Relics.
Having referred to the portraits of the Directors of the 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 assorting 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 machinery 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 case 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 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.