for 
 adults. He was chosen two consecutive terms by the City 
 Councils as a Director of Girard College, and also represented 
 the Northern Liberties in the Board of Health, having charge 
 of the sanitary matters and the quarantine regulations of the 
 city, and was quite active and efficient in the abatement of the 
 cholera, which was epidemic here twice during the nine years 
 he served in that Board. 
 
 For three years he represented his ward in the Select 
 Council of Philadelphia with credit and ability. In 1861 he 
 retired from Councils, and in the year following was unani¬ 
 mously nominated for the Mayoralty by the Democratic party. 
 The city at that time was strongly Republican, and he was: 
 defeated by Hon. Alexander Henry, although he ran largely 
 ahead of his ticket. In 1865 he again received a unanimous 
 nomination for the same office, and ran against Hon. Morton 
 McMichael and with the same result. His personal popularity, 
 however, was in the ascendant, and when he was placed in 
 nomination in 1868 against General Hector Tyndale, he was 
 duly elected. 
 
no 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 On January 1, 1869, he was inaugurated, and his first 
 official duty as Mayor was to formally receive on behalf of the 
 city authorities General Grant as President-elect. The re¬ 
 ception took place in Independence Hall, in the presence of 
 Councils and a large number of prominent citizens, and was 
 conducted on the part of the new Mayor with ease, grace, and 
 elegance. His municipal administration was marked by many 
 reformatory and sanitary measures, especially in those portions 
 of the city where the impurity of the denizens hazarded the 
 health of more respectable neighborhoods. It was during his 
 official term that the Volunteer Fire Department ceaged to 
 exist. It had been his practice during its closing days to at¬ 
 tend all conflagrations for the double purpose of holding a 
 moral check on the lawless and to stimulate the police in their 
 duties of keeping the streets clear for the free exercise of those 
 whose business it was to extinguish the flames. r Ihe passage 
 by Councils of the ordinance establishing a Paid Fire Depart¬ 
 ment created a profound sensation in the city, arousing the 
 bitter feelings of many of the volunteer firemen, and kindling 
 an intense anxiety on the part of the people generally as to 
 the fate of the bill Avhen it reached the hands of the Mayor. 
 He retained it for a fortnight, unsigned, evidently desiring to 
 soften the feeling engendered by its passage, and also to per¬ 
 fect such arrangements as w r ould be necessary to meet any 
 emergency in carrying the act into effect. He resigned as 
 Superintendent of the Mint in 1889, and died in March, 
 1890. 
 
 COLONEL BOSBYSHELL. 
 
 Colonel Oliver C. Bosbyshell enjoys the honorable distinction 
 of having been the first Union soldier hurt by the enemy in 
 the War°of the Rebellion. His war record is full and com¬ 
 plete. He enlisted in April, 1861, and served his country 
 until October, 1864. It was on the 18th day of April, 1861, 
 that, as a private in the Washington Artillerists, of Pottsville, 
 Schuylkill County—the first command to respond to President 
 'bncoln’s call for 75,000 men—he was marching with his com- 
 lades through Baltimore, enroute to Washington, where the 
 memorable attack was made upon them by Southern sympa¬ 
 thizers. Private Bosbyshell was struck on the head with a 
 brick. The missile struck him broadside, fortunately, and 
 while it stunned him and left a very painful bruise, it did not 
 cut through the skin, and consequently no blood was drawn. 
 Several minutes later, how’ever, the colored servant of one of 
 the officers was struck, "ho brick cutting a bad gash in his 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 Ill 
 
 head, from which blood flowed profusely. While Private 
 Bosbyshell was the first Union man hurt in the Rebellion, 
 the colored servant was the first man to shed his blood for 
 the Union cause. 
 
 This baptism of violence was a fit preparation for the career 
 of hardship and danger which lay before Private Oliver C. 
 Bosbyshell for the next three and a half years. The battles 
 he participated in, the skirmishes in which he figured and the 
 dangers, in one form or other, which he encountered would 
 furnish material enough to fill a large book and make a story 
 of thrilling interest. His war record on the Union side seems 
 not less remarkable when it is considered that he was not 
 of Northern, but of Southern origin. He was born in Vicks¬ 
 burg, Mississippi, on the 3d of January, 1839. His father 
 and mother, however, were natives of Philadelphia. Oliver 
 C. Bosbyshell, the father, married Mary A. Whitney, of this 
 city. Both father and mother were of distinguished ante¬ 
 cedents. Colonel Bosbyshell's father died several months be¬ 
 fore the subject of this sketch was born. His mother returned 
 from Vicksburg to the home of her father, Lebbeus Whitney, 
 who then lived in Schuylkill County, when young Oliver was 
 only eight months old. 
 
 He grew up in Schuylkill County, received a fair education 
 in the public schools, and when fifteen years of age he entered 
 the employ of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Com¬ 
 pany’s telegraph office at Pottsville. He worked first as a mes¬ 
 senger and afterward as telegraph operator there for three 
 years. Then he entered the law office of Hon. F. W. Hughes 
 as a cle.rk, intending ultimately to become a lawyer. After 
 two years spent there, during which he studied diligently, he 
 went as a regular student into the law office of his uncle, 
 William L. Whitney, where he was engaged when the war 
 broke out. 
 
 From Law Office to Camp Life. 
 
 It was on the 15th of April, 1861, that President Lincoln 
 issued his call for 75,000 volunteers. Young Oliver C. Bosby¬ 
 shell enlisted as a private in the Washington Artillerists, an 
 old and honerable company at Pottsville, on the very next 
 day. The company reached Harrisburg on the 17th of April 
 and was mustered into the United States service immediately 
 upon its arrival by Colonel Seneca G. Simmons, and early on 
 the following day was in Baltimore, where the assault on 
 Private Bosbyshell above mentioned occurred 
 
112 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 The Washington Artillerists afterward became Company 
 H, 25th Pennsylvania Volunteers. They were sent down the 
 Potomac to Fort Washington, where they were employed for 
 three months strengthening the fortifications. From the very 
 first Private Bosbyshell was popular among his comrades and 
 the officers. Three months after his enlistment he was offered 
 a first lieutenancy in the regular army. He declined the 
 the position, preferring volunteer service. On the 29th of 
 July, 1861, he was mustered out with his company at Harris¬ 
 burg, the three months term of their enlistment having expired. 
 On the 9th of September he re-enlisted as second lieutenant 
 Company G, 48th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers In 
 fantry, and was commissioned to rank from August 20, 1861. 
 He was mustered in for three years with his company at Camp 
 Hamilton, near Fortress Monroe. While second lieutenant he 
 was sent back to Harrisburg as regimental recruiting officer. 
 Afterward rejoining his company at Camp Hamilton he em¬ 
 barked with his regiment on the 11th of November, 1861, for 
 Hatteras, North Carolina. He served there for a time as judge 
 advocate of a regimental court-martial and as acting adjutant 
 of his regiment. When the attack was made on Newbern, 
 General Burnside detailed six companies of the 48th to accom¬ 
 pany his forces. Colonel Bosbyshell was in this fight as acting 
 regimental quartermaster. Afterward he was made acting 
 adjutant of the 48th. He was next promoted to the first 
 lieutenancy and afterward to the captaincy of Company G. 
 
 As Captain Bosbyshell he figured in many memorable 
 engagements. He fought at Bull Run, at Chantilly, at South 
 Mountain, at Antietam and at bloody Fredericksburg. During 
 the winter at Fredericksburg he was detailed as judge advocate 
 of division court-martial. In the Spring of 1863 the Ninth 
 Corps was ordered West and Captain Bosbyshell was made 
 provost marshal at Lexington, Ky. Whilst serving in Lexing¬ 
 ton, General Burnside granted him a leave of absence to re¬ 
 turn to Pennsylvania, to be married, which happened on the 
 24th of June, 1863, at Warwick Furnace, Chester County, to 
 Miss Martha E. Stem, daughter of the late Rev. Nathan 
 Stem, D. D. He took part a few months later in all the 
 fights in East Tennessee : was in the battles of Blue Springs, 
 Campbell’s Station and the siege of Knoxville. Returning 
 on veteran furlough to Schuylkill County in January, 1864, 
 he helped recruit the ranks of the decimated command. 
 Many of the Schuylkill boys who had gone gallantly to the 
 front with Oliver Bosbyshell two years before had fallen on 
 the bloody fields of the South and Southwest. 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 113 
 
 Under General Hartranft. 
 
 The Ninth Corps, atter re-enlistment, rendezvoused at Annap¬ 
 olis, Md. This was in February, 1864. The corps was placed 
 under the command of General John 1 H . Hartranft, who at 
 once selected Captain Bosbyshell as acting assistant adjutant 
 general, Depot Ninth Army Corps. The corps, after re¬ 
 organization, moved into Virginia by way of Washington. 
 Captain Bosbyshell at this period was offered a complimentary 
 appointment on the staff of Brigadier General Robert B. 
 Potter, which he declined, preferring to remain with his com¬ 
 pany. Afterward he was detailed by Colonel Sigfried as- 
 acting assistant adjutant general First Brigade Fourth Div¬ 
 ision Ninth Army Corps. In this capacity Colonel Bosby¬ 
 shell served through Grant’s campaign, beginning at the 
 Wilderness and ending at Petersburg. During his service he 
 was commissioned major of his regiment, to rank as such from 
 July 10, 1864, but was not relieved from duty as acting 
 assistant adjutant general until after the mine fight of July 
 30, 1864. His own regiment dug his mine. Colonel Sigfried 
 and Major Bosbyshell led their brigade into the fight, and the 
 loss of over 400 of their men tells how severely they suffered. 
 
 On the day following this fight Major Bosbyshell took 
 charge of his regiment again and commanded it in the Weldon 
 Railroad fight and afterward at Poplar Grove Church. He 
 was mustered out of service on the 1st of October, 1864. 
 
 In Business Life. 
 
 Returning to Pottsville, the war being virtually ended,. 
 Major Bosbyshell engaged in the banking business and after- 
 Avard in the book and stationery business. Had he remained 
 in his regiment three months longer he would have been a 
 colonel. Always a devoted Republican he was nominated by 
 his party in Schuylkill County in 1866 for prothonotary. 
 The county being Democratic he was not elected. Yet he re¬ 
 ceived the highest vote of any Republican candidate of the 
 party that year. It was about this time that the Grand Army 
 of the Republic was organized and Colonel Bosbyshell was 
 selected by the provisional commander to introduce the order 
 into Schuylkill County. He declined entering into the move¬ 
 ment during a heated political canvass, holding that politics 
 and the G. A. R. should not be mixed, a belief that he has 
 retained ever since. In 1867, however, after the political 
 
114 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 contest was over, he entered the G. A. R. and organized Post 
 23, of Pottsville. He was its first commander. Afterward he 
 became district commander of Schuylkill County. In 1869 
 he was elected department commander for Pennsylvania. He 
 did great work for the order in this capacity. 
 
 In the same year he was made register of deposits in the 
 United States Mint in Philadelphia. He removed to Phila¬ 
 delphia and has lived in this city ever since. His faithful ser¬ 
 vice in the Mint was recognized by Colonel A. Loudon Snow¬ 
 den, who, while coiner in the Mint, made Major Bosbyshell 
 assistant coiner, without solicitation on the part of the latter 
 or of any of his friends. When Colonel Snowden was ap¬ 
 pointed postmaster, President Grant appointed Major Bosby¬ 
 shell coiner. He served in this capacity until February, 
 1885, when he was appointed by Colonel Dechert, the City 
 Controller, to the position of chief clerk in the Controller’s 
 Office, the national administration having changed and the 
 Republican superintendent of the Mint, Colonel Snowden, 
 having resigned to give place to his Democratic successor, 
 Daniel M. Fox. 
 
 It was a remarkable tribute to Major Bosbyshell’s worth 
 that he, a Republican, should be selected for the next most 
 important position in a Democratic Controller’s Office. His 
 relations with his chief, Controller Dechert, and with his 
 associates in the office, the majority of them Democrats, have 
 been of the most cordial character the only regret expressed 
 by the clerks and other attaches of the office was the loss of 
 one who had been so universally liked and respected by them, 
 as a most courteous gentleman and a good friend. 
 
 Colonel Bosbyshell was appointed superintendent of the 
 Mint of the United States at Philadelphia, by President Har¬ 
 rison, on the 17th of October, 1889, and entered upon his 
 duties as such on the 1st of November following. 
 
 COINERS. 
 
 Henry Yoight, the first Chief Coiner, was appointed by 
 President Washington, January 29, 1793. He was selected 
 on account of his mechanical knowledge and skill, being a 
 clockmaker by trade. Many of our old families bear witness 
 to the skill of Mr. Yoight in the affection they have for many 
 an “ old clock on the stairs,” for the manufacture of which 
 timekeepers he was quite famous. Mr. Yoight held office until 
 removed by death in February, 1814. 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 115 
 
 Adam Eckfeldt was born in Philadelphia, June 15,1769. 
 He was trained to mechanical pursuits by his father, who was 
 a large manufacturer of edge-tools and implements. On the 
 establishment of the Mint he was engaged to construct some 
 of the machinery for it. He built the first screw-coining 
 presses. ' The contrivance for ejecting the piece from the 
 collar, together with some other mechanical appliances, were 
 his invention. 
 
 In an old pay-roll of 1795 (see page 12), we find the name 
 ol “Adam Eckfeldt, Die Forger and Turner.” His official 
 connection dates from January 1, 1796, when he was ap¬ 
 pointed Assistant Coiner by Director Boudinot, with the 
 consent of President Washington. Upon the death of Henry 
 Yoigt, Mr. Eckfeldt was appointed to succeed him as Chief 
 Coiner, and remained in that position until he resigned, in 
 1839. He continued to visit the Mint for some years after; 
 and he is yet remembered as a hard Worker in the Mint, 
 without compensation. For half a century he was one of the 
 central figures of the Mint service. His mechanical skill, his 
 zeal, energy, and uprightness, brought him many distinctions, 
 both as an officer and a citizen. 
 
 In his letter of resignation he warmly recommends the 
 appointment of Franklin Peale, in the following terms: 
 “ I feel it my duty, in leaving office, to recommend that my 
 place be filled by Mr. Franklin Peale, the present Melter and 
 Refiner. Our close association as fellow-officers has made me 
 acquainted with his peculiar qualifications, and I therefore 
 know him to be fitted for the situation ; and I do not know any 
 other person that is.” He had a high ideal of what a chief 
 coiner should be. 
 
 Mr. Eckfeldt died February 6, 1852, in his 83d year. 
 
 Franklin Peale was the son of Charles Willson Peale, the 
 eminent artist and founder of Peale’s Museum. Born in the 
 Hall of the American Philosophical Society, October 15, 1795, 
 he was presented to the society by his father, when four months 
 old, as “the first child born in the Philosophical Hall,” and 
 with a request that the society should name him. He was ac¬ 
 cordingly named after the chief founder and first President of 
 the Society—Franklin. 
 
 Young Peale early showed a taste for mechanics, arid his 
 father gave him every facility to improve himself in any direc¬ 
 tion in which nature seemed to lead him. Part of his general 
 education was received at the University of Pennsylvania and 
 part at the Germantown Academy. At the age of seventeen 
 he entered the machine shop of Hodgson & Bro., Delaware. 
 
116 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OP 
 
 He soon grew to be a skilled mechanic and draughtsman. 
 Some time after he became manager of his father’s Museum. 
 He assisted Baldwin in the construction of the first locomotive 
 built in this country. In 1833 Mr. P^ale entered the Mint 
 service, and was sent to Europe by Director Moore to examine 
 into foreign Mint methods. He brought with him valuable 
 apparatus for the Assay Department, together with other im¬ 
 portant improvements and suggestions. He was appointed 
 Melter and Refiner in 1836 and Chief Coiner in 1839. He 
 introduced the first steam coining press, the milling machine 
 and some other of our more modern forms of Mint machinery. 
 ■' Mr. Peale’s administration as Chief Coiner may be said to 
 mark an era in the mechanic arts of Minting. Being specially 
 fitted, by natural genius as well as education, for the position 
 which he adorned, his mildness, integrity, gentlemanly bearing 
 and high moral and mental culture constituted him a model 
 officer. His connection with the service lasted until 1854. 
 He died on the 5th of May, 1870. 
 
 George K. Childs, appointed December 12, 1854. 
 
 Lewis R. Broomall, appointed June 30, 1861. 
 
 John G. Butler, appointed November 30, 1863. 
 
 A. Loudon Snowden, appointed October 1, 1866. 
 
 (For sketch of A. Loudon Snowden, see list of Directors 
 and Superintendents, page 92.) 
 
 Colonel 0. C. Bosbysiiell. On the 4th of May, 1869, 
 Ex-Governor Pollock, then Director of the Mint, appointed 
 Col. Bosbyshell Register of Deposits. His course in the Mint 
 was so satisfactory that, without solicitation, he was made 
 assistant coiner by Col. A. L. Snowden, the then coiner, on 
 the 1st of October, 1872. Upon Col. Snowden’s appointment 
 as Postmaster of Philadelphia, Cob Bosbyshell was appointed 
 Coiner of the Mint by President Grant, on the 15th of De¬ 
 cember, 1876, and remained in that capacity until January, 
 1885, when, to the regret of all parties having business rela¬ 
 tions with him, he tendered his resignation to accept a respon¬ 
 sible position in the Controller’s Office, tendered him by his 
 friend, Col. Robert P. Dechert. 
 
 William S. Steel was born in the City of Philadelphia, 
 on the 1st of March, 1841. He received a good common 
 school education, and in 1856 entered the office of David 
 Cooper & Co., at Girard’s wharves, remaining engaged in mer¬ 
 cantile pursuits till 1861. At 19 years of age he was appointed 
 by Colonel James Ross Snowden, then Director of the L T nited 
 States Mint, First Assistant Weigh Clerk. In this position 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 117 
 
 he served continuously through Colonel J. Ross Snowden, ex- 
 Governor Pollock, and Colonel A. Loudon Snowden’s admin¬ 
 istrations. In September, 1862, just before the battle of 
 Antietam, Mr. Steele entered the State service, and served 
 with the Thirty-second Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, 
 until discharged by expiration of term. When Colonel A. 
 Loudon Snowden was transferred to the Post Office, January, 
 1877, Mr. Steele, upon the recommendation of the then 
 Coiner, Colonel 0. C. Bosbyshell, became Assistant Coiner, a 
 position he filled in a most acceptable manner, uutil Colonel 
 Eosbyshell’s retirement in February, 1885, when he was made 
 Coiner. 
 
 John McCormick, Assistant Coiner, was born in Philadel¬ 
 phia (Northern Liberties), and was educated in the North 
 East Grammar School. He was appointed Assistant Coiner 
 by Superintendent Bosbyshell, in June, 1890, having previous 
 to his appointment held several positions of trust in different 
 city and county departments. 
 
 Dr. Henry Leffmann was appointed Chief Coiner at the 
 Philadelphia Mint January 10, 1888, by President Cleveland. 
 Dr. Leffmann was born in Philadelphia September 9, 1847, 
 and was educated in the public schools of Philadelphia, in¬ 
 cluding four years at the Central High School. He devoted 
 three years in practical study in the laboratory of Dr. Charles 
 M. Cresson, and graduated at Jefferson Medical College in 
 1869, having been for some years assistant to the Professor of 
 Chemistry at the College, and in 1875 was elected Lecturer 
 on Toxicology, which position he held for a number of years. 
 In 1876 he was elected to take charge of the laboratory of the 
 Central High School, and remained in that position for four 
 y< ars. In 1883 he was elected Professor of Chemistry and 
 Metallurgy in the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery, a 
 position which he still holds; and he has been for a number 
 of years Professor of Chemistry and Mineralogy in the Wag¬ 
 ner Free Institute of Science. Dr. Leflfman has been engaged 
 as chemical expert in patent and criminal cases, notably in 
 the Goerson poisoning case and the chrome-yellow poisoning 
 cases. He is a member of several American and foreign 
 scientific societies, has contributed papers to current scientific 
 literature, and has for the past five years been editor of The 
 Polyclinic, a monthly medical journal. In 1880 he was a 
 andidate for Coroner on the Democratic ticket, but was de- 
 
118 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF THE 
 
 feated, and in 1884 was appointed Port Physician for Phila¬ 
 delphia, by Governor Pattison. Mr. Leffman not being con¬ 
 firmed, never acted as Coiner. 
 
 ASSAYERS. 
 
 Jacob R. Eckfeldt, Sixth Assayer, was born in Philadel¬ 
 phia, 1846. He entered the Assay Department as Second 
 Weigher, in 1865. By regular promotions he reached the 
 position of Assistant Assayer, in 1872, and upon the death of 
 his superior he was appointed and confirmed as Assayer, De¬ 
 cember 21, 1881. The position of Assayer is one of great 
 responsibility, and demands not only scientific training but 
 wide and special knowledge and experience upon subjects re¬ 
 lating to the history and arts of Coinage. Since the founda¬ 
 tion of the Mint there have been but six official heads of this 
 department. 
 
 Homer L. Pound was born in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, 
 in 1858. He entered Prof. Murdock’s Chemical Laboratory, 
 in Chicago, Ill., in 1880, and in May, 1881, entered the 
 Assay Department of the U. S. Mint, Philadelphia. He re¬ 
 signed in March, 1883, to accept the position of Register, 
 U. S. Land Office, at Hailey, Idaho, to which he had been 
 appointed by President Arthur. In 1889 lie again entered 
 the Assay Department of the Mint in Philadelphia as an 
 assistant, and in April, 1891, was promoted to the position 
 of Assistant Assayer. 
 
 JACOB K. ECKFELDT. 
 
 Extract from an Obituary Notice by Mr. Du Bois. 
 
 (Read before the American Philosophical Society, Oct. 4th , 1872.) 
 
 Jacob B. Eckfeldt, late Assayer of the Mint, was the son of Adam and 
 Margaretta Eckfeldt, and was born in Philadelphia, March —, 1803. He 
 was, therefore, in his seventieth year, at the time of decease, August 9th, 
 1872. 
 
 In the Spring of 1832, Mr. John Kichardson, who had been Assayer 
 about one year, and did not find the employment congenial to his tastes, 
 informed Mr. Eckfeldt that he intended to resign, and wished him to pre¬ 
 pare to take the place. Mr. E. shrank from this responsibility, and declined. 
 But some of his friends who had influence with President Jackson, pre¬ 
 sented his name with a strong recommendation and he was appointed with¬ 
 out being asked as to his party preferences. This occured on the 30th of 
 April, 1832. He therefore held the office over forty years. 
 
 When he entered upon the work, he had to encounter some embarrass¬ 
 ments. The apparatus was old-fashioned, and not calculated for nice 
 results. The silver assay had been well performed, without going to a 
 close figure, for many years; but gold was little known in the country or 
 at the Mint, and it is not surprising that its assay was incorrectly per- 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 119 
 
 formed. Add to this, there was the coarse and cumbrous nomenclature, 
 brought from the old country, of carats and grains for gold fineness, and 
 so many grains to the pound for silver fineness. 
 
 Close upon all this, that is to say, in June, 1834, came the celebrated 
 reduction in the standards of our gold coin, one of the chief measures of 
 the Jackson administration. This changed gold from a curiosity to a 
 currency; bullion and foreign coin flowed to the mint, and accuracy of 
 assay was more than ever needful. Mr. Eckfeldt was equal to the emer¬ 
 gency, and resolutely introduced reforms, which, at first, made the older 
 officers stand in doubt. 
 
 In those days, about the time the new mint edifice on Chestnut street 
 was finishing, Mr. Peale was sent to London and Paris to observe the 
 methods of assaying and refining, and to procure a new apparatus. We 
 were thus supplied with French beams, weights, and cupel furnaces, and 
 with the appliances of Gay-Lussac’s humid assay, and the printed details 
 of the process. Soon after, Mr. Saxton, famous for his skill in construct¬ 
 ing balances and other delicate instruments, returned from a long schooling 
 in that line in London, and was employed in the Mint. Thus furnished, 
 Mr. Eckfeldt felt himself “set up,” and able to compete with the foreign 
 assayeis, and if he was ever more precise, it was because he disregarded 
 certain allowances which had become a time-honored custom. 
 
 A large importation of fine gold bars from France, known as the French 
 Indemnity, and which came because President Jackson declared he “would 
 submit to nothing that was wrong,” gave a fine opportunity for testing and 
 comparing foreign assays; and it was generally found that these bars were 
 somewhat below the alleged fineness. A still more important discovery, 
 was the fact that British Sovereigns ran below their standard of fineness. 
 This happened when he had been in office less than three years, and the 
 Director was unwilling to set the finding of young Eckfeldt against the 
 experience of Old England. The Assayer being assured and re-assured of 
 the accuracy of his results, Director Moore consented to notify the British 
 Government of their error. The result was a closer scrutiny in the London 
 Mint, and a final acknowledgement that they were wrong. This was no 
 less a triumph for Mr. Eckfeldt, than it was a contribution to exact science, 
 and an honor to the American Government. 
 
 It is not surprising, that he felt at first the inconvenience of passing from 
 one form of nomenclature to another, though to a better one. A friend 
 remarks, “I recall conversations with Mr. Eckfeldt, showing how seriously 
 he felt the revolution. He would think in carats, and report in decimals. 
 And I often recur to this as illustrating the kind of difficulties which would 
 arise in case of a decimalising of weights and measures.” 
 
 For some years prior to 1842, Mr. Eckfeldt and his Assistant, in addition 
 to their ordinary duties, engaged in the preparation of an original and 
 comprehensive work on the Coins of all Nations; on the Varieties of Gold 
 and Silver Bullion; on Counterfeit Coins, and on other subjects related 
 thereto. This was published in 1842, and has long been regarded as a 
 standard authority. In 1850, they issued a supplementary smaller work, 
 and again in 1852. 
 
 As the United States increased in commerce, wealth and population, the 
 Mint of course increased in work. In particular, Mexican dollars came in 
 great quantities for recoinage. Not only were our vaults full, but our entries 
 and corridors were at times crowded with rows of kegs. Every day, for 
 years, we had the constant task of sixteen melts of silver ingots to melt and 
 assay; and it was a great advantage and satisfaction to be supplied with 
 the humid apparatus. 
 
 The success of gold mining in our Southern States, and the increasing com¬ 
 merce of New Orleans, gave rise to the establishment of three branch mints 
 at the South, in 1837; and it devolved upon Mr. Eckfeldt to become school¬ 
 master, and educate the three assayers appointed for those places. The same 
 had to be done again at a latter date for other mints and assay officer. 
 
120 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 In December, 1848, came the first lot of gold grains from California 
 find with the opening of the next year the tide set in most powerfully. I 
 shall not here speak of this great turning-point in metallic currency any 
 further than as it affected the mint, or rather the labor which it laid upon 
 Mr. Eckfeldt and his department. As is well known, the lots were 
 numerous, and the aggregate amount was enormous. Instead of making 
 gold assays by dozens, we had to go through with hundieds every day, 
 following the arrival of each steamer. We procured young men as opera¬ 
 tors in the weigh-room and additional workmen in the laboratory; and 
 in spite all the help we were all overworked. Here let me say that the 
 persons who have been educated by Mr. Eckfeldt to this profession have 
 done credit to the selection that was made, not only by skill, diligence, and 
 good character while here, but wherever they are now scattered to other 
 mints and assay offices, or to different pursuits. 
 
 The gold pressure continued for about five years, when it was relieved 
 by the creation of a Government assay office in New York, and a branch 
 mint at San Francisco. But directly sequent to this came the change of 
 standard in silver coin, causing an. immense recoinage in small pieces. 
 Thus our daily assays continued to count by hundreds. This lasted for 
 some years. When it began to slacken off^ a law was passed for calling in 
 the large copper coins and issuing in their stead pieces of copper-nickel 
 alloy of much smaller size. 
 
 The analysis of Nickel alloys was not well laid down in the books, and 
 the European or other assays which came with purchased lots showed an 
 incorrect determination. Mr. Eckfeldt was therefore obliged to study out 
 and perfect this assay, which is more tedious and laborious, though of less 
 consequence, than the assay of the precious metals. 
 
 But it was his habit to be as scrupulous in minor matters as in major; 
 and after the routine was well settled it went on with the same clock¬ 
 work regularity as the other branches of assaying. I need not say that 
 this nickel coinage imposed another heavy pressure upon the mint for 
 years. 
 
 After this came the substitution of the Bronze alloy; and this called for 
 another process of assay, and brought us a great deal of work. 
 
 1 thus hastily review this sequence of gold, silver, nickel, and bronze, 
 not only as an interesting part of Mint History, but to show the varied and 
 abundant services of the untiring, energetic Principal Assayer, and the 
 masterly skill with which he met every obligation. 
 
 His skill and success as an Assayer and Analyst largely consisted in his 
 power of finding out what was defective or erroneous, and in applying the 
 proper remedy. It often seemed that what was a puzzle to others was to 
 him a matter of quick insight. 
 
 In the assays of certain complex alloys, and of low grades of gold and 
 •silver, he contrived various methods which are not in print, but which are 
 of great use in the daily manipulations. 
 
 And here I may state that he not only introduced great accuracy and 
 precision in the assays, but carried special investigations to a delicacy 
 almost incredible. Thus, much interest was excited by a publication some 
 years ago, both in this country and across the Atlantic, of his experiment 
 upon the brick-clay which underlies our city. Taking two samples from 
 the center of the town and the suburbs he found they contained gold at the 
 rate of nearly 12 grains (say fifty cents) to the ton of clay in its ordinary 
 moisture. Other experiments went to prove the very general diffusion of 
 gold, in infinitesimal proportions. 
 
 Some analysts, through want of exactitude, or for the pleasure of making 
 a sensation, may produce very curious results; but Mr. Eckfeldt was con¬ 
 scientious, I may say, nervously scrupulous, about stating anything he vaa 
 not sure of. Partly for that reason, partly for the very love of work, be 
 was laborious to a fault, all his life long. 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 121 
 
 United States Mint Officers. 
 
 Washington, P. C., Edward O. Leech, Director of the Mint. $4,500 
 
 Philadelphia, Pa., Oliver C. Bosbvsheil, Superintendent. 4,500 
 
 Boise City, Idaho, Norman H. Camp. 2,000 
 
 Carson City, Nevada, James Crawford, Superintendent. 3,000 
 
 Charlotte, N. C., Calvin J. Cowles, Assayer. 1,500 
 
 Denver, Colorado, Herman Silver, Assayer. 2,500 
 
 Helena, Montana, Russell B. Harrison, Assayer. 2,500 
 
 New Orleans, La., Andrew W. Smyth, Superintendent. 3,500 
 
 New York, N. Y., Andrew Mason, Superintendent. 4,500 
 
 Son Francisco, Cal., Edw. F. Burton, Superintendent. 4,500 
 
 Louis, Mo., Eliot C. Jewett, Assayer..... 2,500 
 
 WILLIAM E. DU BOIS. 
 
 Extract from an obituary notice by Robert Patterson. 
 (Read before the American Philosophical Society, November 18,1881.) 
 
 William Ewing Du Bois was born at Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Decem¬ 
 ber 15, 1810. Through his father, Rev. Uriah Du Bois, he was descended 
 from Louis Du Bois, a French Huguenot of honorable extraction, who em¬ 
 igrated to America in 1660, seeking freedom of religious worship, and, in 
 connection with others of his countrymen, formed the settlement of New 
 Paltz, Ulster County, New York. Through his mother, Martha Patterson, 
 daughter of Professor Robert Patterson, of the University of Pennsylvania, 
 heinheiited the Scotch-Irish element which has exerted marked an 
 influence in the development of our country. 
 
 The father of Mr. Du Bois was a Presbyterian clergyman, in charge of 
 churches in and near Doylestown, and was principal of the Union Academy 
 at that place, a classical school then and afterwards of high reputation. He 
 was greatly respected, both as preacher and teacher. 
 
 The bright and studious mind of Mr. Du Bois gathered every advantage 
 from his opportunities, and he was well furnished in the classics and math¬ 
 ematics, and in English literature. While yet a boy he developed a free¬ 
 dom and capacity as a writer quite remarkable. 
 
 His oldest brother was an eminent member of the bar, and it seemed 
 fitting that Mr. Du Bois should, under his guidance, adopt the law as his 
 profession. He accordingly pursued the usual course, in the meantime 
 aiding to support himself by literary work and conveyancing, and was 
 admitted to practice in September, 1832. But his health failing him on 
 account of a bronchial affection, he accepted an appointment in the Mint 
 at Philadelphia, and thus began the life-work by which his reputation was 
 established. 
 
 Mr. Du Bois entered the Mint in September, 1833, and was first employed 
 in the office of the Director, Dr. Moore. In 1835, at the request of the 
 Assayer, Mr. Jacob R. Eckfeldt, he was transferred to a more congenial 
 position in the assay department. ILei’e he continued for the remainder of 
 his life. In 1836 he was appointed Assistant Assayer. In September, 1872, 
 he succeeded Mr. Eckfeldt as Assayer, and remained at the head of the de¬ 
 partment until his death, July 14, 1881, thus completing nearly forty-eight 
 years of Mint service. 
 
 Mr. Du Bois early took rank as an accomplished assayer, and long before 
 his death had reached the head of his profession. 
 
 The close intimacy between Mr. Du Bois and Mr. Eckfeldt developed 
 into warm friendship. The tie was made closer by the marriage of Mr. 
 Du Bois, in 1840, to Susanna Eckfeldt, the sister of his chief. I shall have 
 lo speak of published works and scientific communications appearing under 
 the names of Eckfeldt and Du Bois. Although it was understood that Mr. 
 Du Bois was the sole literary author, yet no separate claim of authorship 
 was made by either. Whatever of reputation was earned, each was con¬ 
 tented that it might be shared by the other, and jealousy never for a 
 moment weakened a union that bound them for life. 
 
122 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 In the year 1834 a change took place in the ratio of gold to silver in the 
 standard of U. S. coins, the effect of which was to bring large deposits of 
 gold to the Mint. The coinage previously had been chiefly of silver.. The 
 more equal supply of the precious metals gave active employment in the 
 assay of each of them, and was, of course, most valuable as an experience 
 to Mr. Du Bois, who about this time became connected with, the assay de¬ 
 partment. 
 
 In 1837, on revision of the Mint- laws and standards brought about by 
 Dr. Robert M. Patterson, then Director, a reform was effected in the 
 method of reporting assays, the millesimal system taking the place of the 
 time-honored but cumbrous method of carats and grains. About this time, 
 also, the older plan of assaying silver was abandoned, the humid assay 
 being substituted, and largely worked under the direct supervision of Mr. 
 Du Bois. 
 
 About 1838 branch mints were organized in the States of Louisiana* 
 Georgia, and North Carolina. The labors and responsibilities of the Phtl- 
 adelphia assay department were increased by this development, partly from 
 the necessity of instructing assayers for the new branches, and partly m 
 testing the correctness of the assays made there. 
 
 In 1848 the great discovery of gold in California was made known. This 
 brought a tremendous pressure on every department of the Mint,, and not 
 the least on the assayers. The gold coinage was, in three years, raised from 
 a little over three million dollars to more than sixty-two millions. The 
 assays were often counted by hundreds in a day. But whatever the pressure 
 in the office, accuracy ruled, and the correctness of the assays was never- 
 impeached. 
 
 In 1853 a change was effected in the law for providing subordinate silver 
 coins. This brought about, for some years succeeding, an unprecedented 
 coinage of that metal, and still further increased the labors of the assay 
 department. 
 
 He instituted the Cabinet of coins which now adorns the Mint. This- 
 was commenced in 1838. A small annual appropriation was procured from 
 Congress for this purpose, and the work of collection committed entirely 
 to Mr. Du Bois He brought to it all the enthusiasm which animates most 
 numismatists, sobered, however, by good judgment. His expenditures were 
 always judicious. Some of the best of the specimens were culled from the 
 Mint deposits for the bullion value, merely, of the pieces. After the collec¬ 
 tion had taken good shape, and been well classified, he wrote and pub¬ 
 lished, in 1846, a description of it, under the title “Pledges of History,” 
 etc. The title thus selected intimated his opinion as to the real value of 
 such collections. He thought that a coin should be prized for its historical 
 teaching, or artistic merit, and discouraged the rage to possess a piece sim¬ 
 ply because of its rarity. Mr. Du Bois acted as curator of the Cabinet 
 until his death. 
 
 Another important labor undertaken by Mr. Du Bois (in connection 
 with Mr. Eckleldt) was the preparation and publication, in 1842, of a 
 “Manual of the Gold and Silver Coins of all nations, struck within the 
 I tast century.” This was a work of very great labor, and, from its expense, 
 of some risk also to the authors. It is admirably arranged, the information 
 clear, and it embraced every subject of interest at that date as to coins, 
 bullion, counterfeits, etc. Subsequently, in 1850 and 1851, supplements 
 were published covering later topics, made prominent an consequence of 
 the California gold discoveries. 
 
 The writings of Mr. Du Bois were numerous, and continued up to the 
 year of his death. His papers on numismatics were frequent and always 
 attractive, his last appearance in print being in April of this year, in. an 
 article on the “ Coinage of the Popes.” To the “American Philosophical 
 Society,” of which he was elected a member in 1844, he made various com¬ 
 munications on behalf of Mr. Eckfeldt and himself, mostly on topics «ug- 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 123 
 
 gested by experiences in the assay department. Among the most curious 
 was one on “The Natural Dissemination of Gold,” by which we were aston¬ 
 ished to learn that this precious metal is found in appreciable quantity in 
 the clays underlying our city. 
 
 In 1&69 he wrote fur the “Bankers’ Magazine,” “Propositions for a De¬ 
 vised System of Weights, and a Bestoration of Silver Currency.” The 
 development of his views on these subjects is a model of clear exposition, 
 and the conclusions reached were such as might be expected from a mind 
 aiming to attain practical results rather than to impose visionary theories. 
 
 From the beginning he was highly esteemed at the Mint. It was his 
 ambition to acquire a knowledge of every branch of the service, and with 
 his capacity and opportunities this end was attained. He early became the 
 trusted friend and counsellor of his colleagues, and was able to serve them 
 in many ways, perhaps most of all with his ready pen. As time passed, ■) 
 and forty-eight y ears of experience was given to him, he was recognized by 
 all as the Nestor of the Mint service. And here I pause to draw a lesson, 
 from the example of Mr. Du Bois’s life, as to the value of a properly or¬ 
 ganized civil service. In the department w'th which he was connected, 
 political tests were never obtruded, and permanence of tenure followed on 
 merit. On no other basis could his services have been claimed or retained. 
 They would have been transferred to a private sphere, probably to his 
 pecuniary gain, certainly to the public loss. He was very accessible, and 
 ever ready to lend aid from the stores of his knowledge, but in particular 
 did he delight to instruct and bring forward his younger friends. 
 
 M r. Du Bois was able to fulfill his official duties until within a few months 
 of his death. He was fully conscious of his approaching end, preserving 
 his intell gence to the last, and the faith which had comforted him in this 
 life supported him at its close. 
 
 The following minute was adopted at a meeting of the officers and em¬ 
 ployees after his decease: 
 
 “The rematkably close conformity of the United States coins to the 
 standard assigned them by law, has. been recognized by the highest Mint 
 authorities of the world to be unsurpassed, if quite equalled, in its uniform 
 exactness. The founding of such a reputation and its continuance during 
 the last half-century, are largely due to the joint labors of the late Jacob 
 R. Eckfeldt and William E. Du Bois.” 
 
 MELTERS AND REFINERS. 
 
 Joseph Cloud, appointed January, 1797; served until Jan¬ 
 uary, 1836 (39 years). 
 
 Franklin Peale, appointed January 5, 1836. 
 
 Jonas R. McClintock, appointed February 19, 1840. 
 
 Richard S. McCulloh, appointed in April, 1846; served 
 until April 1, 1849. 
 
 James Curtis Booth, Melter and Refiner, was born in 
 Philadelphia in 1810, educated in the same place, and gradu¬ 
 ated in the University of Pennsylvania 1829. After study 
 and field practice in the Rensselaer School, at Troy, N. Y., in 
 1831-32, under the late Professor A. Eaton, Mr. Booth 
 studied Practical Chemistry in Germany, in 1833-34-35, in 
 the laboratories of Professors F. Wohler and G. Magnus, and 
 
124 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORV OF 
 
 in visiting accessible manufacturing establishments in Ger¬ 
 many and England having relation to chemistry. The late 
 Prof. J. F. Frazer and Mr. Booth were the two Assistants on 
 the Geological Survey of Pennsylvania in its first year, 1836. 
 Mr. Booth next had charge of the Geological Survey of Dela¬ 
 ware in 1837-88 (being often assisted by Prof. Frazer), and 
 published his report on the survey in 1839-40. 
 
 Mr. Booth, observing the great deficiency in the knowledge 
 of Applied Chemistry in his native place, opened a laboratory 
 for teaching the same, by chemical analysis and by operating 
 in 1836, and the same laboratory has been continued success¬ 
 fully to the present time by Dr. T. H. Garrett and Mr. A. 
 Blair. 
 
 With the same object in view, Mr. Booth lectured at the 
 Franklin Institute for nine successive winters, giving three 
 full courses of lectures, each of three winters’ duration (1836- 
 1845). 
 
 Prior to 1850 Mr. Booth published the Encyclopaedia of 
 Chemistry, being the author of the majority of the articles 
 contained in it, with valuable contributions by Prof. R. S. 
 McCulloch and others. It was a valuable adjunct to the study 
 of chemistry for many years. 
 
 The Director and officers of the Mint unsuccessfully solicited 
 the appointment of Mr. Booth as Melter and Refiner of the 
 Mint in 1838-40, but in 1849 Mr. Booth obtained, through 
 his friend, Mr. Meredith, the appointment, over the signature 
 of President Z. Taylor, and has continued in the same position 
 from that date to 1887, a period of more than thirty-six years. 
 He resigned his office at the close of the year 1887 ; although 
 in infirm health he was not relieved of the responsibility of 
 the position until his death, which occurred March 21, 1888. 
 
 Dr. David K. Tuttle was commissioned Melter and Re¬ 
 finer on March 22, 1888. He was born in Morris Co., 
 N. J., September 19, 1835. His ancestors came from England 
 and settled at New Haven in 1639. Their decendants were 
 energetic, public-spirited citizens, and many of the families 
 prominent in New England history, whether for theology, 
 literature, or art, may trace their lineage back to these early 
 settlers, William and Elizabeth Tuttle. 
 
 The Edwards, Dwights, Stoddards, Kensetts, and many 
 others wdiose lives have made a marked impress on the times 
 in which they lived, find this family name among their imme¬ 
 diate ancestors. Thus, the grandmother of Johnathan Edwards 
 was Elizabeth Tuttle; and in later times, that of the artist 
 Kensett was Eunice Tuttle. 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 125 
 
 The subject of this sketch went, at the age of fifteen, to 
 Brooklyn, N. Y., where older brothers were engaged in 
 business. Within two years he had charge of a small elec¬ 
 trotyping plant, then a comparatively young industry. This 
 provided an income, and left some hours each day for study 
 and experiment. In 1852 he attended the lectures on chem¬ 
 istry given by the late Prof. John Wm. Draper in the Medical 
 Department of the University of New York. The masterly 
 and brilliant treatment of the subject by that eminent man 
 fixed the purpose of the young student to devote himself to 
 the study of natural science. 
 
 He entered the Lawrence Scientific School of Harvard 
 University in 1853, and received the degree of Bachelor of 
 Science in 1855. In the summer of the same year he went to 
 Germany and matriculated at the Georgia Augusta University 
 at Gottingen, where, after two years of close application, he 
 was graduated as Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy in 
 1857. 
 
 In the autumn of that year Dr. Tuttle was appointed Ad¬ 
 junct Professor in the University of Virginia, and placed in 
 charge of the laboratory then opened for the practical instruc¬ 
 tion of students in analytical chemistry. After five years de¬ 
 voted to such teaching, he became interested in metallurgical 
 enterprises more to his taste, which he followed w r ith success, 
 acquiring valuable experience in the mining and treatment of 
 lead, iron, gold, and silver ores. 
 
 Dr. Tuttle was appointed Melter and Refiner of the Carson 
 City Mint on the reopening of that institution in 1886, and 
 held that position until his appointment to succeed Dr. Booth 
 in the Mint at Philadelphia. 
 
 Nathaniel B. Boyd, Assistant Melter and Refiner, was 
 born in Philadelphia, January, 1832. Twenty years later, he 
 was graduated with honors at Burlington College. After 
 leaving College he studied law, and was admitted to the Phila¬ 
 delphia Bar in 1854. In 1869. he accepted an appointment 
 in the National Mint, tendered him by Director Pollock. In 
 1873 he was appointed Assistant Melter and Refiner, a position 
 which he still occupies. 
 
 THE MINT ENGRAVERS. 
 
 (Extract from Patterson Du Bois’ Biographical Sketch of “ Our Mint Engravers.”) 
 
 Whatever may be said concerning the peculiar responsibili¬ 
 ties of the officers of the Mint, who are occupied with the 
 
126 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 various operations of turning bullion into coin, it must be 
 conceded that none of them occupies a position so dubious 
 and, in sopae ways, so unenviable as the Engraver. In the 
 general transactions of the Mint, he is the most retired—the 
 most obscure—of its officers; yet his card is in every one’s 
 pocket. 
 
 As to the types of coinage, the standards are as numerous 
 as the eyes that water for them, and there is no piece but may 
 be said to be outside of somebody's tolerance. No olner artist 
 undergoes such an ordeal, for those who do not admire this 
 Yiainting or that statue are not compelled to hug and hoard 
 t, much less to toil for its possession. The engraver who can, 
 from his retired window, see the critical millions clutching for 
 his little relievos , is in some sort a hero ex-officio, and if has 
 been Avell suggested that Ave look briefly upon the uneventful 
 lives of this worthy line of officers. 
 
 I. Robert Scot received his appointment as the first En¬ 
 graver of the Mint,. November 23, 1793. Information is 
 wanting as to his nativity, but at the time of his appointment 
 he seems to have been turning the down-hill of life. He is 
 remembered as rather under size, and as an honorable and 
 agreeable gentleman. 
 
 According to Loubat, Joseph Wright was “appointed first a 
 draughtsman and die-sinker to the United States Mint, and 
 made the dies of a medal, the bust on the obverse of which 
 was considered to be the best medallic profile likeness of Wash¬ 
 ington.* He also made the medal voted by Congress to Maior 
 Lee.” Wright died in 1793. 
 
 II. William Kneass, second of the line, was born in Lan¬ 
 caster, Pa., September, 1781, and was appointed Engraver 
 January 29, 1824. Mr. Kneass had been chiefly a plate 
 engraver for book-work. There were some changes in the 
 coinage during his term, notably in 1834 and 1838, for gold, 
 and 1836, 1837, 1838, and 1840, for silver. But some of 
 this Avork was done by Gobreclit as assistant. Kneass appears 
 upon a pattern half dollar of 1838; but the silver dollar of 
 1836, as well as a pattern half of 1838, were the Avork of his 
 assistant. Prior to his appointment he had an engraving 
 office on Fourth above Chestnut street, Philadelphia, which 
 was a well-known rendezvous for the leading wits and men of 
 culture, for which Philadelphia was then eminent. 
 
 Mr. Kneass died in office, August 27, 1840. A good en¬ 
 graving of him hangs in the Assayer’s Office, inscribed “ to 
 
 * The Phototype of Washington’s Profile likeness in the bound edition of this book* 
 ■•from this Medal, known as the Houdon Medal. 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 127 
 
 fais friend Adam Eckfeldt, Chief Coiner,”—who had been 
 chiefly instrumental in securing his appointment, 
 
 III. Christian Gobrechtwas appointed December 21, 1840, 
 to fill the vacancy made by the death of Kneass. He was 
 born in Hanover, York Co., Pa., December 23, 1785. In 
 1811 he went to Philadelphia, and became an engraver of 
 bank notes, seals, calico printers’ rolls, bookbinders’ dies, etc. 
 In 1836 he received an appointment as assistant to Mr. 
 Kneass at the Mint, in which capacity he executed some im¬ 
 portant work. Among other similar performances he was 
 highly commended for his Franklin Institute Medal. 
 
 Christian Gobrecht continued in office until his death, July 
 23, 1844. 
 
 IY. James B. Longacre was born August 11, 1794, in 
 Delaware Co., Pa. He served an apprenticeship as a line 
 engraver with George Murray, Philadelphia, and did some 
 high class plate-work before he was free, in 1819. He was 
 ene of the originators of the National Portrait Gallery of 
 Distinguished Americans, the first volume of which appeared 
 in 1834. Longacre drew from life and engraved many of the 
 portraits entire. 
 
 Like his predecessors, he died in office—January 1, 1869. 
 During his term Mr. Longacre was variously assisted by P. F. 
 Cross,°William Barber, Anthony C. Paquet, and William H, 
 Key Cross was born in Sheffield, England, served several 
 years in the Mint here, and died in 1856. He engraved the 
 obverse of the Ingraham medal. Paquet was born m Ham¬ 
 burg, 1814, emigrated 1848, served as assistant 1857 to 1864, 
 died, 5 1882. He engraved the medals of Grant, Johnson, 
 Buchanan, Everett, and the Life Saving Medals, with some 
 others. Key is a native of Brooklyn, was appointed an 
 assistant, 1864, and is still in the service. He executed the 
 Kane Expedition and Archbishop Wood Medals. The changes 
 and additions during the Longacre term were numerous and 
 important, both as to alloys and denominations. The pattern 
 pieces also record various experiments in the art of coining. 
 
 Y. William Barber, fifth Engraver of the Mint, was born 
 in London, May 2, 1807. He learned his profession from his 
 father, John Barber, and was employed on silver-plate work, 
 after his emigration to this country. 
 
 He resided in Boston ten years, and was variously employed 
 in his line of work. His skill in this way came to the knowl- 
 eage of Mr. Longacre, then Engraver of the Mint, and he 
 secured his services as an assistant in 1865. 
 
ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OE 
 
 128 
 
 In January, 1869, upon the death of Mr. Longacre, he was 
 appointed as his successor, and continued in that position for 
 the remainder of his life. His death, which resulted from 
 severe chills, brought on by bathing at the seashore, occurred 
 in Philadelphia, August 31, 1879. 
 
 Besides much original work on pattern coins, he also pro¬ 
 duced over forty medals, public arid private. The work on all 
 of them was creditable, but we may specify those of Agassiz, 
 Rittenhouse, and Henry, as very superior specimens of art. 
 Mr. Barber was assisted by Mr. William H. Key, Mr. Charles 
 E. Barber, and Mr. George T. Morgan. 
 
 VI. Charles E. Barber, sixth Engraver, is a son of the 
 preceding, and was born in London in 1840. He was ap¬ 
 pointed an assistant in 1869, and became the official head by 
 promotion in 1880, to fill the vacancy caused by his father’s 
 death. The appointment was not unmerited. One of Mr. 
 
 Barber’s latest cards to the public is the new five-cent piece_ 
 
 a successful venture in very low relief. But his handiwork is 
 more or less visible in all the principal medals executed since 
 1869. Since his appointment as Chief Engraver, the work 
 of his department has been enormously increased by the 
 number of medal dies demanded for the War Department and 
 from other Government sources. Mr. Barber’s best work is 
 seen in the medals of Presidents Garfield, Arthur, Indian 
 Peace, Army Marksmanship, and Great Seal. He is par¬ 
 ticularly happy in “catching a likeness.” The head of 
 Superintendent Snowden is a rare specimen of medallic por¬ 
 traiture. * 
 
 Messrs. Key and Morgan are the Engraver’s assistants. 
 The former has already received notice; the latter, Mr. George 
 T. Morgan, was born in Birmingham, England, in 1845; he 
 studied at the Art School there, and won a National Scholar¬ 
 ship at the South Kensington, where he was a student two 
 years. He is best known to the country by the so-called 
 “Bland dollar,” which is his design and execution. 
 
 We have reason to congratulate both the Government and 
 the people that the engraving service is well and iudiciousiv 
 furnished. 
 
 BENJAMIN RUSH, 
 
 An eminent physician and philanthropist, was born near Phila¬ 
 delphia, December 24, 1745; he graduated from Princeton 
 College in 1760; he afterwards studied medicine in Edinburgh, 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 129 
 
 London, and Paris; returning to this country, he was elected 
 Professor of Chemistry in the Medical College of Philadelphia 
 in 1769. In 1776 he was elected to the Continental Congress, 
 and was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independ¬ 
 ence in the same year; he was afterwards appointed Surgeon- 
 General of Revolutionary Army, and voted for the adoption 
 of the Constitution of the United States in 1787. Dr. Rush 
 was a popular lecturer, and eminently qualified as a teacher 
 of medicine. When the yellow fever scourged the City, and 
 the public buildings were closed in 1799 and 1800, he was 
 very successful in his treatment of the victims of that epi¬ 
 demic. It is said that he visited and prescribed for one 
 hundred patients in a single day. He was treasurer of the 
 first United States Mint during the last fourteen years of his 
 life. Dr. Rush died in Philadelphia in April, 1813. Among 
 his nine children was Richard Rush, the statesman. 
 
 Note. —Dr. Rush was the author of the first pamphlet on temperance published in 
 this country, showing the injurious effects of alcoholic drinks on the human system, 
 and is justly regarded as the father of the temperance movement, the Centennial or 
 which has lately been celebrated throughout the United f^ates. September, 1885. 
 
 CHIEF CLERK. 
 
 Mark H. Cobb was Cashier of the Mint from 1871 until 
 the present time (1889)—was born in Colebrook, Connectitut, 
 in 1828. In 1861, Hon. Simon Cameron, then Secretary of 
 War, appointed him Chief Clerk in the War Department, he 
 having previously been his private secretary. After Mr. 
 Cameron’s resignation as Secretary, Mr. Cobb, at the solicita¬ 
 tion of the late Col. John W. Forney, accepted the position of 
 Enrolling Clerk of the United States Senate in 1862. In 
 1871 he was appointed to the responsible position of Cashier in 
 the United States Mint. Mr. Cobb is now (1890) Chief Clerk. 
 
 Albion Cox, first assayer of the Mint was appointed April 
 4, 1794. His commission, signed by Washington, until 
 recently, hung upon the walls of the assay office. Rut little is 
 known of Mr. Cox, save that he was an Englishman by birth, 
 and a good officer, as appears from the following report to the 
 Secretary of the Treasury made by Director Boudinot, under 
 date, December 3, 1795. He says: “The sudden and un¬ 
 expected death of the assayer, Mr. Albion Cox, on Fryday 
 last by an apoplectic fit, deprived the Mint of an intelligent 
 officer, essentially necessary to the future progress in the coin¬ 
 age of the precious metals. Until this officer is replaced, the 
 business at the Mint must be confined to striking cents only.” 
 
 He therefore held office about a year and eight months. 
 
130 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 Joseph Richardson, second assayer, was appointed December 
 12, 1795. He belonged to an old Quaker family distinguished 
 for ability and character. Mr. Richardson fulfilled the duties 
 of his office with credit and honor. He died in March, 1831, 
 A water color portrait of him, dressed in plain Quaker garb, 
 hangs in the assayers’ room. He held office over thirty-five 
 years. 
 
 John Richardson, son of the preceding, was appointed 
 assayer March 31, 1831. Finding the office not congenial with 
 his tastes, and so subjecting him to undue responsibilities, he 
 resigned April, 1832, holding office only a little over a year. 
 
 CURATOR. 
 
 R. A. McClure, a gentleman skilled in the science of 
 numismatics, was appointed Assistant Curator of the Coin 
 Cabinet in 1868, and, upon the death of the Assayer and 
 Chief Curator in 1881, the responsibilities of the Curatorship 
 fell upon Mr. McClure. 
 
 Standard Weights. 
 
 The earliest series of standard weights now known, are two 
 Lets discovered by Mr. Layard in the ruins of Nineveh. They 
 are now in the British Museum. William the Conqueror 
 decreed the continuance, as the legal standard, of the pound 
 in use by the Saxons. This and other standards of weight 
 and measure were removed by the King from the City of 
 Winchester to the Exchequer at Westminster, and placed in 
 a consecrated building in charge of his chamberlains. The 
 place of deposit is said to have been the crypt chapel of Ed¬ 
 ward the Confessor, in Westminster Abbey. In 1866 the 
 office of Exchequer was abolished, and the Standards Depart¬ 
 ment of the Board of Trade was established in London, as¬ 
 suming charge of the standards—an arrangement still in force. 
 
 The old Saxon pound was the earliest standard of England. 
 It was identical in weight with the old apothecaries’ pound of 
 Germany, and equal to 5,400 of our later Troy grains. The 
 pound sterling was determined from this weight in silver. 
 Henry III., in 1266, decreed the following standards: The 
 sterling, or penny, to weigh equal to thirty-two wheat corns, 
 taken irom the middle of the ear; twenty pence, one ounce; 
 twelve ounces, one pound; eight pounds, one gallon of wine, 
 which is the eighth part of a quarter. The idea of the grain 
 was borrowed by the English from the French, and the Black 
 Prince brought back with him from France the pound Troyo 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 131 
 
 which was derived from the commercial town of that name. 
 The use of the Troy standard was adopted by the druggists 
 and jewelers, on account of its convenient reduction into 
 grains. 
 
 The pound avoirdupois, weighing 7,000 grains Troy, (Fr. 
 Avoir-du-poids, “to have weight”), first appears in use during 
 the reign of Edward III., and it, as well as the Troy pound, 
 has been employed without change ever since. In the year 
 1834 the English standards of weight and measure, consisting 
 of a yard and pound Troy of brass, were destroyed by fire 
 at the burning of the Houses of Parliament. A few years 
 later a commission of scientific men was appointed to deter¬ 
 mine upon the restoration of the standards. This resulted in 
 a succession of difficult problems resultant upon the oxidation 
 to a greater or less extent of duplicates of the standard still 
 ■existing, as also of the variation of the cubic inch of water, as 
 in use in different lands. A cubic inch of distilled water, 
 weighed in air against brass weights, at a temperature of 62 
 ■degrees Fahr., the barometer being at 30 inches, had been de¬ 
 termined by scientific men to be equal to 252.458 grains, of 
 which the standard Troy pound contained 5,760. 
 
 As the unit of length was also lost, a series of experiments 
 was made in the vibration of a pendulum in a vacuum, mark¬ 
 ing seconds of mean time in the latitude of London at the level 
 of the sea. These deductions, however, failed to be satisfactory, 
 and the commission was compelled to fall back upon the best 
 preserved of the duplicate standards existent. The Imperial 
 Standard Pound is declared to be the true weight of an avoir 
 dupois pound in a vacuum. It is a curious fact that the Im¬ 
 perial standards of platinum (which metal is not subject to 
 oxidation), although balancing brass weights in a vacuum, 
 weigh in air more than one-half a grain heavier than the latter. 
 This is due to their greater displacement of space. 
 
 The unit of weight in the United States is a Troy pound 
 weight obtained from England, a duplicate of the original 
 standard fixed by the commission of 1758, and reasserted by 
 the commission of 1838. It is a bronze weight of 5,760 grains 
 Troy. It is kept in a strong safe at the United States Mini, 
 in Philadelphia. The President appoints an assay commission, 
 whose members meet at Philadelphia annually, upon the second 
 Wednesday in February, open the safe, and compare the copies, 
 or the working weights, with the original upon the most deli¬ 
 cately poised balances. Working standards of weights and 
 measures are supplied by the Secretary of State to the State 
 governments, which in turn supply them to the sealers of 
 
132 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 weights and measures of the various countries, who must com¬ 
 pare with the State standard 
 once a year. 
 
 All of the scales and deli¬ 
 cate test instruments in use 
 by the government, not only 
 in Philadelphia Mint, but at 
 the several branch mints, are 
 manufactured in this country, 
 and as examples of wonder¬ 
 ful mechanical machines of 
 minute aecuracy they lead 
 the world. Some of them 
 are the work of Mr. Henry 
 Troemner, of Philadelphia, 
 to whom, it is proper to say, 
 the writer is largely indebted 
 for the facts given in this 
 article. Mr. Troemner, in 
 the capacity of government 
 expert, makes frequent visits 
 to the most distant points in 
 the Union for the verifica- 
 lion of national standards, 
 lhe Ireasury Department made an especial request of'him to 
 exhibit at the JNew Orleans Exposition, a line of his fine 
 balances. 
 
 troy standard pound weight. 
 Fac-simile, exact size. 
 
 EXTRACT FROM CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 Article I., Sect. 8. The Congress shall have power ... to coin money, 
 regulate the value thereof and of foreign coins, and fix the standard of 
 Weights and measures, . . . to provide for the punishment of counterfeiting 
 the securities and current coin of the United States. 
 
 Article I. Sect. 2. No State shall . . . coin money, emit bills of credit, 
 make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts, . . . 
 
 Coinage, Fiscal Year 1892. 
 
 Description. 
 
 Gold. 
 
 Silver dollars. 
 
 Subsidary silver coins 
 Minor coins.. 
 
 Total 
 
 Pieces. 
 
 2,954,185 
 
 8,329,467 
 
 40,689,998 
 
 61,582,474 
 
 Value. 
 
 $35,506,987 50 
 8,329,467 00 
 6,659,811 60 
 1,296,710 42 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT, 
 
 133 
 
 Official information furnished by Hon. E. 0. Leech, Di¬ 
 rector of the U. S. Mint, 1892. 
 
 Approximate Distribution by Producing States and Territories 
 of the Product of Gold and Silver from the Mines of the 
 United States for the Calendar Year 1891. 
 
 State or Territory. 
 
 Gold. 
 
 Silver. 
 
 Total value 
 
 Fine ounces 
 
 Value. 
 
 Fine ounces 
 
 Coining val, 
 
 Alaska. 
 
 36,S86 
 
 $762,500 
 
 7,500 
 
 $9,697 
 
 $772,197 
 
 Arizona. 
 
 48,375 
 
 1,000,000 
 
 1,000,000 
 
 1,292,929 
 
 2,292,929 
 
 California. 
 
 604,687 
 
 12.500,000 
 
 900,000 
 
 1,163,636 
 
 13,663,636 
 
 Colorado. 
 
 200,756 
 
 4,150,000 
 
 18,800,000 
 
 24,307,070 
 
 28,457,070 
 
 Georgia. 
 
 4,837 
 
 100,000 
 
 400 
 
 517 
 
 100,517 
 
 Idaho. 
 
 89,494 
 
 1,850,000 
 
 3,700,000 
 
 4,783,838 
 
 6,633,838 
 
 Michigan. 
 
 4,354 
 
 90,000 
 
 55,000 
 
 71,111 
 
 161,111 
 
 Montana. 
 
 159,03S 
 
 3,300,000 
 
 15,750,000 
 
 20,363,636 
 
 23,663,636 
 
 Nevada. 
 
 135,450 
 
 2,800,000 
 
 4,450,000 
 
 5,753,535 
 
 8,553,535 
 
 New Mexico. 
 
 41,119 
 
 850,000 
 
 1,300,000 
 
 1,680,808 
 
 2,530,808 
 
 North Carolina. 
 
 5,732 
 
 118,500 
 
 6,000 
 
 7,757 
 
 126,257 
 
 Oregon. 
 
 53,213 
 
 1,100,000 
 
 75,000 
 
 96,969 
 
 1,196,969 
 
 South Carolina. 
 
 4,837 
 
 100,000 
 
 400 
 
 517 
 
 100,517 
 
 South Dakota. 
 
 154,800 
 
 3,200,000 
 
 100,000 
 
 129,292 
 
 3,329,292 
 
 
 
 
 300,000 
 
 387,878 
 
 387,878 
 
 Utah. 
 
 32,895 
 
 680,000 
 
 8,000,000 
 
 10,343,434 
 
 11,023 434 
 
 Washington. 
 
 9,869 
 
 204,000 
 
 70,000 
 
 90,505 
 
 294,505 
 
 Alabama, Maryland, Ten- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 nessee, Virginia, Ver- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 mont, and Wyoming... 
 
 1,935 
 
 40,000 
 
 2,000 
 
 2,585 
 
 42,585 
 
 Total. 
 
 1,588,877 
 
 32,845,000 
 
 54,516,300 
 
 $70,485,714 
 
 $103,330,714 
 
 Silver Coins of the United States. 
 
 Denominations. 
 
 Coinage 
 
 com¬ 
 
 menced. 
 
 Coinage 
 
 ceased. 
 
 Amount coined 
 to June 30,1891. 
 
 Standard 
 
 weight, 
 
 grains. 
 
 Amount for which 
 a legal tender. 
 
 
 1878 
 
 
 $405,659,268 
 
 412.5 
 
 
 Trade dollars. 
 
 1873 
 
 1883 
 
 35,965,924 
 
 420 
 
 Not a legal tender 
 
 Dollars. 
 
 1793 
 
 1873 
 
 8,031,238 
 
 412.5 
 
 Unlimited. 
 
 
 1793 
 
 
 122,911,410 
 
 192.9 
 
 
 
 1796 
 
 
 39,029,500 
 
 96.45 
 
 
 Twenty cent.. 
 
 1875 
 
 1878 
 
 271,000 
 
 77.16 
 
 Five dollars. 
 
 
 1796 
 
 
 24,348,461 90 
 
 ' 38.58 
 
 
 Half dimes. 
 
 1793 
 
 1873 
 
 4,880,219 40 
 
 19.29 
 
 Five dollars. 
 
 Three cents. 
 
 1851 
 
 1873 
 
 1,282,087 20 
 
 11.52 
 
 Five dollars. 
 
134 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 DEPOSITS AND PURCHASES OF GOLD AND SILVER. 
 
 Gtold .—The gold deposits at the mints and assay offices of 
 the United States daring the fiscal year ended June 30,1891, 
 including gold contained in silver deposits and purchases, 
 aggregated 3,204,880,200 standard ounces, of the value of 
 $59,625,678.08. 
 
 Of the gold deposited, 2,606,111,797 standard ounces, of 
 the value of $48,485,800.82, were original deposits, and 
 598,768,403 standard ounces, of the value of $11,139,877.26, 
 were redeposits. 
 
 Silver .—The deposits and purchases of silver, including 
 silver contained in gold deposits, aggregated during the last 
 fiscal year 71,869,663.92 standard ounces, of the coining 
 value ($1.16 t 4 t per standard ounce, or $1.2929 per fine 
 ounce) of $83,630,154.31. 
 
 Of the silver received at Government institutions during 
 the year 10,006,707.61 standard ounces, of the coining value 
 of $11,644,168.84, were redeposits, so that the original de¬ 
 posits of silver aggregated 61,862,956.31 standard ounces, of 
 the coining value of $71,985,985.47. 
 
 
 . 48,485,800 82 
 
 
 . 11,139,877 26 
 
 
 $59,625,678 08 
 
 . $71,985,985 47 
 
 
 . 11,644,168 84 
 
 Total gold and silver. 
 
 $83,630,154 31 
 
 . $143,255,832 39 
 
 SUMMARY OF OPERATIONS OF MINTS AND ASSAY OFFICES. 
 
 The precious metals received at the mints and assay offices 
 during the fiscal year 1891 were valued at $143,255,832. 
 
 The value of the precious metals deposited only partially 
 represents the operations necessary for their metallurgical 
 and mechanical treatment. 
 
 The operations of the melting and refining departments of 
 the coinage mints and of the assay office at New York, so far 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 135 
 
 as the value of the metals treated is concerned, is exhibited in 
 the following table : 
 
 Bullion Operations op the Melting Department, 1891. 
 
 Metals. 
 
 Standard 
 
 ounces. 
 
 Coining value. 
 
 
 4,052,727 
 
 76,210,666 
 
 $75,399,570 
 
 88,681,500 
 
 
 
 80,263,393 
 
 $164,081,070 
 
 
 The operations of the coining branches of the mints in the 
 manufacture of finished coins from ingots prepared by the 
 melting departments were, in value of the metals operated on,, 
 as follows : 
 
 Bullion Operations of the Coining Department, 1891. 
 
 Metals. 
 
 Gold. 
 
 Silver..... 
 
 Total. 
 
 Standard 
 
 ounces. 
 
 Coining value. 
 
 2,587,321 
 
 67,924,776 
 
 70,512,097 
 
 148,136,204r 
 79,039,738 
 $127,175,94* 
 
 The work of the minor assay offices, which consisted in the 
 receipt and assaying of deposits and the manufacture of un¬ 
 parted bars of gold and silver, was as follows : 
 
 Operations of Minor Assay Offices, 1891. 
 
 Metals. 
 
 Standard 
 
 ounces. 
 
 Coining value. 
 
 
 188,791 
 
 63,109 
 
 $3,512,390 
 
 73,435 
 
 
 
 251,900 
 
 $3,585,825 
 
 
 The following is a summary of the three preceding tables, 
 intended to exhibit, as nearly as possible, the value of the 
 
136 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 precious metals treated in the operations of the mints and 
 assay offices during the fiscal year 1891: 
 
 Bullion Operated upon in the Melting and Coining Depart¬ 
 ments OF ALL THE MlNTS AND ASSAY OFFICES, 1891. 
 
 
 Metals. 
 
 
 Standard 
 
 ounces. 
 
 Coining value. 
 
 Gold 
 
 
 
 . 6,040,048 
 
 $123,535,774 
 
 Silver. 
 
 
 
 . 141,135,442 
 
 167,721,238 
 
 Total. 
 
 
 
 . 150,775,490 
 
 $291,257,012 
 
 In quantity the precious metals operated upon in the differ¬ 
 ent departments of the mints and assay offices during the fiscal 
 year 1891 exceeded 228 tons of gold and 4,942 tons of silver. 
 
 The value of the precious metals wasted in the metallurgical 
 and mechanical operations was $12,287.05. 
 
 In addition to operative wastage, a loss of $15,850.41 was 
 incurred from the sale of sweeps, equivalent to the difference 
 between the value of the precious metals contained in sweeps 
 recovered and the amount realized from the sale of sweeps too 
 base to be treated advantageously in Government refineries. 
 
 There was a similar loss of $S4.16 by the sale of leady 
 melts, and a wastage of minor coinage metal of the value of 
 $1,188.78. 
 
 These wastages and losses aggregated $29,410.40. 
 
 Against these losses there were gains arising from the 
 operations on bullion as follows : 
 
 Character. 
 
 Amount. 
 
 Surplus bullion returned by operative officers. 
 
 Precious metals returned in grains and sweepings.'.. 
 
 Gain on bullion shipped from the minor assay offices to the mint for 
 coinage. 
 
 Total gains. 
 
 839,393 14 
 8,165 2# 
 
 4,762 33 
 852,300 67 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 137 
 
 Deducting the value of the total operative wastage and loss 
 •on sale of sweeps from the value of the incidental gains of 
 bullion, there was a net gain in the operations of the mints 
 ■during the year of $2:4,890.27. 
 
 PROFIT ON SILVER COINAGE. 
 
 The seigniorage on the coinage of silver dollars during the 
 fiscal year aggregated $6,221,333.42, and on subsidiary silver 
 ■coinage $92,434.48, a total of $6,313,767.90. 
 
 From the gross seigniorage there was paid for the trans¬ 
 portation of silver coins the sum of $52,904.16, and for 
 reimbursement of wastage and loss on sale of sweeps $6,530,90, 
 a total of $59,435.06,.leaving as the net seigniorage for the 
 year the sum of $6,254,332.84. 
 
 The total amount of seigniorage covered into the Treasury 
 during the fiscal year aggregated $6,404,677, leaving on hand 
 in the coinage mints at the close of the year the sum of 
 $152,315.35. 
 
 The following table shows the number of pieces aud nominal 
 value of the minor coins struck at the Mint at Philadelphia 
 during the fiscal year 1891. 
 
 Minor Coinage, 1891. 
 
 Denominations. 
 
 Pieces. 
 
 Value. 
 
 
 13,338,275 
 
 50,002,275 
 
 $666,913 75 
 
 500,022 75 
 
 
 Total!. 
 
 63,340,550 
 
 1,166,936 50 
 
 
 The amount and cost of blanks purcnased for minor coinage 
 during the year was as follows : 
 
 Blanks purchased. 
 
 Pounds 
 
 avoirdupois. 
 
 Cost 
 
 
 339,500 
 
 143,000 
 
 $67,696 30 
 
 46,444 20 
 
 
 
 482,500 
 
 $114,140 50 
 
 
138 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OP 
 
 EARNINGS AND EXPENSES OF THE MINTS AND ASSAY OFFICES. 
 
 The total earnings of the mints and assay offices during 
 the last fiscal year aggregated $7,650,529.62, of which 
 $6,221,333.42 arose from seigniorage on the coinage of silver 
 dollars, $92,434.48 from seigniorage on subsidiary silver coins, 
 and $1,050,144.31 from seigniorage on minor coinage. 
 
 The remainder of the earnings were derived from charges 
 collected from deposits, profits on the sale of medals and proof 
 coins, from surplus bullion returned by the operative officers 
 and recovered from the deposit melting room, and from the 
 sale of old material and by-products. 
 
 The total expenditures and losses of all kinds, including 
 the entire expenses for the support of the mints and assay 
 offices and the acid refineries, the wastage of the operative 
 departments and losses on the sale of sweeps, the expenses of 
 distributing silver dollars, subsidiary silver, and minor coins,’ 
 aggregated $1,661,139.83, leaving a net profit of earnings 
 over expenditures for the fiscal year of $5,989,389.79. 
 
 The movement of gold from the United States during the 
 last fiscal year may be summed as follows: 
 
 Gold Exports, 1891. 
 
 Items. 
 
 Amount. 
 
 United States bars.. 
 
 Other domestic bullion. 
 
 Domestic coin. 
 
 Gold contained in copper matte. 
 
 Domestic ores.. 
 
 Total domestic. 
 
 Foreign bullion re-exported.. .. 
 
 Foreign coin re-exported. 
 
 Foreign ores re-exported. 
 
 Total foreign. 
 
 Total gold exports. 
 
 $11,770 
 
 1,411,333 
 
 209 
 
 $15,118,702 
 
 2,115,949 
 
 67,704,900 
 
 65,475^ 
 
 84,542 
 
 $85,039,568 
 
 1,423,312 
 
 $86,462,880 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 139 
 
 From the above tables it will be seen that there was a net 
 loss of gold to the United States, by excess of exports over 
 imports, of $67,946,768. 
 
 Gold Imports, 1891. 
 
 Items. 
 
 Amount. 
 
 
 §2,105,034 
 
 13,303,387 
 
 214,803 
 
 68,742 
 
 §15,691,966 
 
 2,824,146 
 
 §18,516,112 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 The exports of domestic gold bullion aggregated $17,234,651, 
 of which $15,118,702 were United States bars and $2,115,949 
 private bars. 
 
 The exports of silver during the last fiscal year may be 
 recapitulated as follows: 
 
 Exports op Silver, 1891. 
 
 Items. 
 
 Amount. 
 
 
 §13,797,391 
 
 838,388 
 
 
 
 236,323 
 
 
 
 
 
 §14,872,102 
 
 Foreign silver coin re-exported. 
 
 Silver in foreign ores re-exported. 
 
 Foreign silver bullion re-exported. 
 
 . 104,175 
 
 
 
 8,661,449 
 
 
 
 
 
 §23,533,551 
 
 
140 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 The imports of silver into the United States during the 
 fiscal year may be summed up as follows : 
 
 Imports of Silver, 1891. 
 
 Items. 
 
 Amount. 
 
 
 16,321,977 
 
 8,252,036 
 
 11,379,663 
 
 
 
 
 125,953,676 
 
 325,240 
 
 United States sin er coin. 
 
 
 $26,278,916 
 
 
 Domestic silver bars of the value of $13,797,391 w«re 
 exported from the United States during the fiscal year, of 
 which $12,722,398 were consigned to England. 
 
 In addition to exports of domestic silver bullion, copper 
 matte was exported from the port of Baltimore to England, 
 for reduction, containing silver of the commercial value of 
 $838,388. 
 
 From the above table it will be seen that there was a net 
 gain of silver to the United States during the year, by excess 
 of imports over exports, of the value of $2,745,365. 
 
 Gold and Silver Bullion in Mints and Assay Offices, Nov. 1, 
 
 1891. 
 
 Metals. 
 
 Cost value. 
 
 
 $74,753,259 
 
 
 48,482,492 
 
 Total .. 
 
 $123,235,751 
 
 
 The market value of the silver bullion reported by the Mer¬ 
 cantile Safe Deposit Company to the Stock Exchange as 
 in its vaults at the close of business October 31, 1891, was 
 $3,982,249. 
 
 Adding the visible stock of bullion—that is, gold and silver 
 bullion in the mints and silver bullion in the vaults of the 
 Mercantile Safe Deposit Company—to the stock of coin, the 
 total metallic stock on November 1, 1891, was approximately 
 as follows: 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT, 
 
 141 
 
 Metallic Stock, November 1, 1891. 
 
 Coin and bullion. 
 
 Amount. 
 
 Gold. 
 
 8671,139,531 
 
 539,241,624 
 
 
 
 
 11,210,381,155 
 
 
 Product of Mines of the United States, 1890. 
 
 Metals. 
 
 Fine ounces. 
 
 Commercial 
 
 value. 
 
 Coining 
 
 value. 
 
 Gold. 
 
 1,588,880 
 
 54,500,000 
 
 832,845,000 
 
 57,225,000 
 
 832,845,000 
 
 70,464,645 
 
 
 
 Total. 
 
 
 90,070,000 
 
 8103,309,645 
 
 
 
 Product of Gold and Silver in the World, Calendar Years 
 
 1873-1890. 
 
 Calendar years. 
 
 Gold. 
 
 Fine ounces 
 (troy). 
 
 Silver. 
 
 Commercial 
 
 value. 
 
 Coining 
 
 value. 
 
 1873. 
 
 196,200,000 
 
 63,267,000 
 
 182,120,000 
 
 $81,700,000 
 
 1874. 
 
 90,750,000 
 
 55,300,000 
 
 70,673,000 
 
 71,500,000 
 
 1875. 
 
 97,500,000 
 
 62,262,000 
 
 77,578,000 
 
 80,500,000 
 
 1876. 
 
 103,700,000 
 
 67,753,000 
 
 78,322,000 
 
 87,600,000 
 
 1877. 
 
 114,000,000 
 
 62,648,000 
 
 75,240,000 
 
 81,000,009 
 
 1878. 
 
 119,000,000 
 
 73,476,000 
 
 84,644,000 
 
 95,000,000 
 
 1879. 
 
 109,000,000 
 
 74.250,000 
 
 83,383,000 
 
 96,000 000 
 
 1880. 
 
 106,500,000 
 
 74,791,000 
 
 85,636,000 
 
 96,700,000 
 
 1881. 
 
 103,000,000 
 
 78.896,000 
 
 89,777,000 
 
 102,000,000 
 
 1882. 
 
 102,000,000 
 
 86,470,000 
 
 98,230,000 
 
 111,800,000 
 
 1883. 
 
 95,400,000 
 
 89,177,000 
 
 98,986,000 
 
 115,300,000 
 
 1884. 
 
 101,700,000 
 
 81,597,000 
 
 90,817,000 
 
 105,500,000 
 
 1885. 
 
 108,400,000 
 
 91,652,000 
 
 97,564,000 
 
 118,500,000 
 
 1886. 
 
 106,000,COO 
 
 93,276,000 
 
 92.772,000 
 
 120,600,000 
 
 . 1887. 
 
 105,7-5,000 
 
 96,124,000 
 
 94,031,000 
 
 124,281,000 
 
 1888 .. 
 
 110,197,000 
 
 108,827,000 
 
 102,185,000 
 
 140,706,000 
 
 1889. 
 
 122,438,500 
 
 123,500,000 
 
 115,487,000 
 
 159,678,000 
 
 1890. 
 
 116,009,000 
 
 128,914,000 
 
 134,886,000 
 
 166,677,000 
 
142 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 World’s Coinage. 
 
 Calendar years. 
 
 Gold. 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 Silver. 
 
 188?.............. 
 
 $134,828,855 
 
 168,901,519 
 
 149,009,772 
 
 ! 
 
 $134,922,344 
 
 138,441,595 
 
 149,405,099 
 
 
 
 It should be remembered that the coinage executed does 
 not represent the amount of new gold and silver, of current 
 production, made into coins during the year, for the reason 
 that the coinages reported include the value of domestic and 
 foreign coins melted for recoinage as well as old material, plate, 
 etc, used in coinage. 
 
 The relative cost of the coinage executed at the four coinage 
 mints is exhibited in the following table : 
 
 Cost of Coinage at each Mint, 1891. 
 
 Location of mint. 
 
 Pieces 
 
 coined. 
 
 Pieces 
 coined, ex¬ 
 clusive of 
 minor coins. 
 
 Expenses 
 for salaries, 
 wages, and 
 incidentals. 
 
 Cost per 
 piece, inclu¬ 
 ding minor 
 coinage. 
 
 Cost per 
 piece, exclu¬ 
 sive of mi¬ 
 nor coinage. 
 
 Philadelphia. 
 
 94,749,632 
 
 31,409,082 
 
 $552,099.07 
 
 $0.00582+ 
 
 $0.0175 + 
 
 
 12,542,565 
 
 12,542,565 
 
 299,585.31 
 
 
 .0239— 
 
 
 9,870,913 
 
 9,870,913 
 
 201,163.76 
 
 
 .0203+ 
 
 
 2,384,767 
 
 2,384.767 
 
 134,667.25 
 
 
 .0564+ 
 
 
 
 
 Total and average. 
 
 119,547,877 
 
 56,207,327 
 
 1,187,515.39 
 
 0.00992 + 
 
 .0211 + 
 
 The following table exhibits the quantity and cost of the 
 silver purchased under the Act of Febrnary 28, 1878, during 
 the first two months of the fiscal year at each of the coinage 
 mints: 
 
 Deliveries on Purchases of Silver under Act of February 28, 
 1878, during Fiscal Year 1891. 
 
 Mints. 
 
 Standard ounces. 
 
 Cost. 
 
 
 1,768,110.47 
 
 426,469.28 
 
 688,821.09 
 
 224,798.63 
 
 $1,722,648 66 
 
 424,062 3§* 
 
 681,576 31 
 
 221,139 19 
 
 
 
 
 
 3,108,199.47 
 
 $3,049,426 46 
 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 143 
 
 Adding to this total the amount of silver on hand July 1, 
 4,415,244.66 standard ounces, costing $4,027,833.80, makes 
 the total amount of silver available for the coinage of silver 
 dollars during the year, purchased under the Act of February 28, 
 1878, 7,523,444.13 standard ounces, costing $7,077,260.26. 
 
 Bullion Delivered on Silver Purchases, Act op February 28 
 
 1878. 
 
 Mode of acquisition. 
 
 Standard ounces. 
 
 Cost. 
 
 Purchased by the Treasury Department (lots of over 
 
 2,431,827.18 
 
 603,512.57 
 
 12,859.72 
 
 ¥2,382,267 28 
 
 655,139 34 
 
 12,019 84 
 
 Purchased at mints (lots of less than 10,000 ounces) 
 
 Partings, bar charges, and fractions. 
 
 Total delivered on purchases . 
 
 Balance July 1, 1890. 
 
 Available for coinage of silver dollars during 
 fiscal year 1891. . 
 
 3,108,199.47 
 
 4,415,244.66 
 
 $3,049,426 46 
 
 4,027,833 80 
 
 7,523,444.13 
 
 7,077,260 26 
 
 The following table exhibits the quantity and cost of the 
 silver purchased under the Act of July 14, 1890, during the 
 fiscal year, at each of the coinage mints : 
 
 Deliveries on Purchase of Silver under Act of July 14, 1890, 
 Fiscal Year 1891. 
 
 Mints. 
 
 Standard ounces. 
 
 Cost. 
 
 
 40,940,666.17 
 
 $38,457,1*2 83 
 
 
 7,938,845.65 
 
 7,520,895 10 
 
 
 3,549,085.13 
 
 3,350,002 58 
 
 Carson. 
 
 1,335,528.66 
 
 1,219,457 93 
 
 
 53,770,125 61 
 
 $50,577,498 44 
 
 
 The following table is a recapitulation of the purchases, and 
 mode of acquisition, under the act of July 14, 1890: 
 
144 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 Bullion Delivered on Silver Purchases, Act oe July 14,1890*. 
 
 Mode of acquisition. 
 
 Purchased by the Treasury Department (lots of 
 over 10,000 ounces).^. 
 
 Purchased at mints (lots of less than 10,000 ounces) 
 
 Partings, bar charges, and fractions (including 1.88 
 standard ounces, costing SI.74, transferred from 
 1878 bullion)..... 
 
 Total. 
 
 Standard ounces. 
 
 Cost. 
 
 47,710,254.77 
 
 5,962,742.75 
 
 97,128.09 
 
 53,770,125.61 
 
 $44,861,371 32- 
 5,625,039 30- 
 
 91,087 82 
 
 850,577,498 44, 
 
 CIRCULATION OF SILVER DOLLARS. 
 
 The following comparative statement exhibits the total num¬ 
 ber of silver dollars coined, the number held by the Treasury 
 for the redemption of certificates, the number held in excess 
 of outstanding certificates, and the number in circulation, on 
 November 1, of each of the last six years : 
 
 Coinage, Ownership, and Circulation of Silver Dollars. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Total coinage. 
 
 In the 1 
 
 Held for pay¬ 
 ment of certifi¬ 
 cates outstand¬ 
 ing. 
 
 reasury. 
 
 Held in excess 
 of certificates 
 outstanding. 
 
 In circulation. 
 
 Nov. 1,1886. 
 
 244,433,386 
 
 $100,306,800 
 
 $82,624,431 
 
 $61,502,155- 
 
 Nov. 1,1887. 
 
 277,110,157 
 
 160,713,957 
 
 53,461,575 
 
 62,934,625 
 
 Nov. 1,1888. 
 
 309,750,890 
 
 229,783,152 
 
 20,196,288 
 
 59,771,450 
 
 Nov. 1,1889. 
 
 343,638,001 
 
 277,319,944 
 
 6,219,577 
 
 60,098,480- 
 
 Nov. 1,1890. 
 
 380,988,466 
 
 308,206,177 
 
 7,072,725 
 
 65,709,564 
 
 Nov. 1,1891. 
 
 409,475,368 
 
 321,142,642 
 
 26,197,265 
 
 62,135,461 
 
 The appropriations made for the support of the mints and 
 assay offices for the fiscal year to end June 30, 1892, are as- 
 follows : 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 145 
 
 Appropriations for Mints and Assay Offices, 1892. 
 
 Institutions. 
 
 Salaries. 
 
 Wages of 
 workmen. 
 
 Contingent 
 
 expenses. 
 
 Total. 
 
 Mints. 
 
 
 
 • 
 
 
 Philadelphia. 
 
 $41,550 00 
 
 $293,000 00 
 
 $80,000 00 
 
 $414,550 0& 
 
 San Francisco. 
 
 41,100 00 
 
 170,000 00 
 
 40,000 00 
 
 251,100 00- 
 
 Carson. 
 
 29,550 00 
 
 60,000 00 
 
 25,000 00 
 
 114,550 00 
 
 New Orleans. 
 
 31,950 00 
 
 74,000 00 
 
 35,000 00 
 
 140,950 00 
 
 Assay Offices. 
 
 
 
 
 
 New York. 
 
 39,250 00 
 
 30,000 00 
 
 10,000 00 
 
 79,250 00- 
 
 Denver. 
 
 10,950 00 
 
 13,750 00 
 
 6,000 00 
 
 30,700 OC 
 
 Helena. 
 
 7,700 00 
 
 12,700 60 
 
 ' 5,000 00 
 
 25,400 00 
 
 
 3,200 00 
 
 
 9,000 00 
 
 12,200 00- 
 
 
 2,750 00 
 
 
 2,500 00 
 
 5,250 00 
 
 
 3,500 00 
 
 
 2,400 00 
 
 5,900 00 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Total. 
 
 $211,500 00 
 
 $653,450 00 
 
 $214,900 00 
 
 $1,079,850 OO 
 
 GOLD AND SILVER BARS MANUFACTURED. 
 
 In addition to the coinage of the mints, gold and silver 
 bars were manufactured during the fiscal year of the value 
 of $39,603,199.42, as follows : 
 
 Bars Manufactured, 1891. 
 
 Description. 
 
 Value. 
 
 
 $31,165,541 77 
 
 8,437,657 65- 
 
 
 
 $39,603,199 4^' 
 
 
146 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 Table exhibiting approximately the stock of money in the prin¬ 
 cipal countries of the world : 
 
 Countries. 
 
 Popula¬ 
 
 tion. 
 
 Standard. 
 
 United States. 
 
 64,000,000 
 
 Bi-metallic.. 
 
 United Kingdom... 
 
 38,165,000 
 
 Gold. 
 
 France. 
 
 38,250,000 
 
 JBi-metallic 
 
 
 48,000,000 
 
 Gold. 
 
 
 
 Belgium. 
 
 6,100,000 
 
 JBi-metallic 
 
 Italy. 
 
 31,000,000 
 
 “ 
 
 Switzerland. 
 
 3,000,000 
 
 “ 
 
 Greece. 
 
 2,200,000 
 
 “ 
 
 Spain. 
 
 18,000,000 
 
 " 
 
 
 5,000,000 
 
 Gold. 
 
 Austria-Hungary... 
 
 40,000,000 
 
 Silver. 
 
 Netherlands. 
 
 4,500,000 
 
 JBi-metallic 
 
 Scandinavian Un’n 
 
 8,600,000 
 
 Gold. 
 
 
 113 000,000 
 
 
 
 33,000,000 
 
 Gold. 
 
 
 4,000,000 
 
 it 
 
 
 7,000,000 
 
 U 
 
 
 
 
 11,600,000 
 
 it 
 
 Central America... 
 
 3,000,000 
 
 
 
 35,000,000 
 
 * H 
 
 Japan. 
 
 40,000,000 
 
 Bi-metallic.. 
 
 glndia. 
 
 255,000,000 
 
 “ 
 
 China. 
 
 400,000,000 
 
 “ 
 
 
 
 ii 
 
 
 4,500 000 
 
 Gold .. 
 
 Cuba, Hayti, etc. 
 
 2,000,000 
 
 JBi-metallic 
 
 
 
 
 Stock of Gold 
 
 Stock of Silver. 
 
 Full Legal 
 Tender. 
 
 Limited 
 
 Tender. 
 
 Total. 
 
 $708,000,000 
 
 $391,566,000 
 
 $77,696,000 
 
 $469,262,000 
 
 550,000,000 
 
 
 100,000,000 
 
 100,000,000 
 
 900,000,000 
 
 650,000,000 
 
 50,000,000 
 
 700,000,000 
 
 500,000,000 
 
 102,000,000 
 
 102,000,000 
 
 204,000,009 
 
 65,000,000 
 
 48,400,000 
 
 6,600,000 
 
 55,000,000 
 
 140,000,000 
 
 25,800,000 
 
 34,200,000 
 
 60,000,000 
 
 15,000,000 
 
 11,400,000 
 
 3,600,000 
 
 15,000,009 
 
 2,000,000 
 
 1,800,000 
 
 2,200,000 
 
 4,000,000 
 
 100,000,000 
 
 90,000,000 
 
 35,000,000 
 
 125,000,009 
 
 40,000,000 
 
 
 10,000,000 
 
 19,000,009 
 
 40,000,000 
 
 90,000,000 
 
 
 90,000,000 
 
 25,000,000 
 
 61,800,000 
 
 3,200,000 
 
 65,000,009 
 
 32,000,000 
 
 
 10,000,000 
 
 10,000,009 
 
 190,000,000 
 
 22,000,000 
 
 38,000,000 
 
 60,000,009 
 
 50,000,000 
 
 
 45,000,000 
 
 45,000,000 
 
 100,000,000 
 
 
 7,000,000 
 
 7,000,009 
 
 100,000,000 
 
 
 15,000,000 
 
 15,000,009 
 
 5,000,000 
 
 50,000,000 
 
 
 50,000,000 
 
 
 500,000 
 
 
 500,00® 
 
 45,000,000 
 
 25,000,000 
 
 
 25,000,009 
 
 90,000,000 
 
 50,000,000 
 
 
 50,000,00# 
 
 
 900 000,000 
 
 
 900 000,000 
 
 
 700,000,000 
 
 
 700,000,00# 
 
 
 100,000,000 
 
 
 ioo,opo,ooo 
 
 16,000,000 
 
 5,000,000 
 
 5,000,000 
 
 20,000,000 
 
 1,200,000 
 
 800,000 
 
 2,000,000 
 
 $3,733,000 000 
 
 $3,321,466,000 
 
 $545,296,000 
 
 $3,866,762,00# 
 
 * Except Brazil, which is gold, 
 f Coinage of full legal tender silver suspended. 
 
 I The stock of silver in India, China and the Straits settlements is not susceptible of even 
 approximate determination. The figures presented in the table are a mere guess based upon 
 the movement of silver to these countries for a series of years and agree substantially with th® 
 guess of the best European statisticians. 
 
Values of Foreign Coins, January 1, 1892 — Continued. 
 
 148 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 11-si 
 
 
 £ C 
 
 
 a 
 
 M <D 
 
 ~ P o 
 
 cc £-58 
 
 ® o - ^ 
 
 g,j; a £ § -o 
 ^ TJ '£ oS T5 
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 t 2 ^ r U —. 
 
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 :Jj*J £ 
 
 isle’s 
 
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 V' P— _ M 
 
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 5o«3 
 
 g " ra .5 cn o ~ 
 
 -E \$ n T3 N 
 
 IO 0 H\ C) c ** 
 
 oTfr^S 
 
 ► £ H\lO o ~ 
 TH .S <M *-l IO 
 
 .2 c« 
 
 to^ 
 
 ?8 
 
 •• r-i •• © . 
 
 2 > 2 $222 a ’ 1 
 Oco O OOOS' 
 
 rp r O © ^3 'O T3 %p r o 
 O 0^0 o o r= ‘ ^ 
 OOccOOO 
 
 22 
 o o 
 OO 
 
 C5NOt-' TTOlMfOOMOrHC^THtOOi 
 
 ; • J 
 
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 © 3 ^ ? On 
 
 : E £ © £ p£ 
 
 ^o2^5 O &22* 
 
 © b 
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 Ph« 
 
 2 2? 
 
 O 0-2 
 
 0 Od3 
 
 222 2^ ® jd ^3'd © *0 © 
 
 oo 0,22 o ^ 00^0^ 
 
 OOOwO oa OOOcoOS 
 
 a ‘E.S 
 
 a s« 
 
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 3« fe 
 
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 ^ If ^ L L C0 rrt O ."^H 0" f-i P 
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 isssiziixo. « “mhP> 
 
 i Silver the nominal standard. Paper the actual standard, the depreciation of which is measured by the gold standard, 
 j Coined since January 1, 1885. Old half imperial = $3.98.6. 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 149 
 
 Highest and lowest prices of Gold in New York. 
 Each month in 1862-1878. 
 
 Month. 
 
 1862. 
 
 1863. 
 
 1864. 
 
 1865. 
 
 1866. 
 
 1867. 
 
 January. 
 
 February.... 
 March. 
 
 IT. L. 
 
 103% 101% 
 104% 102% 
 102% 101% 
 102% 101% 
 104% 102% 
 109% 103% 
 120% 108% 
 116% 112% 
 124 116% 
 
 133% 122 
 133% 129 
 134 128% 
 
 IT. L. 
 
 160% 133% 
 172% 152% 
 171% 139 
 157% 145% 
 154% 144/<2 
 148% 140% 
 145 123% 
 
 129% 122% 
 143% 126% 
 153% 140% 
 154 143 
 
 152% 148% 
 
 II L. 
 159% 151% 
 161 157% 
 
 169% 159 
 184% 166% 
 190 168 
 
 250 193 
 
 285 222 
 
 261% 231% 
 254% 191 
 227% 189 
 260 210 
 243 212% 
 
 IT. L. 
 
 234% 197% 
 216% 196% 
 201 148% 
 
 154% 143% 
 145% 128% 
 147% 135% 
 146% 138% 
 145% 140% 
 145 142% 
 
 149 144% 
 
 148% 145% 
 148% 144% 
 
 II. L. 
 144 % 136% 
 140% 135% 
 136% 124% 
 129% 125% 
 141% 125% 
 167% 137% 
 155% 147 
 152% 146% 
 147% 143% 
 154% 145% 
 148% 137% 
 141% 131% 
 
 IT. L. 
 
 137% 132% 
 140% 135% 
 140% 133% 
 141% 132% 
 138% 135 
 138% 136% 
 140% 138 
 142% 139% 
 146% 141 
 145% 140% 
 141% 138% 
 137% 133 
 
 
 
 July. 
 
 August. 
 
 September.. 
 
 October. 
 
 November... 
 
 December.... 
 
 Year. 
 
 134 101% 
 
 172% 122% 
 
 285 151% 
 
 234% 128% 
 
 167% 125% 
 
 146% 132% 
 
 Month. 
 
 1868. 
 
 1869. 
 
 1870. 
 
 1871. 
 
 1872. 
 
 1873. 
 
 January. 
 
 February.... 
 March. 
 
 H. L. 
 
 142% 133% 
 144 1 39% 
 
 141% 137% 
 140% 137% 
 140% 139% 
 141% 139% 
 145% 143% 
 150 143% 
 
 145% 141% 
 140% 133% 
 137 132 
 
 136% 134% 
 
 IT. L. 
 
 136% 134% 
 136% 130% 
 132% 130% 
 134% 131% 
 144% 134% 
 139% 136% 
 137% 134% 
 136% 131% 
 162% 129% 
 132 128% 
 
 128% 121% 
 124 119% 
 
 :§ ill 
 116% 110% 
 115% 111% 
 115% 113% 
 114% 110% 
 122% 111% 
 122 114% 
 
 116% 112% 
 113% 111% 
 113% 110 
 111% 110% 
 
 IT. L. 
 111% 110% 
 112% 110% 
 111% 110% 
 mi no% 
 112% 111 
 113% 111% 
 113% 111% 
 113% 111% 
 115% 112% 
 115 111% 
 
 112% 110% 
 110% 108% 
 
 IT. L. 
 
 110% 108% 
 111 109% 
 
 110% 109% 
 113% 109% 
 114% 112% 
 114% 113 
 115% 113% 
 115% 112% 
 115% 112% 
 115% 112% 
 114% 111% 
 113% 111% 
 
 II. L. 
 
 114% 111% 
 115% 112% 
 118% 114% 
 119% 116% 
 118% 116% 
 118% 115 
 116% 115 
 116% 114% 
 116% 110% 
 111% 107% 
 110% 106% 
 112% 108% 
 
 
 
 
 August. 
 
 September... 
 
 ■October. 
 
 November... 
 
 December... 
 
 Year. 
 
 150 132 
 
 162% 119% 
 
 123% 110 
 
 115% 108% 
 
 115% 108% 
 
 119 106% 
 
 Month. 
 
 1874. 
 
 1875. 
 
 1876. 
 
 1877. 
 
 1878. 
 
 January. 
 
 ■February. 
 
 March. 
 
 April. 
 
 May.. 
 
 June. 
 
 July. 
 
 August. 
 
 September..-. 
 
 October. 
 
 November. 
 
 December. 
 
 Year. 
 
 IT. L. 
 112% 110% 
 113 111% 
 
 113% 111% 
 114% 111% 
 113% 111% 
 112% 110% 
 110% 109 
 110% 109% 
 110% 109% 
 110% 109% 
 112% 110 
 112% 110% 
 
 IT. L. 
 113% 111% 
 115% 113% 
 in 114% 
 
 115% 114 
 116% 115 
 117% 116% 
 117% 111% 
 114% 112% 
 117% 113% 
 117% 114% 
 116% H4% 
 115% 112% 
 
 IT. L. 
 
 113% 112% 
 114% 112% 
 115 113% 
 
 113% 112% 
 113% 112% 
 113 111% 
 
 112% 111% 
 112% 109% 
 110% 109% 
 113% 108% 
 110% 108% 
 109 107 
 
 IT. L. 
 
 107% 105% 
 106% 104% 
 105% 104% 
 107% 104% 
 107% 106% 
 106% 104% 
 106% 105% 
 105% 103% 
 104 102% 
 
 103% 102% 
 103% 102% 
 103% 102% 
 
 ii i k 
 102 100% 
 101% 100% 
 101% 100% 
 101 100% 
 100% 100% 
 100% 100% 
 100% 100% 
 100% 100% 
 100% 100% 
 100% 100 
 
 114% 109 
 
 117% 111% 
 
 115 107 
 
 107% 102% 
 
 102% 100 
 
 Note. —Specie payment resumed January 1, 1879, after a suspension of nearly 18 years 
 
150 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 Table showing the Total Paper and Specie Circulation in each of the 
 Principal Countries of the World, and the Amount of Specie in Bank 
 and National Treasuries, and the Amount of Actual Circulation. 
 
 {Officially Reported.) 
 
 Countries. 
 
 Population. 
 
 Total metallic 
 and paper 
 circulation. 
 
 Amount of 
 specie in na¬ 
 tional treasu¬ 
 ries and banks 
 
 Active 
 
 circulation. 
 
 Per capita 
 
 of active 
 
 circulation 
 
 United States. 
 
 Great Britain and Ire- 
 
 50,155,783 
 
 81,745,920,755 
 
 1534,033,074 
 
 $1,211,893,681 
 
 $24 16 
 
 land. 
 
 35,246,562 
 
 876,318,139 
 
 154,182,691 
 
 722,135,448 
 
 20 49 
 
 Dominion of Canada, 
 
 
 including Manitoba 
 and Newfoundland... 
 
 4,506,563 
 
 59 596,084 
 
 9,111,148 
 
 50,484,936 
 
 11 22 
 
 British India. 
 
 252,541,210 
 
 1,099,883,126 
 
 78,358,000 
 
 1,021,025,126 
 
 4 05 
 
 Ceylon. 
 
 Australia, Tasmania, 
 
 2,758,166 
 
 2,335,300 
 
 1,273,800 
 
 1,061,500 
 
 38 
 
 and New Zealand... 
 
 2,798,898 
 
 96,010,722 
 
 48,737,837 
 
 47,272,885 
 
 16 90 
 
 Cape oi Good Hope.... 
 
 780,757 
 
 38,078,000 
 
 8,092,000 
 
 29,986,000 
 
 38 40 
 
 France. 
 
 37,321,186 
 
 1,990,901,912 
 
 402,939,754 
 
 1,588,022,158 
 
 42 55 
 
 Algiers.. 
 
 2,887,626 
 
 27,567,000 
 
 5,564,476 
 
 22,002,524 
 
 7 67 
 
 Guadeloupe. 
 
 185,460 
 
 1,027,750 
 
 564,935 
 
 1,062.815 
 
 5 73 
 
 Belgium. 
 
 Switzerland. 
 
 5,536,654 
 
 2,846,102 
 
 180,326,515 
 
 53,180,731 
 
 17,991,450 
 
 11,609,618 
 
 168,335,065 
 
 41,571,113 
 
 30 40 
 14 60 
 
 Italy. 
 
 28,452,639 
 
 533,548,521 
 
 69,357,358 
 
 464,191,163 
 
 16 31 
 
 Greece. 
 
 1,979,423 
 
 29,143,000 
 
 1,800,0 0 
 
 27,343,000 
 
 13 81 
 
 Spain. 
 
 16,625,860 
 
 270,812,440 
 
 27,223,959 
 
 243,588,481 
 
 14 65 
 
 Cuba. 
 
 1,394,516 
 
 73,043,543 
 
 14,181,243 
 
 58,862,300 
 
 42 21 
 
 Luzon. 
 
 Portugal, including 
 
 4,450,191 
 
 4,198,000 
 
 3,765,677 
 
 432,323 
 
 10 
 
 Azores and Madeira 
 
 4,550,699 
 
 46,367,680 
 
 11,718,874 
 
 34,648,806 
 
 7 61 
 
 Germany. 
 
 45,234,061 
 
 825,473,023 
 
 181,706,674 
 
 643,766,349 
 
 14 23 
 
 Aust ria-II ungary. 
 
 Sweden and Norway... 
 
 35,839,428 
 
 431,646,314 
 
 98,131,401 
 
 333,514,913 
 
 9 31 
 
 6,479,168 
 
 43,058,143 
 
 12,740,975 
 
 30,317,468 
 
 4 68 
 
 
 2,096,400 
 
 39,228,000 
 
 14,070,000 
 
 25,158,000 
 
 12 00 
 
 Netherlands. 
 
 4,061,580 
 
 163,847,949 
 
 55,114,112 
 
 108,733,837 
 
 26 77 
 
 Russia. 
 
 98,323,000 
 
 646,431,794 
 
 124,008,153 
 
 522,423,641 
 
 5 31 
 
 Turkey. 
 
 24,987,000 
 
 83,315,976 
 
 14,520,000 
 
 68,795,976 
 
 2 75 
 
 Roumania. 
 
 5,376,000 
 
 27,372,383 
 
 3,995,298 
 
 23,377,085 
 
 4 35 
 
 Mexico. 
 
 9,557,279 
 
 52,018,529 
 
 1,763,008 
 
 50,285,521 
 
 5 26 
 
 Central America. 
 
 2,691,600 
 
 4,701,801 
 
 . 
 
 4,701,861 
 
 1 62 
 
 Argentine Republic.... 
 Colombia. 
 
 2,540,000 
 
 71,371,850 
 
 14,196,461 
 
 57,175,389 
 
 22 51 
 
 3,000,000 
 
 5,097,830 
 
 200,000 
 
 4,897,830 
 
 1 63 
 
 Brazil. 
 
 11,108,291 
 
 139,8/1 255 
 
 . 
 
 139,871,255 
 
 12 59 
 
 Peru. 
 
 3,050,000 
 
 14,980,820 
 
 1,882,018 
 
 13,098,802 
 
 4 29 
 
 Venezuela. 
 
 2,675,245 
 
 2,682,700 
 
 . 
 
 2,682,700 
 
 1 00 
 
 Chili. 
 
 2,420,500 
 
 2,325,000 
 
 32,555,341 
 
 6,908,533 
 
 2,398,000 
 
 443,597 
 
 30,157,341 
 
 6,464,936 
 
 12 45 
 
 Bolivia. 
 
 2 78 
 
 !i 6':': 
 
 438,245 
 
 11,587,000 
 
 4,601,000 
 
 6,986,000 
 
 15 94 
 
 572,000 
 
 4,780,000 
 
 . 
 
 4,780,000 
 
 8 35 
 
 Japan. 
 
 36,700,110 
 
 248,744,805 
 
 28,486,973 
 
 220,257,832 
 
 6 00 
 
 Hawaiian Islands. 
 
 66,895 
 
 1,834,900 
 
 808,200 
 
 1,026,700 
 
 15 35 
 
 
 
 9,991,964,524 
 
 1,959,571,764 
 
 8,032,392,760 
 
 
 Stock of United States Coin, July 1, 1889. 
 
 Items. 
 
 Gold. 
 
 /Silver. 
 
 Total. 
 
 Estimated stock of coin, July 1, 1888. 
 
 Coinage, fiscal year 1889 . 
 
 Net import of United States coin fiscal year 
 
 $595,349,837 
 
 25,543,910 
 
 $376,115,166 
 
 34,515,546 
 
 210,569 
 
 $971,465,003 
 
 60,059,465 
 
 210,569 
 
 Total. 
 
 $6.0,893,747 
 
 $410,841,281 
 
 $1,031,735,028 
 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT, 
 
 151 
 
 THE GOLD AND SILVER ERAS. 
 
 The report of the Director of the Mint for 1889 contains 
 an interesting table showing the production of the precious 
 metal in the United States from the establishment of the 
 Mint in 1792 until the close of the fiscal year of 1889. The 
 value of the product is given in dollars, and shows a gold 
 product for the period included of $1,806,061,769, and a 
 silver product of $862,645,000, the total gold and silver 
 product being $2,668,706,769. Of this there remained in 
 the country July 1, 1889, $1,100,612,434, the balance having 
 been exported or used in the arts. 
 
 The golden era began with Sutter’s discovery of gold in his 
 California mill-race in 1848, the total production of gold up 
 to that time having been but $24,536,769, or less than a 
 half -million a year. In that year the production jumped to 
 $10,000,000, and in the following year to $40,000,000, or 
 $15,500,000 more than the total product of the entire fifty- 
 six years following the establishment of the Mint. The in¬ 
 crease in the gold output was steady from this time until 
 1853, when high-water mark was reached with a product of 
 $65,000,000. From this period there has been a gradual 
 decline, the gold product of the last ten years varying be¬ 
 tween $30,000,000 and $38,000,000, about one-third of which 
 was produced in California. 
 
 The Director of the Mint estimates the amount of the two 
 metals used in the arts in this country at about $24,500,000, 
 of which $16,500,000 is gold and $8,000,000 silver, leaving, 
 on the basis of the production of 1888, $67,870,000 for 
 soinao-e and export. Of the gold-producing States in 1888 
 California stood first, with a production of $12,750,000; 
 Montana second, with $4,200,000; Colorado third, with 
 $3,758,000; Nevada fourth, with $3,525,000; Dakota fifth, 
 with $2,600,000; Idaho sixth, with $2,460,000; while 
 Oregon and Alaska come next, with a production of $850,000 
 and $825,000 respectively. In silver Colorado leads its 
 product for 1888, having a coinage value of $19,000,000. 
 Montana came second, with $17,000,000, and Utah and 
 Nevada stood next in order, with $7,000,000 each. Arizona 
 and Idaho produced $3,000,000 each, and California and New 
 Mexico $1,400,000 and $1,200,000 respectively. It is worth 
 noting that the United States furnish about one-third of the 
 gold product of the world at present and three-sevenths of 
 the silver. 
 
152 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 
 
 Sp5pf^ 
 
 pi mmm m 
 
 »»»»! 
 
 8 ®ySl^iw® *<09 *-:Rcfol u-. kt %am 
 
 ^&t rthe ' I+lh > iuary ’\S 
 
 FAC SIMILE REPRODUCTIONS OF CONTINENTAL CURRENCY, 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 153 
 
 U. S. Mint Test for Gold and Silver. 
 
 The following is a test for determining whether coin is good or bad. Use the liquids 
 as near the edge of suspected coin as possible, as that is the part most worn. A drop of 
 the preparation will have no effect on genuine coin, while it can be plainly seen on the 
 counterfeit. Coins should be scraped slightly before using: 
 
 TEST FOR SILVER. 
 
 24 grains Nite of Silver. 
 30 drops Nitric Acid. 
 
 1 ounce Water. 
 
 TEST FOR GOLD. 
 
 Strong Nitric Acid (36°), 39 parts. 
 Muriatic Acid, 1 part. 
 
 Water, 20 parts. 
 
 The above tests should be taken in conjunction with Diameter, Thickness, and Weight 
 cne tests used at the Mint. 
 
 GLOSSARY. 
 
 Terms used in treating of Bullion , Mints , Coinage , and Money. 
 
 Assaying. —Chemical analysis of metals or ores. This term is em¬ 
 ployed in reference to mints and coinage, refers particularly to the process 
 for determining the component parts and relative proportions of a mixed 
 alloy of gold and silver, or the various alloys used for the manufacture of 
 minor coins. 
 
 Refining.— Extract of base from precious metals; usually performed 
 by the aid of heat and oxidizing fluxes. 
 
 Parting. —The separation of gold and silver when the two metals com¬ 
 pose an alloy, either native or artificial, for the purpose of obtaining the 
 metals, respectively, in the form of fine bars. This is accomplished, first, by 
 dissolving the silver with acids and subsequently precipitating; or,second, 
 by converting silver into chloride by heat and chlorine gas, and then 
 reducing the chloride to a metallic state. 
 
 Alloying. —Compounding two or mere metals together in suitable or 
 legal proportions for coinage. Gold and silver are alloyed with copper for 
 standard coins, and alloys are variously made of nickel and copper, or of 
 copper, tin, and zinc for minor coins. 
 
 Fine Bars. —Gold and silver bars resulting from the operations of part¬ 
 ing and refining. Bars containing 99 per cent, of pure metal are generally 
 considered as fine bars. 
 
 Unparted Bullion. —Gold containing silver or silver containing gold 
 which has not been subjected to the parting operation. 
 
 Amalgam. —Gold and silver extracted from ores or other substances by 
 the use of mercury and left in a porous oi spongy condition, when the 
 mercury is removed by distillation. 
 
 Fineness. —A term indicating the proportion of pure metal contained 
 in a piece of gold or silver. Fineness is expressed in thousandths; that 
 is, pure metal is 1000. United States coin is fine, or decimally .900 
 fine. Fineness is estimated by jewelers and workers in the precious metals 
 by “ carats,” pure metal being 24 carats. Thus 22 carats, the British 
 standard for gold coins, is f f, or deoimally, 916| fine. 
 
 Deposit—Melting. —The operation of melting a deposit of gold or 
 silver at the Mint to secure a homogeneity of metals, preliminary to taking 
 a sample for assaying. 
 
 Remedy of the Mint. —The legal variation allowed from the fineness 
 and weight prescribed by law for the coins. 
 
 Trial of the Pyx. —The annual test made by special commissioners 
 of the fineness and weight of coins reserved from each delivery of coin by 
 the coiner to the superintendent. These coins are known as Pyx coins, 
 because kept in a pyx or chest. 
 
 
154 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 Befractory Bullion. —Gold or silver bullion which contains a small 
 percentage of lead, tin, or antimony, and which is therefore too hard or 
 brittle to roll, cut, or stamp with facility. 
 
 Wastage. —The amount of gold and silver lost in the processes which 
 these metals undergo preparatory to striking the coins. This ‘‘wastage” 
 by law must not exceed a certain percentage of the gross amount of metals 
 worked. 
 
 Sweepings. —The ashes, fluxes, crucibles, sweepings, and all other refuse 
 materials from rooms in which the metals are worked, containing a small 
 amount of gold and silver. 
 
 Standard.—' ilie weight and fineness fixed by law for the coins; hence 
 the term “standard weight” or “standard finenei-s.” 
 
 Base Bullion. —Gold or silver bullion not fit for coinage purposes, by 
 reason of the presence of base metals, until refined. 
 
 Mint Mark. —The letter or mark on the coin, designating the mint at 
 which it was struck; as “S” for San Francisco, “C C” lor Carson City, 
 “O” for New Orleans.* 
 
 Money of Account. —The ideal unit, or money term, in which accounts 
 are stated or transactions made, as the 'pound sterling of Great Britain, the 
 dollar of the United States, the franc of France, and the reichsmark of the 
 German Empire. 
 
 Coins of Standard Value. —In modern times a government first 
 establishes a money of account or ideal unit, and then fixes by law the 
 quantity of gold or silver which shall, in the form of a coin with unlimited 
 legal-tender power, represent that ideal unit. Such coins, with their mul¬ 
 tiples and divisions, are termed “ coins of standard value” or “ standard 
 coins.” 
 
 Subsidiary Coins.— In the United States silver coins of less denomina¬ 
 tion than the dollar, which have a nominal value exceeding their intrinsic 
 or bullion value, and limited as legal tender to sums not exceeding five 
 dollars. 
 
 Minor Coins. —Coins of small denominations used for change, and 
 struck from other metals than gold or silver. 
 
 Mint Prices of Gold and Silver (Coining Value). —The rate per 
 standard ounce at which the mint converts bullion into legal-tender coins. 
 The coining rate of an ounce of standard gold bullion, ?. e., bullion 
 fine in the United States is $18,604+. The coining rate of the silver 
 dollar of 412j grains, discontinued by law April 1, 1873, was $1.16 T 4 T per 
 standard ounce. 
 
 The Basis of the Money System of all civilized nations is gold or 
 silver, or both, in a ratio fixed by law. The relative valuation of the two 
 metals in the coins of nations using the double standard, is about one of 
 gold to fifteen and a half of silver. 
 
 Partial List of Medals in Copper-Bronzed, also, in Cold and 
 Silver, which may he obtained at the Mint. 
 
 ARMY. Size. Price. 
 
 Washington before Boston. 42 $2 50 
 
 Colonel William Washington, for Cowpens. 28 1 50 
 
 Major-General Harrison, for the Thames. 40 1 50 
 
 Major-General Scott, for Chippewa and Niagara. 40 1 50 
 
 Major-General Gaines, for Fort Erie. 40 1 50 
 
 Major-General Porter, for Chippewa, Niagara, and Erie. 40 1 50 
 
 Major-General Macomb, Battle of Plattsburgh. 40 1 50 
 
 Major-General Jackson, Battle of New Orleans. 40 1 50 
 
 Major-General Taylor, Palo Alto. 40 1 50 
 
 • The coins struck at the parent mint in Philadelphia bear no mint mark. 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 155 
 
 Major-General Taylor, for Monterey. 40 $1 50 
 
 Major-General Taylor, for Buena Vista. 56 3 00 
 
 Major-General Scott, for Battles in Mexico. 56 3 00 
 
 Major-General Grant. 54 8 00 
 
 Colonel Lee, “ Light-Hosse Harry”. 29 1 50 
 
 Count DeFleury, for Stony Point. 15 2 25 
 
 NAVY. 
 
 John Paul Jones, for Serapis. 36 2 00 
 
 Captain Hull, for Capture of Guerriere. 40 1 50 
 
 Captain Jacob Jones, for Capt .re of the Frolic. 40 1 50 
 
 Captain Decatur, for Capture of the Macedonian. 40 1 50 
 
 Captain Bainbridge, for Capture of the Java. 40 1 50 
 
 Captain Lawrence, for Capture of the Peacock. 40 1 50 
 
 Captain Burrows, for Capture of the Boxer. 40 1 50 
 
 Captain Perry, for Capture of British Fleet on Lake Erie... 40 1 50 
 
 Captain Elliott, for Capture of British Fleet on Lake Erie... 40 1 50 
 
 Captain Warrington, for Capture of the Epervier. 40 1 50 
 
 Captain Blakely, for Capture of the Reindeer. 40 1 50 
 
 Captain MacDonough, for Capture of the British Fleet on 
 
 Lake Champlain. 40 1 50 
 
 Captain Henley, Capture of British Fleet on Lake Champlain 40 1 50 
 
 Lieut. Cassin, Capture of British Fleet on Lake Champlain... 40 1 50 
 
 Captain Biddle, for Capture of the Penguin. 40 1 50 
 
 Captain Stewart, for Capture of the Cyane and Levant. 40 1 50 
 
 Captain Edw. Preble before Tripoli. 40 1 50 
 
 PRESIDENTIAL. 
 
 John Adams. 32 1 50 
 
 Thomas Jefferson. 47 2 50 
 
 James Madison. 40 1 50 
 
 James Monroe. 40 1 50 
 
 John Q. Adams. 40 1 50 
 
 Andrew Jackson. 40 1 50 
 
 Martin Van Buren. 40 1 50 
 
 John Tyler. 40 1 50 
 
 James K. Polk. 40 1 50 
 
 Zachary Taylor.*. 40 1 50 
 
 Millard Fillmore. 40 1 50 
 
 Franklin Pierce. 40 1 50 
 
 James Buchanan. 48 2 00 
 
 Abraham Lincoln. 48 2 00 
 
 Andrew Johnson. 48 2 00 
 
 Ulysses S. Grant. 48 2 00 
 
 Rutherford B. Hayes. 48 2 00 
 
 James A. Garfield. 48 2 00 
 
 Chester A. Arthur. 48 2 00 
 
 SUB-NATIONAL MEDALS. 
 
 Captain Perry (State of Pennsylvania), for Capture of the 
 
 British Fleet on Lake Erie. 40 1 50 
 
 Pennsylvania Volunteers, Action on Lake Erie.,. 40 1 50 
 
 Major-General Scott (Commonwealth of Virginia). 56 3 00 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS AMERICAN. 
 
 Professor Agassiz Medal. 30 1 50 
 
 Colonel Armstrong, for Destruction of the Indian Village of 
 
 Kittanning. 27 1 08 
 
 Captains Creighton, Low, and Stouffer, Wreck of Steamer 
 
 San Francisco. 47 2 00 
 
156 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 Captains Creighton, Low, and Stouffer, Wreck of Steamer 
 
 San Francisco, by Congress. 50 $3 00 
 
 Cornelius Vanderbilt, by Congress.. . 48 2 50 
 
 First Steam Coinage. 16 25 
 
 Commodore M. C. Perry, from Merchants of Boston. 40 2 00 
 
 Pacific Railroad Medal. 29 1 25 
 
 Emancipation Proclamation Medal. 29 1 00 
 
 Cyrus W. Field, Atlantic Cable Medal. v . 64 8 00 
 
 Dr. Joseph Pancoast. 48 3 00 
 
 Grant Indian Peace Medal. 40 3 00 
 
 Garfield Indian Peace Medal.(oblong) 2 00 
 
 Arthur Indian Peace Medal... “ 2 00 
 
 “ Let Us Have Peace”. 29 1 25 
 
 Metis (Shipwreck) Medal. 42 1 50 
 
 John Horn (Life Saving) Medal. 30 1 00 
 
 U. S. Diplomatic Medal, July 4, 1776. 45 2 00 
 
 Valley Forge Centennial. 25 50 
 
 Great Seal Medal. 39 1 50 
 
 DIRECTORS OF THE MINT. 
 
 David Rittenhouse. 28 1 25 
 
 Robert M. Patterson. 42 1 50 
 
 James Ross Snowden. 50 2 50 
 
 James Pollock. 29 1 25 
 
 H. B. Linderman. 50 2 00 
 
 James P. Kimball... 
 
 SUPERINTENDENTS 
 
 A. Loudon Snowden. £0 2 00 
 
 Daniel M. Fox.. .■•...••Hivmu’twiJOtil 
 
 FINE GOLD MEDALS. 
 
 (See Rule 3.) 
 
 Time Increases His Fame. 16 12 00 
 
 James A. Garfield. 16 9 00 
 
 Commencement of Cabinet. 12 6 25 
 
 Washington and Jackson. 10 '4 50 
 
 Lincoln and Garfield. 10 4 50 
 
 FINE SILVER MEDALS. 
 
 (See Rule 3.) 
 
 Cabinet Medal.. 37 6 00 
 
 Presidency Relinquished. 25 3 00 
 
 Allegiance Medal. 18 1 00 
 
 Time Increases His Fame. 16 75 
 
 James A. Garfield. 16 60 
 
 Pennsylvania Bi-Centennial. 16 50 
 
 Commencement of Cabinet. 12 35 
 
 Washington and Jackson. 10 25 
 
 Washington and Lincoln. 10 * 25 
 
 Washington and Grant. 10 25 
 
 Washington Wreath. 10 25 
 
 Lincoln and Grant. 10 25 
 
 Lincoln Broken Column. 10 25 
 
 Lincoln and Garfield. 10 25 
 
 Valley Forge Centennial. 25 1 50 
 
 indicates the sixteenth of an inch. 
 
 Medals struck to order in gold 
 institutions. 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 157 
 
 OUR GOLD AND SILVER. 
 
 The Production of the Precious Metals in 1890—the Stock of 
 
 the United States January 1, 1891 , was $l,191,lJf, c 2,20J lt ,. 
 
 Washington, February 26. 
 
 Edward 0. Leech, Director of the Mint, has submitted to 
 Congress a report on the production of the precious metals 
 for the calendar year 1890. The gold product of the United 
 States was 1,588,880 fine ounces (Troy) of the value of 
 $32,845,000, an increase of $45,000 over the product of the 
 preceding year. The silver product of our own mines ap¬ 
 proximated 54,500,000 ounces, corresponding at the average 
 price of silver during the year, to $57,225,000, and at the 
 coining value of silver to $70,464,645, against a product of 
 50,000,000 fine ounces of the commercial value of $46,750,000 
 and coining value of $64,464,464 in the preceding year, an 
 increase of 4,500,000 fine ounces in the silver product of the 
 LTnited States last year. The silver product of our smelters 
 and refineries was 64,920,927 fine ounces. 
 
 The total value of the gold deposited at the mints during 
 the calendar year was $56,217,105, of which $31,234,342 
 was domestic bullion, $4,352,422 foreign gold bullion, 
 $8,857,447 foreign gold coin, $558,386 light-weight domestic 
 gold coin, $3,765,363 old jewelry, plate, etc., and $7,449,141 
 re-deposits. The total amount of silver offered for sale to the 
 government during the year was 68,130,457 fine ounces, and 
 the amount purchased 37,594,373.75 fine ounces, costing 
 $39,991,840, the average cost being $1.06 per fine ounce. The 
 coinage executed during the last calendar year was the largest 
 in the history of the mint service, aggregating 124,025,365 
 pieces, of the value of $61,054,882.84, as follows: Gold, 
 $20,467,182; silver dollars, $38,043,004; subsidiary silver 
 coins, $1,159,904; minor coins, $1,384,792. 
 
 There was a marked improvement in the price of silver 
 during the past calendar year, the price reaching the highest 
 point in twelve years. The fluctuations covered a range of 
 26 per cent., a wider range by far than in any previous year. 
 At the commencement of the year the silver was quoted at 
 $0.98 per fine ounce. It reached $1.21 on August 19, and 
 closed on December 31, at $1.04|. The average price during 
 the year was : In London, $1.04.6 ; in New York, $1.05. At 
 the lowest price reached during the year, the value of the silver 
 dollar was $0.74.8 ; at the highest price, $0.92.6 ; the average 
 price, $0.80.9. The metallic stock of the United States was, 
 approximately on January 1, 1891: Gold, $704,597,128; 
 silver, $486,545,076; total, $1,191,142,204. 
 
158 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 UNITED STATES ASSAY OFFICE, NEW YORK. 
 
 The United States Assay Office at New York was estab¬ 
 lished by Act of Congress in 1853 and began business in 
 1854. It occupies the bnilding Nos. 30 and 32 Wall Street, 
 erected in 1823 for the use of the United States Branch 
 Bank. It was a fine structure in its day, but, being only two 
 stories high, it looks small now, surrounded by lofty modern 
 buildings. It was fitted up for offices and the assay laboratory, 
 and a large building was erected in the rear for refining opera- 
 1 ions. The latter was among the first of the fire-proof build¬ 
 ings constructed in New York (with floors of iron beams and 
 brick arches), and its firm condition to-day bears witness to 
 the skill and care of the United States Army officers who 
 supervised its erection. 
 
 The business of the office consists in assaying, parting and 
 refining gold and silver bullion, and the manufacture of gold 
 and silver bars. The “ parting” is done by the sulphuric acid 
 process ; the metals, previously alloyed in the right proportion 
 and granulated, being boiled in the acid until the silver and 
 base metals are dissolved, leaving the gold in the form of a 
 fine powder. The silver is restored to metallic form by reduc¬ 
 tion with copper, and both gold and silver are melted and 
 fluxed separately in crucibles and cast into bars. In this pro¬ 
 cess a by-product, sulphate of copper (blue vitriol) is obtained, 
 which, with the waste acid, is sold to the highest bidder. One 
 year the sales yielded the Government over $17,000. 
 
 Gold deposits are paid for with gold coin or bars, silver de¬ 
 posits with silver bars only. The gold bars range in value 
 from $105 to $8,000. The silver bars weigh from about six 
 ounces to 1,500 ounces Troy. These bars are stamped with 
 the weight and fineness (the gold with value also), and bear 
 the seal of the office, which gives them a recognized commercial 
 value. They are largely used in the manufacture of jewelry, 
 plate, etc. No deposits of less value than $100 are received. 
 Returns are usually made within one to three days. 
 
 During the last fiscal year the value of the gold received 
 was $25,181,054.21; the coinage value of the silver, $7,605,- 
 366.57 ; making a total of $32,786,420.78. 
 
 When gold is imported freely the deposits are of great, mag¬ 
 nitude. 
 
UNITED STATES MINT, SAN FRANCISCO, CAE. 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 163 
 
 UNITED STATES MINT AT NEW ORLEANS, LA. 
 
 The Mint at New Orleans was established as a Branch 
 Mint of the United States by Act of Congress, of March 3, 
 1835. The building occupies, by deed of gift from the City 
 •of New Orleans, the entire square of ground located in the 
 Second District, bounded by Esplanade, Barracks, Decatur 
 and Old Levee streets on the river front. The deed was 
 signed by Ex-Mayor Pilsbury, in accordance with an ordin¬ 
 ance of the City Council, passed unanimously on the 8th day 
 of July, 1878. Previous to the execution of the deed of con¬ 
 veyance, the United States had occupied the ground by virtue 
 of a perpetual grant, in use from the City, dated June 19, 
 1835. 
 
 The building was designed by William Strickland, archi¬ 
 tect ; was begun in September, 1835, and finished in 1838, at 
 a cost of $182,000. Total length including the wings 282 
 feet; depth of main building 108 feet; the wings are 29 by 
 81 feet. 
 
 In addition, iron fences inclosing the square, out door im¬ 
 provements, the machinery, furnaces, fixtures, apparatus and 
 improvements, previously ordered and in use, cost nearly 
 $118,000. 
 
 The Mint remained idle for coinage purposes during and 
 since the close of the war, altogether about eighteen years, 
 except for mere incidental purposes, until the operations of 
 coinage were resumed January 15, 1879. 
 
 In 1878-1879 additional requirements of the service created 
 a necessity for further facilities and a careful estimate was 
 made by Dr. M. F. Bonzano, for more machinery, including a 
 new improved press for coining silver dollars, which cost about 
 $7,000, making a total cost of about $75,000, including 
 repairs. 
 
 This imposing structure, occupying the entire square, is of 
 the Roman and Ionic style of architecture, and is made fire¬ 
 proof throughout. The corner-stone was laid on the founda¬ 
 tion of the old Spanish Fort St. Charles of 1807 and 1808, 
 which had a wide and deep moat encircling the entire square, 
 and was approached by a drawbridge from Barracks street as 
 the only mode of access to the Fort, reminding one of the 
 palmy days of Knight errantry. The barracks for the soldiers 
 fronted on old Levee street. 
 
 The Sundry Civil Act, approved March 2, 1889. appropri- 
 
164 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 ated $60,000 for the construction of steel vaults in the New 
 Orleans and San Francisco Mints for the storage of silver. 
 The contract for this Mint was awarded to Messrs. Farrel & 
 Co., of Philadelphia, who put in a chilled steel vault with six 
 compartments, entirely burglar and fire proof, capable of storing 
 $ 20 , 000 , 000 . 
 
 The work, including the outer door with combination lock, 
 the compartment lattice and grilled inner doors, was done to 
 the entire satisfaction of the Superintendent. 
 
 List of Superinten dants. 
 
 1837—David Bradford. 
 1839—Jos. M. Kennedy. 
 1851—Robt. M. McAlpine. 
 1855—Chas. Bienevue. 
 
 1859—Logan McKnight, 
 
 (3 months.) 
 
 1859—Wm. A. Elmore. 
 1861—Mint closed. 
 
 1874—M. F. Bonzano, 
 
 (Assayer in charge.) 
 
 1876—M. F. Bonzano, 
 
 (Special agent in charge.) 
 
 1878— Michael Hahn. 
 
 1879— H. S. Foote. 
 
 1880— M. V. Davis. 
 
 1882—A. W. Symth. 
 
 1885—G. Montegut. 
 
 1889—A. W. Smyth. 
 
 THE ST. LOUIS ASSAY OFFICE. 
 
 This office was opened for business on January 3, 1882, 
 quarters having been provided for it in the building then 
 occupied as a Post Office and Custom House, on the corner of 
 Third and Olive streets. The total expenditure for alterations, 
 for partitions, for fixtures and for apparatus, was $6,896.11. 
 
 In 1887, owing to the complete reconstruction of the build¬ 
 ing, the office was compelled to rent rooms at 210, 212 north 
 Third street, in the immediate neighborhood, but by the time 
 this is in print it will be located in the commodious quarters 
 fitted up for its use, on the upper floor of the “ Old Post 
 Office,” now occupied in the lower stories by the U. S. Ap¬ 
 praiser and the Branch Post Office. The office occupies four 
 rooms, well lighted and ventilated, and the bullion in its 
 possession is kept in a secure fire arid burglar proof vault, 
 built for its especial use. It is provided with the latest 
 improvements in the way of gas melting and assaying furnaces, 
 no solid fuel whatever being used. Power for blast and other 
 
UNITED STATES MINT AT NEW ORLEANS, LA. 
 
UNITED STATES BRANCH MTNT, DENVER, COE 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 169 
 
 purposes is furnished by a small high speed automatic engine 
 of the best type. The office force consists of the assayer in 
 charge, a clerk and a workman, and with the improvements 
 lately introduced deposits to the amount of more than a million 
 dollars a year can be handled without increase in the number. 
 
 The amount of gold and silver deposited has shown a steady 
 and rapid increase each year since the foundation of the office, 
 and at present (January, 1892,) averages nearly four thousand 
 dollars a working day, showing that the office has been appre¬ 
 ciated as a public convenience. 
 
 UNITED STATES MINT, SAN FRANCISCO. 
 
 By Act of Congress in 1853 an appropriation was made to 
 establish a Mint at San Francisco. It was built and put in 
 operation in 1854, and was located on Commercial Street, 
 between Montgomery and Kearny, and upon the present site 
 of the Sub-Treasury, where operations were continued until 
 completion of the new Mint. 
 
 In 1864, Congress appreciating the importance and magni¬ 
 tude of the mineral wealth of the United States, and espe¬ 
 cially of the Pacific Coast, made an appropriation for the 
 erection of a new Mint Building. The site chosen was on the 
 corner of Fifth and Mission, and the building was completed 
 and operations commenced in November, 1874. 
 
 It is a very substantial structure, three stories in height, 
 the first being of granite and the upper stories of sandstone. 
 It has a frontage of 220 feet on Fifth Street and a depth of 
 165 feet on Mission Street. It is complete in all its appoint¬ 
 ments, including a refinery, and has a capacity sufficient for 
 any requirement which is liable to be made upon it. Its 
 coinage has exceeded $50,000,000 in a single year. 
 
 From its establishment in 1854 to the close of the year 
 1891 the coinage was as follows: 
 
 Gold.. 
 
 Silver 
 
 Total. $940,282,855 
 
 $811,268,907 
 
 129,013,948 
 
170 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 UNITED STATES BRANCH MINT, DENVER, 
 COLORADO. 
 
 The United States Government, in April, 1862. purchased 
 the premises of Clark, Gruber & Co.’s private coining estab¬ 
 lishment. From the starting of this enterprise until its sale 
 the gold coins of this firm were in circulation through Colorado, 
 and considered as good as U. S. coin. The appropriation was 
 for $75,000, as the design of the Government was to make a 
 coinage Mint at Denver. This was never carried out, and 
 the institution, though known as The Mint of the United 
 States, remains an assay office, under an Assayer-in-Charge, 
 with a melter as an operative officer. The first deposit oi 
 gold was received on the opening day of the Mint, September 
 24, 1863. George W. Lane held the office of the first ap¬ 
 pointee until July 1, 1869. He was succeeded by Frederick 
 J. Schirmer, who held the office for about seven years as 
 Assayer-in-Charge. Herman Silver, Posey S. Wilson and 
 George C. Munson have been Assayers-in-Charge, and the 
 present incumbent is M. E. Smith. 
 
 Bills have at each session of every year been introduced 
 making this institution a coinage Mint, but for some strange 
 reason they have never prevailed, though Colorado’s produc¬ 
 tion of precious metals for the year 1891 was over thirty-four 
 millions. Bank clearances $228,698,034, and Denver is a 
 city of 150,000 population, with splendid railroad and express 
 facilities. 
 
 THE CARSON MINT, CARSON CITY, NEVADA. 
 
 The Mint of the United States at Carson City, Nevada, is 
 situated in the western part of the State, in the heart of a 
 mining country, sixteen miles from the famous “ Comstock 
 Lode.” 
 
 It is built of sand stone from the Nevada State Prison 
 Quarry. Piet style of architecture. Portico, Ionic, It is 
 a two-and-a-half story building, and has a frontage of 90 by 
 170 feet deep, and was erected in 1867 at a cost of $300,000, 
 including the building and machinery. 
 
 As a preventive against fire, the floors are double, with an 
 inch of mortar between. The foundations are seven feet below 
 the basement floor and laid in concrete. 
 
THE CARSON MINT, CARSON CITY, NEVADA. 
 
 _ 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 173 
 
 The institution was first opened for operation on July 1, 
 1869, with Col. Abraham Curry (the discoverer of the famous 
 Gould and Curry mine, of the Comstock Lode,) as Superin¬ 
 tendent. The successive Superintendents were: H. F. Rice,. 
 F. D. Hetrich, Jas. Crawford, Wm. Garrard, and S. C. 
 Wright, the present incumbent. 
 
 The Refinery of the Mint is equipped Avith sulphuric and 
 nitric acid processes, and also cupel furnaces. The capacity 
 of the Refinery is about 6,000 ounces per day, of eight hours. 
 
 The capacity of the coining department, when working a 
 force to the fullest capacity, is $500,000 in silver and $500,000 
 in gold coins. In this department there are three coining 
 presses, one for silver dollars and double eagles; one for half- 
 dollars, eagles and half-eagles, and one for minor coins. 
 
 At the present writing the Mint is employed in melting, 
 parting and refining bullion and coining double eagles, eagles, 
 half-eagles and standard silver dollars. 
 
 The Carson Mint has the honor of having coined the first 
 standard silver dollar, as well as the last trade dollar that was 
 coined in the United States. 
 
 The total coinage executed at the Mint from its organiza¬ 
 tion to December 31st, 1891, is $15,776,340 in double eagles, 
 $2,282 780 in eagles, $2,564,245 in half-eagles, $10,631,288 
 in silver dollars, $4,211,400 in trade dollars, $2,654,313.50 
 in half-dollars, $2,579,198 in quarter-dollars, $28,658 in 
 twenty cent pieces, and $2,090,110.80 in dimes, making a 
 total gold coinage of $20,623,365, and a silver coinage of 
 $22,194,970.30, or a grand total, including both gold and 
 silver, of $42,818,385.30. 
 
 THE UNITED STATES ASSAY OFFICE, HELENA, 
 MONTANA. 
 
 An Act of Congress, approved May 12, 1874, required the. 
 Secretary of the Treasury to establish an Assay Office at. 
 Helena, Montana, and appropriated the sum of $50,000* 
 for the construction of a building and the furnishing of the- 
 same with the necessary fixtures and apparatus. In com¬ 
 pliance Avith this act a site was purchased and the construction 
 was commenced in May, 1875. On the 1st of October of 
 the same year the corner-stone of the building was laid, with 
 appropriate ceremonies, by the Masonic Grand Lodge of 
 
174 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 Montana, and the structure was completed and opened to 
 public business in 1876. 
 
 The building is a handsome and substantially built three- 
 story red brick with granite trimmings, forty-two by fifty feet, 
 outside dimentions, and occupies the centre of an imposing 
 corner location, one hundred and fifty by one hundred feet, 
 the grounds of wdiich are well kept as a beautiful lawn. 
 
 From time to time the introduction of improved methods in 
 the operative departments have necessitated some changes in 
 the original plans, and some additions have been made to the 
 building for increasing its capacity in order to keep pace with 
 the gradually increasing amount of deposits. The present 
 capacity of this office is equal to all demands that are likely 
 to be made upon it under the present policy, as only gold 
 bullion is purchased for government account, and in con¬ 
 sequence only gold bullion is handled to any amount. The 
 bars of gold bullion manufactured amount to almost a third 
 of the total gold production of the State, and include nearly 
 all the placer and quartz gold bullion containing fifty per cent, 
 or over of gold, except such gold as is extracted from ores 
 shipped out of the State for treatment. 
 
 The equipment of this institution contains all the modern 
 improvements and appliances recognized as the most efficient 
 for the prompt and safe handling and returns of deposits. 
 Gas is the fuel used, both in the melting and assay depart¬ 
 ments, the blast being furnished by a four horse power engine. 
 The building is heated by steam and lighted by electricity 
 from its own plant. 
 
 THE UNITED STATES ASSAY OFFICE, BOISE 
 CITY, IDAHO. 
 
 The United States Assay Office at Boise City, Idaho, was 
 established by Act of Congress in the year 1870. Work on 
 the building was begun in June of that year, and continued 
 until its completion in September, 1871. The building is of 
 native stone, size 60x60 ; two stories high and a basement. 
 
 The offices, laboratory, melting rooms and furnaces are 
 located on the first floor, while the basement, extending under 
 the whole building, affords convenient storage rooms for coal 
 and other supplies. The building cost the government about 
 $80,000. „ At the time of its erection labor and material were 
 
THE UNITED STATES ASSAY OFFICE, BOISE CITY, IDAHO. 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 ITT 
 
 very high; stone-cutters and carpenters commanded ten 
 dollars per day, and unskilled labor was paid in proportion. 
 
 The work at this office is similar to that at the other assay 
 offices of the government, and consists in melting and manu¬ 
 facturing into bars the bullion as it is received from the 
 miners; assaying and ascertaining its value, purchasing it on 
 account of the government and shipping to the United States 
 Mint at Philadelphia for coinage. In this work there are • 
 employed seven men besides the Assayer in charge. The 
 annual deposits at this office range from $T00,000 to nearly 
 $ 1 , 000 , 000 . 
 
 The building is located in the centre of one of the most 
 desirable blocks in the city. The grounds are divided into 
 sections by walks, lined with beautiful shade trees, while the 
 different sections are lovely lawns carefully kept. Seen in 
 summer, it is the most beautiful spot in Idaho. 
 
178 
 
 ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF 
 
 RARITY AND CONDITION OF COINS. 
 
 Coins are rare according to the number issued, the degree 
 of rarity being governed by the quantity coined—as rare , 
 extremely rare , unique. 
 
 Of course there is but one issue of a unique coin; as per 
 example, the 1849 Double Eagle in the cabinet of the Mint, 
 there having been but a single piece of the twenty dollar issue 
 of 1849 coined. 
 
 There are other unique coins in the Mint Cabinet, the 
 fictitious value of which would reach, in some cases, over one 
 thousand dollars. 
 
 Extremely rare coins refer to those issued to a limited 
 number, say for instance the 1804 dollar, the 1802 half dime, 
 etc., where a dozen pieces embrace all that is known of those 
 issues. 
 
 A rare coin is represented by hundreds, as per example, 
 the 1793, 1799 and 1804 cents, etc. 
 
 Common dates of coins represent issues of tens and hun¬ 
 dreds of thousands of pieces, and are of no fictitious value, 
 unless in uncirculated or new condition. 
 
 Condition of Coins. 
 
 Proof condition designates a coin made expressly for col¬ 
 lectors, and other mints, to preserve our coinage in first-class 
 condition for posterity. Proof coins are made from dies pre¬ 
 pared expressly for the purpose, and are polished to a great 
 degree of brightness. The planchets are also prepared ex¬ 
 pressly for receiving the proof impressions, being highly 
 polished and otherwise prepared for sharp, even impressions. 
 There are usually proofs of all the annual coinages for dis¬ 
 tribution among the Numismatic Societies, collectors, and 
 mints of the world. 
 
 TJncircidated designates a coin struck from the ordinary 
 dies, being new and usually bright, but deprived of the mirror- 
 
THE UNITED STATES MINT. 
 
 179 
 
 like surface found on proof coins. Possessing a dead bright¬ 
 ness, an uncirculated coin is always known as distinct from 
 a proof coin, which latter always possesses a brilliant field. 
 
 Very fine appertains to a coin having a condition hut a 
 trifle below uncirculated, while the parts are sharp and but 
 little abraded; color ranging from dark to light. 
 
 Fine attaches to a well preserved, sharp, distinct coin, 
 although somewhat abraded, and some parts considerably 
 worn. 
 
 Good applies to a coin pretty well worn down in all parts, 
 but all impressions and legends readily seen on either side. 
 
 Fair and Poor apply to all other coins, and unless rare , 
 have no fictitious value. 
 
 The Mint does not engage to purchase coins generally; 
 there are a few excessively rare coins wanted to complete the 
 Mint Coin Cabinet. There are many reliable Coin Dealers 
 to whom the parties having coins for sale can apply; among 
 the number are: 
 
 Scott Stamp and Coin Co., 
 
 25 E. Twenty-third st., New York. 
 
 N. Y. Coin and Stamp Co., 
 
 853 Broadway, New York. 
 
 J. W. Scott, 
 
 35 Fulton st., New York. 
 
 H. B. Morey, 
 
 . 31 Exchange st., Boston, Mass. 
 
 J. C. Randall, 
 
 1905 Chestnut st., Philadelphia. 
 
 S. H. & H. Chapman, 
 
 1348 Pine st., Philadelphia. 
 
 Charles Steigerwalt, 
 
 130 E. King st., Lancaster, Pa. 
 
 Geo. W. Massamore, 
 
 Baltimore, Md. 
 
RARE COINS. 
 
 The following American Coins are all rare and command 
 premiums, when in fine state of preservation : 
 
 1793. 
 
 1794. 
 
 1795. 
 
 1796. 
 
 1797. 
 
 1793. 
 
 1794 
 
 1795. 
 
 1796. 
 
 1797. 
 
 1794 
 
 1795. 
 
 1796. 
 
 1797. 
 1801. 
 1802. 
 
 1794. 
 
 1795. 
 
 1796. 
 
 United States Cents. 
 
 $2 00 1799.. $5 00 1809.-. $ 86 
 
 25 1800.... 15 1811. 25 
 
 15 1804... 3 00 1813. 16 
 
 15 1805. 15 1856 Small nick’l, 
 
 . 10 1808. 10 Flying Eagle... 1 60 
 
 United States Half Cents. 
 
 . $ 75 1800. $ 5 1831. 
 
 20 1802... 60 1836. 
 
 15 1805. 5 1840 to 1848 
 
 . 6 00 1810. 5 1852.. 
 
 15 1811. 20 
 
 United States Silver Dollars. 
 
 .$20 00 1803. $1 20 1851 
 
 . 1 20 1804.200 00 1852 
 
 , 1 30 1836.... 4 00 1854 
 
 . 1 30 1838. 20 00 1855 
 
 . 1 20 1839. 12 00 1858 
 
 , 1 20 
 
 United States Silver Half Dollars. 
 
 $1 50 1797.$10 00 1815. $1 25 
 
 60 1801. 1 00 1836 reeded edge 1 00 
 
 10 00 1802. 1 50 1852.... 1 00 
 
 .$20 00 
 . 20 00 
 . 1 50 
 , 1 25 
 , 12 00 
 
 $2 50 
 
 3 50 
 3 00 
 2 00 
 
 United States Silver Quarter Dollars. 
 
 1796... $1 00 1815.. $ 40 1824... $ 60 
 
 1804.. 75 1823. 15 00 1827.„. 25 00 
 
 United States Dimes. 
 
 75 1802. $1 25 1809... $ 25 
 
 00 1803.. 1 00 1811.... 25 
 
 00 1804. 2 50 1822... 25 
 
 00 1805. 20 1846 -. 20 
 
 00 1807.... 20 
 
 United States Half Dimes. 
 
 75 1800. $ 40 1805.. $1 00 
 
 25 1801. 1 00 1846.-. 60 
 
 75 1802. 20 00 
 
 75 1803. 75 
 
 1877—5-cent nickel.$ 60 
 
 1877—3-cent nickel. 60 
 
 Gold Eagles—1795, 1796, 1797, 1798. 
 
 Gold Half Eagles—1795, 1796, 1797, 1798, 1815, 1819, 1822, 1824, 1826, 
 1826, 1827, 1828, 1829, 1831. 
 
 Gold Quarter Eagles—1796, 1797, 1798, 1802, 1804, 1805, 1806, 1807, 
 1808, 1821, 1824, 1825, 1826, 1827, 1829, 1830, 1831, 1832, 1833. 
 
 The above list was furnished by SCOTT STAMP AND COIN CO n 
 Limited, 12 East Twenty-third Street, New York, N. Y. 
 
 1796 . $ 
 
 1797 . 1 
 
 1798 . 1 
 
 1800. 1 
 
 1801.... 1 
 
 1794 ... $ 
 
 1795 ... 
 
 1796 .. 
 
 1797 ... 
 
-*NOTE TO THE VISITORS*- 
 
 OF THE 
 
 PHILADELPHIA MINT. 
 
 As tli re are many places of interest in “Penn s Favorite City,” the publisher 
 of this work would respectfully suggest that visitors, who have the leisure, should see 
 some of the well-known institutions of “The City of Brotherly Love.” Among the rare 
 places of interest, after the United States Mint, is 1st.—THE NEW PUBLIC BUILDINGS 
 (in same square),known as the NEW CITY HALL, the Largest and Finest in the World, 
 surpassing even the Capitol at Washington. 2d.—FAIRMOUNT PARK, the largest and 
 most beautiful public pleasure ground in the United States, embracing nearly three 
 thousand acres, on both sides of the Schuylkill River, from Fairmount Water Works to 
 Indian Rock, on the romantic Wissahickon. 3d.—GIRARD COLLEGE, where fourteen 
 hundred Orphan Boys are maintained, clothed, and educated through the bountiful 
 munificence of Philadelphia’s great benefactor, Stephen Girard. 4th.—WANA- 
 MAKER’S GREAT STORE, East of and almost adjoining the Mint. This immense 
 establishment (the largest of the kind in the world) has grown to such vast proportions 
 during the ] ast decade that we feel compelled to give it a brief notice, as it has 
 become one of the features of our city, and an object of interest to our visitors. The 
 building itself is unique; it occupies an entire square, viz.:—from Thirteenth to 
 Juniper and from Market to Chestnut Streets—entrance on each of the four streets. 
 The flooring space occupied in the interior, including first floor, basement, and galleries, 
 embraces more than sixteen acres, and all this immense space is occupied with such 
 goods as everybody, at some time in life, feels the necessity of purchasing. The general 
 arrangement and classification of goods from all nations (there being over fifty separate 
 and distinct departments), suggests a reproduction of the Main Building of our late 
 great Centennial Exposition, with the Department of Public Comfort added. One of 
 the great features of this Mammoth Bazaar is that visitors are made to feel at home, 
 «very provision being made for their convenience. There are commodious Retiring 
 and Reading Rooms on either floor. One’s Satchel and Parcels are checked without cost, 
 .and no one is importuned to purchase. Visitors will find it hard to resist the Tempting 
 Offers land Low Prices marked on the goods. 5th.—IN DEPEN DEN CE HALL, 
 (The Nation’s Birth-place) Chestnut Street between Fifth and Sixth Streets; National 
 Museum, in same building, containing many interesting relics of the Revolution and 
 of Washington’s Camp Life; The Old Liberty Bell hanging in the hallway leading 
 to Independence Square, where the Declaration of Independence was road to the 
 people, July 4tli, 177(5. (5th.—ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS, Broad Street (west side) 
 
 between Arch and Race street*, should be visited by all lovers of the Fine Arts. 
 7th.—The NEW MASONIC TEMPLE, Northeast corner Broad and Filbert streets. 
 Visiting days every Thursday. 8th.—The NEW POST OFFICE and U. S. COURT 
 BUILDING. This is one of the finest buildings of the kind in the country, and well 
 worthy of a visit; also, the NEW “RECORD” BUILDING, adjoining. 9t.h.—The 
 BURIAL PLACES OF BEN JAMIN and DEBORAH FRANKLIN can be seen at South¬ 
 east corner Fifth and Arch streets. 10th.—There are other notable places of interest 
 in the City of “Brotherly Love,” among which may be mentioned CARPENTERS’ 
 HALL, UNION LEAGUE, DEAF AND DUMB and BLIND ASYLUMS, LAUREL 
 HILL CEMETERY, PENNSLYVANIA and WILLS’ HOSPITALS, and the hundred 
 and one other benevolent institutions for which Philadelphia is iustlv celebrated. 
 
One Swallow 
 
 DON’T MAKE Summer." 
 
 When you have seen the Mint you 
 haven’t seen everything worth seeing 
 in this City, There’s another estab¬ 
 lishment here over whose threshold 
 enough men and women have passed 
 to make a fair-sized commonwealth. 
 The home of the Compound Oxygen 
 Treatment, 1529 Arch St. Every¬ 
 body welcome. Consultation free. 
 
 Compound Oxygen is shipped to all 
 parts of the World. It can be used 
 with full effect in the privacy of home. 
 
 A book of 200 pages will be sent entirely free of charge to any one. 
 This book contains the names, addresses and signed indorsements of many 
 well-knowr men and women. It’s worth reading. These patients do the 
 talking in its pages. Not Drs. Starkey & Paien. Evidence, lott of it. 
 Encouragement of fact. Yon can find these patients, and correspond with,or 
 call upon them. If yon want the book, 
 
 Address, 
 
 Drs. STARKEY & PALEN, 
 
 No. 1629 Arch Street, 
 
 PHILADELPHIA, PA. 
 
ELECTRO 'TINT ENGRAVING CO. 
 
 BRANCH OFFICE: 
 
 425 Temple Court 
 
 NEW YORK CITY: 
 
 ~OJ> Clvestlvvit St., 
 PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 ENGRAVINGS JN HALF-TONE FOR ALL ILLUSTRATIVE PURPOSED 
 THE ENGRAVINGS IN THIS BOOK ARE SPECIMENS OFOl/RWORK. 
 

 EOWARD B. HARPER, President 
 
 I^urnishes Life Insurance 
 at about one-half the 
 usual rates charged by 
 the old system com¬ 
 panies. 
 
 Why Pay JVIore ? 
 
 It is the insurance for 
 you and your 
 family. 
 
 It ^5 
 
 ( A Reserve Fund of over . 
 
 Paid Death Claims . . 
 
 ( In force, Policies amt’g to 
 
 . $3,000,000 
 $ 12 , 000,000 
 $ 220 , 000,000 
 
 YOU OUGHT TO BE IN IT. 
 
 INFORMATION GIVEN BY 
 
 SAMUEL W. WRAY, 
 
 Treasurer and Manaying Director 
 
 - -_ 
 
 PHILADELPHIA DEPARTMENT; 
 
 OFFICE, 119 S. FOURTH STREET, 
 
 PHILADELPHIA.