'Fhe Royal Mint by G. F. A nsell DUKE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY t (Tp ''■l :^K< Ar ^'-*- 41 I'.: \> •!’!> v' '^''iJy ■ , ■. Sfc • i .#' '■ 1 I' '^r- * L f m » '*„■•■' V' ' V ' •' f «■ *1 M PREFACE TO THIRD EDITION. Influential friends have advised me to issue the present as the third edition of “ The Royal Mint ” on the ground that a Treatise on Coining which I wrote, at the request of Mr. Graham, for “ Tomlinson’s Cyclopaedia,” of which Mr. Tomlinson allowed me to have a hundred copies printed and bound separately for private circulation, was really the first edition of the more extended work I have recently published. The copies of that first edition were soon absorbed: indeed, owing to the fact that there is little literature in relation to the Royal Mint, I was flattered by foreign governments and foreign mints seeking from me copies of that book. Such applications gave me pleasure, and as far as I was able I complied with the requests preferred, except in the case of the Spanish mint, for which institution Mr. Graham asked of me a copy when, unfor¬ tunately, I had parted with the last at my disposal. I was further gratified by the fact that the Imperial Government of France sought permission to translate this book into French, with a view to give a copy to each workman in the mints of that nation. Under considerable pressure I re-wrote the book above spoken of for public use, but omitted to style it, as I should have done, the second edition. This, in its turn, w'as most kindly received by those whose opinions I value in both Houses of Parliament, as well as by those who understand in an especial degree the subject of which I treated; and I have reason to know that it has found its way to all, even the most distant, parts of the world. It was produced, but not replied to, by Ministers in both Houses of Parliament, and remains yet uncontradicted (see page 198); indeed, I may assume that it has been officially confirmed; for on the motion of the Right Honourable Lord Kinnaird, returns were made to the House of Lords, which are ver¬ batim copies of some of the most damaging pages in my book up to and inclusive of the dates then reached (see pages 91, 97, 102, 133, 135, 197-8). I say thus mueh in gratitude, for the subject I have chosen is one which could hardly have induced me to expect for it so generous a reception. I wrote it hoping only that the public would acquaint themselves with the manner in wRich one of the principal Depart¬ ments of the Government was and is conducted. Lord Kinnaird, in the letter which he has done me the honour to write, and permits me to print in these pages, expresses an opinion—one that is largely entertained—that ]\Ir. Fremantle and his fellow-travellers to European mints are greatly indebted to my books for the information on which they found th«ir opinions, as expressed in the reports on foreign mints. For their own sakes as well as for the benefit of the nation, I PREFACE TO THIRD EDITION. viii would that those gentlemen hail followed in their entirety my suggestions, because such a course would have enabled them to avoid those difficulties which beset them, and pitfolls into which they will stumble in the carrying out the designs expressed in these reports on European mints; these I will discuss in the fitting place, but here I desire to thank those gentlemen for such attention as they have given to my opinions. The leading newspapers and periodicals have reviewed or noticed the books in a kindly spirit, with but one exception, in which the writer without refuting one state¬ ment indulged in personalities. To those gentlemen of the Press who have spoken candidly and 'generously, I offer my best thanks. I have endeavoured to correct the faults they pointed out—unless, indeed, where principle was concerned; and, in deference to the expressed opinions of some of my reviewers, I, now that a new edition is called for, publish, by his Lordship’s authority, a letter which I wrote to Lord Kinnaird at his Lordship’s request, giving a history of my dissociation from the jNIint, in which, I hope, will be found evidence confirming the statements I make throughout the book. I do not attempt to disguise the fact that I consider myself to have been seriously wronged both by Mr. Thomas Graham and by the Treasury, still I consider, wisely or unwisely, that my personal grievances are of less interest to the public than is the principle involved. I, however, deem it right to invite attention now to the subject of my complaint,—fully set forth in the Appendix,—because it is illustrative of the treatment a public servant will surely receive if he should follow the intimation conveyed by the present Government, and, neglecting the fact of his own relative position, fulfil the duties of his office as he would do if the matter in hand were one of personal concern. The Government of the Right Honourable W. E. Gladstone, from their bench in the House of Commons, promised that if each in his especial sphere would faithfully fulfil the duties required in his department irrespective of his nominal position,” “such public servant should be duly rewarded:” — the Ministers might have added, and would have so added had they been candid, “ with immediate discomfort and by ultimate dismissal, and that justice would be sought at their hands by such public servant in vain ! ” The effect of a rule which obliges Ministers to support the “ head of a Department ” “ under any and all circumstances^' will be apparent to all evenly balanced minds ; and I from my own knowledge, without fear of contradiction—except, indeed, official denial, which is now so perfectly understood—state that the man who best succeeds in a Government office is he who does unreasoningly and undoubtingly just what he is told to do, and avoids giving offence to his superior officers by pointing out any irregularity or improvement. Upon the publication by Mr. Thomas Graham of the malevolent report he had written to the Treasury, I, when that fact was made known to me, obtained a high opinion, and in pursuance of advice then given, it was my intention to proceed by action at law against Mr. Graham for libel, but his early death made that step impossible. PREFACE TO THIRD EDITION. IX ■With regard to the publication of the correspondence, it is right that I should say that Lord Kinnaird had not intended to draw attention to my case ; but, when his Lordship found that the Marquess of Lansdowne and His Grace the Duke of Argyll led off against me in the House of Lords, as the liight Honourable Hobert Lowe had done most bitterly in the House of Commons on the previous Friday, he with great generosity threw off the natural reluctance he had entertained to hurting the feelings of Mr. Graham’s friends, and defended me with words and documents so nobly that I can never sufficiently thank his Lordship, or fittingly acknowledge the indebtedness I thereby incurred. To Mr. Lowe, Lord Lansdowne, and the Duke of Argyll must be attributed any pain which may arise to the friends of Mr. Graham, for Lord Kinnaird desired to spare them ; for myself, however, I would say that if either of the Ministers named had obligingly pointed out any presumedly false statement contained in the book which has so far excited their anger, and proved its untruthfulness, instead of saying hard words of the Author, I should have been less mindful of the sage instructions given on a celebrated occasion to an eminent Advocate, “ It is a weak case, bully the counsel.” Some of my readers will perhaps consider that the following pages are overlaid with a strong personal feeling, and may therefore feel disposed to lay the book aside. To such I would remark that it is impossible to follow a pursuit of any kind earnestly, unless it be made a matter of undivided interest. Besides, it must not be forgotten that I was invited to go to the Mint solely on the ground of my^ known determination to resist abuses. Having devoted fifteen years to the subject of the Mint, it is not to be supposed that I can view its mismanagement with less concern now than I did when selected for appointment to that Department, that I might repress irregularities which were then known to exist, and which appear tt) have been as yet uneradicated. With such remarks, I invite a perusal of my new edition by such members of the legislature as are really desirous of reforming the abuses which exist in the Royal Mint. b • t 'v.V I (-- . » .,11 \r ' ■ I •v f'• I \ • f T/ V ^ . ■«v-w'"..»». i.' ■• T. . . ^ ■ ■•* ■- •! > -i-=?r * ' i ’ ■ '. ' ‘f ■."T ■.1. r^v * A»' PREFATORY LETTER TO THE FIRST EDITION. TO THOMAS GRAHAM, ESQ., F.R.S., MASTER OF THE MINT, ETC. ETC. Sir, I have written a short article for “ Tomlinson’s Cyclopaedia,” for the purpose of explaining (as far as the limited space at my disposal would allow) some of the details of the process of Coining, and by permission of Mr. Tomlinson I am allowed to have a few copies of that article printed separately for private circulation. I take advantage of this opportunity to acknowledge most gratefully that the information I have been so fortunate as to obtain on the subject of Coining has been gained in consequence of the opportunities you have afforded me in my position in the Royal Mint. With heart-felt thanks for the privileges you have accorded me, and for the support you have given me, I beg to remain. Sir, Your most faithful servant, GEO. F. ANSELL. Royal Mint, Aiifiust, 1862. PREFATORY LETTER lO THE SECOND EDITION. 27, Bernard Street, Russell Square, London, W.C., Xoveniber 8th, 18(19. My Loed, I have ventured to ask permission to dedicate this book to your Lord- shij), as a mark of my sense of tlie great kindnesses yon have been pleased to show to me through a series of years. As you, my Lord, will perhaps permit me to remind you, generous efforts have been made by many with a view to reinstate me in a position of which they and yoi^ consider me to have been unjustly deprived—an opinion, 1 believe, your Lordship has formed from a knowledge of all the facts. The recent death of Mr. Thomas Graham puts an end to any personal feeling between him and myself, whoever was right or whoever was wrong, or even if there were faults on both sides, the matters which caused a severance are better forgotten—our differences are beyond human adjustment. The information I have attempted to give in the following pages is given solely with a view to throw as much light as is possible upon a subject which is now attracting very considerable attention, and which has become of national importance. It will be to me a great pleasure if I may thus express the gratitude I feel for the valuable assistance I have received from your Lordshij) during a time of great trial and anxiety. I have the honour to be. My Lord, Your Lordship’s most faithfully obliged and humble servant, GEORGE F. ANSELL. To the Right Hon. Lord Kinnaird, K.T., F.R.G.S., Lord-Lieutenant of Perthshire, &c. See. Sec. ♦ t f >,«ti . J , ' ■ ' I . t U, ‘ M -w '■* __ '”- vv' :..; ■ ■,..,> ■ f i>*y;V^jrT^f ■ .* , * t • - ^ra 9 ^ j; jv^W if, •*; ;,-■> '■»"^lk' • in.v’'v, .If PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION. Perhaps it will be well that I should give a brief outline of the circumstances antecedent to and attending my association with the Royal Mint, because the facts and opinions which will be given in the following pages appear to require such a notice, that their worth or worthlessness may be estimated at its true value, as well as that the sources of my information, and the modes of obtaining it, may be in the hands of my readers. In the early part of the year 1856 the Master of the Mint found himself so beset with difficulties arising from irregularities committed by those who should have supported him, that he formed a determination to engage a person who should bo indisputably a faithful and intelligent officer in the Coining Department, and who at the same time had sufficient personal influence to check those irregularities which he knew were taking place, but which were beyond his personal supervision. These irregularities were known to the Government of that period, and had caused so A’ast an expense that that Government, which was presided over by Lord Palmerston, had intimated to the Master, that unless the Mint could be conducted more satisfactorily and economically, it woidd be broken up as an Imperial establishment, and thus necessitate the placing of the coinage in the hands of contractors. With this view papers were printed and issued to various firms; but Mr. Graham, being very sincere and energetic in his desire to so conduct the Mint as that this necessity should not arise, sought the advice of engineers and others, with a view to finding such a man as combined within himself the qualities which he saw to be necessaiy. Finally, by the advice of Dr. A. W. Dofmann, he called upon me at my residence in October, 1856, and related to me in detail the facts above alluded to, and explained precisely the position of affairs at the Mint, giving me the names of the troublesome persons, and showing his own position to be so intolerable, that without some one on whom he could rely, it woxdd be impossible for him to continue his Mastership. iMr. Graham then proceeded to tell me what had passed between Dr. Hofmann and himself as to my fitness for the work required, and explained clearly the impossibility of placing me in a secure position or in high office at first, b’ut that if I would accept a supernumerary clerkship temporarily, he would, when I had efiected the object of his desires, advise my promotion to the office then held by Mr. M . T. Erande, when that office should become vacant. With this understanding I agreed to accept the position proposed if duly appointed ; but that I might be able to XVI PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. carry out such reforms as were necessary, I insisted on sufficient power being given to me by himself or by the Government. In pursuance of this agreement, Mr; Graliam reeoimuended my appointment in a letter to the Treasmy, dated 29th October, 1856, in the following terms :— “ I desired to introduce a young man, recommended by scientific and technical information available in coining, by energy of character, and by tried ability in the supervision of workmen—a faculty by no means common. After applying to Mr. M'illiam Fairbairn and to Mr. George Rennie, who both recommended candidates, and making inquiry in various other quarters, I have beeii led to propose the name of Mr. George Frederick Ansell as temporary clerk. Mr. Ansell was educated under Dr. Ilofmann, and acted for some years as his laboratory assistant. He has since been Scientific DEector in the Panopticon, Leicester Square, which was lately broken up. lie apjjears to be a person of superior education and ability, and great activitj^ and vigour of character, and, as I have been assured, has shown much discretion in the nranagement of both pupils and workmen.” In accordance with this recommendation I was appointed to a supernumerary clerkship, and took office in the Rolling Room of the Royal Mint; but before doing so I particularly inquired of Mr. Graham, in the presence of Mr. W. H. Barton, the then Deputy-Master, what authority I should have, and how far I should be supported if I attempted to enforce obedience, and whether I was at liberty to call for statements and examine original documents and books. He verbally authorised me to examine such books as I wi.shed to examine, and desired Mr. Barton to give me such statements or information as I might ask for ; and as to my authority, he said, “ If you order the men to dance a hornpipe on the table, they shall do it, and all orders shall pass through your hands.” With such power, and a salary of £120 a year, or rather £10 a month, I took office on the 12th November, 1856. My personal experience of men and manners in the Mint is recorded in another book, but in this I feel it right to adhere rigidly to explanations of the processes of coining, and to treat of the expense and loss attending the manipulation of the precious metals; and in the latter pages I will demon,strate what formerly was, and what should be, the cost of producing a coined .sovereign, each statement being the result of actual experience, and capable of proof. THE ROYAL MINT. Coining is the term applied to the processes employed in the manufacture of money. It is proposed to describe the present mode of mannfiicture; hut it may be as well to state, that in remote periods money was made by cutting out a piece of metal somewhat of the form of the intended coin, and imparting the device to it by the blow of a sledge-hammer. For this purpose the blank piece of metal was laid njion a die, say the obverse, fixed into a block of wood or stone, supposed to have been so large as to absorb the vibration caused by the blow, and to a great extent prevent the quivering which would naturally arise, and cause unsteadiness. The workman then took the other die, say the reverse, and passing it through a folded sheet of lead, in order to avoid the shock to the hand, he placed the engraved part on the blank, which was resting on the lower die, and held it firmly while another workman struck it with a sledge-hammer. It is worthy of remark that a piece of lead such as that described is in the Museum of Dies at the Eoyal Mint; and although its surface, by the action of the atmosphere and other causes, is now converted into carbonate of lead, in¬ dentations caused by the tips of the workman’s fingers are evident. This piece is believed to have been used with a die of Edward lY. At a later period the upper die was held in a twisted hazel stick. After each blow the dies were what is technically termed locked together; that is, the lower and upper dies were made to fit into the partly-formed coin, so that neither die could turn without turning the whole mass, and then a second or third blow was given, till the coin was completed. An improvement on this method was effected bj^ fitting the two dies into rods of iron, which may be represented as a pair of tongs; the fiat parts which are used to take a coal would then be tlie position occupied by the dies. This plan saved the operator some risk of bruised fingers, but the process was essentially the same as the original one; and to money produced by either means was applic'd the term luimmered money, in contra¬ distinction to milled money ; that is, money which was made from blanks obtained from fillets which liad becai rolled in a very rough kind of rolling mill, driven by horse power—the germ from which sprang the present .V THE ROYAL MINT. luaohiuery. On this point it is perhaps of interest to qnote a passage from the Report made to the Lords of the Treasury in 1695 by Mr. William Lowndes, who says:—“All the monej^s we have now in England, both gold and silver, are reducible to two sorts, one stamped with the hammer, and the other pressed with an engine called the mill. The gold or silver of the hammered money is first cast from the melting-pot into long bars, those bars are ent with shears into several square pieces of exact weight for sovereigns, angels, crowns, half-crowns, shillings, &c. Then with tongs and hammer they are forged into a round shape, after which they are blanched (that is, made white or refulgent by ncaling or boiling), and afterwards stampt or impressed with an hammer to make them perfect money. This method of making money with the hammer (as appears in the said red book) was practised in the reign of King Edward the first ” [the book referred to is in the Exchequer] .... “ and this kind of hammered money continued throngh all the reigns of succeeding Kings and Queens till about the year of our Lord 1663, when by several warrants and command of the King, Charles the Second : to wit, by one warrant, dated the fifth of Kovember, 1662 ; one warrant, dated the eighth of April, 1663; and a third warrant, dated the twenty-fourth of December, 1663; the other sort, called milled money^ was fii’st fabricated to be current in England in this manner : first, the gold or silver is cast out of the melting-pot into long flat bars, which bars are drawn through a mill (wrought by a horse), to produce the just thiclmess of guineas, half-guineas, crowns, half-crowns, shillings, &c. Then with forcible engines called cutters^ which answer exactly to the respective sizes or dimensions of the money to be made, the round pieces are cut out from the flat bar, shaped as aforesaid (the residue whereof, called sizel, is melted again), and then every piece is weighed and made to agree exactly with the intended weight, and afterwards carried to other engines (wrought secretly), which put the letters upon the edges of the larger silver pieces, and mark the edges of the rest with a graining. The next thing is the blanching, performed as above; and at last every piece is brought to the press? which is called the mill (wrought of the strength of men), and there receives the impression, which makes it perfect milled money.” The processes now used are as elaborate as the old methods were simple ; but considering the requirements of the present day, and the enormous quantity of money produced, it must not be expected that our coins will, for depth of engraving, bear comparison with those of the Romans, who, though succeeding in producing finished works of art, seem to have forgotten the wear and tear to which they would be subjected, and so left them, as a rule, free from a protecting edge ; hence they would lose their image and superscription at a far earlier date from their birth or manufacture than would well-made coins of the present period. THE ROYAL MINT. 3 It was formerly believed that gold could bo sent to the Mint to bo coined free of charge to the importer ; such, however, was not the case. I3y the Act 33 Victoria, cap. 10, several Acts relating to the coinage are repealed, and all persons * obtain the right to send gold to the Mint to be coined on the following terms :— “ 8. Where any person brings to the Mint any gold bullion, such bullion shall be assayed and coined, and delivered out to such person, without any charges for such assay or coining, or for waste in coinage. Provided that (1) — If the fineness of the whole of the bullion so brought to the Mint is such that it cannot be brought to the standard fineness under this Act of the coin to be coined thereout without refining some portion of it, the Master of the Mint may refuse to receive, assay, or coin such bullion. (2) Where the bullion so brought to the Mint is finer than the standard fineness under this Act of the coin to be coined thereout, there shall be delivered to the person bringing the same such additional amount of coin as is proportionate to such superior fineness. No undue preference shall be shown to any person under this section, and every person shall have priority according to the time at which he brought such bullion to the Mint.” The standard for gold is fixed by tlie now Act at “ Twenty-two carats fine and two carats of alloy in the pound weiglit troy ”—the same that was specified in the 3rd Edward VI., 35tli Elizabeth, 2nd Charles I., and 18th Charles II. Silver is maintained at the former standard of “ Eleven ounces two pennyweights fine silver and eighteen pennyweights of alloy in every pound weight troy.” Entil the passing of this Act silver was coined under that of George III., which repealed the Act 18 Charles II., as regards the coining of silver free of charge. The Act 33 Victoria, caji. 10, repeals that of George III., but fails to make provision for the coining of silver, which is therefore now coined nnder the Common Law ; yet the new Act specifics the weight and fineness of the silver coinage. The omission was made because the Chancellor of the Exchequer thought it “ unfair to introduce silver to this Act as it is a soiu'cc of revenue a little later I will examine this statement.t The Lank of England is practically the only “ importer ” of bullion to the IMiiit, and by coinage makes a considerable profit merely Ironi its exceptional circumstances. By its charter and by Act of Barliament it is compelled to keep a stock of bullion equivalent to the excess of its authorised issue of notes—such authorised issue being secured by “Government debt” and “other securities”—which at the present time is fifteen millions; and gold, when at the Mint for coining, is esteemed as being still at the Bank. By the Act 7 and 8 Victoria, cap. 32, section 4, the Bank of England is compelled to purchase bullion, previously melted and assayed at the cost of the selloi-, at the rate of £3 17^. Of/, per ounce of standard gold, paying for it in Bank of England notes. Assuming that all the gold thus purchased is coined, the Bank makes a profit f of about £2,000 on each million. AVhen its authorities desire to coin gold they give notice at the IMiut, and subsequently send at stated intervals “importations” of say 200 ingots of gold, each weighing about 180 ounces, and previously assayed. Epon * See page 109. f See pages 120, 144—150. t See pages 120-127, 108. B 4 THE ROYAL MINT. the arrival of these ingots at the Mint, tliC)?- arc taken to an office, where, in tlie presence of an officer from tlic Bank of England, a small piece is ent from each ingot, and hammered ont into a kind of strip. This piece is then put into a pa]ier marked with a letter which corresponds with the mark or letter on the individual ingot from which it was taken. This having been effected for each ingot, tlic pieces are forwarded with their respective ingots to the Mint Office, where their weight is determined and compared with that charged by the Bank of England. The pieces which have been hammered ont and placed in a marked packet arc called the “assay pieces.” The assay pieces are sent to the resident assaycr in the Mint, who estimates and reports to the Master the amount of pure gold in each ingot. The report of the resident assayer is then submitted to the Bank authorities, and if they find it to agree with their omi assayer’s report, the ingots are retained for operations in the Mint. When it is desired to get the ingots of gold into a form fit for coining, they have to be alloyed with copper, or fine gold mnst be added, so as to bring them to stan¬ dard or crown gold, which consists of 22 parts of pure gold and 2 parts of alloy, or 91-GG’ per cent, of gold and 8-33' per cent, of copper in 100 parts. Copper is usually employed because it is cheaper, and forms a harder alloy than silver. Supposing tliere are 100 ingots, having a total weight of 18,000 oz., and by assay it has been found that they contain 17,900 oz. of pure gold, it is required to bring them to the standard fixed by law. A rule-of-three sum tells how much alloy or how much gold is to be added. So, if 22 parts of pure gold require 2 parts of alloy, how much alloy will 17,900 parts require ? The fourth term of the following proportion, viz., as 22 : 2 : : 17,900 : 1,G27‘027, will show how much is to be added; but since there are already 100 oz. of alloy present, as indicated by the fact that 18,000 oz. contain within themselves only 17,900 oz. of pure gold, it is only necessary to add the excess required, viz., 1,*527‘027, so that these 100 ingots will produce 19,627'027 oz, of standard gold. Had the ingots been found to contain more alloy than is required, it would have been necessary to add so much pure gold as would have rendered the Avhole standard. The proportions of the metals having been, determined, the whole mass is divided so as to make about 1,200 oz, of gold and alloy for each melting-pot. In practice it is customary to take the estimated amount of gold in a given number of ingots, and add so much alloy, or so much j)ure gold, as shall bring those ingots to standard, the Avhole weight being generally al)Out 1,200 oz.; this is q,i\\\(h\. potting ingots. Ingots are almost invariably melted, and cast into bars for sovereigns. I must here mention that the various illustrations I have introduced Averc originally used for the article “ Coixixo” in Tomlinson’s “ CvcLOPiEDiA,” and the permission to use them here has been generously granted to me by IMessks. Yiutue and Co., avIiosc property they are. THE ROYAL MINT. 5 Ill the illustrative engravings, the initial letters used to indicate the different parts arc made to take their places in accordance with the order in which the various parts of the machine under description come into play, so that by tracing out the alphabet in any figure, the reader will see the con¬ secutive action of the parts of the machine he is studying. Fig. 1 rejiresents the arrangements for melting the ingots with their alloy, for producing standard gold. In the Mint there are seven furnaces; each furnace, A, is 12 inches square and 24 inches deep to the top of the bars, which arc seen at the ash-pit B. The pot 0 is made of a mixture of Stourbridge clay and plumbago, hence called ^ plimibago pot; it is Of inches deep, and 7 inches across at the top inside. The pot, previously aunealed, is placed in the furnace on a bottom which stands upon the two centre bars. The bottom is intended to shelter the base of the pot C from the stream of air which is necessary to the combustion of the fuel, but which would damage the jiot. The pot is then covered by its muffle and lid, and surrounded by fuel, whicli, as it burns up. Fig. 1.— Guld Melting. warms and then heats the pot to redness, but so gradually that there is no great risk of breaking the pot. 'When the pot has become of a full red heat, the ingots tire carefully placed in it, and the alloy is added by means of the funnel I : the pot is then covered up, and allowed to remain till the whole mass of metal has liquefied. The foreman then stirs it with a rod made of the same substance as the pot, and allows it to remain till the fluid mass has reached a peculiar tempcratm-c, knovui by experience as that at which the metal, when poured into a mould, forms the most solid and workable bar. This temperature having been gained, the two outside bars at B are removed, the ash-pit is then covered to protect the men’s feet, and the firing poked out. The lid and muffle are next removed from the pot, and the pot lifted by an assistant from the furnace by the crane D. The foreman then conveys the pot C, by means 6 THE ROYAL MINT. of a pair of tongs clasp it, to tlie frame of moulds, Avlien au assistant brings forward a loop of ii-on, suspended by a cliain and cord from tlie roof of the building, and passing the loop of iron over a button on the end of the lower clamp of tlie tongs, as shown at E, E, supports the weight of the pot by the cord, as indicated at G. Previously to the melting, pieces of charcoal are placed at the bottom of the pot for the purpose of rediiciug any oxide that may be present in the alloy—and Dr. Percy has found that copper can dissolve 13 AO per cent, of oxide of copper^—^bccause oxide of copper, when dissolved in standard gold, frequently renders the mass so brittle that when the bars produced are passed between the rollers they crack and break, just as does gold containing minute quantities of lead or zinc. The influence of oxide of copper on standard gold was thus very marked in 1859, when a large proportion of the gold was so brittle, that if a bar were dropped on the floor, or tapped with a hammer, it broke, just as heated brass breaks under similar circuinstances. Mr. Richard Smith had some years since pointed ont that if copper in which oxide of copper is dissolved be jDOined through an atmosphere of coal gas, all the oxide is reduced. I therefore submitted this gold to the process thus suggested to reduce all the oxide of copper, and produced bars so tough that they could not be broken by a sledge hammer unless after repeated bending by that means. Yet this gold was not thus cured of its brittleness, but was treated peculiarly, as "will be seen in a future place. MTieu the metal is fused, the charcoal which was placed at the bottom is brought to the surface by stirring, and as it rises through the fluid alloy, reduces the oxide of copper, and remains on the surface to protect the alloy from the action of atmospheric oxygen. In order to prevent it from falling into the monlds, the assistant holds a piece of stick at the month of the pot, thus allowing the gold to pass, but stopping the charcoal. The foreman, in the case of gold, judges almost wholly by the eye, but in the case of silver by the ear, as to when the moulds are filled. The metal poured from each pot forms four bars. The moulds H are made of iron, cast into such a form that each piece viewed from the top has the form of the letter T, so that three pieces placed together form two moulds; the whole of the set is held in its position by cross-bars, L, which fit into notches cut in the main frame M, where will be seen two powerful screws by wliich the moulds are forced tightly together after the cross-bars L are fixed. J rej)resents the pots placed so as to be kept dry and ready for use; K, the wheels and tram on which the frame of moulds runs. The whole of the set of moulds having been filled, the screws at M are loosened, the bars, L, removed, and the parts of the several moulds removed, so that the bar in each mould is exposed to view. The workman takes each bar as it is exposed by a pair of tongs, and plunges it into a cistern of cold water to insure rapid * See pages 50—53. THE ROYAL MINT. 7 cooliug, and then places it on a bench, where the bars produced from each pot are separated and marked with a number, to indicate the pot from which they were poured, and the entire set with letters, to indicate the day on which the melting took place. After these distinctive marks have been placed on the bars, two assay pieces are taken from the bars from each pot. As silver melting,* when discreetly conducted, is slightly different in some of its details, it will be well to describe it here. In Tig. 2, A indicates the furnace with the front removed, to exhibit the internal arrangements. The furnace is circular, and is 21A inches across, and 31 inches deep. The bars, which are represented by dotted lines, are removable at will. The bottom B stands on the centre bars, just as in the case of gold melting: it is filled with coke dust, which retains any silver issuing from a small accidental crack or pin-hole in the pot, and also offers a non-conducting medimn for the pot C to rest upon, it being necessary to avoid the abstraction of heat by the current of air against the base of the pot. A ninffie, D, is placed on the pot, and upon this mufile the lid E rests. The pot is circular, and provided with a lip, to facilitate the pouring of the metal; it is made of wrought iron, 12 inches across at the top, and 15 inches deep, and when melting for florins is charged with 4,800 ounces * See pages 129—138. 8 THE ROYAL I\[INT. of silver. As in the ease of gold, so 'with silver, the metal is alloyed 'with copper; standard silver being composed of 222 parts of pnre silver and 18 parts of coi)per in 240 parts, or 92-50 parts of silver and 7-50 of copper in 100 parts.* The calcnlations based on the assays from ingots are jnst the same as in the case of gold. The ingots are pnt into the pot, and the lid is placed on the mntlle (’which is intended to prevent metal from falling over the top of the pot during the process of fusion, as sometimes might happen ■when scissel'f is melted), and the furnace is then closed, so that the air enters tlu’ongh the bars, and passes into the chimney through the flue F. The lid of the furnace G is provided 'with peep-holes, by ■which the temperature can be regulated at will, Avhile they also admit of a survey of the state of the furnace. When the fusion is complete, and carried so far as to raise the fluid metal to the necessary temperatm-e, the bars of the furnace, 'with the exception of those ■which support the pot, are removed, and the fuel is poked out, because the pot at this temperature is so soft that it would be torn if it were pulled through the fuel. The lid and muffle are next taken off by tongs, and the crane is swung round by the handle, H, till its tongs are brought over the fm-nace, when, by working the handle I, the tongs J are lowered till they come to the pot; the foreman then makes them seize the pot, and by a signal gives his order for the raising of the pot from the furnace. Pieces of fuel and iron scaling are knocked off from the pot by the foreman with a brush kept in a crucible of water, indicated by Y at the foot of the crane. The crane is then s-wiing round by H, till the pot is over the cradle K, when it is lowered and secured in the cradle by the screw, shown at O'. The frame of moulds is now run under the lip of the pot, and the foreman, by means of the handle L, which will be seen to communicate with the wheels M, and the rack N, tilts the pot so that the fluid metal may pour in a good stream into one of the moulds 0, until, by the sound, he judges it to be full; he then lowers the pot, while his assistant, who is also watching the filling of the moulds, turns the handle P, which, by the wheel Q fitting into the rack E, moves forward the frame of moulds so far as to allow another mould to come beneath the lip of the pot, to be filled as before. The fluid silver in the melting-pot is covered Avith charcoal, for the same reason as explained in gold melting, and this is kept back by means of a large piece of charcoal laid at the mouth of the melting-pot. The frame of moulds runs on Avheels S, and at T is provided with a rack and pinion, by Avhich the moulds may be moved farther from or nearer to the lip of the pot, which, as it is tilted, is continually altering its relative position to the mouth of the moulds, and would, were it not for this arrangement, pour its metal outside of, or upon the moulds, instead of into them. The moulds are formed of T pieces, in the same manner as the moulds for gold, and are secured in their position by the same method, the cross-bars * See pages 3, 73. f This word is explained at page 35. THE ROYAL MINT. 9 being shown at U. The bars, having been taken from the moulds, are cooled ill water, and distinctively marked, as in the case of gold. Assay pieces are cut from them, but in the case of silver three assays are taken from the bars produced from each pot. The bars for different denominations of coins are proportioned in their width, so as to admit of two rows of blanks being cut from the fillets produced from them. The following statement gives the whole facts concerning bars for each coin, as used in the Royal Mint. It would be well to produce bars of a uniform thickness of GAO inch, as such bars may be cast solid, and when cast produce better fillets with half the rolling, without the cost of annealing. There would be also another advantage, for the blanks obtained from the fillets produced from bars 0-50 inch thick wonld^not require annealing, and would thus save the cost of that process, as well as the loss occasioned by it, while the coins produced would wear immeasurably longer in circulation. There are other considerations why this thickness should be at once adopted, as will be shown Avlien the subject of loss by coining is explained. I am glad to notice that Mr. rremantle, in his Report on European Mints, proposes to adopt my recommendation, as shown by the following passage, page 9 :— “ .... It would seem to be a question whether in a newly organised Mint considerable time and labour might not be saved by reducing the size of the moulds in which both gold and silver bars are cast. The result would be that, as bars would be thinner when first subjected to the process of rolling, the time now occupied by that process would be sensibly diminished. It should also be mentioned that although there is great dilhculty in producing sound castings if the thickness of the bars should be reduced, it might nevertheless, for the metallurgical reasons which Mr. Koberts points out, be advisable to make tbis alteration.” There is really no “ difficiiUi/ in producing sound castings if the thickness should be reduced but I fear there are many difficulties in the Royal Mint itself Indeed the casting of the bronze bars—whose thickness is less than that I propose for those of gold—gives evidence of the ease with which thinner bars may be produced; yet against these, insuperable difjiculties were urged until I experimentally demonstrated how easily they could be cast. Statement of Particulars as reg.ards Bars used for Coining. Metal. Denomination of intended coin. Lengdi. Breadth. Thickness. Average Weight. Inches. Inches. Inches. Troy oz. Gold . . • Sovereign .... Half-Sovereign . 2t 1-875 1-125 1-000 1-000 820 250 ' Crown. 22 2-750 1-000 800 • Half-Crown .... 22 2-500 1-000 240 Florin. 21 2-125 1-000 220 Silver . . ■ Sbilling. 21 1-487 1-000 150 Sixpence .... 21 1-125 1-000 120 Fourpence .... 21 0-875 1-000 i)0 Threepence .... 21 0-875 1-000 00 Penny . 21 2-500 0-875 100 Bronze Halfpenny . . 24 8-000 0-875 117 Farthing. 24 8-000 0-875 117 TO THE ROYAL MINT. It is to 1)0 rogTettcd that cro’wiis, half-crowns, and fonrpeiices are no longer coined. It has hcen represented to me hy many mannfiictnrcrs and others Avho employ vast nmnhcrs of men, that the disuse of the fourpenuy piece has caused considcrahlc inconvenience in the weekly payments to their workpeople. Tiie ohjcction to this coin would appear to he that it is so nearly the diameter of the threepenny piece; hut tliis is obviated by the fact tliat the edge of the latter is plain, while that of the foimpenny is crenated or “ milled.” The assay pieces,* when cut from the bars, are placed in the divisions of a tray going from left to right, so that there can be no mistake as to the number of the pot from which the metal comes; each assay piece is then placed in a small envelope, marked v'ith a distinctive mark, to characterise the pot from which it came. The assay pieces are sent in equal numbers to the two non-resident assayers, who determine, irrespectively of each other, the amount of gold fonnd in each piece. Suppose we trace one assay piece, and imagine that 120 are undergoing the same process at the same time. The assay piece is flattened out into a kind of ribbon, and from it tlmee pieces are ent, each weighing half a gramme. Each piece of this weight takes the name of a tliousanJ^ and is represented bj^ the flgures 1,000 ; but of course it may be called a pound, a ton, or by any other denomination. Each piece is wrapped in paper, with thi-ee times its weight of silver in two pieces, both metals being of the same thick¬ ness. The parcels, as they may now be called, are ready for the next process, and are arranged in their proper places from left to right in the divisions of a tray, and taken to the assaying furnace. In the assaying finnace is placed a Payent rnutfle, or kind of oven, perforated at places so as to allow a limited amount of atmosjiheric air to pass from the interior through its sides into the finnace. The mnffle is surrounded wdth fuel, so that it is kept at a good —almost wdiite—heat. On the floor of the muffle is sprinkled some bone ash —obtained by binning bones to whiteness—and on this bone ash is placed a set of 40 cupels, or little cups, made of compressed bone ash, and about as big as a florin, and so deep as to hold about half a teaspoonful of water. When the cupels have been in the muffle long enough to become red hot, a piece of lead of about nine times the weight of the gold to be assayed is put into each cupel, taking care not to let any lead fall over, or it would destroy the muffle. So soon as the lead has melted, the paper parcels containing the gold and the silver are placed one in each cupel of melted lead. In a short time the gold and silver melt together, and, as it were, dissolve in the lead; then a kind of circulation of the fluid metallic mixture is observed to take place; and during this cii’culation, the lead, as it is presented to the surface, meets with the oxygen of the atmosphere, and combining with it, forms oxide of lead, which See pages 9, 53. i That is, made by Payen, of Paris. THE ROYAL MINT. 11 at that teinperatui’G is fluid, and drains into the substance of tlie cupel, carry¬ ing with it the copper and other inq^m-itics contained originally in the gold, leaving in the cupel a button which contains all the pure gold and the silver. The cupellation occupies about ten minutes, and at the end of that time the little mass of fused metal is observed to brighten uj), the signal by which the assayer knows that the process is finished, and he withdraws the cupels one by one, tilting the fluid globule on one side, that it may incorporate with it any small globule which may chance to be upon the side of the cupel. Some assayers close the doorway of their muffles as the time of the brightening up of the assay approaches, to avoid the access of the atmosphere till the buttons have become solid, because the button of metal—by its silver—absorbs oxygen ; and giving off this oxygen at the moment of solidification, spurts or opens, leaving the button hollow or ragged. This precaution is not thought necessary by all assayers, nor, indeed, is this system invariably followed, for some prefer to wraj) the gold and silver in the lead foil which is to be used, and do not care to have the precious metals of identical thickness ; these assayers use a smaller proportion of silver, viz., 15 parts to G of standard gold, or 1T’5() to that which they judge to be fine, with a view to avoid the danger of “ spurting; ” they also save time by withdrawing the whole batch of cupels ou a tray by means of a peel. The button is taken from the cupel as soon as it has been detached, either by dropping a little water on to it, or by allowing it to cool spontaneously, and it is then hammered ont into a strip and annealed. It is next rolled into a ribbon or fillet, and again annealed, after which it is curled up into the form of a letter S. Some prefer to roll the piece into a kind of cushion, but in such a case it is more difflcult to remove all the silver; the proper plan is to expose as large a surface as possible to the action of the acid in the next operation. The S-shaped fillet is put into a flask of nitric acid of specific gravity 1-23, and the flask is placed in a little cup of brass, which stands over a small gas-burner, while the neck of the flask enters a kind of fine, tlu’ongh which a current of air is continually passing into the chimney of the furnace. The flask being placed in its position, the gas is lighted, and a gentle heat applied, when the nitric acid dissolves out the silver from the S-shaped fillet, and is knovni to have done its work when red fumes cease to bo evolved. The acid is then poured off, and the remaining sponge of metal is washed with distilled water, and boiled with concentrated nitric acid, which removes the remainder of the silver. The sponge of gold is now washed with water, to remove the nitrate of silver, and is then heated to redness in a capsidc to render it tough, for in its spongy state it is so rotten that it will not bear to be touched; and although it remains spongy, it is toughened by being heated to redness. It is now called a cornet. This spongy state is a consequence of the addition of c THE ROYAL MINT. I 2 silver, tlic presence of wliicli, and its subsequent removal, produce a separation of the particles of the gold. The gold is tlins formed into a kind of network or sponge, so that the acid can get at every part of it, and remove any metal which is soluble in the acid. Diluted acid is used first, because if there be any lead left it is dissolved out, and because the action of the strong acid is so violent, that part of it would probably be carried out from the flask. Nitric acid, when boiling, is liable to form bubbles of gas, which expanding, give rise to what is called lumping ; hence it is usual to put a charred pea into the flask, and this, floating on the surface, causes a more even flow of vapour and gases, and so prevents bumping. It is probable that the charred pea deter¬ mines the boiling at one particular temperature, for it is found that water, if it be floated ui a fluid of a higher boiling point than itself, may be raised con¬ siderably above its ordmary boiling point, although remaining quiescent till distm’bed by a rod or point. The cornet is next weighed, and as it has been begun under the idea that it was a thousand —1,000—all that it weighs short of 1,000 is the alloy which has been removed, the object having been to deter¬ mine how much pure gold was present in the alloy. There is, however, a source of error in the process which requires to be explained. It is found to be practically impossible to remove every trace of silver from the cornet; it is therefore necessary to make an allowance, the amount of which is determined by a proof. The proof consists of a mixture of gold and silver of known proportions, so that if all the silver be removed from a thousand—1,000—the remaining cornet should weigh exactly 916’6. Four of these proofs are worked with each batch of assays—a batch being 120 assays—■ imder precisely similar circumstances, every precaution being taken that the four shall be equally distributed over different parts of the furnace, &c. Now suppose that the proofs, instead of weighing 916‘6, as they would weigh if the whole of the silver were removed, were found each to weigh 916-9 ; it would be known that 000-3 of silver had been retained, and must be deducted from each of the whole batch of assays. If the assays of coins exceed the limits of from 917-6 to 915-6, they are repeated, as it is assumed that an error has arisen. The convenience of considering the \ gramme as 1,000 consists in the fact that 1,000 parts of standard gold contain 916-67 of gold and 83-33 of alloy; so that the result having been arrived at without any calculation, one source of error is avoided and time is saved. Messrs. Johnson, Matthey, and Co. have invented a tray of platinum capsules or thimbles, into which the assay pieces are placed for treatment with acid, instead of into the ordinary glass vessels over gas-burners. The advantages of this invention are too manifest to require elaboration; but saving of acid, gas, labour, and risk of error are amongst the chief of them; and besides, the plan has been in successful operation in their own assay THE ROYAL MINT. 13 offices ill Hatton Garden, as well as in other important assay offices, for several years past. The first cost would seem to be the principal objection to this plan of Messrs. Johnson, Matthey, and Co.; hut this is really a small matter, for the ajiparatus becomes stock in trade, and its cost should be viewed simply as so much capital, whose interest is paid by the saving effected in glass, but more especially by the smaller amount of acid actually employed, while the platinum can at all times be sold for nearly its original cost as old metal. Tile mode of operation is as follows :—A stand of slate is so arranged that a means of heating is made to rest on its base. For this purpose a jet of gas is jireferred; where, however, gas cannot be obtained, an ordinary oil lamp or a charcoal fii-e may be used. On a shelf over the soiu’ce of heat are placed two or three receptacles of platinum, each communicating with a vessel made of porcelain, provided with three necks and an overflow pijie. There is a land of sieve or tray of platinum, so arranged as to carry from 10 to 100 thimbles of platinum, and provided with a handle, so that this tray, with its charge, can be manipulated at pleasm’e. The thimbles vary in size according to taste, but each one is cut or slit at the bottom, so that the solution of silver as it is formed may by its density fall out, and allow the clean acid to take its place. When an operation is to be performed, the tray filled with the charged thimbles—that is, containing the assay pieces—is jdaced in one of the platinum receptacles or boilers, and heated to a fitting temperature; when the desu’ed effect is produced, the tray is lifted into another receptacle, and again heated; this may be carried to three times if necessary. The j)roducts of decomposition of the acid go, with the acid which evaporates, into the porcelain vessel, where the free acid falls through the overflow pipe into a proper chamber, while the acid fumes pass into the flue tlu’ough the thii-d neck before spoken of. The parted assays having been washed by several immersions in boiling distilled water, without removal from their thimbles, have noAV to be dried and annealed in a platinum muffle, so formed as to fit into an ortbnary muffle, and, after annealing, to be weighed in the usual maimer, having saved at least 75 per cent, of the usual trouble. It is almost needless to add that the system of proofs above described must be also used with this process. The assay for silver is not so tedious, as it is finished at the point where it leaves the muffle on the cupel; but up to this point it passes through precisely the same process as the gold. It will have been observed that the event of the proeess of assaying is to exhibit the proportion of bullion which may be present in a given weight of mixed metals, but that it does not demonstrate the character of the substance which forms the alloy, because this is assumed to be copper or silver. In practice it is found that the alloy may be a mixture of copper or silver with 14 THE ROYAL MINT. load, inoi’CuiT, antimony, arsenic, tin, or zinc, in yarying proportions, but whose snin docs not exceed the rate per contnin in relation to the hnllion which is allowed by law. The existence of minute proj)ortions of lead, merciuy, anti¬ mony, arsenic, tin, or zinc is a matter of great concern, for these, when present, add indetinitely to the difficnlties of the coining departments. Under the present system, complete analyses of bullion imported for coining are a practical impossibility. I would therefore propose to abolish the office of non-resident assayer, and then to appoint two resident assayers, who slionld conduct theii’ operations in independent laboratories—already existent —and a condition of whose appointment should be an agreement to conduct, when so dii’ected by the Master of the Mint, complete analyses of the bullion submitted for assay. The information thus obtained would enable the melter, by processes subsequently explained,* to remove all those substances which are now found to be fatal to the coining of certain bullion. The appointment of officers possessing such ability would be an equal guarantee with the present for the faithful preservation of the integrity of the coinage. This suggestion has been adopted and recommended—so far as regards the resident assayers— by Messrs. C. W. Fremantle and C. Rivers Wilson, in their “ Reports on the Mint,” 1870. Indeed two assistant assayers have been recently appointed. When the assay reports arrive, the Master determines whether the metal has been found within the limits, and if he be satisfied he writes on the assay reports “Passed,” and signs the reports. The Deputy-Master retains the reports as his warrant, and then issues his order for the delivery of the bars by the melter to the rolling room, as recommended in my report dated 29th January, 1859 ; but, as the accounts are kept by weight, every set of bars is weighed by the officer who receives them into that room before he gives thc'iii to his men to work into fillets. When, in 1856, I took charge of some departments in the Royal Mint, I found that the system of weighing was extremely loose. Officers were plainly told that if they ventined to satisfy themselves as to the weight of bullion they had received—in fact, to determine whether they received what was charged to them—“they would be paid out.” This state of things led men to accept any weight. But I objected and resisted; for I found that the average on each day’s work as received amounted to an habitual minus of five ounces on the weight charged on silver, while on gold it was seldom so little as one ounce. In illustration I will state one case which occurred. I delivered 7920-00 ounces of gold to the Mint Office. When that gold was received, the official weigher gave me credit for 7918-15 ounces, which was a deduction of no less than 1*85 ounces. I appealed to the Master, who by A\']-itten order directed the gold, the weight of which was thus disputed, to be See pages 81-82. THE ROYAL MINT. 15 ■weighed by Mr. Pilcher, the officer of the weighing room, in the presence of witnesses whom the Master nominated. Mr. Pilcher complied with this order, and gave a certificate, signed by the deputed witnesses, in which he stated that the gold under dispute weighed 7919"98 ounces—that is, that it*differed in weight as chai’ged by me to the Mint Office 9’GO grains instead of 888'00 grains, the difference which the official weigher had deducted from the bullion I had delivered to him. The custom had been to weigh silver to 0‘50 ounce, and gold to a pennyweight; but I introduced the system of weighing silver to OTO ounce, and gold to O’Ul ounce, and at the same time induced the Master to order ncAV balances of superior construction for the coining department, and one specially devised by Mr. James M. Napier for use in the Mint Office. Of this balance, received after having been ordered for some years, it will be sufficient to say that it appears to bo extremely acem-ate Avhen properly used, and is then capable of great results ; but, unfortunately, the system is such that those who are admittedly unfit may be promoted to important posts, just because they are senior, and not because of superior fitness for the work. Tliis fine balance, therefore, becomes equal to a good rifle in the hands of a bad marksman. Great accuracy having been enforced, the weighing is now improved, but is still far from perfect, because the officers are compelled to abide by the decision of the Aveigher at the Mint Office, Avho, as beforesaid, may be unfit for his office, while the officers themselA^es are debarred from all checks, by the removal from the coining department of the set of standard Avcights, Avhich Avere bought on purpose that those gentlemen might check their own Avcights as to accuracy. The Master’s order for the rcmoAml of these Aveights AA'as in the folloAving terms :— ‘ ‘ The standard weights hitherto kept in the weighing room are permanently transferred to the Mint Office. A new set of standard weights to be made for the Mint OfKce. The coining depart¬ ment weights to ho examined by Mr. - , and compared with those in the Mint Office (after these have been corrected), and reported on by him. Such examinations to be repeated every six weeks.” It shoidd be obserA'cd that this order AA'as preceded by one Avritten on the 2nd February, 18G5, Avhich directed that the Mint Office Aveighcr shoidd be the final judge, but that any officer might demand the re-weighing of any bullion, Avhile the second Aveighing Avas to be final. All appeals to pass through ]\Ir. John Graham, the order proceeding to direct that — “ The final decision is not to be called in question by any other officer of the coining department.” The latter determination, I Avas inforined, AA’as intended to apply to me per¬ sonally. Its immediate effect Avas a deduction of U‘25 ounce from the first gold I delivered, and a consequent alteration of my book to that extent by Mr. John Graham, Avho made a note in Avriting as folloAA's: — “ This diflerence (error) maj’ be accounted for by the acknowledged error of three grains heavy of the Aliiit Office oOO oz. weight. See Itll !) 1-781 0-117 When the bars have passed through the rollers at 10-50 they have become of great hardness, and of considerable length, say 6 or 8 feet. They are then taken to the shears K, where their hollow ends are cut off, and the bars cut into lengths of 18 inches ; or rather, such was the practice when it was considered wise to obtain as much coined money as was possible from the bars; but recently, under other considerations, the old plan of the moneyers has been re-introduced, that of shearing the hollow ends from the bars before rolling. In this process there is needless waste, and it is to be hoped that the proper practice will be reverted to, for under that system the ends averaged 4-26 per cent., while under the re-introduced one it amounts to 7-03* per cent, on the bars, and for the following reason. When the metal is poured into the moulds, it almost immediately solidifies, and while solidification is going on contracts in volume, leaving a kind of cup of metal or hollow part on the top of the bar. In the act of rolling, the bar maintains an equable width until this hollow part is reached, when it suddenly expands, and at this point the workman shears otf the defective part of the bar, whereas in the other case he shears otf the hollow end until his eye fails to discover the effects of the shi-inkage; hence the loss of 2-77 per cent, on the produce of fillets,, as well as the loss in wages /or melting * See page 112. THE ROYAL MINT. 2 I the bars. The shears may be regarded as large scissors driven by a dram on the same shaft that carries the driving wheel for D. The (h-um is eccentric, so that at each revolution the shears are caused to open and shut. The bar being placed between the jaws K, the long end L of tlie shears is raised by the dram, and the piece is cut off. The shears may be closed and the end of L snsijended, when out of use, by a hook on the end of the screw worked by the lever M. The length at which a bar is to be cut off is regulated by the gauge shovm at N. The sheared bars are placed in copper tubes, the tops of which arc luted on with clay. It is imperative that the copj)cr tubes should be made without solder, because this fuses at a temperature below that which is required to amical the gold; if present it would run dovm upon the hot gold, and cause it to fuse and alloy with the solder, thus spoiling the work and entailing expense upon the coiner. The tubes which are used in the Royal Mint are made by Messrs. Renhams and Frond, of Chandos Street, Strand, who, after considerable pains, arrived at a method of making the tubes in such a manner as to entirely satisfy the requirements of the Mint. The tubes A are placed on an iron carriage B, which is then run into the furnace, as shown in Fig. 5. The door of the fiumacc C is closed by raising the counterpoise D ; the heat of the furnace is regulated by the damper E. The apron F is sometimes of use in annealing very long silver bars. After remaining in this furnace for twenty minutes, the carriage is withdraAVU, and the tubes, taken with tongs, are plunged into cold water, to cool the gold as rapidly as possible. The rapid cooling of gold and silver gives to each metal a i)eculiar character, which is of value in the after processes, and prevents the access of the atmosphere, wliich, in prolonged cooling, would cause the oxidation and consequent removal of so much copper that the alloyed metal would become too rich in gold for circulation as coin. The annealing of some metals is effected not so much by the continued THE ROYAL MINT. 2 2 heat as by tlic slo^r cooling ; it is therefore wise to raise the metal to its Ml heat as rapidly as possible, and then so to arrange matters that it may cool very slowly. This method does not hold good in the case of the precious metals and of copper, for they become, under such treatment, so soft, malleable, and pasty as to stick to the machinery, and thus to cause considerable trouble and loss. After annealing, the bars, which are now called fillets, go again to the breaking-down mill, thi-ough which they are passed with the scale indicating 8-50, then at 7'00, and after this are submitted to another pinch without altering the scale at all; so that what is called a spring-jnneh is given, with the intention of effecting the reduction of the fillet to one uniform thickness, for the breaking down and subsequent rolling cause the fillets to become much thicker in theii’ middle than at their- sides. The spring-pinches reduce this, while at the same time they diminish the elasticity of the metal, and fit it for the other mills. It will be seen, by reference to the above table, that the widening of the fillet is very trifling; but width may be gained to any desired extent, at the will of the workman, if the bars be submitted to a heavy pinch instead of a series of light ones. The fillet having been submitted to the foru-th spring- Fig. 6.—Small Gauge. pinch, is gauged on its side by a steel instrument, of which Fig. 6 is a representation. It is a hollow wedge, which is graduated to the thousandth of an inch. Supposing that the opening from A to B were extended until it were one inch wide at A, the space would be divided between it and B into 1,000 parts, and then every fillet passed into this opening would stop at a given point, say, for instance, at 140 ; such being the case, every part of the same fillet should be arrested iirecisely at the same point. The fillets are reduced till they measure 117 on this gauge, and are consequently 0-117 inches thick. They are then passed to the next mill, where they receive foiu- light pinches, and then to a third mill, where they receive two more very light pinches, and by means of these six pinches are reduced in thickness to 0-075 inches. They then pass to another mill, still finer than any of the preceding, and here are submitted to four very light pinches, by which they are reduced to 0-058 inches, and are finally finished at the sixth or gauging mill, where they receive thi-ee pinches, and arc then 0-053 inches thick by 1-829 wide. The gauging mill is of different construction from the other mills, as may be seen by reference to Fig. 7, where the rollers A are seen in the act of reducing a fillet. The upper roller is fixed in brasses loosely clamped together; the upper brass, B, being firmly bolted to the main fi-ame of the mill by the screws c, while the lower one C, which carries the weight of the roller when it THE ROYAL MINT. 23 is running empty, is supported by spiral springs shown at D. The lower roller works on a brass, E, Avhich rests on a wedge shown at E ; the brass being cut to fit the wedge, so that it may become similar to a solid mass, irrespective of any motion given to the wedge. By this mode of adjusting, a difference of the O’OOl of an inch may be made with ease between the distance of the rollers, and, consequently, in the thickness of fillets which may pass between them. The wedge F is moved forward and backward by the screw Gr, which itself has motion from the gear work II, by the handle I. Du’ectly a fillet is passed between the rollers, the topmost one is forced against its upper brasses, and further upward motion becomes impossible. The weight of metal in this roller gives rise to irregularities in the thickness of the fillets which pass from this mill, causing much trouble and some expense; therefore it is proposed to support Fig. 7 .—Gauging Mill. the upper roller by a similar arrangement to that which affects the lower roller, and to keep it rigidly against the upper brass, but with just so much pressure as its own weight would induce were circumstances reversed, and by these means to relieve the fillet from the weight of the roller, because that has an undue influence on eacli end of it. The ganger of fillets requires other tests besides that of the thickness of the edge of the fillet, so he punches out a blank from an occasional fillet by a hand-press, the cutter of which is shown at J, Fig. 7, worked by the handle Iv, through the screw L. The blank falling through the bolster of the cutter is cauglit at ]\[, and is then weighed in the hand scales N, against a standard weight, from which it must not vary more than 0-50 grain. 0, Fig. 7, is the gauge actually used l)y the workman; Fig. 6 represents the standard gauge used oidy by the officer in charge to check the work at its various stages. He has in addition a gauge of great accuracy, by which to measure the fillets at any point, as to width and thick- 24 THE ROYAL MINT. ness. This gauge will be more intelligible by reference to Fig. 8. A is the hamllc, which is hollow; B is a lever attached to the flat rod of copper C, which at D is cut with a rack, into which a pinion E is made to work. The pinion E works on a shaft, the upper end of which carries a hand E, provided with a vernier G. If now the handle A be firmly held by the hand, while the thumb be made to press the lever B towards the end of the handle, the rod C is set in motion, and causes the hand G to travel in the direction of H. The rod C rests on another rod I, made of steel, and so long as to pass into the handle of the instrument. The ends of the rods C and I are fitted at I with steel shoulders, and are then continued, as represented, to a. If it be desired to measure the thickness of a fillet, the points a a and h h are caused to open by pressm-e applied to B, and the fillet is placed between the points a, when a spring fixed in the box K brings back the rod C as soon as B is gently released, and encloses the fillet. The separation of the points a by the fillet causes the hand or indicator G to stand at a point from zero, which is then read. The scale is divided into 500 parts ; and if the points be opened 0-60 inch, the hand makes one revolution; so that the -001 of an inch is gained by one reading. But each 0-001 is subdivided by the vernier into ten, so that a ten- thousandth part of an inch is read without trouble. To measure the diameter of a blank coin, or the width of a fillet, it must be placed between the points b ; but since the extreme graduation of this gauge is 0’50 inch, it is necessary, if it be desired to measure a larger diameter, to press back the lever B till the zero of the vernier G reaches 0*500 on the scale H, and hold it there while a clamj) is made fast at the spot indicated by the star (*), to prevent the motion of C without I. When the clamp is fixed the rod I must be drawn on.t till the zero of the vernier reaches that of the scale H, when the screws J must be tightened to retain I in its new position, with half an inch permanent opening between the points h and between the points a. In a new measurement, that permanent 0*500 must be added to the reading. This arrangement admits of measuring up to 3*5000 inches, to which limit the gauge is extremely accurate. THE ROYAL MINT. 25 The instrument was invented by myself, because I found it difficult to convince the men that the fillet was thickest in its middle, and consequently heavier there than it should be; and, unfortunately, that the workmen habituated themselves to attributing this fault to each other, when its existence was proved. The fact was, that under the system which had prevailed, the men—with a view to make had work for a specially-designed reason—would set the upper rollers at varying angles, so that a fillet at one mill would have one thin and one thick edge; and when that fillet passed through the next mill, the angle of the roller being altered, would make both edges alike, but the effect of the manoeuvre was to push the metal into the middle of the fillet, and thus to unfit it for the draw-bench. Hence the necessity to fix where the blame should rest, and the production of this instrument, under my direction, by Mr. C. Becker, of 30, Strand, at once overcame all those difficulties. The fillets are weighed from the rolling room to the (bug room, where Fig. 9.-—Small Shears. they are finally adjusted ; for with every energy, discretion, and skill, fillets CANNOT BE OBTAINED OF ENIFOBM THICKNESS BY SIMFLE BOLLING. Ill the chu'^ room the fillets are taken to the small shears. Fig. 9, by Avliich one end of each fillet is trimmed so as to render it square. The plates A are fixed fo the head of a T-shaped lever, which is caused to oscillate by a cam beneath the floor. The plates A shut against a face of steel fixed to a block, and held by the screws shovui at B ; if therefore the end of the fillet be passed between the plate A and the face of B, eacli oscillation causes the cutting off of so much as protrudes, the pieces cut off falling into the box C, which has now been enlarged so far as to form a pan all round the top with a view to catch all of them. D forms part of a chain, by which the shears are tlu’owii out of motion. The fillets, having been trimmed so as to render their ends square, are next passed to the extent of about two inches between the rollers of a flattmg mill, shown in Fig. 10, 26 THE ROYAL MINT. ■\vliicli reduce tliat part of tlic fillet to about two-thirds its tliicknoss. A A represent a pair- of small rollei's, the npper one of which is cut with tln-ee fiat faces, so that it has tlu’ce rounding and three fiat sm-faces; hence, when both rollers are revolving, there are spaces with openings between them ; but when the rounding fi^ces come down, those openings are much narrowed, so that any fillet placed between them becomes thinned to just such an extent as may be deemed necessary. The rollers travel in opposite dii’ections, so as to cause the expulsion of a fillet placed between them. The reverse motion is gained as follows:—The upper roller is driven by B, which receives its motion from the little pinion C, carried on the shaft which also suj)ports D. D reverses the motion of E, which is driven from the drum F. E also drives G, which gives motion to the lower roller. The fiy-wheel H is borne at the extreme end of the shaft which Cannes F and E. The fillets are rested on J while being flatted^ and are, after flatting, placed in the trough K, from which they are taken to a rolling mill in the ebag room, of precisely the same construction as that exhibited at Fig. 7, to be passed twice through at equal pinches, with a view to render them still more accurate than they were when leaving the rolling room, as well as to reduce them to the exact thickness at which the trier has found they will produce the best work at the cbaw-bench. The rolling mill in the diug room was provided with steel rollers. Steel rollers are of somewhat recent invention, and seem to have received a high character from those whose opinion may be modified by further experiments more accurately made. My opinion, founded on experience, is to the effect that they are not worth their extra cost; but that theii' usefulness may be more THE ROYAL MINT. 27 fully developed when they shall have been fitted with the arrangements proposed for the gauging mills before explained.* After these alterations have been made, it may fairly be questioned whether steel rollers will, under circumstances every way similar, produce better work than is produced by the ordinary cliilled-iron rollers; in other words, I believe that steel is not a better substance for rollers than chilled cast iron. Those who have to sell, and those who have to use, have, of course, different motives; he who has to use a machine should judge calmly, and not be led away because the invention is new. It is amongst these considerations that I am convinced that steel rollers do not save money; for if they wear longer without gettiug out of order, they also require a. longer time to put them again in order. Rollers, made from whatsoever substance, cannot reasonably be expected to produce a fillet from every part of which blanks of equal weight can be struck, because it is not yet possible to produce a compound of equal hardness tlu'oughont; but if the construction of the mill be altered, steel rollers may approach nearer to that perfection which is gained by the draw-bench, but they can never replace it. The fillets are taken from the mill to the draw-bench. Fig. 11 rejjresents the draiv-hench, the name of which is retained, as being in fact its only appropriate one. The flatted end of each fillet is passed V Fig. 11.—Draw-bencli. into the opening shown at A. The dog A' is then rim np till its teeth seize the fillet. The lever is depressed until one of the hooks 0 catches a bar of the cfrculating chain P, which in its onward motion drags the dog, and causes it to bite the fillet and draiv it through the opening at which it has been entered. P gets its motion from a notched cam, the axle of which is shown at Q. There arc two distinct chains to each draw-bench, and there arc two distinct draw-benches, so that one description does for both double ones. R is a cogged vhccl, the shaft of which, Q, carries two notched drums, and each dium gi^es motion to a chain, so that both chains travel at the same pace. R IS set in motion by the pinion S, on the shaft which is efr-iven by the wheel T. T is driven by U, which is on the shaft driven by the strap and drums V. Fig. 12 is a representation ot the head of the draw-bench, and in studving ’ Sec piiffc 23. V. 28 THE ROYAL MINT. this ciigraTiug it will be well to refer at the same time to Fig, 11. The dog takes its name from its resemblance to the head of a bull-dog. It consists of a pair of levers, whose long arms extend beyond the axle-tree of the wheels nearest to 0, and whose shortest arms are formed by the passing of the other axle-tree thi’ongh the lever. The teeth are set at the front of the short arms. The axle-tree near* 0 is fixed to the bars forming 0, and runs loosely between the long arms of the lever, so that when 0 is pulled forcibly it causes the axle-tree to open the long end of the levers, and thereby to close the short end or teeth of the dog, the more rigidly in proportion to the pressure exerted at 0. Dii’ectly the fillet has passed through the cylinders the dog springs slightly by the elasticity of the fillet, and thus releases itself from the chain; at the instant of release the weight over the foremost wheels falls, and by its Fig. 12.—Head of Draw-bench. fall lifts the hooks 0 so high as to admit of their escaping contact with the circulating chain P. The position of the teeth of the dog is shown by A in Fig. 12. The fiatted part of the fillet is just so thin as to admit of its passing easily between the cylinders B until seized by A, but the part which is not thinned comes against the cylinders B, and requires considerable force to drag it between them. The cylinders B do not rotate; in fact, they may be considered as forming part of a solid mass.'* The lower cylinder is laid on the bed C, and is clamped there by a cheek fastened on to C by three screws, the holes for which are shown on C ; the upjjer cylinder is fixed to the mass D by a precisely similar arrangement. The beds C D are held perpendicularly by the points of the screws E ; and we may now view the cylinders as secured to, and forming part of, their beds. The distance between the cylinders is regu¬ lated by the capstans F, which separate the beds of the cylinders, and so separate * As the cylinder wears, the screws of C may be loosened to permit the shifting of the abraded part, so that the whole circumference of the cylinder may be used. — See also page 31. THE ROYAL MINT. 2Q the cylinders. The accuracy of this adjustment is all-important, because the distance between the cylinders determines the thickness of the fillet which passes between them. The bed D of the upper cylinder is required to he moYahle at pleasure; it is therefm'e 2)rovided at G Avith four wedges, tAVO of Avhich, c c, are cut so that if looked upon from the top a round hole shows itself, and thi-ough this hole the end of the screw, which at this point L is jjlain, and has a neck turned in it, passes, with its head beneath the AAmdges and against the lower G. So soon as this is effected the wedges A B are pressed into their places, and these holding c c together, cause them to secure G by its neck; if, tlierefore, G be uoav caused to rise, the block D must rise with it, but the head of this scrcAV rests on the solid block D, aaTIIc its neck is juskso long as to admit of this AAnthout itself being pressed against the wedges c c. G is a Amry fine-ent scrcAV Avdiich fits into a female scrcAV cut in the frame of the head of the dinAA'-bench ; it is moved to any distance Amrying from the hundred-thousandth part of an inch (O-OOOOl) and npAvards by the AAdieel II, which receiAms a yevj minute motion from the pinion I by means of a IcAmr fitting into the capstan head J. K AAms originally intended to be used to set or fix the screAV G Avhen it had been brought to its proper position, but it is not used; for, in fact, the cylinders AAmar aAvay appreciably by the passage of the fillets, so that they constantly require to be brought nearer together to make up for this Avear. With some species of gold the friction is so great that, although oil is used, the cylinders become so hot as to render the gold pasty; in such case a kind of AAxlding takes place, AAdiich causes the tearing of the fillet. If this extreme point be not reached, as indeed it seldom is, the cylinders become of Amrying temperatures, and so great is the effect of this, that in order to compensate for it, the upper cylinder has to bo continually raised or depressed. The beds AAdiich carry the cylinders become Avorn by the strain and fret, and require grinding out at interA'als; therefore, to alloAV for the difference AAdiich this Avonld make, scroAVS N are proAuded, b}" AAdiich the cylinder in the lower bed can always be raised to its proper position. We cannot but admire the ingenious productions of iiiAmntiAm minds ; and surely if ever there Avere a marvellons machine for assisting the coiner, it is this ; indeed, it may bo doubted Avhethcr a more admirable instrument for its purpose can be contrived. Sir John Barton, Aidio invented and directed the making of it, took into consideration OAmry circiimstanco AA'hich could possibly arise, but he never saAV practically the full advantage of his conception. Lnder my direction, this machine AAms so used that the average AA'ork produced Avas A’ery favourably com¬ pared Avith the trials recorded bj" Sir John Barton, and details of Avhich AA'ere giAmn to me by the late Mr. AY. II. Barton. There are some persons aaJio smile at the draiA'-bench, but it is one of those inventions Avhich will out¬ live its detractors, at least, so long as economy and perfection are points to 30 THE ROYAL MINT. be studied in coining. Foreign Mints are said to have found no advantage in the use of the ch-a-sv-beiich. It is to he regretted that they have not found a man with sufficient intelligence to use so accurate an instrument; it is surely not the fault of the sun if men are blind to its splendour. Mr, J, Martin, of the Paris Mint, has recently made some very aeciu'ate experiments with the draw'-bench, and has produced results every way in accordance with those obtained by me in the Royal Mint, and is convinced that the draw-bench may be considered as the coiner’s right hand. Against all sound advice the Master had been induced to buy a pair of steel rollers, at a cost of £800 (I state the sum on the authority of Mr, W. n. Barton, who, being Comptroller at the time, probably knew the actual cost), and with these I made an elaborate series of experiments, extending over many weeks. The results were wholly adverse to the new rollers—others arrived at the same conclusion—and I reported to the Master, in writing, on the facts as I found them, showing that the average gave an advantage of 19‘92 per cent, in favoim of the draw-bench, and on this ground I main¬ tained the superiority of that machine. He replied by a peremptory order, dii’ecting me “to prohibit now and for ever” the “use of the draw-bench, and to take measures for its removal from the Mint.” Thus absolved from responsibility, I —after making a wnitten protest—obeyed that which I could no longer withstand. The result was that the rejected blanks, wdiich had averaged 3'60 per cent., now advanced to 23*52 per cent. I was unable to avoid this great expense, and when I spoke to him about it he was not very amiably disposed ; however, he finally wrote me the following note, on which I remarked to him “ that steel rollers, whether driven by cogged wheels or by straps, would still he steel rollers,” “ Till June, 1861. “ Dear Sir, “ In the cutting and adjusting room you may return to the use of the ch'aw-bench till the gearing of the steel rollers is altered. I had over¬ looked the circumstance that in the United States Mint cogged wheels are not used for that purpose. “ Yours truly, “ Tho. Graham, “ G. F. Ansell, Esquire.” It is satisfactory to me to find that Mr, Fremantle confirms the opinion at which I had arrived. He says (“ European Mints,” page 9) :—“ The adjust¬ ment of the fillets after rolling is in some European Mints performed by the draw-bench, as in England. In others it is performed by carefully adjusted rolling mills only. The experience acquired both in this country and abroad THE ROYAL MINT. 31 tends to show that it is advisable to retain the dra-w-bench—at any rate, until some more accurate method is found of equalising the fillets and reducing them to their correct thickness.” If Mr. Fremantle will investigate for him¬ self instead of being guided by the opinions of others, he will rigidly follow the correct conclusion at which he has arrived; if, however, he will look in the drag room in the Royal Mint, he will discover evidence of the former existence of a series of rollers which were replaced by the draw-bench. Yet one of his co-travellers, who is manifestly willing to make experiments, says of the draw-bench, “ Still it has yet to he proved that it can compete in sustained accuracy with a well-constructed rolling mill.” Quite true ; but I think the answer holds good, and any one who would replace the draw-bench by rolling mills—which have hitherto failed—should, as Sir John Rarton did, prove his proposition otherwise than at the Government expense, and then on success obtain fair remuneration. Before leaving the study of this instrument it is right that I should mention that Mr. John Murray, of the Royal Mint, has added immeasurably to the value of it by inventing a most ingenious machine for grinding the cylinders (see 13, page 28) with accm'acy, so that those cylinders which have been used can with ease be, as it were, repaii’ed. In justice to Mr. Murray I should add that I omitted all mention of his inven¬ tion in any former issue, because some principal contractors were to my know¬ ledge intending to make him an offer of a sum of money for it, and under such circumstances I could not think it right to give a description of it. A like feeling induces me to postpone to another occasion details of this clever contrivance; its simplicity is such that a mere outline would put a maker of instruments in possession of means for its construction. The fillets which have passed between the draw-bench cylinders are cut into lengths of about 18 inches by the shears shown at X, in Fig. 11, and are then sent to the trier, who by means of a hand press similar to, but more delicate than, that shown at Fig. 7, punches out one or two blanks from each length of 18 inches, and weighs it, or them, against a standard weight, and in accordance with his judgment du-ects the fillets to be cut by the boys or men at the machines. The trier allows 0-20 grain on the pound of blanks for the loss which afterwards occurs by annealing.* If, however, the bars, as previously suggested, were cast imiformly of the thickness of 0'50 inch, this allowance, which is equal to a value of £34 85 . 7 hd. on each million, need not be made ; but in fact, as will be seen, even this is not sufficient to cover that loss under present circumstances. Xot only has it become a habit to smile at the draw-bench, but every unfair attempt has been made to get rid of it. Officers were abused because they would not report against it, and the machine itself was submitted to usage * See page 48. THE ROYAL MINT. never contemplated by the inventor. The then chief coiner, who had formerly seen soap used in calico works in Manchester, insisted on using soap¬ suds, whereby the beds for the cylinders became rusted, the cylinders destroyed, and the whole machine thrown out of gear, so that 30 per cent, of all the work was rejected: these perverse trials, extending over weeks, appeared to thi'ow discredit on the draw-bench. Having been a calico- printer, that officer endeavoured to engraft on to the processes of coining some of the practices adopted in that bnsiness; but had he duly appre¬ ciated the principle on which the draw-bench acts, he could not have attempted the use of soap-suds, or, at least, on its complete failure would have assented to its disuse. The very first object of the draw-bench is to produce just so much friction as will cause the lateral displacement of the molecules of the metal then under its operation. Soap, when it adheres to the bullion, permits the fillet to pass without friction, and when it is scraped off by the cylinders the gold becomes so hot from friction that the hand cannot ^vith safety touch it; hence there are alternating parts of the fillet very hot and absolutely cold, and, as a consequence, no two bla nks can be obtained of equal weight. Sir John Barton not only made the machine, but determined also that oil was the only fit lubricator for metal made to pass through the cylinders of the draw-bench. Forgetful of the immediate wear on the surface of the metal, others have attempted to replace the cylinders by wedges of steel, so made as that a constant stream of cold water shonld keep them cool when in operation. This also failed from the formation of rust, while the work produced never equalled that obtained from cylinders. The proper use of the draw-bench is to reduce fillets to an equable thickness in every part, and this can only be done when the trier, after studying the quality of his metal, has determined how much he can remove by once passing through the cyliuders ; then by keeping up a constant succession of fillets, properly smeared with oil, so that the equable friction always maintains them at the same temperature. Uuder such circumstances, and with a remedy of 0-24 grain, the rejected should not exceed 2 per cent., and this on the whole day’s work shonld contain half its weight of light and the other half heavy blanks. This also was a curious instance of want of knowledge on the part of that controlling officer, who for years maintained that if the work were properly conducted all the rejected should be on one side of the remedy.* The fillets, notwithstanding the draw- bench, cannot be brought to perfect accuracy, and to meet such variations as arise, a difference is made in two of the cutting-out punches by altering their diameters to such an extent that a blank cut by them from a standard fillet would vary in weight from a blank cut by a standard cutter from the same fillet. One cutting-ont punch is so altered that a blank would be 0T25 See page 39. THE ROYAL MINT. 33 grain, and the other that a blank would be 0’250 grain heavier. This admits of a fillet otherwise too thin being used; but if the fillet be found to err on the other side, it is passed once more either through the draw- bench, or through the mill at a spring-pinch. The trier, Mr. William Fenton, is a peculiarly steady man, possessing a calm judgment, with consider¬ able energy, and upon him depends the accuracy of the whole process of coining ; he has not nnfrequently so managed his work that upon 5,000,000 of sovereigns coined, he has been within one sovereign of the calculated value. The fillets, having been thrown by the trier into the receptacles which indi¬ cate the particular cutting-ont punches to which they are to be taken, are fetched by a man, who wipes off the oil, and then carries them to the entting-out room, where the fillets are cut into blanks and scissel. In this place it may farther be noticed that soap-suds cannot be used in the place of oil, because the soajj could not be removed without washing,—a practical impossibility,—and would therefore remain, and add indefinitely to the weight of the gold, and thus open the door for peculation. The cutting-out presses used in the Royal Mint are very cumbersome, and when in operation are terribly noisy: it is therefore hoped that at no distant period they may be replaced b}^ some of a far more simple construction; but it is believed that under all circumstances it will be found wise to adhere to the plan of cutting out a single blank at each descent of the punch.* For bronze it is well to obtain five or more blanks at each blow, but the limited variation of weight allowed by law on blanks of the precious metals would render this false economy. Fig. 13 represents one of the twelve cutting-out presses, which are all driven by the wheel A, provided with a series of cams on its outer rim ; one of these cams, B, is in the act of striking the friction roller C, which is attached to, and forms part of, the lever D. D is fixed to an upright shaft E, which at F is cut with a screw thread working into a female screw fitted into the main shoulder of the press at G. If now the cam B strikes C, and throws it outwards, it causes the shaft E to take a part of a revolution, and in so doing the screw F makes it rise and carry with it the block II, whose tendency to circular motion is prevented by a ping fitting into its groove, and fixed in the guide I. The lower end of II carries the screwed cap J, which supports the cutting-ont punch, so that when E rises it carries the entting-out punch through just the same distance that itself travels upwards. The entting-out punch is now ready for action, and is released by the continued revolution of the wheel A, as will be seen by the figure; but as it could not fall with sufficient force of itself, assistance is rendered by the pressure of the atmosphere, as will be seen by the following arrangement. The lever 1) is provided, near its junction at E, with a loop of iron travelling on a screw, so that it may be moved farther from, or nearer to, the centre of aetion, and * See p. 1(50. 34 THE ROYAL MINT. tlms admit of tlio increase of power. This loop of ii’oii is rcj)resented by K, and is continued by a rod of iron across the upper part of the room and through a hole in the wall to a system of levers L, from which a rod is suspended, the lower end being connected with a piston working in the chamber M, The chamber M is an hermetically-closed vessel secured to a stone firmly fixed Fig. 13.—Cutting-out Press. in the floor. The piston works in this chamber, and is covered Avith about tAvo inches of oil, Avhich prevents the access of the atmosphere by leaks to any part beneath the piston. If the piston, therefore, be raised from the base of the chamber, a vacuum is produced in that portion from which the piston is removed, and consequently the atmosphere presses on the surface of the oil, which in its turn presses on the piston, and carries it down (the reverse of the action explained by Mr. James Napier in “European Mints”); in its fall the piston pulls doAvn the cutter, AAdiich has bcim raised; for the same bloAV Avhich THE ROYAI. MINT. 35 raises the cutter also raises this piston ; therefore, when the cutter is raised the workman places the fillet N, from which blanks are to he cut, on the bolster, shown at 0, and holds it firmly while the cutter descends and punches out a blank, which falls through the bolster into the drawer P. By the time that tlie down stroke of the cutting-out punch is complete, the wedge Q has entered a slit in the spring E, and strikes the spring, thus throwing the macliine bacT, and preparing it to start when the cam B shall strike the friction roller C. Tlie point at which Q may strike E is determined by a screw near the left hand T. The upright shaft E, which is partly liolloAV, terminates at a flat cogged wheel, and the upper part of F is made to pass into E ; wliile at S is an arrangement which serves to detach or connect these pieces, that the cutter may upon occasion be used by the hand by means of the lever T, as well as to admit of the necessary alterations, as the punches, by regrinding, become shorter. Tlie cutting-out punch, when it rises, carries with it the fillet from which the blank has been punched, until the fillet comes against the guard W, which detaches it. The fillets from which the blanks have been punched have the appearance of ribbons perforated with round holes, and are now called scissel (from the Latin scindo, to cut). These arc tlu’own into a tray, U, from which they are taken at intervals, and bound up by strips of the same into bundles of 180 ounces—in the case of silver 300 ounces—ready for re-melting. The cutting-out press is set at liberty to start by the workman pressing his foot on a lever in connection with the line and spring indicated by V; and so long as he keeps this lever do’wn, the press is worked continuously, but when he releases it the spring catches the extreme end of D, and motion is arrested. The blanks which accumulate in the box E are collected at frequent intervals and examined, to see that their edges arc smooth; if they be ragged, as may happen from the wear or fractui’c of the edge of either the cutter or bolster, a loss would be entailed in after processes which would cause the coin to be outside the prescribed limit, and to pass at an illegal weight into circulation, as the rough edges would be removed after the weighing of the blanks had been effected. According to the quality of the work—the character of the gold—under operation, the trier tests more or less frequently the variations of weight in a given number of blanks. This process is called founding, and is, next to the trying, the most important of his duties; if such an expression can be admitted, he has, by trying, fired his shot, and here determines if he has hit the bull’s-eye, all depending on his ovui unaided judgment. The gauge. Fig. 8, is found of great service in detecting irregidaritics as to diameter and thickness, which would not be, and arc not, detected by weight, for the weight may remain ('qual, although both diameter and thickness may vary. All these points requin' considerable care on the part of those whose duty it is to attend to F 36 THE ROYAL MINT. thorn; for the quality of a coinage is determined in this room: blanks which once leave it cannot be afterwards altered. The subsequent operations, being pm-ely mechanical, would be quite as well performed by automaton machines. The completing processes form undoubtedly the prettiest and most interest¬ ing part of the operation of coining; nevertheless the processes already described constitute its most essential featm-es. The blanks are weighed from this room in drafts of about 720 ounces, and placed in bags; each bag, therefore, contains foiu- journeys of about 180 oimces each. The term journey is said to be derived from an old French word, but circumstances render it probable that this derivation has been applied by others than the original inventor of the word, for it manifestly .was not used by the coiner of it to imply a “ day’s work.” I cannot find an author who gives a time at which 720 ounces of silver became a jomney, while 180 ounces of gold were also called by the same name. It mnst have taken far longer to coin 720 ounces of - shillings or groats than to coin 180 ounces of sovereigns or half-sovereigns; hence the same word could never have been intended to mean “a day’s work.” Be this as it may, it is time that such names gave place to more appropriate and expressive terms. It is to be hoped that 500 ounces will become the standard maximum weight for bags of either of the precious metals; such a system would be the means of reducing the chance of error, it would have an actual meaning, and would be a conAmnient weight for a man to lift to and from a scale-pan. When such a measm’e shall be convenient to the officers of the Bank of England, that institution Avill subsei’An the interests of the Mint by adopting it. In a paper recently published by the Commissioners on the International Coinage (at page 228) it is stated that “ in the British Mint 15 pounds troy of standard gold are coined into 701 sovereigns nearly (15 lbs. = <£700 175. 6(7.).” This statement does not exactly convey the truth, and is calculated to mislead, because such an operation is not, and never has been, conducted in the British Mint, where the iuAnriable rule is to abide rigidly by the law, and to coin 20 pounds troy weight of standard gold into 934-50 sovereigns, as specified in the Mint Indenture, now replaced by the Act of Parliament, 33 Viet., cap. 10. Of these sovereigns so coined, 701 are placed in a bag, and called a journey ; but by a Mint fiction the journey Avas considered by the old moneyers, and yet more ancient weigher and teller, 15 pounds troy exact, because the parts of an ounce Avere difficult of addition; and this was maintained until 1860, Avhen a disputed Aveight Avith the Bank of England as to the value of the delNeries corrected that Avhich I had previously pointed out as an error. It is now the custom to consider a journey as consisting of 180-03125 ounces, instead of, as it is, 180-03210 ounces, an error of -00085, which has a money value of about O-s. 7 p/. on each delivery to the Bank. s I ^ ■ 4 Jl. ^ • • V:-. t t :S « i’' % ■WITH PILCHERS IMPROVEMENTS. THE ROYAL MINT. 37 The bags of blanks should * be carried forward to the room in which the weighing of the individual blanlis is effected by Mr. Cotton’s automaton weigh¬ ing machines. Mr. Cotton’s weighing machines form perhaps the most elegant and clever invention of modern times. They effect the process of weighing far- more accurately than man can hope to do, and with extraordinary acciuncy determine the weight of about twenty-three bla nk s per minute. Peculiarly admirable as are these machmes, their perfection has been greatly increased by improvements suggested by Mr. Richard Pilcher, who has immediate charge of those in the Royal Mint. Mr. Pilcher, whose inventive genius is only equalled by his desire to give to the public the benefit of his inventions, has rendered these automaton balances serviceable to the Mint; whereas, when they left the hand of Mr. William Cotton, they were of great service to the Bank of England alone, for there only two determinations, or in fact one determination is necessary. In that institution it is rcqnii’ed to show that the coins issued by it are not below the legal weight for circulation, whereas the Mint must guarantee that coins leave its works neither above nor below the limits fixed by law: hence the necessity for the incorporation of Mr. Pilcher’s improvements with Mr. Cotton’s beautiful invention. After reading the letter of Mr. James M. Naj^ier in the Times of Sep¬ tember 2nd, 18G9, I can but express my surprise that that gentleman has not seen fit to acknowledge Mr. Pilcher’s modifications instead of claiming for himself all the credit, when a part only—and that undoubtedly an important one—is his due. The steel engraving exhibits a view of Cotton’s automaton machine as used in the Royal Mint, where seventeen such machines are employed. For the purpose of illustration, the brass side of the machine has, in imagination, been torn away, as also has the top of the machine. To obtain the highly-finished drawing from which this engraving was made was a matter of no ordinary difficulty, but it was accomplished by the skill and assiduity of Mr. E. S. Gibson, to whom my thanks are due, as well as to Mr. J. W. Lowry, for the pains he has bestowed in executing the engraving. The whole theory of this balance rests on the fact that the centre of gravity and the centre of action are in one line: either being disturbed, the balance is no longer equal. The machine gains its motion from a shaft fixed to the ceiling of the room. Steam contained in a boiler exists under an ever- varying pressure, arising from the amount of work which it may be necessary for the engine to perform, or from the irregular combustion of the fuel, as well as from other causes. Since it is of the utmost importance that the automaton balance should be made to maintain a uniform pace, Messrs. Napier and Sons found it necessary to drive the shaft which gives it motion by a small * See pages 12 — 11. 38 THE ROYAL MINT. atmospheric engine, ^Yllicll is placed in the weighing room. It has been found that a chamber may be kept equably exhausted of air, if the atmosphere be admitted to it b}" a imiformly weighted valve. Such a chamber—to be described presently — is used in the Mint for other purposes, and Messrs. Napier conducted from this a pipe, by the agency of which the atmospheric engine is worked with a far more even and steady motion than could be obtained by steam ; in fact, the exliausted chamber becomes a regulated spring, which softens down the variations in the motion of the steam engine. The shaft supported by the ceiling conveys its motion to the weighing machine by a line A, which, passing over the friction wheels B, circulates round the stepped wheel C, which runs loose on the shaft communicating with E. The line A is maintained with sufficient rigidity by a weight D, which is suspended at the end of the lever carrying the friction wheels B. The weight D is just sufficient to insure the continuous working of the machine, but is so light as to permit the line A to slip on C in the event of anything going wrong in the works of the balance. When the machine is to be set in motion, a kind of cheek is made—by screwing—to touch the face of the wheel C, and thus, by friction, C gives motion to the wheel E. This is an elegant mode of meeting a chance of accident, for in the event of the weight D proving to be too heavy, any extra force simply disconnects this cheek from the face of C, and so stops the machine. The machine having been set in motion, E, by communication with the wheels E, all of which are driven by it, causes the cam G to push forward the lever H, which, terminating at I, pushes forward the flattened continuation of I indicated by dotted lines, until it moves a blank placed in the collar J, at the bottom of the hopper /«, on to the scale-pan K, which, for the sake of clearness, is isolated, and will be seen behind the macliine and under the extreme end of the hopper. So soon as the blank coin has been placed on the scale-pan K, the cam L lowers a lever the office of which is to permit the opening of the forceps M, and thus to release the rod, Q, dependent from K upon the knife-edge E. The forceps are closed by the cam L, which raises w, and by it compresses an attached spring. The forceps are intended to hold this rod Q while the blank is placed on K, because the friction caused by the placing of the blank would have a tendency to push K from the knife-edge on which it is suspended, and thus blunt its delicate edge. While the forceps are opened the cam N, by its partial revo¬ lution, lifts the rod 0, which is steadied in its motion, by a pin rising from it, and entering the inverted arch o\ its lower extremity working into a socket on the table on which the whole frame of the machine stands. Towards its lower extremity the rod 0 will be seen to branch out right and left, until each end passes through a kind of step in the rods Q, indicated by P. The office of this rod is to bring the beam, from which the rods Q THE ROYAL MINT. 39 are dependent, to a dead level, as well as to release both ends of the beam by one action. At the moment that the forceps M have released the right hand rod Q, the cam N, by 0, releases both the rods Q, by rising from the steps P, thus permiting the beam to determine the weight of the blank placed on K. A close inspection of the steel engraving will show that the rods Q are sus¬ pended from and rest upon the knife-edges R of the beam S, which has a centre knife-edge T, by which the whole mass is supported and poised. The knife-edges are made to find their own planes or resting-places upon curved or hollow pieces of steel, thus securing the smallest point of con¬ tact with a certainty of the smallest amount of friction. In ordnary balances the substance to be weighed is placed in a pan, which is on the same level as the pan which contains the counterpoise; but in Mr. Cotton’s balance this condition is of no consequence, so that the counterpoise rests ulti¬ mately ujion a point which is at the same distance from the centre of action as the point upon which the matter to be weighed rests. The counterpoise U is placed in a kind of cage, and any variation from this standard is at once indicated, even if it reach only to the thousandth part of a grain. By law, the weight of a coin may vary to a certain extent from a stan¬ dard weight; * the variation or latitude allowed is called remedi)^ from the Latin ad remediam; and in weighing, this remedy is taken advantage of by a contrivance much simplified by Mr. Pilcher. The weight of a sovereign is 123-274 grains, but it may by law be either 123-474 grains, or it may fall to 123-0741 grains. Mr. Pilcher therefore reduced the counterpoise to the minimum allowed, thus avoiding the placing of a remedy-wire for the light side; and he then made the remedy-wire q (shown in the fh-st enlarged 2 )ortion on the left-hand side of the steel engraving), which is placed on the stand W, upon a peculiarly-formed jjoint indicated by V, so heavy that any blank which would not raise it and the counterpoise must be within the remedy on the heavy side. In accordance with this arrangement, the continua¬ tion of the rod Q is terminated by a cage at V; so that if a blank be so liylit as to be unable to raise the counterpoise U until the stirrup comes in contact with the remedy, it is too light to make a legal coin. This fact being determined, the motion of the machine causes the cam X to bring back the rod I (indicated by dotted lines), that it may be ready when required to push forward another blank, and the forceps M to grasp the rod Q, while the earn Y permits the falling of the rod Z, which is nearly counterpoised by the ball m (the precise length of the rod being regulated by the screw j\ until its finger a rests upon the indicator h. The depth to which a shall fall is fixed by the step I (shown by Q in the second enlarged portion of the steel engraving). This is, of course, determined by the forceps, securing Q at the position indicated by the * See pages 71 — 73. + See pages 73, 123, 124. 40 THE ROYAL MINT. weight of the blank. The indicating finger h having come to rest, the continued motion of the machine causes the cam c to permit the shoot d to fall until one of its steps c comes into contact with the indicating finger, when the lower part of the shoot must be exactly over, and form part of, one of the tubes Z", which terminate in boxes labelled respectively “heavy,” “light,” “medinm.” The shoot having taken its position, the continued motion of the macliine causes the cam G to induce the placing of another blank on the scale- pan K, and this blank, by advancing, pushes off the one just weighed, which, falling into and thi’ongh the shoot, passes to the compartment reserved for it. Suppose the ncAvly-placed blank to be too heavy for forming a legal coin, the same operation goes on, but it now lifts not only the counterpoise, but also causes the stiiTup at V to lift the remedy-weight q. This is a most delicate operation, for if a blow, however light, be given, it would cause unsteadiness in the beam. Mr. Pilcher therefore determined to make the carriage W, which supports the remedy-wii’e 5 ', stand upon micrometer screws, by which the remedy-wire is made just to touch the stirrup, without pressm-e, while it also rests upon the most minute points, formed by cutting away every part of Y which is not actually required—in fact, shelving it out. The scale-pan K is protected from draught by the lantern /, while the blanks are directed into the collar J by the guard y, as they slide down the hopper A, which at its centre is supported by an upright, i. The blocks y; are the supports which hold all the machinery to the roof of the machine. Some new machines have recently been supplied to the Mint by Mr. James Napier, but it is not certain that these are cheaj)er than the old ones. That they are lower in price may be admitted, and they are certainly more convenient in use, from the fact that the wheels shown at P are placed at the back. It is, however, to be regretted that Mr. Napier did not introduce into these new machines the recent inventions of Mr. William Bradshaw, which are supremely simple, and, now that they are effected, one cannot but wonder that so many minds having been engaged on these machines, improvements such as these have not earlier seen the light. To Mr. Bradshaw, particularly, great credit is due, for he was obliged to overcome, not only innate diffi¬ culties, but difficulties of position, and these latter were of no mean kind. It is to the credit of the Mint authorities that they finally adopted these improvements, and ordered the necessary alterations to be made in all the machines. Mr. Bradshaw’s imj)rovements enable the automaton balances to weigh 30 j^er cent, more coins in the same time; yet they permit each coin to occupy a longer space of time in being weighed. This would appear to be a mechanical contradiction, but if reference be made to the plate it will be seen that the cam G pushes forward the lever II, which ultimately, by the slide, pushes the THE ROYAL MINT. 41 blanks on to the scale-pan K. By altering the shape of the cam G, Mr. Bradshaw causes it to do its work more rapidly, and thus leaves the piece on Iv longer than before ; but that this time may not be lost, he alters also the shapes of the cam L and of the cam N, so that the forceps M are opened, and the beam is released more rapidly : thus the balance would be longer in action; but to utilise the time ready to be saved, he alters also the driving pulley E, causing the machine to make 30 per cent, more determinations per minute, and that this may be effected with greater certainty he reduced the depth of the step, shown at c, to just one-half, so that the beam has to travel only half the distance it formerly travelled to determine the position of the light, heavy, or medium piece. He next proceeded to alter the rod 0, because he observed that it received a tilting motion arising from its being lifted by a shoulder, as shown in the plate. To overcome this defect he made the rod straight up to a certain point, where he divided it into a kind of loop which passed over the cam N, which, as it revolves, lifts this rod perpendicularly. He still found that the cam N had a tendency to push this rod against its bearings, especially at 0 , so he placed a spring of brass between the top of its loop and the cam N, and secured at one end to /?, and by this contrivance made the cam to lift the brass, and that in its turn to raise the rod 0. There was yet another difficulty, caused by an occasional stoppage of the action of the spring Avhich softens the descent of the bearing of the rod 0 into its lower socket; this he removed by cutting a hole in the side of the socket, so that it can be seen at once if the sirring be in action. I am not one who approves his suggestions as to the remedy-wires. These may be the means of saving time, but they arc wrong in principle, and I do not describe them. Great inconvenience arose from the collection of dust, spangles of bullion, and other foreign matter on parts of the balance. This Mr. Bradshaw overcame by two simple contrivances ; first, he pierced the bottoms of the grooved trays, so that these substances might in a great measure fall through while the blanks were being arranged in rouleaux, thus separating the largest pieces, which, falling down the shoot, woidd stop its action; and, secondly, he placed a glass shelf midway between the table and the beam, that is, beneath the hopper /^, where it terminates at J, and above the beam S, where it is seen near the forceps M, thus protecting the beam and forceps. These may appear to be trifling alterations,—they are nevertheless to Cotton’s balance what the compound metal balance-wheel is to a watch. Mr. Pilcher was granted the magnificent sum of £40 for his invention of the file (to be described), but it is hoped that Mr. Bradshaw will be rewarded with a far more open-handed generosity ; for if, by judicious liberality, encouragements are offered to those in the Civil Service to give to the country the benefit of their inventions, wo may still hope that even our Government institutions will bear comparison with ordinary commercial 42 THE ROYAL MINT. inanuthctorics as regards the dcvclopement of inventive genins. Nor is this a small matter, for all the working improvements in the Cotton’s balance have been made by those whose duty it is to attend to their working; yet I am not aware that any acknowledgment, either direct or indirect, has been made to the officers concerned. It is said that their salaries cover all their time and energy. This may be true, but snch a policy is not calcnlated to result in many great steps towards perfecting either machines or processes. It is well to state that the beam in Mr. Cotton’s balance is 8-90 inches in length, and that its weight is 288-41 troy grains. Those blanks which are neither too light nor too heavy are called medium^ and are weighed and put into bags for future issue as coins. The light are reserved for the melting-pot. The heavy blanks should be reduced by means of a j)eculiar kind of file to the weight of medium blanks, and thus saved from being melted, so avoiding further loss to the Mint. This file was invented by Mr. Pilcher, who, being the officer of this room, considers his duty to be neglected if there be any improvement capable of being made, but which is left undone ; he never tires till the invention is comj)lete and the machine made. Mr. Albert Barre, the distinguished engraver to the Paris Mint, declares this file to have surmounted all the difficulties he has met with in this part of the jn’oeess. In his own words, “ it leaves the face of the blank untouched, and free to develope the work of the engraver, which no other file does, or can effect, because any metal which is ploughed out from the face of a blank, leaves a hole which is not filled up in coining.” The opinions which I have here expressed have so far prevailed on two of the travellers to European Mints, as to induce them to glance, though rather shyly, at the necessity for reducing heavy blanks; but Mr. Napier writes a passage which I quote, as it demonstrates that he, who is admittedly one of the most successfully ingenious men of the age, has thought over and studied the words I wrote at page 60 of the last edition—he took that book in his hand to the Mint on the day after its publication—with that attention to which he thought they were entitled. I beg the reader to ponder over Mr. Napier’s words, they are most important; but I hope those who will be called upon to vote the necessary money will also read my remarks on this extract from Mr. Napier’s report on European Mints. He says at page 44 : — “ Treatment of Too-heavy Blanks .—Notwithstanding the employment of the best mechanical appliances for rolling the hars, adjusting the fillets to gauge, and cutting out the blanks, and the most intelligent and painstaking workmen to carry on the operations, still, owing to unavoidable imperfections in the means, the blanks, when cut from the fillets, will not be found equal in weight, nor, indeed, so nearly equal that they can be recognised as of equal value, and passed on to be manufactured into coins destined to be put into circulation, and to represent one value. The irregularities will necessarily be more or less, according to the care and ability of the workmen, and the condition of the machinery; but under the most favourable circumstances only a certain proportion of the blanks will be found to come within the limits which it has been considered desirable to set down to restrict the quantity of error. THE ROYAL MINT. 43 “ This being so, the following questions present themselves: Are the too-heavy and too- light blanks to be returned to the crucible and remelted, or to be passed on and detected only in the finished coin, and then sent to the crucible ? Or are too-light blanks to be avoided altogether, and all the blanks to be made either of sufficient weight or too heavy ? and in such case are the too-heavy blanks to be submitted to some process for reducing their weight to within the legal limit ? Or is a more exact means to be preferred, by which they will be equalised to that perfection which cannot practically be questioned, and by which they will become, for all purposes, one and the same weight ? “ The facts collected are, that at nearly all the European Mints the reduction of too-heavy blanks, both of silver and gold, is practised, to avoid the loss attendant upon their retmm to the crucible, and that the endeavour is to make all the blanks either standard weight or heavier, so as to admit of reduction, to err, indeed, on the heavy side, even to the extent of necessitating the reduction of all the blanks. So great is the importance generally attached to this department, that it is calculated that, in some instances, nearly as many hands are employed in the service of it, including the weighing, as in all the other working departments combined. In Berlin, where particular care is devoted to the weight of the coins, between 200 and 300 men are employed in times of pressure in the weighing and equalising of the blanks, which operations are in this instance performed by the workman with a hand shaving apparatus, fixed to the table at which ho sits, and a pair- of scales also placed near to him. The work done by one man is revised by a second, and the file is used for giving the finishing touch, so that the blanks are brought to great perfection in weight. But although the extent of the moans shows the great importance attached to the results in the establishments visited, and the large expenditure which, at least in the opinion of the dh-ectors of these Mints, may be permitted with profit in this department, the serious consideration of the employment of so many hands would militate against the carrying out of the system in the New Mint. It may be satisfactory, therefore, to know that, in case the desii’ability of y to assign the chief merit to Mr. Ansell. “ It now ai^jDears that the antimony or arsenic acts injuriously when the gold blanks are allowed to cool gradually, but not when cooled suddenly, after annealing, the gold ai^jiearing to have time to crystallise and become granular under the influence of the antimony j^articles in the one case, but not in the other. The imjDrovement may be justly reju’esented as one of considerable value. It saves entirely much extra labour hitherto ajii^lied to brittle gold without any beneficial result. It will also lead to the diminution of waste, ot which brittle gold was always a fruitful soiu-ce.”* I do not accejit the conclusion arrived at by Mr. Graham, for my experiments showed clearly that this j)ecnliar gold could not be heated even to a black heat after coining without becoming absolutely brittle under all circumstances. Notwithstanding the experience gained by the coining of this brittle gold, the annealing of coined money was effected by the present authorities at the Royal Mint in 1808, when a vast amount of brittle gold was coined, of which considerably more than half a million sterling in coined jiicces were annealed and jilungcd into cold water, just as was done in 1859, and with 2 )recisely similar effects; that is, the jirodnction of brittle jiieces, as soft as lead and jierfectly rotten. These jiieces were sent to the Bank of England, where they have given great dissatisfaction. They slionld have been melted, as were those of 1859. I, being an officer of the Mint at the time, offered to coin this gold as I had coined that in 1859 ; my offer was declined, and a vast mass of very brittle coin was, in addition to that of which I have spoken as having been annealed after coining, issued to the public, besides many thousands of ounces uncoined having been returned to the Bank of England by the Mint authorities, who found themselves unable to coin it; these facts being, as I thiidv, little to the credit of the official ability. The Right Honourable Lord Ivinnaird, with a view to relieve the Mint antiiorities, suggested, on the 22nd of IMarcli last, from his jilace in the House of Lords, a jiroviso “that such gold”—specified in clause 8 of the Coinage Bill then under discussion—“should be free from lead, antimony, * Besides many verbal cougratulations, the Master wrote me the following letter: — Registered No. 302G, 1800. Dear Sir, Royal Mint, 20th October, 1860. Your success in obviating the difficulty of coining gold containing a minute portion of antimony or arsenic is a benefit to this department, which calls for my most grateful thanks. In recognition of your services I have the pleasui’e, with the approbation of the Lords Com¬ missioners of Her ilajesty’s Treasury, to present to you the sum of one hundred pounds, for which cheque is enclosed. I have the honour to be. Dear Sir, Most faithfully yours, Tho. Graham. George F. Ansell, Esq. U 5- TllE ROYAL IMINT. and other suhstauees, so as to admit of its being coined without previons retining.” The Government promised to consider this suggestion, and, after consideration, rejected it, althongh' the right thus proposed to be established has always been claimed by the Mint but disputed by the Bank of England. Ills lordship then di-ew the attention of the House of Lords to the issue of the brittle sovereigns, to which I have alluded, as having given so much dissatis¬ faction at the Bank, and on the 25th of March, the following letter appeared in the Times :— “THE COINAGE BILL DEBATE. “ To the Editor of the Times. “ Sir,— Ill your full and very correct report of what I stated in the House last night on the Coinage Bill, there is an error which I think must have occurred in the printing—‘ sweat ’ should he ‘ sweep.’ I think what I said in regard to the £640,000 sent hy the Mint to the Bank would have been clearer if I had added—‘ Its brittleness was increased by being annealed after coining.’ “Your obedient servant, “ 50, Avenue Koad, Regent’s Park, “ Einnaird. “ March 23rd.’’ Attention being thus forcibly di’avm to a great evil, the Marquess of Lansdowne, in reply to Lord Kinnaird’s remarks on the appointment of Mr^ Roberts, stated that “ Mr. Roberts was a very eminent chemist, who had proymd his capabilities by devising a system for depriving gold of the obnoxious properties on which the noble lord recently commented.” Lord Kinnaird has aLeady pointed out that this process, which the eminent Mr. Roberts has “ devised,” was discovered by Hr. Percy, and that the process Avas published by that gentleman so long since as 1848. Hr. Percy conceived the elegant idea that if a stream of chlorine gas Avere jjassed over an ore con¬ taining gold, the chlorine would combine with the gold and dissolve it out from its matrix, as AAmter would do sugar. This it does Avith complete success, forming a chloride of gold Avhich is readily soluble in water, and from Avhich it can be obtained Avith the utmost ease. With regard to the invention of the process for Avhich Lord LansdoAvne gaA"e Mr. Roberts credit, the facts of the case stand as follows. Hr. Percy discovered that by means of chlorine gas he could separate gold from its ores. He described his invention in the Transactions of the British Association in 1848, and in the Philosophical Transactions in 1850. Plattner carried it out practically about 1852 in Silesia, and I, in January, 185G, conducted a long senes of experiments upon it for the Chancellorsville Gold Mining Company. The exact process noAV proposed or “devised” by Mr. Roberts AA^as patented by Mr. Miller, the present assayer to the Sydney Mint, in 18G7—Ho. 17G7. When Lord LandsoAvne finds himself thus deceived, he Avill probably in future think it necessary to examine statements suggested to him before making them from his place in the House of Lords. This neiv process consists in forcing chlorine gas through melted gold. THE ROYAL MINT. 53 and it is assumed that the chlorine will cany off the silver, lead, antimony, tin, and arsenic, which render the gold brittle. On the face of the proposition, there are very grave reasons for believing that it will fail if tried. This also is the deliberate oj)inion of the most eminent metallurgical chemist of this or any other time; indeed, it has been tried and found a failure. It has failed of its object, and instead, attacks the gold, which, with the chlorine, will leave the melting-pot and pass into the chimney, creating a use for the proposed chimney chambers of Mr. Roberts. Experience at the Mint is to the effect that the run of gold ingots produced by the melting of worn and light coins culled from those in circula¬ tion is found to be worse than standard by 1-500th, or two in each thousand parts. There can be no doubt but that this is mainly due to the fact of the loss of copper hy the processes of annealing and blanching. In actual practice extending over many millions, it is found that 1,000,000 sovereign blanks lose 5,708 grains of copper : now, since this copper is removed from the surface, it leaves a sponge of pure gold coating that surface. Pure gold is very soft, and rapidly wears away, so that when the coins from which 5,708 grains of copper have been taken go into circulation, this film of gold, which amounts to c£555-62 on each million pieces, is removed by friction. It will probably be argued that the copper being taken first and the gold afterwards, leaves the coin of the same standard as the original bars ; * if, however, this proposition be examined, it will be seen that the bars are assayed and found to be below standard 0■55502 on the thousand coins ; but the blanks obtained from the bars are, by annealing and blanching,* brought to standard before they arc coined, and those coins assayed while new are found to be standard by the jury of goldsmiths at the trial of the pyx, because they retain this film of gold; let them, however, go into circulation and lose their film of gold, and they will be reduced to the original composition of the bar; that is, worse than standard 0’55562 in the 1,000. The trial of the pyxf is supposed to be a great protection to the people against deterioration of the coinage. This opinion is not entertained by those who have witnessed the whole operation, for then it is manifest that the copper is sufficiently oxidised while melting to insure the alloy containing enough gold to enable the jury to find it “ Fine, 4 grains on the pound,” or any other degree of fine¬ ness. There can be no doubt that the jury should be composed of men knowing something practically of assaying, and who would not hesitate to publish every detail of the process adopted, stating specifically the amount of loss incurred by melting the ingot produced from the selected coins. That the jury is composed of honourable men—goldsmiths—is beyond doubt; but that these goldsmiths should know how to assay is also an important matter, and * See pages 48, 49. f See pages IGG, 1G7. 54 THE ROYAL MINT. should be a sine quu non. It would bo well if some independent member wonlcl move the House for a return of the assays by the Mint of ingots produced from worn and light coin received from the Bank of England. llaving thns specifically stated in my previous editions the facts as they exist of our coinage, I waited a refutation of my statement. I was informed that the Bank of England had made carefnl assays, and proved that the worn gold coin was not below the standard of fineness. I was also informed that bullion merchants in London had obtained newly-coined sovereigns, and by means of a scratch-brush had removed the film of pime gold of which I spoke, and upon a re-assay no difference had been detected. My reply was, and continnes to be, the assays were either made by bunglers or were carelessly made, while with regard to the statement related for the Bank of England, I sunply refused credence because in my ovm knowledge that Institution has been greatly puzzled for years as to the reason of the lower assay, and it was myself who pointed out the cause to Mr. Thomas Graham on the 4th January, 1860. That gentleman mentioned my suggestion to the then chief cashier, who preferred to think “ it was due to the base coins which fomid their way into the Bank.” I said then as I think now—“I believe the officers of the Bank of England are far too sharp to take one base coin in five hundred.” This reply settled the discussion. That the light and worn coin is habitually below the standard is con¬ clusively proAmd by the fact that if any man should take, as the great Duke of'Wellington did, a thousand sovereigns to a jeweller’s to be made into plate— and his Grace took coined money that he might be sure to have plate of the fineness of 22 carats, or standard gold—he would find, as the duke found to his cost, the plate “ cut ” at the Goldsmiths’ Hall as being below standard. That the case still exists is so well acknowledged by jewellers that they invariably add “fine gold” when they melt coin for plate which is to be stamped with the Hall mark. “ Monetarius,” who vTote to the Times from Malvern—where, singularly, Mr. Thomas Graham was then residing—and Sir John Herschel, quoted in their letters to the Times the report of a Belgian chemist to prove that our coinage is invariably standard. Snch authorities seemed to quiet public opinion; but Lord Kinnaii’d moved on two occasions in the House of Lords for the “ Eetums of assays by the Mint of ingots produced from worn and light coin received at the Mint from the Bank of England.” The Government fii’mly refused these returns on the alleged ground that they were “ too bulky Lord Kinnau’d, however, explained the true cause of the refusal when he said that these returns would conclusively prove that the gold coinage, when worn, is habitually below the standard, as is also shown by Mr. Ernest Seyd in his letter of the 20th, inserted in the Times of the 21st August, 1869 :— THE ROYAL MINT. 55 “ . . . . The British public are under the impression that English sovereigns stand highest as hir as correctness in quality is concerned. In reality, the British gold coin falls much more below its standard fineness than French, American, and Russian coin. . . . But the best ijroof of the greater inferiority of the British gold coin is given by the action of the Bank of England. The Bank of England cuts light gold coin, and so renders it unfit for further circulation. The holder of such coin thus loses, in the first place, the value of the gold worn away by abrasion, and the cut sovereigns are handed back to him as being now only bullion (the loss so far amounts to from Id. to 4d. per sovereign) ; the bullion now remaining is the metal of which the coin had been made, presumably at the rate of 77s. lOJd. per ounce, and worth that much, or, at the Bank rate for buying gold, at least 77s. fid. per ounce. Yet the Bank of England will not give more than 77s. Q\d. for it. AVorth at Mint price, fiB4Jd., the Bank pays but fiBOJd. per ounce—a deduction of 0-43 per cent.” I need not express an opinion npon such a case so stated; hut I can quote one of far higher value, for Mr. J. G. Huhhard, who is a profound authority, says, in his letter in the Times of September 4th, 1869 :— “ This inaccuracy of our Mint assays was pointed out by Air. Seyd in his intelligent and well-informed letter of the 20th ult., and I can corroborate his observations by my own experience of sovereigns sent to Russia, where the Alint, more exact than our own, ranked sovereigns at fully ^ cai-at grain worse than standard.” Let us now see what stej)s are taken by the authorities, and then judge of tlieir motive for introducing a reform so greatly needed, and which would never liave been attacked had not I unceasingly urged it since 1860. In his Report on European Mints, Mr. C. W. Eremantle says :—• “I have therefore received with much satisfaction the expression of Mr. Roberts’s opinion that the process of blanching may, as far as gold coin is concerned, bo discontinued without detriment to the appearance of the coin. It is this 2»'ocess which leads to the deterioration of standard found to exist in gold which has been for some length of time in circulation, and in conse¬ quence of their Lordships’ decision that light gold coin shall for the future be received back BY THE Mint for recoinage, the question becomes at this moment one of peculiar importance.” I have emphasized some of the passages as showing that this decision is very like that of the unjust judge—not so much from conviction of right as from the necessity of the case. I do not charge the Mint with yielding to importunity; hut being made to bear the loss, they are willing to amend that which they notv openly admit to have been a VTong. Why is the opinion of Mr. Roberts quoted? why not some of the great officials at the IMint ? Silence on this head is significant. Mr. Roberts will hardly desire to claim a discovery which he found in my last book, for he, too, bought one of the first copies Avhich were sold. That I may not appear to bo claiming that which is not my own, I quote the words from Mr. Roberts’s report:— “ It is evident that bars slightly below standard may be allowed to pass to the subsequent operations of coining, on the assumption, justified by calculation, that the blanching would be attended with a sufficient elevation ol standard to bring the coins within the limits of fineness piescribed by law. The film of soft j)ure meted, however, is removed bg wear ; and the coins, u'hen remelted, will consequentlg be found to be below standard fineness. “ This is a question of some importance now that the Mint has undertaken the operation of re-coining light pieces, and I would recommend, therefore, that the process of blanching gold coin should be altogether abolished.” The italics are my own, and if the words so pointed out be read with reference to those I have persistently used, there can be but one conclusion. 56 THE ROYAL MINT. Roberts having had but a few months’ experience in the Mint, iiotAvdth- standing Mr. Fremantle’s reliance on his judgment. As regards the trial of the pyx, useless and mischievously deceptive as it is shown to be, the Act of Farliament, 33 Victoria, cap. 10, makes it imperative to give this excuse for a dinner at the Goldsmiths’ Hall at least once a year. Had the Government assented to the proposition of Lord Ivinnaird, and nominated the Professor of Metallurgy for the time being in the Royal School of Mines, one of their own officers, and who at present is the most distinguished of metallurgists, foreman of the jury, the country could have relied upon the verdict now given honestly enough ; but upon inadequate knowledge, indeed, if the reader will refer to pages lO—12, it will become clear that so delicate a process as assaying should be watched by those who can appreciate its refinements, or its results can possess no judicial value. I attended the trial of the pyx, which was held on the ITth July, 1860, with an especial view to, and an avowed intention of, publishing details of the operation. With a deshe to further this object Mr. W. H. Barton, the then Deputy Master, gave me the following particulars, and I, for myself, observed that the coin when melted was placed in an open crucible, without fiux, and for part of the time without a cover: the ingot produced was of a good black colour from the oxidation of the copper. The objections to such a melting can hardly be exaggerated, and I am of opinion that however fairly selected—and they were honestly taken—1’310 ounces is not a sufficient bulk on which to form an opinion as to the purity of £24,654,849 of gold coin. Coined ^loney. Name of Master when Coin was Pj'xed. Value of the Coined Money Pyxed. Weight of Pieces taken from the Coined Money for the Pyx. Weight of Coins taken to melt into an Ingot for the Assay. Loss bj'’ Melting to obtain the liigot. Weight of BuJlion acuially taken from tlie Ingot for the Assay. S. d. Ounces. Ounces. Ounces. Ounces. Sir J. F. W. Herschel, Bart. ! 2,977,190 12 2 1052-200 9-116 0-020 0-766 Gold ■ Thomas Graham, Esq. ) f 24,654,849 0 91 8300-087 51-500 0-077 1-310 Sir J. F. W. Herschel, Bart. J 100,450 7 0 121-899 3-137 0-046 1-287 Silver Thomas Graham, Esq. 1 1 2,331,666 19 6 2811-543 67-881 0-652 1-781 The authorities of the Mint, having assented to part of my proposition, have yet stopped half way, and blindly considering that the blanching alone was the cause of loss to and fictitious value of the coinage, they will find that their loss is greater now than it was when they unwisely permitted blanch¬ ing. I do not point out to them the reason why that is now their busi- THE ROYAL MINT. 57 ness; but I confess that I am a little amazed at Mr. Roberts’s recommendation —one that was given up by the moneyers before he was born, yet now gravely made by that gentleman in these words, “ I should prefer that in order to prevent needless wear to the dies, the blanks should be annealed, after every trace of oil has been removed by washing with the aid of alkali, the utmost care being taken to avoid oxidation by exposure to air.” One seems to sec Mr. Roberts in the presence of men who would dwell on liis instructions as would a soldier on those of his general, directing the filling of a copper tube with gold blanks, previously divested of “ oil by alkali,” so as to leave a film of lime soap neatly protecting their surface, and covering them with powdered charcoal. The tube so filled will be duly placed in the furnace, duly heated, and duly plunged into the cistern of cold water by the foreman, who, having- taken an insm-ance ticket from the Accidental Death Company, feels quite safe, when, suddenly, a mass of copper and some pounds weight of gold blanks occupy the space from which it is hoped his head may have retired in time. Quite seriously, I have seen the cap of a tube blown suddenly otf, and the blanks projected from the tube so plunged into water—from the same cause that bursts a kitchen boiler when cold water is admitted to one already red hot—with such violence as would certainly kill a man if he chanced to be in the line of fire. Do they not at the Mint understand the true cause of loss? An officer who tells his men to “go and do,” is not so likely to effect his object as if he were to show them “ how to do ” the work required of them; neither “bullying” nor making the men pay for losses will stop those losses of bullion. Knowledge alone is power. Knowledge alone can direct. Knowledge alone is required in the Royal Mint. There are plenty of men there who are most desirous to carry out any instructions ; but, if the bugle give an uncertain sound, who can obey ? The effect of the annealing having been thus dwelt upon and explained, I will continue the description of the subsequent operations, stating what was formerly done and what had better be recurred to till experience is gained by those who are entrusted with the management of the Mint. After about three minutes’ boiling in dilute sulphuric acid, the blanks in their colander were washed under a stream of cold water, to remove the sulphate of copper and the STd])huric acid from their surfaces, otherwise these substances would deface the dies used for coining, as Avell as give the coin a dirty aiq^earanco. From the washing they were taken to a sieve of sawdust. A, Fig. 10, into which they were thrown to be dried by friction with the hand. A revolving drum of brass lined with wood has lately been introduced for this purjiose. The objec¬ tions to this form of apparatus ai)pear to be that the blanks get hardened by blows, through falling against each other, lose more in weight, and become indented on the surface, thus producing a less perfect coin. It had been wiser 58 THE ROYAL MINT. to have iutrodnced a sieve vdtli au eccentric motion, wliicli, if tilled Avitli saw¬ dust, Avonld shake that dust between the blanks and dry each one perfectly, when, by the removal of a false bottom, the sawdust conld he allowed to sift itself fi-oni the blanks by one or two tm-ns of the sieve, and the latter wonld he as soft as they invariably were before the introdnction of the brass drum. This would be a matter of importance if, as is to be hoped, the authorities are induced to abolish the process of annealing and blanching, for then it wonld still be necessary to remove the film of oil which is left on the blanks in the cutting-out process, and this conld be done more quickly and effectively in the proposed sieve than by any other 'process. The sawdust absorbs the water from the surface of the blanks just as wonld a piece of sponge; but the smfface is not all, for it is found that by the removal of the copper the gold on the face of the blank has been brought almost into the condition known as frosted; it is, in fact, to a small extent, honey-combed. The gold represents the comb, and the copper the honey, but as the copper is removed, water takes its place, and has to be dislodged from these interstices by heat. The blanks, having been paiTially dried in the sieve A, are put into the tray B, and from this they were shot into the colander oven C, which was closed, and then thrust into the heated chamber D, and twisted gently round and round at intervals during ten minutes. The blanks were then turned out into a sieve E, by which any par¬ ticles of dust were separated; the blanks were finally, by the aid of the tray B, placed in a bag. The sawdust fell from the sieve A on to a plate of iron heated by the furnace E, by which it was dried, and became ready for another operation. The chamber D was heated by a small furnace beneath it. The blanks, having been thoroughly cleaned after annealing, are taken to the coining press, which at the present time is, as to efficiency, about what the old water-wheel is to the steam-engine ; yet, as a relic of the past, it is a magnificent conception. It is perhaps the most interesting in its work of any •v'' S(D]R]EW-G©]I»3IW© FIRES So J. W.Lowry.Sculy^ E. S. Gxbscm, Del* AS USED IN THE ROYAL MINT. THE ROYAL MINT. 59 of the coining machinery; its action is truly pleasing to watch, but one must feel that the totally deaf would enjoy the watching it at work more than do those who are endowed with the sense of hearing, because the noise of the presses would not disturb their thoughts. The noise is really painful. In these ojiinions Messrs. Fremantle and Napier express entire concurrence. The blanks taken from the colander oven are each by a single blow at this machine converted into coins possessing the obverse and reverse impressions, as well as the crenated edge, which is one of the means employed to protect the coin from the peculations of the clijDpers, those enemies to coin of all ages and all countries, but whose business has departed, not so much from the crenated edge as from the better balances placed in the hands of almost every man—certainly within reach of every man. The crenated edge is known to be no protection against the plan called “ sweating,” and which is effected by shaking the new coins in bags, when perhaps an ounce of gold may be obtained from 1,000 new sovereigns. The sovereigns thus treated are passed, and the operator makes his profit, but the light gold is detected by the balance, not by the eye. This is not the jjlace to discuss* such a question, so that we pass on to a description of the machine which is used to give the image and superscrqition to coins which will be ciuTent in accordance with the law. The steel engraving illustrates Mr. Boulton’s screw coining press. The blank is laid by the automaton hand D on the lower die F ; D rctii’cs, and the collar then rises and encloses the blank, while the upper die, fixed to the main screw of the press by the securing apparatus M, comes down with a blow estimated to be about forty tons, and, striking the blank, causes its particles to re-arrange themselves, and to assume the form given by the engraving on the dies and the crenated collar wliich surrounds them ; f in other words, the plain blank becomes by one blow a coin in every way complete. The following description will convey to the reader an explanation of the processes as they arise. The press having been set at rest, with the fullest space betAveen the dies, is called iqy —that is to say, the upper die has been raised from the lower die, and in this position the automaton hand D has coin-eycd a blank from the tube E to, and holds it over, the loAver die F ; upon the fii-st motion of the press dowmAmrds, the eccentric AA'heel or cam A causes the IcA^er B, Avhich works on the pAot «, to withdraAV I) by the pin C. The IcA'cr B may be lengthened or shortened at pleasure by an arrangement against the lower B. The first motion towards the Avithdrawal of 1) causes its finger or hand to open, and to release the blank, which falls upon the face of the loAvcr die. The opening of the finger, or hand, is effected by a pin AA’hich Avorks in a slit in the movable finger of D, near to C. The continuation of the motion AA'hich draAVS back 1), causes the rods I, AA'hich are carried by the main scrcAV G, to * Sec pages 123— 12 j 5. f Sec page 80. 1 oo THE ROYAL MINT. release tlie collar Iv, by the levers J. The collar K, being thus relieved from dov'mvard pressiire, rises by the elasticity of the springs L until it wholly encloses the blank which has been left on the lower die. The rods I pass through the shoulder of the frame of the press, and are destined for another service besides that just described; for the main screw G, which travels through a female screw fixed in the frame of the press (as may be seen by the dotted lines between G and H), thereby receives its power to rise or fall upon each part of a revolution, whereas the upper die must strike the blank a blow just such as would be struck by a hammer, and without a twisting motion ; therefore that motion of G is lost just below H, Avhere G fits into a cup suspended rigidly on, and is prevented from twisting by, the rods I, as shown at N. To the lower part of the cup N is fastened M, which carries the upper die. So that, just at the moment that the levers J have permitted the collar to enclose the blank, the upper die reaches the full force of its bloAV, and comes upon the blank. The force of the blow, by converting the blank into a coin, causes an instantaneous recoil of the scrcAV G, which is assisted in its rise by a kind of balance just equal to its weight. The nature of this arrangement vill be better understood by reference to the engraving, where the funnel- shaped tube 0 is seen to be traversed by a rod X, represented by dotted lines, and which terminates in the head of the screw G near the lowest X; the opening in the funnel being for the convenience of fixing this rod to G. At Y is a swivel, where the twisting motion of X, given by G, is lost. X is connected at its upper end with a balanced beam W, the other end of which is in communication with the chamber Y by a rod Avhich carries a piston Avorking in Y. The chamber Y is not wholly exhausted, but is in connection by a tube with the partially-exhausted chamber T, an arrange¬ ment Avhich, while it becomes a counterpoise to the weight of the press, is used as a regulator of the blow to be given, so that it is quite possible to coin blanks of differing denominations by the agency of this chamber without altering the vacuum in the large vessel T. The motive power of the press, that Avhich brings down the die with force, is gained by the pressure of the atmosphere upon a piston in the cylinder R, and is conveyed to the press as follows:—The lever P is fixed firmly on to the trumpet-shaped tube 0, and is connected by a series of rods, Q, with the piston in P, from which the tube S communicates with T. The large chamber T is kept in a constant state of partial exhaustion by the action of a thirty horse¬ power steam-engine, through a well-made iron tube of considerable length. The boy who works the press starts it by first pulling a cord /, terminating in the box in Arhich he sits; the cord/, by its spring n, releases the valve d at and permits it to act when required ; he next pulls the cord which by its loose leA’er opens the valve / through Avhich the atmosphere passes freely across the THE ROYAL MINT. 6 i bottom of the piston in the cylinder R into the tube S, and so into the partially- exhausted chamber T ; this would cause a rush of air through the valve ^7, but c7, at the instant of its release by the line /, is closed by a spring. Atmospheric air expands instantly if the pressure be removed from it, so that immediately on the ojiening of the valve the air beneath the piston in 11 expands, and part of it, entering the chamber T, j^roduces an unequal pressure upon the upper and lower sides of the piston, and the result is that the piston is forced down by the weight of an atmosphere it is unable to support. By the time that the piston has completed its stroke, the rod c has brought a button, which it carries on its farther side, and situated at 7", dovm so low that it strikes the lever 7, and closes the valve j, thus stopping the expansion of air below the piston, while the button m has at the same instant permitted the falling of the lever e, and the consequent opening of the valve d ; when the recoil of the screw G takes place, the piston in its descent expels (l)y compression) the small amount of air remaining in the cylinder R through r7, thus opening it so that air can rush in at this valve and permit the rising of the piston. The rising of the piston insures the removal of the button at T-, and so soon as k is removed, I is forced up by a spring at its hirther end, and opens the valve j, thus giving the means of consecutive action to the press. If it be desired to stop the press, the boy loosens the line /, and so permits the spring n to keep the valve d permanently open. The boy, before supplying blanks to the tube E, piles them on an iron block h, and flattens each blank in the pile by one or two blows of a hammer on the top of the pile. In “ European Mints ” arc some apt words, with which I conclude my remarks on this great invention of Mr. Boulton—great beyond compare at the period of its birth, great beyond admiration if its results be estimated faithfully and gratefully hy a thoughtful people. We in our day are indebted to Mr. Boulton for his press ; yet its age has passed, and as a park loses its tim¬ ber, so must our Mint lose—sorrowfully to all Avho love the past—its glorious mementos of men who dwell in history to make present men mere manikins. Original minds are not now tolerated; subservience if you will; but inven¬ tion—not if a man values or depends upon his office. Mi’. Napier says trul}", “ The press just mentioned and its apparatus are complicated, scattered, and unhandy, reaching into three apartments, and require a foundation of great solidity, and a special construction of building. The noise and vibration accompanying their performance are disturbing to a greater extent than in the case of the blank cutting screw press to which reference has been made.” It has been conceived that coins arc made of two discs of metal soldered together, and that the crenated edge is intended to hide the join. This notion has arisen froin the occasional appearance of a cracked coin in circula¬ tion ; the true explanation of tlie cracked coin being that at tlie time of 62 THE ROYAL MINT. pomiug the fluid metal into the mould, au air bubble has beeu euclosed, and this air bubble has reut the fillet asunder at the time of its being rolled ; but the separation does not exhibit itself until the final aimealing, when it is too late for its discovery ; receutl}^, howcAmr, it has become a custom to ring the coined gold before it goes into cii'culatiou, and thus to detect and stop such defective pieces. The origin of the crenated, commonly called the “milled,” edge (thus giving the uame of the instrument to the substance operated upon), was the desire to make any clipping of the coin easily noticeable. Many devices were used, but John Evelyn suggested the motto, Deciis et tidamcn* and this was retained for some coins until 1854. The crenated edge is now produced, vuthout exception, and it is really the best, as admitting of easier ftrnaTr -Petition Crown, • >rvMui-Y-Pits• vovr T r.V J.Y HAV>'? J-iM P O SS n OmPARR •THIS »3ir S • TRYAnX • TH-CIV VVITH-THE' I LY- Q -R-T) T Fig. 18.—Inscription on edge of the Petition Crown. detection if counterfeited. The distinctive marking of the edges of coins is of very early date, and was performed by various species of hand labour, each in its turn easy of falsification. At length this was effected by machinery, until finally the coin was formed by striking the blank while enclosed in a collar. The use of the collar, and its first invention, are somewhat doubtful; Mr. Hawkins, however, appears to have established the fact of its having been used at so early a date as William the Conqueror {vide “Ending,” vol. i. p. 158); but the earliest coin which gives a clear notion of the use of a collar is the celebrated Petition Crown of Simon, which he coined for and presented to Charles II. Fig. 17 represents this very highly-prized coin, one of which was sold a few years since for <£275. This wood engraving is by Messrs. Cheshire and Dickenson, from a fac-simile drawing taken by Mr. E. S. Gibson; it is an exact copy of the coin in the Mint collection. It is surrounded on its edge by a petition in raised letters, of which Eig. 18 is a fac-simile. The late * In Evelyn’s “Discourse of Medals,” 1G97, p. 224, occurs the following passage:—“Mr. Slinrjshji, to whom I suggested the Decus d- Tiitcmien out of a Viuiet in Cardinel de RicJdieu’s Greek Testament, printed at the Louvre, hindering his intended Addition [in armis), which neither would have become the impress, nor stood gracefully in the circle.” THE ROYAL MINT. 63 Mr. W. H. Barton thought that this coin must have been struck while surrounded d)y a collar, or it could not have been produced at all. This opinion induced a further search for the collar which was used, and which is believed to be in existence, and to have been seen by men now living,—it is probably amongst the collection of cmiosities of coining left by Mr. W. H. Barton. Mr. Barton suggested that the petition must have been engraved on a fillet of steel, wliich was then coiled up in a collar, as indicated by Fig. 19, and that the blank to be coined was then placed in the coiled fillet of steel. The coin having been struck, the fillet with the coin was knocked out from the collar, just as medals are now knocked out; and, once free, the fillet sju’ang off from the coin. This conjecture was so strongly confirmed by minute examination, that it may be interesting to represent the mode of operation by means of Fig. 19, where A is the engraved fillet coiled up and Fig. 19.—Fillet and Collar. just ready to di’op into the collar B ; the opening 0 which is left is copied from the petition on the coin, which shows the metal to have been forced through this part of the fillet, where its ends, which were cut to fit each other, did not quite meet. The head of this protruding part has been filed off, the file marks still remaining visible on this part of the edge of the coin. This fact renders Mr. Barton’s conjecture almost a certainty. The coin weighs 517T0 grains ; its average diameter is on the obverse 1*5784 inches, and on the reverse 1*5837 inches, both measures having been taken on the extreme edge. The petition is somewhat sunken and rounding inwards; if therefore it be measured from its lowest part, the centre of the edge of the coin, the diameter of the coin is 1*5741 inches, giving 0*0043 inch which must be worn away before the top of the letters of the petition can be touched in ordinary wear; thus the coin would cii’cnlatc for centuries, and its petition still remain untouched. The coin being 0*0053 inch greater in diameter on its reverse than on its obverse side, admitted of its being more readily punched out from its collar, which was doubtless cut to admit of this design being carried out. The engraving on this 64 THE ROYAL MINT. coin is tlie cause of its great value, Simon liaviug so perfectly carried out the idea that coins should represent sculpture, that this specimen stands wholly uu- rivalled as a coin. It has led to the impression that so good artists are not to he found at this day as flourished then. The fact is that artists seek such cmplojTuent as remunerates them for then study; and until then conditions of employment are satisfied we must abstain from the desire to see coins such as were produced in ages past, and which gave an honom-ahle name to the country j)roducing them. It may be hoped tliat this means of preserving the history of the age ui which so much has been done may be continued. It was probably from this collar of Simon’s that Sir Isaac NcaHou gained his idea for that which he is said to have invented. The collar of the present day leaves nothing to desii’e, for it gives so distinctive a mark to the edge of the coin that any mutilation must be detected; while forgers are unable to produce coins to imitate those struck in it, unless they use the same means, which would inciu’ too great an expense. The coinages of Victor Emmanuel illustrate beautifully how easily coins may be struck, so that, after years of wear, they still represent the original more than creditably. To take an instance, a bronze coin, 5 centesimi, has been purposely subjected, for nine years, to more than ordinarily rough usage. This coin is little worn; the whole of the features are still perfect, except that the hair is worn off above the ears, and part of the moustache is removed. The secret of success in this coin appears to be that the ear and adjacent parts are slightly sunken, while the whole of the work and inscription are kept well beloAV the protecting edges, and there is not an indistinct flgure or letter on the coin. In the British Mint false notions lead its authorities to believe that apparent saving is real economy; so far from such being the case, if our coins carried a better design they would not only look better, but wear longer, and still main¬ tain their weight. While it is my intention to allude in another place to the large loss occasioned by our silver coinage, I submit to the reader the facts arrived at by Mr. William Miller, the late chief cashier in the Bank of England, who devoted great attention to the rate of wear of coins. He found that coins which had lost their protecting edges wear far more rapidly than those with a protecting edge, and showed me tabular statements demon¬ strating that fact. It was the intention of Mr. Miller to publish these tabulated results. However, his painfully early removal has, I fear, prevented that benefit being given to the public. His brother has no knowledge of their having been published ; but Mr. Greorge Forbes, the chief cashier in the Bank of England, has courteously given me a table closely allied to those of which I speak, and another to which I shall refer hereafter. I now, with permission, print this table, showing tlie rates at which coins of the different reigns have worn, and which rates all tend to prove clearly Mr. Miller’s A Statement showing the Results of some Experiments made upon a Large Number of Silver Coins, of which 1G9,000 were exajhned singly, WITH THE VIEW OF ASCERTAINING THE PRESENT CONDITION OF THE SiLVER CIRCULATION, AND THE LoSS BY WeAR. It should bo observed that the average of loss by wear in a century, given in the Table, is founded upon the wear which the several coinages have undergone up to the present time ; but as the rate at which a coin wears is an increasing rate, it is obvious that the actual loss in a century would be much greater than that here given :— ■s .s o o o o O 0 c3 o o o o o 0 a .5 o" CD lO o o o o 0 cT ^ .5 07 00 CO CO rH cc CO 0 6 'a 0 CO o o t~ 0 X rH 0 0 ^ 3 i 07 rH o X CO CO 07 >> o ^ g s ?? ^ lO o" o CO rH 0 CO JlO rH rH 07 ^H to 0 07 r^^ 07 Ci 07 rH o rH ^ i o 5 o rtH o 0 00 07 to ^ O o CO CO 07 " co” rH CO to m S rH 07 O o s ' ■ ' ■ m by s, at the the several , up to me. 5 0 O O O 07 o lO 07 o 0000 O “ > ^ (T) go O -T rH CO 00 o o ^ 00 O 0 0X0 LO o o o CO O 00 O (O ^ 0 ~ 2 2 ^ I a 1 S' » s- £ .5 • rH 07 XO XO iO rH CO rH Ci O i-O X ^ CO 0 c XI ^ L- Ol lO 00 07 rH O o CO to 0 X CO 0 0 O T-H CO o CO H rH ci 07 00 CO 07 CO ci rH GO rH CO O CO 07 CO X X 0 0 rH i-H CO o CO rH rH CO CO to rH 07 CO Ph ^ rH 07 rH 07 07 rH rH rH B o o O 07 -H X -fH X 0 0 CC rtt 07 0 rH X O 0 c -2 00 T^l CC CO CO 07 CO 07 to Ol" ci O l>^ 07 CO iO rJH i-O O X ^ rH rH 07 CO GO X 0 .ti O si rH ^ o o rH O 00 00 rH 00 07 0 ^ X tr- rH 07 lO LO 00 CO O CO 07 07 X 0 rH 0 -ft L-- t-- hH 1-H H ^ I-H I-H •—1 rH rH g ->ti < ss < E S W M « 2 cj -J Ph S w w 5 o O s t-i 2 M a « 2 g o S 2 H g 2 « « O K « R ■-) « M 2 « K o ri ® ® o o ^ w w ^ ;i3 o ^ iJ o o 2 w w B j 0 0 o O !> r' p- ?: O O t- 's!5 0 , cn y-A cn m o 05 W cn Ph I-H 0 o X; X O P3 Ph i-a < w t-H Ph O hd t-:] I-H HH I-H pq PP X! HH O Ph TP -j: Bank of England, December, 1860. 66 THE ROYAL MINT. opiuiou to have been correctly formed. The fiict of the increasing rate of wear wonld appear to be explained by the larger surface exposed to friction by the removal of the protecting edge. 'Wlien a little later I come to the discnssion, on page 155, of the second table, I shall have occasion to say a few more words on this, which seems to find a fitting place on the preceding page, bnt contains matter which will cause too great a digression if dwelt upon now. As further showing the rate of wear, I append a note which I have copied from the eighth volume of the Journal of the Societfj of Arts, "written by Mr. John Miller, to whose coiu'tesy I have often been indebted, and who shows that the general rate of wear is rather higher than would appear from the above facts, for his figures prove a loss by wear to the extent of £4 115. 8f/. on a hundred sovereigns in a hnndi’ed years, as will be seen in his letter which follows :— “Bank of England, Gold Weighing Boom, “ 29i/t August, 1859. “ Sir,— According to your -wisli I collected one hundred sovereigns of the date one thousand eight hundred and twenty, which, on weighing, I find have lost in value one pound six shillings and sevenpence. “ As these sovereigns were taken from parcels sent in from different places, and at different times, during a long period, I think the experiment is as likely to give a correct estimate of the loss which the coin undergoes by wear as any that could be tried. “ I have the honour to be. Sir, “ Your very obedient servant, (Signed) “ J. Miller. “A. Latham, Esq., Deputy Governor.” That I may convey as accurate information as possible I also give the following tables from the same volume of the Society of Arts. These tables seem so clear as to render detailed explanation unnecessary. It would appear that coins wear pretty much in proportion to the kind of usage they receive; for Professor Jevons, in his pamphlet “On the Condition of the Metallic Currency of the United Kingdom,” shows indisputably that at the West End of London they suffer less than at the East End, where they are thrown with force on rough and often sandy benches while at the West they are treated with more consideration.. Kesults of some Careful Examinations made in 1858 of Light Gold and Silver Coin OF THE Early Years of the Present System of Coinage, 1817 to 1825, TAKING 1822 as the MEAN OF THOSE YEARS. Mint Weifrlit of eacli Coin. Mint Weight of £100 worth. Weiglit of £100 worth of old Coin. Loss in 36 Years, 1822 as the Mean. Sovereign .... Half-Sovereign Half-Crown .... Shilling. Sixpence. Ounces. •25682 •12841 •4545 •1818 •0909 Ounces. 25-682 25-682 363-636 363-636 363-636 Ounces. 25-360 25-070 345-850 315-575 296-950 Ounces. •322 •612 17-786 48-061 66-886 The above data applied to 100 years give the following results :— THE ROYAL MINT. 67 Mint Weiglit of £100 worth. Loss of "Weight of £100 worth in a Century. Loss of Value in a Century. Loss of We ght of eaeli piece in a Century. Loss of Volume from 1,000 parts in a Century. Sovereigns Ounces. 25-082 Ounces. -895 £ m. 3-485 Ounces. -00895 35 - Half-Sovereigns . 25-082 1-700 0-020 -00850 00 - Half-Crowns . 303-030 49-100 13-587 -00170 130- Shillings .... 303-030 133-503 30-713 -00075 307- Sixpences 303-030 185-239 50-941 -04031 509- (Signed) W. MILLER. Bank of England, 8ei Gratia -was also omitted ou some of the coins of George I. t 33rd Viet., c. 10, cl. 4. THE ROYAL AITNT. 6g on its end by the dies ", and on either of these occnrrenees, the dies may come forcibly together, and disfigure each other, so that the next coin 'which is produced carries "with it on each side a faint impression of both dies as "w^ell as its proper impression. This could never happen if the levers ■vsdiich carry the weights Z on the screw of the press performed actually the whole of the functions for which they arc designed. A contrivance has been adapted to the coining presses to stop their action should the automaton hand fail to bring forward a blank for coining. This, after months spent in attempting its use, is set aside because it increases the evil it was intended to remedy. Fig. 21 is a representation of an imperfect half-crown which had been submitted twice to the process of coining, and by oversight passed into circulation in 1818. It had been current, and was taken in ordinary change in July, 18G1; it is much worn, but on each side may be clearly traced the impressions of the obverse and of the reverse, singular etfects being pro¬ duced where the crown of the reverse fits so neatly on to the back of the head of his Majesty; and where, on the obverse, the shield disjdaces his Majesty’s face. This could hardly have been an accidental occurrence ; it would seem that the workman of the press must have struck the coin properly, and then taken some pains to fit it into a larger collar and give it a second blow. If the collars were all of precisely the same size such an act would be impossible; but there are sufficient variations in the size of the collars to admit of this explanation. Some accidental productions have been called by ignorant writers incused corns, and conjectural histories of them have been published; when, in fact, their history is simply this: it so chanced that the coin last struck remained upon the upper die, and gave its lowei--side impression to the upper side of the next blank which was coined. This is no uncommon occurrence, and the effect of it would be that such a coin would have the same device on each side; but of course one would present the design in relief and the other in intaglio. Such being some of the imperfections of Mr. Boulton’s coining press, it may perhaps be assumed that they can be readily overcome ; but I am not aware of the existence of any press which is free from them. The French press has, however, many advantages, and the Mint authorities have recently had a new one made, from which extraordinary results were anticipated, but 70 THE ROYAL MINT. it now appears that this is simply another improvement of the nsnal type, and that it has cost about £1,500 and remains on the premises of the mann- factiu’ers. As -the coined money issues from the press it is collected in trays and examined ; all imperfect coins, cnrionsly termed “ brockages,” ai-e picked ont; and the good coins weighed into drafts of 701 sovereigns, equal in weight to about 180 ounces ; these are at present sent to the weighing room, where they are examined for imperfect coins by passing over a kind of blanket, so arranged on a series of rollers that each coin lying on its surface can be seen as the blanket revolves. The blanket covered with coins is carried round a set of rollers, and thus produces them on the upper side of a lower blanket, when the reverse side can be seen. The effect of this machine is to worry the eye, if constant watching be enforced, for no one can watch a string of coins in continuous motion and see each one. A very minute alteration of this machine would cause it to stop for a few seconds at intervals, and during that stoppage the accus¬ tomed eye could readily detect and select the imperfect coin. After this overlooking, the coins are rung as blanks used to be, and then weighed separately, all the rejected going to the melting-pot, by which a waste * of 50 per cent, is incruTed at the extreme end of an elaborate process; but this unwise course, it is to be hoped, will soon be abandoned when its expensive and perfectly useless extravagance is considered. After the various operations of the weighing room the coin is collected and weighed into separate bags, each containing 701 sovereigns; the exact weight of the contents of each bag is noted; and, the bags having been placed in a truck, are taken to the Mint Office, where they undergo what is called 'pyxing which is simply the selecting from each and every bag a pound weight, from which two coins are taken ; each coin is weighed and its weight recorded. Of these coins one is placed in the hands of the assayer to determine its value as to per-centage of gold, and the other is sealed in a packet, which is placed in ^^pyx for the trial of the pyx at West¬ minster—an ancient process now useless, because any skilled man can detect by assay a deterioration of the coin. These particulars having been taken, the coin is in due course delivered to the officers of the Bank of England, who conduct it in amounts of about £140,000 to the Bank in a waggon. The law enacts that 20 lbs. weight troy of standard or crown gold shall be made into 934-50 sovereigns, and this proportion gives the means of deter¬ mining the theoretical weight of one sovereign; for if the 20 lbs. troy weight produce 934-50 -f coins, it is only necessary to divide by that number the number of grains in 20 lbs. troy, and the quotient will represent the weight of a single sovereign, viz., 123-2744783306581059 troy grains; therefore the journey of 701 sovereigns should weigh 180-032102728731942215 troy ounces, * See pages 42—45, 108, 109. f See pages 73, 123, 124. THE ROYAL MINT. 71 and a million 256821-829855377 troy ounces, equal to 7-861892750G797 tons avoirdupois; hence the War Indemnity of France will weigh 1572-37855 tons. Since the coins of a people must represent food in proportion as they are of specific weight, it is to he regretted that the law does not fix the weight (with a remedy) of the individual sovereign, instead of fixing fhe number of coins in 20 lbs. weight, and giving a remedy* of 12 grains on the pound troy. Irrespective of law, the practice of the Royal Mint is to apportion the estimated amount of remedy (or latitude for error) to each coin; but in America the pound weight alone is studied; hence the individual coins vary so considerably in weight that it pays as a commercial speculation to select the heavy coins, and to sell them as bullion; thus leaving the light coins in circulation, to the dishonour of the nation, because if a man take 1,000 American gold coins to the Bank of England they will not be received at their nominal value, but as bullion ; hence the loss becomes personal, and so the coins of America cannot, and do not, stand on a par with those of England. The paragraph above has stood unaltered since the first edition, and I reproduce it because its history is perhaps curious. Mr. Graham, soon after I entered the Mint, commenced urging reasons why the system of weighing coins individually, which he considered expensive, should be abandoned; as well as I was able I met his proposition by firm but adverse arguments, until at last he “ordered me to omit the weighing of individiml pieces, and to pound the tvorlc as is directed by law.” I therefore asked him, as the matter Avas a very grave one, to ivrite the order. This he refused to do, and thought it hard of me to require a written order, and so the matter dropped; Avhen, however, Mr. John Graham was appointed, iMr. Graham told me that he could noAV carry out his Avishes Avithout a “ AAU'ittcn order.” In the meantime he had asked me “ to AAU-ite a treatise on coining for Tomlinson’s Cyclopaedia— in fact, I haA'e already referred Mr. Tomlinson to you, and ho AA'ill call; your difficulty Avill be to compress your infyi-ination into a sufficiently small space.” After so long an attempt to preserve the accuracy of our coinage, I felt uiiAvilling to alloAV such an opportunity to pass, and therefore placed my opinions in print, and thereby gave Mr. Grahani so deep an offence that he refused to place my book iu the ]\[int library, although I gaA’e him a copy for that purpose; it AA’as still absent from those shelves A^'hen I left the IMint. In August, 1864, IMr. Johu Graham, acting under the “ IMastcr’s orders,” directed “that the contents of only one bag in three should bo Aveighed,” and this AA'as carried out till pieces AA'hich bore the dcAuce of florins found fheir Avay to the Bank of England, and amongst them Avore found some of the intrinsic A’alue of I 5 . 6^7, AA'hile others reached so high as 2s. ,9f/. Mr. Graham Avas greatly distressed about this occurrence, and, notAvithstand- * See pages 39, 73, 124. THE ROYAL MINT. ing liis brother’s position, directed me to stop this new system at once. He tlien attributed the innovation to myself, and blamed me for all that had happened. I therefore told him that he, and he alone, was to blame, for I had persistently refused to do it unless fortified with a written order. This caused, as I felt at the time, our final separation ; but had I been willing to accept blame which belonged, as I told him, to himself first, and in a lesser degree to his brother, he would have made it a fair ground for my removal from the Mint—a result he had earnestly endeavoni’ed to etfect. I was so far free from blame that I was actually absent from the Mint part of the time, and during the remainde]' refused to enter the room where the blanks where cut, such action on my part resulting from a desire to protest firmly, by deed as I had done by word, against what I knew to be a fatal stej). The wisdom of my proposition to apportion the remedy to the individual piece was so apparent that the Legislature incorporated it in the Act 33 Victoria, cap. 10, and as detailed information may be of special value to many, I quote the first schedule to that Act on the opposite page. That others conenr in my thus claiming the origination of the apportion¬ ment of the remedy to the individual piece, is, I think, clearly demonstrated by the subjoined letter, which appeared in the Money Market and City Intelligence of the Times., on Thursday, March 10, 1870. “ The following relates to the coinage question:— “ March 8th. “ Sir, —In your article of this day you draw attention to Mr. Ansell’s new work, ‘ The Eoyal Mint,’ which I have studied carefully. I shall feel obliged if you will permit me, through you, to direct the attention of members of Parliament to the suggestion thrown out by Mr. Ansell in his ‘ Treatise on Coining’ in 1862, and repeated in the book above alluded to. “ In the New Coinage Bill, which is to be discussed on the 10th inst., the Chancellor of the Exchequer would appear to have adopted in part the proposal of Mr. Ansell, to make the remedy on the individual coin, instead of on the pound weight of coins, as is now the law. Mr. Ansell gives very strong reasons, besides the expense, why 0'2568 grain should be enforced as the legal remedy on the individual coin, and surely, while the legislature is invited by Mr. Lowe to adopt 0'20 grain, it would be wise that those reasons should be considered, for the Act, once obtained, will be difficult to repeal, and the Mint seems capable of improvement. “ I am, Sir, your obedient servant, “ Nummorum Famulus.” I may add that Mr. Fremantle has purchased a copy of my last impression for the Mint Library. The coinage of silver is precisely the same in every detail as the coinage of gold ; but there are one or two points that require to be dwelt upon. Weight for weight, silver is more bulky than gold, and is coined in larger quantities; hence it has become important to expedite its coining by every means. Thjis, in the process of annealing, it is simply placed unprotected, except by a lid of iron, upon an iron truck, and run into the annealing furnaces, from which, after twenty minutes, it is withdra\vn and plunged at once into cold water. In the annealing of the silver blanks it is important to have the copper of the alloyed FIRST SCHEDULE. a o o a o O o a> 6 6 5 / ^ ^ V ' ' ' 8 G » Oi oq CO 00 rHOO^COOOlOOO^ CO 02 2 O Ci ^ 00O2i-liOt^00XO2 02 02 CO CO O O ^ IP CO l:^OOl>COrHlr-iOCO ’tH 00 CO CO o CO 1 —1 o i-Hxo-tHcqi-HOOO o OC rH xo - 00 (-■ P. th 6 6 6 T-tOOOOOOO o (M rH O s , , ' o TZ (- twelfthi d, one- alloy ; esimal 916-66 -seven hs fine three- alloy ; simal: s 925- ^ P ^ P a-J o B ^ JL O fP w > O 03 P 03 a > 5 h (D S'"- Thirty fortiet silver, ortieths milles finenes Mixed copper, zit . ' bti iC t> CO cb D S CO rH ■s o to ’53 o o o o cs o o o o p CO 0 0 0^0 .M o o O Ol 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 iO O ^O r-l 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 O o oi Ai I-H oq CO p CO T-l GO 1-t lo G a O CO 00 rt< iO O ^ XO CO Ol rH 02 02 GO o |>-C0T-HXOCqC0rH-t t- CO CO 02 02 02 O^ CO CO rH lO 01 CO O 00 XO oa CO o o a; CO 02 Ol COC0-t^t^CCO2rHr^ CO o o is a (M 00 CO rH xo C<1 CO O 00 XO CC o o _G rft t- CO COQ0-tt^COO2rHr^i CO O XO 03 CO iO Ol CO CO rH XO (M CO O 00 xo 04 00 xo 'S CJ cb CO cb COX-^t-C0O2T-lHt< XO CO a* rH ^ 0<1 CO COrHtr^Xr^^CMOQrH OC a CO oq T-H rJH o “ ^ Q.-; ^ g^a.ag-Sara 23°:3.s2^is >3 p p Q N ^ o .P ccS-a P ^ Jr C3 -r c5 ^ H czi K cjh^;j-icc!cc6c-it-< 2 fsH c cc « < 1-3 Ph d o o o o > tuc p c3 0) o ai y3 p cp W) H 73 o C3 -5 P o o P4 p -r3 P n3 03 <13 rO -r3 f-i o .9 CO <13 03 Ph .9 P c3 3h C3 -4^ P > O 15- 03 03 c3 C3 U1 ^03 03 03 ’Sh P bo 03 P P cp Ip P 03 c3 P H-S PP 03 .SP 03 *03 P o rP P o P 03 03 P 'o *9 Pp 03 2 > Q 2 03 o P 03 o I 4-4 p c3 •4^ ? HH -ij r— P P P P .9 03 c3 *2 P P rP -4^ 0 c3 03 P P 0 P 2 o a o 0 n3 rP bc 03 P p 03 w P4 H-3 -4-3 'h *P 0 2 O PJ <4^ P cc o 0 .9 CO ’o 03 -4-^ p rP Q -4-3 bjo p 03 P3 P -4-3 <4^ P 03 ci ncJ pp <4-» standard gold, of tho fineness at the trial of the same of twenty-two carats fine gold and two carats of alloy in the pound weight troy ; and further, as regards silver coin, that there should he sixty-six shillings in every pound troy of standard silver of the fineness of eleven ounces two pennyweights of fine silver and eighteen pennyweights of alloy in every pound weight troj". 74 THE ROYAL MINT. metal removed from their siu-face; this is effected by annealing the blanks for from seA'en to ten minutes in open pans, A^Ten tbe copper becomes oxidised, and is remoA'ed by tbe process of blancbing, described under tbe coining of gold.* In annealing tbe precious metals, it is intended to nse large retorts of Stonrbridge clay instead of tbe naked flame, as is tbe present practice. Tbe advantage of using retorts will be tbe protection tbey AAnll afford to tbe snbstances to be annealed, and tbe imiform temperatui’e at Arbicb tbey may be kept for any reqnu'cd time. So great are tbe obstacles to improvement in tbe British Mint, that, altbongb this suggestion Avas made by me, and plans Avere prepared, in June, 1861 , tbe necessary alterations baA^e not yet been attempted; indeed, it has been reserve^ to Mr. P. F. Comber, tbe intelligent chief coiner of the Ncav Mint in Melbourne, to adopt this suggestion. Tbe furnace for bis use has been made by Messrs. Deane, of Artbiu' Street East, London Bridge, A^bo, from experience, knoAV tliis kind of furnace to be successful; indeed, it has been long used to gain higher temperatures than are required for metals in tbe annealing of glass, pottery, &c. I baA^e recently been permitted to make a long series of experiments at tbe Avorks of tbe Patent Fuel Company, on then* A^barf at Deptford, and these baA'e convinced me that then’ mode of converting hydro¬ carbons into vapour, and burning that Ampour A^itli a proper supply of an* rmder pressime, could be applied in the Mint Avitb great advantage to the beat¬ ing of tbe annealing fui’uaces, especially if the authorities of that department should adopt the retorts proposed. In my prcAdons editions I have suggested tbe use of these retorts, and I am glad to see that the Eoyal Mint is likely to adopt them, for Mr. Napier recommends them in bis Report, and IMr. Roberts not only coin¬ cides in that recommendation, but specifically says, “It is a question for consideration Avbetber muffles of clay instead of Ron, and gas as fuel, might not be used Avitb adAuntage.” Tbe coinage of bronze is somcAvbat ucat ; that is to say, it has, after centuries, been re-mtrodneed; and as little is knoAvn respecting it, it Arill be Avell to consider one or tA^o cRcumstances connected tbercA^itb. Tbe dimensions of tbe bars are previously given, f those measurements Arere determined by me after much troublesome experimenting, and the bars are found to be capable of j)roducing tbe best blanks, as regards equality of A^eigbt one for another, Avitb tbe least labom’. In tbe rolling of bronze there are some singular facts to be noted ; for instance, the finding tbe same metal at one time ductile, and at another absolutely brittle ; yet if tbe bronze has been properly melted, Avitb due precaution to avoid tbe access of atmospheric oxygen, it is uniformly malleable and ductile, and may be rolled from such bars as described Avitbout once annealing. It is sometiriics preferred not to use tbe knoAvledge gained, and then complications commence. Tbe folloAving mode of operating ♦ See pages 48, 49. t See page 9. THE ROYAL MINT. 75 vriW meet all cases ;—The bars may he rolled down to half their thickness, and then will anneal perfectly well in an ojien furnace on an iron truck. The heating should he conducted rapidly, and when the fillets get to a full red heat they should he witlnbawn, thrown out singly on the fioor, and allowed to remain till perfectly cold. Should any bars he annealed in the rough state, they must be kept away from water. A little water thrown upon the end of a bar when red-hot causes it to become rotten tln-onghont, and on submission to any pressure it will fall to pieces as would gingerbread ; yet if the bars he partly rolled to a certain proportion of their thickness, they may he plunged at onco into cold water without damaging them for work. After annealing, the fillets should he blanched in diluted sidphnric acid, containing one pej cent, of the ordinary commercial acid. It is well to save time by blanching two or three tons at a time; hut a few minutes effect all that is required—that is, the sepa¬ ration of the film of oxide from the surface. The film is then remoyed by a mop made of rag or cotton waste, and with little labour a few hoys may clean many tons in a day. Fillets which have been hlanched before being rolled produce clean and bright blanks. The blanks require somewhat different treatment. It is better to anneal them in copper tubes. The bottom of the tube should he covered to about the depth of an inch with charcoal dust, then the tidie filled with blanks, except allowing for another layer of coarse charcoal dust, and the top put on to the tube. The annealing should not occupy more than thirty- six minutes ; the highest temperature should he that at which the tube looks a full reddish white, and this should ho gained as rapidly as possible. The tube, after removal from the furnace, should be allowed to remain at rest till perfectly cold. The charcoal is intended to combine with the oxygen, which would otherwise combine with the metals of the bronze during the heating and the cooling of the blanks in the copper tubes. Having regard to the production of perfect coins, the blanks should be cooled in an atmosphere of ordinary coal gas, by which every parficle of oxygen is prevented from access, and a great part of the oxides already existing in the alloy reduced by the combination of their oxygen with the hych’ogen of the coal gas, thus leaving the blanks somewhat porous, and comparatively soft, so that, when coined, the metal wholly fills the work on the dies, and the coin is produced with a good protecting edge, llronze as used at the Royal Mint consisting of 9o of copper, 4 tin, and 1 zinc in lOU parts—zinc shoidd be omitted because it causes useless labour—may be coined to great perfection if the blanks be cooled in coal gas after annealing: whereas bronze of a far softer nature cannot be made to fill the work of the dies satisfactorily by any other method yet known, imless the engraving on the dies be very shallow. The bronze coins, wliicli have replaced the old copper money, have what is considered to be an innovation in the inscription by the repetition of the T in the abbreviation of Rritan- L 76 THE ROYAL MINT. iiiamm, -^'Inch is simply the classical mode of expressing in an ahhre- viatcd form the nnmher of the possessions which together form Great Britain; it is equivalent to MS., which is the abbreviation for manuscript, while MSS. represents the word manuscripts; so BEITT. represents the cluster of islands or possessions called Great Britain. The objection to BEITT., on the ground of its hemg an iimovation, is singular, as this word occurs on the shillings of George III., coined in 1816. It is also curious that the original dies for the bronze coinage were made to carry BEIT, only, until a coin found its way into the hands of the Eight Hon. W. E. Gladstone, who at once pointed out the error, and thus caused the re-introduction of the classical BEITT. Mr. Gladstone also suggested the issue of octagonal bronze coins, which undoubtedly would have been a mistake had it been adopted. Perhaps it may not be uninteresting to record that the pattern penny in bronze, which was submitted to and approved by her Majesty, was lost in its passage through the post, for the postman opened the letter and destroyed both it and the penny in a closet in the Eoyal Mint, Copper and bronze money are merely tokens; it is therefore well to reduce such tokens to as low a weight as is consistent with the rigidity of the coin. By Eoyal Proclamation, dated at Windsor, 13th of May, 1869, the old copper moneys are declared illegal; or, in the words of the proclamation, “No copper moneys whatsoever (other than and except such bronze moneys as are now ciurent by vii'tne of our proclamation bearing date the 17th day of December, 1860, or any proclamation dated subsequently to the said 17th day of December, 1860) shall be allowed to pass or be current in any payment whatsoever within the kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the 31st of December, 1869.” So that since that date no copper moneys have been legally paid away. This, however, will not affect those who wish to preserve copper coins of this or former reigns as specimens. As dies are the means by which metal becomes coin, it will be material to add the processes of theu manufacture. Experience alone can indicate the proper steel to be used, so that it is useless to attempt a description. But the form of the steel is a matter upon which die-makers differ. Some use square bars of that metal, and cut off pieces, which are forged into the proper form for dies ; however, the more experienced die-makers use round bars of steel, which are cut by a tool somewhat of the shape of the bar, so that when the tool is struck every part of its edge begins to cut. The tool is so shaped as to leave the end of the bar from which the piece has been cut quite square, so that it may form the bottom for the next piece cut off. Tlie jiiece of steel thus cut off is taken to a lathe, where its upper end is turned somewhat into the form of the top of a sugar-loaf; the depth of this form being determined by the style of work to be impressed upon tlie steel when it is to be formed into a die. For tlie THE ROYAL HINT. / / original matrix the jiiece of steel is turned to a flat end, and is usually strengthened by driving a carefully-welded ring of hot iron on to it: although some prefer thus to simply shrink on a ring of iron, the more experienced choose welding, because that which is shrunk on is never so solid, and is apt to enclose ail- bubbles, which prevent the mass becoming one, thus permitting an undue yield in a faulty spot when pressure is applied. In the making of a matrix, the steel is softened to different extents by different engravers, but all soften more or less. The steel having been softened, the engraver cuts with a kind of hand chisel, by a motion of the wrist, such design as may be required, and after many months of work produces a finished matrix, fi-om which he requires to jiroduce many copies, because this one matrix would itself soon wear out, and by frequent use would be more exposed to risk. It is, therefore, hardened to admit of its being submitted to such pressure from another piece of stool as to impart its design to that steel without itself being distorted by the pressure. Tor this purpose the matrix is fitted with a ring of iron round its upper part, which, when fitted on, gives the engraved part the appearance of being the bottom of a cup ; this euj) is filled with a paste made of beer grounds and fine charcoal dust, or, better still, with that small charcoal which is found behind the flue of the forge—a kind of soot produced by the spent sparks which fly upwards, and which is so much m request by the file-makers. Thus protected, the matrix should bo placed in the naked fii’e wholly enclosed with fuel, and heated as rapidly as possible, keeping it constantly timied round and round, so as to insiu’e each particle of its mass being equally heated; a quarter of an hour should be long enough to produce the necessary temperature. It must be borne in mind that the great principle is to avoid the decarbonisatiou of the steel, therefore the less time that is occupied the better. The temperatiu'e of the matrix should be that rich and peculiar full rod which for a few seconds is visible before white heat supervenes, for a white heat once gained causes the steel to scale off, and renders the matrix partially worthless. This peculiar temperature once gained, the matrix must be permitted to remain for throe minutes in the fire wdthout any blast. If it slioidd get too hot it must bo cooled by adding exhausted fuel from the hearth. At the end of tlu’ee minutes’ quiescent heating it may bo assumed that the centre of the matrix has become of the same temperature as its outer particles ; it is then taken quickly from the furnace and placed in a kind of colander, so that water may wholly envelope it, and yet flow freely past it while its under surface is wholly exposed. The matrix C is placed in the colander T, Fig. 22, bottom iq)- Avards, and is then brought immediately under the pipe dependent from a kind of funnel A, which should hold at least a hundred gallons of cold water; the bottom of the pipe must be secured by a plug of Avood 11, capable of being knocked out instantaneously. This is the most important 78 THE ROYAL MINT. process in the hardening of the matrix, and requires considerable steadiness with great rapidity of motion. The matrix being held in the colander about half an inch above a large siirface of water E, and immediately under the centre of the plugged pipe from the funnel, the ping B is knocked ont from the pipe, and the water falls in a continnons stream wholly nnbroken until striking the very centre of the base of the matrix, thus seenring the commencement of the process of hardening from the cextre. So soon as this first shock of the flow¬ ing water has been effected, the matrix must be snnk into the vessel of water below, nntil it is nniformly covered to the depth of half an inch, and must be held there nntil the whole of the water from the funnel has run out; then the matrix must be snnk to the bottom of the vessel of water, and allowed to remain till absolutely cold. If it be removed before it be cooled throughout, there is great danger of a crack on its surface being produced by the expansion from witliin. The plug is preferred to a tap in the pipe from which the watlii’ is to flow, because the tnrnmg of a tap gives a motion to the water, which causes it to fall in a hollow stream, and thus obviates the very effect which it is desired to produce. This process has been followed for more than thii’ty years, and during that time the manufacturer who uses it—one of the most THE ROYAL MINT. 79 eminent engravers and die-makers in Euroj^e—lias never met with any accident, nor has he found any failure. I have recently visited a raaimfactory in South Yorkshire in which many thousands of dies arc made annually on this system, without an instance of failure. Die-niakers, after the hardening, proceed as follows:—Eemove the paste of charcoal from the face of the matrix, and then clean the face of the die with hydrochloric acid. After this it is tem¬ pered—that is to say, it is raised to a temperature which somewhat relaxes the rigidity of its particles; this is commonly judged of by the coLOim which the face of the matrix assumes; hut since no two men are likely to distinguish the same tint, nor can any one actually judge of colour unerringly, it is wise to adopt another standard, the one most preferred being to temper the matrix until the engraver can make a good graAmr bite while the die is hot. The tempered die may be cooled by plunging it either into oil or into water as soon as the temper¬ ing has reached the desired pomt. If at this instant the tempering cease, when the die is dead cold the graver will no longer touch the steel, which is now just so hard as to resist a blow without fracture. It is next polished, and is then fit for use; that is to say, is fit for the multiplication of dies from itself. The multiplication consists in the taking a set of punches, each being an exact copy of the matrix. The steel, having been formed into masses with sugar-loaf tops in accordance with the depth of the engraving, is ready to receive the impression from the matrix, just as hot sealing-wax is ready to receive the impression from a signet. The matrix is placed beneath a press, and on its face is placed the sugar-loaf end of the aimcaled mass of steel; a very light blow is given by the press, so as to obtain simply the sinking of the first portion of the cone, for if a violent blow be given at this stage it is manifest that a large mass of steel is forced into a smaller space; in other words, the par¬ ticles of steel which formed the cone are pressed into a dense mass on the surface of the intended punch, and prepare a crack, which by-and-by devclopes itself. After this light blow, the partly-formed punch is placed in a covered pot filled with charcoal, and heated in a frmiacc just as was described for the hardening of the matrix, bearing in mind that it is the cooling, not the heating, which softens the steel. So soon as the heating has been raised to the point before indicated, the pot containing the punch is removed, and bedded in hot ashes, and there left to cool as slowly as possible; it should bo forty hours before it becomes cold. When cold it is cleaned, receives a second very light blow under the press, examined, afterwards receiving a third very light blow, and is then second time annealed, &c. The number of blows requu-ed to bring out to perfection on the punch the work on the matrix, depends entirely upon the size of the matrix and the depth of the work engraved upon it. For these reasons, no accurate instructions can be given; but for all cases light blows should he made, because all metals mould more readily under gentle treatment. 8o THE ROYAL MINT. From the punch is obtained, by processes which should he in every wa}'’ similar, a series of dies for the use of the coming press. Each die from the pinicli is examined, and has the figin-es for the date impressed upon it before it is hardened. The dies are of two kinds; one, C, the obverse, with a long neck, upon which the collar B tits freely, and a second, the reverse, with a short neck, so that the face of the die jnst enters the collar sufficiently to meet and compress the blank. Fig. 23 demonstrates these two dies, and exliibits the collar, shoAving at B the milled interior cii’cle, Avhich gives the crenated edge to the finished coin at its formation. For the past feAV years the reverse die has been made to carry, in addition to its recognised device, a small number, Avith a A’ieAV to determine at which coining press, and on Avhat particular day, Fig. 23.—Coining Dies and Collar. that die was used, that bad work might be traced to an individual. It need hardly be said that the accidents encountered in daily work overcome the object thus sought, for a die may last either minutes or days in wear owing to the irregularities of the steel from Avhich it is made, and besides, the boys who work the presses are of necessity changed at irregular intervals. The long-necked die is fitted into a bolster D, as shown in Fig. 23, and is prevented from shifting its position in that bolster by a plug of iron indicated at E. The bolster, with its die, is secm^ed in a kind of dish beneath the screAV of the press by a series of screws, which admit of adjusting the bolster so that the die it carries shall be placed immediately beneath the upper die, Avhicli is carried on the main screw G of the press, as may be seen at page 60. THE ROYAL MINT. 8i There is little doubt but that certain stages of die manufacture would be rendered more effective if more reasonable treatment were employed. It has yet to be demonstrated that carbon steel is the best metal that can be employed, for it seems more than probable that some alloys would render a metal which would possess within itself more of the properties which are necessary for the perfecting a die, and for its duration when in use. Tor the elimination of such aii alloy we must await the time when the non-resident assayers are replaced by resident chemists who, dining the leisure times in the Mint, will be willing and glad to experiment on some of the compounds of iron with the rarer metals, for in that field will surely be found a combination Avhich will be definite, and therefore homogeneous and unvarying. There can bo no doubt that the cause of the uncertainty which prevails as to the endurance of steel for dies arises from its unequal composition. Gold possesses as many colours, and exists in as many conditions, as any substance ordinarily met with. Those various changes are due to the existence of impurities in the metal, which are neglected in assaying, because the only business of the assayer is to determine that the sovereign actually contains the lawful weight of pure gold, and also so much alloy as is specified: what this alloy shall be is, in the abstract, a small matter so that it is not silver, because if it be silver it is worth the expense to separate it, and thereby destroy the coinage. Y"et, although the existence of such metals as lead, bismuth, tin, antimony, and arsenic, as well as palladium and osmium-iridium is not illegal, it becomes necessary to separate them, because these metals affect the coin in various ways. Palladium and platinum alloy Avith the gold only after considerable time, therefore these metals may generally be seen in the finished coin, frequently as a slight bar across its surface, sometimes as spots on its crenated edge. Osmium-iridium causes trouble, inasmuch as it is so infusible, that it simply floats about in the melted gold, and scA^eral crystals agglomerate; where this takes place, the difficulty of manufacture is so great, that it is impossible to produce the desired amount of coin Avithin the limits of remedy as to Aveight. The simplest means for the removal of these substances is to alloAV the fused metal to remain for a con¬ siderable time, Avhen they settle to the bottom, and the clear metal can be poured off; the dregs, if so they may be called, arc then sent to the refiner, but the process of separation is too long, and hardly adapted for a description in this place. As a practical matter, the other, or volatile metals, and lead, may be, and generally are, removed by means of coitosIa'C sublimate. This is an expensive measure, and docs not ansAver its intention, for some of the mercury combines Avith the gold and renders it brittle. In practice, the best process is that recom¬ mended by Mr. Warington, aa’Iio proposed to add to gold found to contain tin, antimony, or arsenic, 10 per c('nt. of oxide of copper. Tin* g(dd is fused in a 82 THE ROYAL MINT. Payou cruciblo, and the oxide of copper is then added and stiiTed into the gold hy a rod made of the same snhstance as the crncihle. This operation is easy of performance, because the infusible oxide of copper stirs up with the gold readily, and each particle of antimony, arsenic, or tin, as it comes into contact with the oxide of copper, reduces it to the metallic state, the volatile metals com- hiniug -svitli the oxygen, while an equivalent of copper alloys itself with the gold. The impurities, as they oxidise, mix or combine with the oxide of copper. One or two experiments tell how much copper is thus added to the gold; consequently, how ninch fine gold is to he added to keep the alloy standard— and subsequent treatment hy the oxide of copper simply removes the volatile metals. Gold treated hy this process is perfectly workable on a large scale, and there is no trouble. A condition of success is, that no reducing agent, such as carbon, he present, and therefore plumbago pots cannot be used. In practice, half an hour is the best time to keep the metal in contact with the oxide of copper. The objection is frequently expressed, that to refine gold is not the business of the coiners. This opinion, however, will bear modification, for the expense of the oxide of copper is trifling as compared with the cost of laboiu’ in treating brittle gold. I now advert to a most important matter in relation to coining, viz,, that of the loss sustained, its cause, and prevention. It appears that the Royal Mbit should sustain less loss than any other mint by the coining of gold and silver. If allowance be made for the sale of the SAveep or dnst^' AAdiich results from a coinage, the total loss, inclusive of every operation in coining, should be so small that it might be passed without notice; in fact, there ought to be a minute increase of Aveight from traces of oil which are left on the fillets to enable them to pass tlmongh the cylinders of the draAV- bench;f by meltingf there seems to be too great a loss of metal: this should reach about <£100 per million coined, and such loss would be wholly explained by the refining, Avhich takes place through the removal of copper by oxidation; although this is mmiite, still it is enough to explain the loss Avhich I indicate. If the assays be closely Avatched there can be no loss, for the trial of the pyx inAuriably shows the gold coin to err on the side of pinity, so that if the Master of the Mint should determine to issue gold of exact standard, and refuse to avail himself of the latitude allowed, he may fairly cover every source of loss, and coin money avithottt aa^aste of metal. Each grain that is found in excess of the standard upon the pound weight of gold causes a loss of about £180 upon each mi llion coined. The moneyers asserted that they sustained a loss of £700 for each million coined, such loss being exclusive of melting. This has never been believed to haAm been a truthful statement, nor has the loss by coining alone often reached so high an amount, although so large a sum as £373 per * See pages 80—88, 140. t See pages 29, 32-33. f See pages 98-99. THE ROYAL MINT. 83 million would seem to have been determined, by some careful experimenters, as the necessary .loss. ’Where the gold went to Avas not stated; but supposing such a loss to accrue, it is manifest that either the gold volatilised or the floors must be paA^ed to many inches in thickness with gold, hut it is an established fact that matter once existent cannot he annihilated; yet it has requu’ed many arguments to convince those most interested in coining that the mere cutting up of bullion into small pieces does not alter its actual weight: the present Mint Authorities entertaiu the fallacious notion that large loss of gold is, for metallurgical reasons, necessaey. Notwithstanding Mr. Graham’s opinion that a loss of <£206 on a million loas too high,* they in their “Reports on European Mints” liaA'e arrived at the conclusion “ that the ‘ waste ’ shoAvn to have existed of late years in the English Mint has not been excessive. To leave, then, the realms of speculation, and for a short time to examine figures, a matter Avhich is little understood Avill he reduced to one of easy comprehension. Mr. W. T. Brande, in comicction AAutli others, carried on a series of experiments between 1851 and 1856, the results of which he gave me in AATitmg, and which induced him to arriA^e at the conclusion that by coining alone there was a loss varying from 1-20 grains 011 the pound, to 3T0 grains on the j)ound troy, or a mean of 2T5 grains on each pound troy coined. This loss was thought to he a necessary consequence of coining, and by a simple rule of three it tells as folloAvs :— A loss of 1‘20 grains on the lb. = f208'33 on each £1,000,000. „ 3-10 „ „ = £538-18 „ £1,000,000. Mean loss 2-15 „ ,, = £373-26 „ £1,000,000. Mr. Brande and his colleagues, by his oaaui admission, did not know tlie value of the SAveep recovered, therefore this loss was believed to he absolute. We will next examine the accounts and see the fruit of that belief, and then determme the effect of a contrary faith. And in the folloAviug statements, given in a tabular form, I would observe that the facts recorded Avere compiled by the Mint officials for the Master at my suggestion, and that copies were given to me by the late Master, who indeed invariably, Avhen such statements Avere prepared, handed them to me to copy and examine for my OAA*n informa¬ tion, and to see that they were accurate. It is a fact that the Mint books do not record the loss iqjon the gold coined in NoA^ember and December, 1851; or, if they do, these accounts liaA'c been only quite recently balanced. In the folloAving statement I omit the coin of those tAvo quarters, because the late Deputy Master assured mo that the accounts were not made up. This, I am aAA’are, lays me open to a correction; I therefore state that the coined money of these tAvo months is not included in my calculations. * See p.-xge 178. M 84 THE ROYAL MINT. Statement showing the Rate of Coin obtained and the Loss of Metal incueked IN EACH QuABTER FROM MaRCH, 1852, TO DECEMBER, 1857. Quarter ei.diiig: — Total Amoiint of Gold Coined per Quarter. Bate per Centum of Coin obtained from Rough Bai's. Proportional Loss of Metal on each Million Ounces Coined. March 31st, 1852 . Ounces. 300260-201 Ounces. Ounces. 446-94 June 30th, ,, 501032-558 399-17 Sept. 30th, ,, 615753-337 500-50 Dec. 31st, ,, 828159-837 50-51 639-37 March 31st, 1853 . . 1113414-454 47-28 691-60 June 30th, ,, 1223454-550 49-40 472-34 Sept. 30th, ,, . . 248434-554 39-34 1130-64 Dec. 31st, ,, 484331-447 42-81 784-42 March 31st, 1854 . . 769791-029 54-21 730-61 June 30th, ,, 101611-604 49-65 787-21 Dec. 31st, ,, 194968-684 47-76. 583-07 March 31st, 1855 . 515639-229 47-42 447-05 June 30th, ,, . . 501708-378 47-01 456-20 Sept. 30th, ,, . . 283944-316 43-53 . 420-18 Dec. 31st, ,, 1012329-518 44-57 509-08 March 31st, 1856 . 360409-244 38-39 489-05 June 30th, ,, . . 818465-116 40-36 509-57 Dec. 31st, ,, 362599-792 41-74 406-28 March 31st, 1857 . 73638-878 39-64 233-84 June 30th, ,, . . 19872-998 40-52 57-86 Dec. 31st, ,, 1154606-290 54-69 18-45 There will he occasion to refer to the nest table for further information; hnt as the facts in this table are not strictly comparable with any others that will he gAen, it is better to explain this as it stands. Of the rate per centum of coin obtained from the bars there will be occasion to speak at a later period. These figm-es are placed here with a view to save repetition, which would be necessary when that subject is discussed.* Although the figures in the first column represent ounces, each item can at pleasm-e be converted into pounds sterling by multiplying it by £3'89375, which is the decimal expression for £3 17s. lO^d., the price per ounce of standard gold. In such case it will only be necessary to multiply the weight of the coinage by that vMue, and then to consider the loss of metal as pounds sterling—thus, 300,260'201 ozs. + £3-89375 = £1,171,318 5s. 3^d., which sum lost weight by coining at the rate of £446 I 85 . 9|A per million coined. If calculation be made by addition and division of the figures in the thu-d column, it will be observed that the average loss per million between March, 1862, and December, 1856, is £577-96,t and this was believed to be absolutely wasted in coining; but this amount may be fairly reduced by the deduction of £72 IO 5 ., the average value of sweep recovered, when it will remain £505-85. It will also be seen that the rate per million missing—for that is the fact—varied a good deal according to circumstances. It has been asserted that these losses were mere matters of account, and * See pages 107, 117. t See page 89. THE ROYAL MINT. 85 resulted from the removal of “fat or oil” in the various operations. These explanations shall he admitted to their fullest extent, hut that they do not contain the cause for all the losses is to he gathered from the fact that gold has heen returned to the Mint hy the hrickmaker, who found it in the ashes which he had bought. That there were cases of actual theft I am myself aware; for I, hy the Master’s sanction, dismissed two men who wore detected. Eleven others shared the same fate, hut no prosecution was attempted or per¬ mitted, although strongly urged. As hearing on this point the following, in relation to “ peculation,” is told and helieved in the Mint:—In 1856, when the men had formed a sti’ong opinion as to the honesty of one particular person, they took their own means to watch him, and to see how and when he ahstracted the metal. A clear-headed man made it his husiness to do this duty. The suspected man was assisting the officer at the scales in the drag room, when the watcher saw him, after the hullion was weighed, take a piece stealthily and secrete it in the palm of his hand. The watcher, think¬ ing to secure detection, requested the officer at the scales to rc-weigh that ch’aft; hut this gentleman refused to comply. The watcher then, told the officer what he had seen, and that if he would open the man’s hand the piece of gold was still in it, when the officer, addi-essing the suspected person, said, “Is it all right, John?” John replied “Y'es,” and no more passed. On his road home “John” -stumhled, and a piece of uncoined gold fell on the pavement. That metal was actually removed from the premises is heyond douht, for a late officer picked up a piece of gold in the courtyard wrapped in hrown paper, and the police brought to the Master a “ flat end ” * of gold, which had heen offered for sale. The police inspected all the men in the Mint employ ; hut the person who ahstracted the gold did not personally offer it for sale, and thereby escaped detection. On the 2nd of December, 1853, the cutting-room hook records a loss of 87‘26 ounces of gold, for which no satisfactory explanation is given. This book also contains some significant remarks hy the officer who had charge of that department. The Mint books adopt the word “ 'VYasteage” as explanatory of these losses, wliich were helieved to he a necessary result of coining; so generally, indeed, was this firmly-implanted belief entertained, that at the bottom of each day’s account the word loss was printed, so that the officer had only to write the amount which was missing. If indeed proof that unnecessary wasteage t took place he required, it will he hut necessary to quote from the letter of the Master of the Mint to the Trea¬ sury, dated 7tli June, 1860. This letter was placed in my hands on the 1st * See page 27 . t See pages 99—-106. 86 THE ROYAL MINT. June, ISGO, by the Master, who desii-ed me to copy such parts as related to loss and were of ser’s’ice to me, aud that I might coutirm the accuracj^ of his figures. He said, “ It appears hj^ the table that thjUtaAmrage loss on the gold coinage of the fii'st six years is <£784 O 5 . 0,f£, and on the gold of the last thi’ce years £172 Ss. 11|£ per million coined, showing an improvement of £611 II 5 . l^^ per million coined. On the twelve millions of gold coined during the last tln-ee years the saA'ing exceeds twelve thousand pounds.” The three years here referred to were contained in the period diu-ing which Mr. Graham entrusted me vith the management of the coining department. That the actual amoimt of loss by coining may be got at, it Avill be necessary to view the matter in a different form, and in that way to show the amoimt of money recoAmred by the sale of sweep; that is, by the sale of the ignited rubbish accumulated during a coinage, and in the statement giA^en on page 90 the money Amine of each item is specifically represented. It need not be insisted that the utmost care should be exercised m preserving the SAveep, when it is stated that this yields, at the end of a comage, from 15 to 20 ounces of material bullion called scraj) or supply^ when picked over before sale, for only such as will pass through a fine sieve is sold; yet this sweep used to stand about in open, unlocked boxes from month’s end to month’s end. It would be wrong to state that there is no apparent loss by coining gold. If, hoAvever, the whole circumstances be examined, it will be found that, after deducting every legitimate waste, an appreciable gain should be exhibited. In annealing sovereign blanks the loss is 54T2 ounces on each million. This then would appear to be an absolute Avaste; but starting on the undisputed fact that “ matter cannot he lost,’’^ let us see what becomes of these 64T2 ounces apparently lost. 54T2 ounces contain 25,977-60 grains troy. Now, since careful analysis extending over more than thirty millions of gold annealed has determined that each million lost 5,708 grains of copper, and this copper is washed away as sulphate of copper, it may be admitted that so much is lost, thus leaAung 20,169-60 grains unaccounted for. These 20,169-60 grains are just 42-02 ounces, and if proper care were bestowed I could show hoAV every particle should be recovered at the end of the coinage. That there should be a gain is demonstrable from the fact that the gold as received into the coining department is quite clean; when wrought it becomes coated AAuth oil, and this bemg retiuned on the scissel^ to the melting-house is really charged as gold. In 1858 Mr. W. H. Barton, experimenting inde¬ pendently, arrived at the conclusion that there were 200 ounces of oil on 765,370 ounces of gold scissel, while on the same scissel I, by careful experimeufs, determmed that there were 118-39 ounces of oil, the remainder being dust and other foreign matter.- Fm'ther experiments, conducted by * See pages 35, 87. THE ROYAL MINT. 87 Mr. Barton for liis own satisfaction, brought him to adopt my figures as acciu’ate. This proportion would give 154'o5 ounces to each million ounces of scissel; hut since good work.^’eturns only 35‘80 per cent, of scissel on the rough bars, it becomes manifest that this same proportion is but 101‘22 ounces in each million coined. Now the MONEYEES* used to make an allowance of 3-17 oimces to each million ounces of scissel, and with such sharp business-like people it is barely possible that they allowed too much. We may therefore assume that the scissel of the present day is much less covered Avith oil than it used to be ; and this is indeed the truth, for whereas the trucks were wont to be actually spotted Avith oil Avhich dropped from gold scissel, they are now unstained; and it may bo mentioned that, to test the minute amount on the scissel, the Master has upon occasions Aviped it Avith a Avhite cambric handkerchief, by way of settling a disputed point, without perceptibly soiling the handkerchief. Admitting then a loss of 42-02 by annealing and blanching, Ave get, by deducting this from the gain by oil, an absolute gain of 59-20 ounces on each million ounces coined. In a little Avhile, when examining the table, Ave shall see Iioav this theory Avorked out in practice ; for, to be perfect, it should be capable of demonstration. The question Avill natm-ally arise. If the oil be iioav so small in proportion, why should there not be an increased loss by melting ? And here indeed arises a very nice point, but one which is proAmd to demonstration—that Avhereas large amounts of oil cause loss, small quantities of oil prea'EXT loss by melting, and for the following reason. Standard gold consists of copper 2 j^arts, gold 22 parts. So soon as this gold approaches red heat it changes to a purple colour on its surface, owing to the oxidation of the copper. If, hoAvever, a trace of oil bo present, the heat, AAdiile it Avarms the gold, volatilises the oil, and thus places the gold in an atmosphere free from oxygen, so that the standard gold remains metallic until it liquefies; hence the saving of loss, for any oxide of copper Avoidd be lost in the pot. This matter of the oil has been dAvelt upon because it is a vexed question, and Avhen the nielter, by Avant of care, makes a large loss, he iiiAmriably, by a human Aveakness, attributes the loss to the oil on the scissel. It was on such an occasion that the assistant-melter produced the folloAving amusing parody on the three Avitches of Shakespeare. The illustrative pictm-e is clever, but unfitted for these pages. First Witch. Round about tho journeys go, In the dirt and rubbish throw; Extraneous matters, small and great. Everything to make the weight. Second Witch. Stone swept up and pounded small. Pieces of the stuccoed wall. * The moneyers were those contractors who conducted the coinages previously to the Mint being formed into a governmental department in 1851 .—Vide Parliamentary Reports, 1837 1849, 1852. 88 THE ROYAL MINT. A bit of saffron-coloured brick, Odds and ends of broken stick ; Here’s the sweeping of the floor, "Weighing full an ounce or more. All. Hubble bubble, toil and bubble, Give the melter every trouble. Third Witch. Copper by annealing got. Send largely to the melting-pot; A pennyweight of leather strap, A piece of old broAvn paper cap. Some cotton fluff, ten grains of coal, Then oil, to saturate the whole. All. Hubble bubble, toil and bubble. Give the melter every trouble. Macbeth [as Justice). How now, ye secret, black, and cunning rollers ! "What is’t ye do ? All. A deed ivithout a name. 24f/( November, 1862. J. G. Upon consulting tlie table—see p. 90—it will be fonncl that, by deducting tbe Yalue of tlie sweep recoyered, from the valne of the metal lost, between the periods November, 1851, and March, 1857, the actual loss was £19,930 185 . Of/., which sum, divided by the amount of gold coined in that period— viz., £40345185-450, gives £494 as a bond fide loss on each million pounds coined, when the belief was to the effect that there must be a loss. The great fact, that matter once existent cannot be lost, was never applied to the operations of minting rmtil, in 1856, I demonstrated to the Master that the floors not being paved to many inches thick with gold, the bullion which was stated to be “wasted” in coining must have been absoliitelij volatilised, the proposition exposing me to more than ridicule at the time, and to jDOsitive hatred and misrepresentation thereafter; but when once the determination was formed to arrest what I saw clearly was unnecessary loss, it was carried out flrmly, and in November, 1856, I commenced my determinations of the necessary amount of loss in each operation, as well as a series of experiments to elucidate other points requuing reform and explanation. In furtherance of this fli’m resolve I assembled the men together, and informed them that I had now taken charge of the departments over which I had been placed, and that I should not permit any man to leave the Mint until the account was satisfled, and I had received from them the bullion to its uttermost part which I proposed to entrust to them. That I might effect this detei-mination I weighed out to them, in their presence, a limited weight of gold, and then directed their foreman, on their behalf, to satisfy himself that the weight I charged was fair and honest; and then, with a fli-mness which surprised them, I followed this gold step by step, never for an instant per¬ mitting it to leave my sight, and at each step in its passage frotn Indlion to coined THE ROYAL MINT. 89 money I carefully weiglied it, and made the foreman again check me, all the men being witnesses. At the end of the operations a fixed gain exhibited itself. I was called upon for an explanation, which I gave, and each man was thus convinced that it was no use to attempt to cheat me, and was compelled to acknowledge that unless by abstraction there could he no loss. Many argu¬ ments followed for months, but loss became a matter of history so long as I was present,—not so in my absence, even at that time, as the hooks will show. Groat fii’nuiess was requii’ed, but I persevered, and received not only thanks, but very valuable assistance from many of the men. With a view to keep the Master supplied with information as I gained it, I adopted a plan of reporting to him daily in VTiting the Amrious changes Avhich took place in the bullion under my care as regards differences of weighing, loss or gain, the amount per cent, of coin obtained, and other such details, and at the end of each comage I summarised the Avhole of such facts into a tabular form, and thus rendered to him a complete history of the operations conducted. This proved of immense service, for upon the occiu’rence of an unusual OAmnt, attention was at once (huAvn to it, and means adopted to discoA'cr the cause, Avhile at the same time a constant study of these reports coidd not fail to induce for myself a more minute inquiry into the Amrions branches of my subject. I feel it cannot he unfitting to gAc, before proceeding further, one of those statements or rejiorts relating to gold, and when I come to the discussion of silver I Avill, in its proper position, place snch another talile, because these seem to commy much practical information which will he useful to those engaged in coining. The report placed on page 92 is a copy of one I made to the Master, so I give it in extenso, and it will be found that by it bullion may ho traced from its first admission to the coining department to its final issue as coined money, AAdiile each item of its history finds a place in the immediate department in Avhich the bullion may ho under operation. Reference to the table at page 84 will demonstrate the fact that, by March, 1857, the average loss had fallen to £233-84, Avhile in June of the same year it had been reduced to £57-80, finally reaching so Ioav as £18-45 in December, 1857, the sums being in every Avay strictly comparable Avith all those of that table, because the Amluo of the SAveep is not taken into account in any case. As is usnal in all discoveries, the merit was soon found to he worth claiminc:, hut that the credit Avas due to me the jMaster himself admitted; and it is a fact that I was the only iioaa" officer, while all those who had been proA-iously em¬ ployed were still retained; and I feel that the Master confirmed his opinion AA-hen, in consequence of the reforms I had dfcctcd, he obliged all officers to follow such directions as I gave. In all cases AA’hcre time would permit, I made it a rule to obtain the Master’s sanction before giving orders ; hut in cases of necessity I AA-as empoAvered to act independently, and did so act, lie co nfir m- Statement of Losses incurred and of Sweep recovered. This refers wholly to Gold in the Coining Department. 90 THE ROYAL MINT 4) S & O . 2 = "3 = S .5 3 fc u J a; C c. c c ^ Iss I i l> o H?* Hh H?* *^CN iO 0 xo t> 0 0 xo rH XO 50 00 rH rH » 0 CO (M 00 iH 0 t- oq XO CO 00 rH rp rp rp 1—1 rH rH rH rH rH !zi !z: 10 0 CO 0 XO CO C 5 CO CO rH 05 XO m rH 0 CO CO I:- 00 CO t- CO XO CO CO CO b- , rJ^ p:|^ Hn wh* Hh* H-t Ml'S* CO CO rH 0 rH 0 0 CO 00 00 04 1—1 0 00 XO ^ 1—1 rH rH rH Oj 00 0 05 cq 0 CO rH t> 00 05 0 CO t- 04 04 Hi T—1 rH rH rH rH rH 1—1 1—1 rH 10 1—1 cq rH CO Hi 04 CO CO rH CO 04 XO 00 0 0 0 0 04 00 0 rH 04 l> 05 rH 04 04 Hi 04 CO b- CO 0 CO xo Hi 'i< + + ■!:- ^'N -'N p-lr» H?* .^co 1—1 CO CO rH 0 0 t- 05 XO rH rH 05 05 1 —i rH 1—1 rH 1—1 t' CO Hi 0 0 rH 0 05 CO =3 —H* rP rH iH rH rH rH rH % k £ 89 CO (M XO 04 04 05 Hi XO 0 CT 5 XO 0 1—1 0 04 CO 04 05 0 xo Hi CO XO 05 xo t:- t- 01 CO Hi rH 04 04 XO CO Hi 04 CO Wl'J* rlci *« CO 05 0 -r-l CO CO 1—1 rH CO Hi rH 0 CO CO xo 1—1 rH rH • 1^ 10 0 CO CO 04 05 XO 0 Hi CO CO (?q rH t> *^1-l 1—1 rH 1—1 rH tH rH oq 0 CO 1—1 00 Hi 05 Hi rH CO b* 05 05 Hi 05 CO b- ^ 10 1—1 (M XO hH CO CO CO 05 04 0 00 CO 04 rH 1—1 b- cq 0 CO rH 04 04 0 rH 1—1 rH (N t- 1—1 01 rH + + 0 GO 05 04 GO XO Hi CO b- on 0 Hi rH 04 r- CO 0 a> xo 05 05 rH 00 0 xo CO CO xo 05 rH CO xo b- « 0 05 CO 05 Hi b- 05 05 0 0 cq b- tH 1—1 1—1 rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH 00 05 m 05 CO 04 CO CO 0 CO XO CO 05 Hi rH 0 05 0 CO 0 CO 0 CO a; XO rH 05 05 05 04 0 1—1 05 HJH xo 04 xo 00 CO 1—1 05 05 05 04 CO 05 CO CO rH ^ 05 GO 04 HH xo 04 CO CO 05 05 xb" b- 0 rH Hi CO Hi" 0 0 1—1 CO 0 Cf) 05 CO rH XO GO xo 05 05 05 on 04 05 CO 05 0 rH ■H 00 GO GO CO 05 0^ rH 0 XO 00 CO 'ii 0 T—1 1—1 0 CO CO Hi 04 65 CO t- 05 t' b- 'iH rH 1—1 1—1 0 CO 0 t- CO CO 04 04 05 0 00 CO 0 0 Hi 00 05 0 CO 00 GO rH xo 00 L- 00 0 05 05 05 0 0 0 04 Hi 00 1—1 XO iO H^ t- XO >0 CO 0 CO 05 1—1 xo rH 0 04 04 H* 05 Hi 05 CO xo 05 Q 1—1 CO CO 04 00 Hi CO CO 0 rH 04 rH 05 CO xo 05 0 i-O 10 (M iH xo xo xo CO 00 CO h- XO 0 Hi xo t- 0 00 CO 0 00 iH 04 04 05 GO 00 CO GO CP 04 rH rH 04 CO 04 OI rH 1—1 rH 04 rH rH rH (M 0 00 • 00 CO CO CO xo CO t- 00 05 0 tH 04 05 Hi XO CO CO rH rP xo XO XO xo XO xo XO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO 00 00 00 CO 00 GO 00 00 CO 00 GO CO 00 GO 00 (M CO xo 0 00 05 0 rH oq 05 Hi XO 0 b- 00 © xo xo XO xo XO XO xo XO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO CO 00 CO 00 CO CO GO CO .00 00 00 CO 00 CO 00 00 00 00 g tH 1-H tH iH rH rH 1—1 rH rH tH rH tH rH rH rH rH rH 0 o o O 9 rP O + P H & c3 nrJ a; ph nc5 P CD • r-. ^ . .g *p CO 00 ^ w 01 ^ O o ^ H THE ROYAL MINT 91 c3 Q a 2 O cu •a CO CO 0 XO 00 0 0 0 VO rH IH VO CO 00 04 5j 0 ^ 4< 0 rH rH s- CO oq 00 tH 0 t- oq VO CO HfH 00 rH VO t4-> 0 rH rH rH rH rH rH k rH 0 0 0 10 CO Ct CO 0 rH Ct VO GO rH 00 CO 0 CO i> 00 CO t- to VO CO to CO t- 0 rH ■a CO rH CO CO rH 0 rH tH ct VO rH rH CO Ct rH rH rH tH rH «c rH tH CO CO 0 rH 0 ct CO CO ° 0 0) 3 rH rH rH rH rH tH 0 10 oq oq Ct -fH VO 0 Ct VO 0 00 ^00 rH 0 cq CO oq ct 0 VO -tH to VO Ct VO CO t- t- cq CO tH 04 OJ VO CO 04 CO VO ■a CO Ct 0 oq CO CO rH 0 CO rH ^ 0 CO CO VO rH rH rH tH = « • rH 10 0 CO CO CO ct VO 0 ^ 0 CO oq rH Ct a> OT tM rH rH rH rH rH rH 3 ^ o CO 00 o LO iO 00 00 ct O iO o 00 00 00 01 o 00 -t< »-o o o 00 00 o o 00 00 ct :d o 00 00 CO o 00 »0 O t'' LO ‘O irs 00 CO 00 o o CO -ri o 00 CO o o 00 00 i.O o o o 00 00 t> 00 o o 00 00 H W. FREMANTLE, Deputy Mastee of the Mint. Statement of Work Performed in the Coining Department from October 2nd, 1857, to December 17th, 1857, inclusive. The Coinage was completed in 53 Days. The Value of the coined Gold was £4,495,748 4s. lOd. 02 ■< S o .1 ■E bCbC §3.g , ^|i Si C3 £|> p M O §1 tn 'O w >>S c ^ c3 p m o P pq «0 c £ S o o o CO OS * > cu > C- w O £-1 mo ® 4) ^ HH 06‘tT JO jiiSiSAi TOOO^ om uodu 90U9.i?^ip enuiui u SuiMOiis “ .rnpoa: rooo^ Suip?9uiiv “ •szo t8.S0S^9n .uiuea. uiooy; :^uiiiSi9AV snSt9J9A0S .loj poo-o 50 g c -a o pq ^ s s a « .SP S 2 ^ P3 pq !2 M M ■S 03 M £1 .3 M s 86-9 JO juSisM uioog iJuijjno BiR uodn gouaiajjip snuini b SuiMOiig “ n-6860ezi . tuBoa raooa SuiqSiOjW “ “ •szo fO'9660SSI . uiBoa moog 3u]uno /Cq suSiOJaAOg joj s^jraia jno >s ^ d d - o g "tS ® cj ^ 5 K m ^ 'oj p w j CO SO £ o 'V P r CO 00 cs E o o -31 t- ^ j=i S ? a l£S ■o O 4> o;z;p ca o sc o sc CO -f (M ca ca •-< -H en)^^ I 25 c" To the Master of the Mint. GEORGE F. ANSELL, January 20t/t, 1858. THE ROYAL MINT. 93 ing such orders as I gave. It should also he mentioned that so soon as I entered the Mint, Mr. Graham gave me positive mstructions not to allow either of the then chief officers to interfere with the coinuig department. Nor would he permit a gold coinage to he condueted in my continued absence. If, how¬ ever, the business of the Mint called me away, he, to induee the belief that I was in town and on the spot, would pay my expenses to and from London from his own pocket, and this he did on several occasions, l)ecause he found that “ in my absence unnecessary loss re-appeared.” The opposition offered to the coining of bronze in the Royal Mint was so great, that the Master wished me to go to the mint of Messrs. Ileaton and Sons at Birmingham, and there make such experiments as were neeessary to confirm the opinions I had formed on that subject. This firm, with a generosity ever their own, per¬ mitted me to make, during a considerable period, and free of charge, such experiments for the Mint as I deemed necessary, rendering every possible assistance ; but my investigations and agreeable visit were brought suddenly to a close by the folloAving note from the Master :— “ Royal Mint, 9/A January, 18G1. “ My Dear Sir. “ Owing to renewed jiressure for gold eoin, we find it necessary to begin rolling on Friday next. I am sorry to shorten yoin holiday, but your presence is very desirable as soon as gold enters the rolling room, and will relieve me of much anxiety. “ The pyx pence received from Mr. Gausby to-day appear to be of fair quality. We should like to have a ton or two. “ Very truly yours, “ Tiio. Graham. “ G. F. Ansell, Esquire, “At Messrs. Heaton & Sons, Birmingham.’’ To demonstrate, then, the correctness of the theorem I had proposed, it vfill be necessary to refer once more to the table on page 90, where it will be seen that these results exhibit themselves in the financial year April to March, 1857—58, Avhen the loss in each million coined was £14 3^., and the sweep re¬ covered in that year was sold at the rate of £39 7^. 10|r/. for each million coined. If, therefore, the proportionate loss be deducted from the value of sweep sold, v’c have for the first* time in the experience of coiners a gain by coining to the extent of £25 45. lO^iZ. on each million coined, thus approaching to the calcu¬ lated gain of £59 45., while in the next financial year it will be observed that there was a loss of £22 II 5 . 0|r/., with a value of sweep recovered £73 45. gh ing an absolute gain of £50 135.,* practically the result calculated * See page 178. 94 THE ROYAL HINT. upon. To comprcliond, tlioii, tlic reason, -svliy in the following 3 ’cars a loss is again permitted, it will be necessary to enter into matters of the inner life of tlie i\rint. Tly the year 1859 the hatred excited agamst me in consccpience of these exposures had culminated to the extreme. The Master, then desii-ous of finding a permanent position for his brother,* listened to and encouraged any stories against myself, notwithstanding the fiicts above related, and instead of consulting me and sending necessary orders thi-ough me, as usual, sent wi’itten orders openly by messengers, whose instructions were to read them to each ofiicer. These styled by himself “circulating orders,” were intended to disgust all the officers Avho had assisted in the reforms, and it was apparently determined by these and other like means to bring back the management of the Mint into the former chaos of iiTegularities, that he might make his brother’s appointment appear necessary. The disrespect thus exhibited to myself, and to the officers generally, had to a certain extent its designed effect, for in 1859—GO the loss rose to £7G 7s. 7d., the sweep selling for <£66 12^. 5d., showing an absolute loss of £9 15^. 2d. It will now be necessary to refer to a statement of losses and gains upon each quarter^ because the accounts were not officially balanced, the next statement being for the years April, 1860, to March, 1862,f but the quarterly account below f shows that the loss rose to 65‘444 ounces, progressing rapidly in Time, 1861, to 105’823 ounces, while in March, 1862, it had reached the ugly figm’e of 157‘745 ounces. Before, however, this vast loss had been reached, the officers consulted together with a view to devise a means of arresting the dovmward coui'se. About this time a piece of gold Avas dis- coAmred secreted in the di’ag-room tunnel. I felt that this Avas a fact on Arhich I could legitimately appeal to the Master against his neAV system, and this I did on the 31st December, 1861, Avhen I represented to him that the reappear¬ ance of the losses Avas wholly due to his Anthdrawal of support from his officers, and that if he would not take the steps which were necessary, he alone must bear the blame, for I had uoav rejwesented the truth to him. He asked my adAuce; so I told him boldly that he must come down officially to the Avorks, as of old, and shoAV himself a supporter of honest men. After much persuasion he assented to this adA’ice, and came doAvn. From that day the losses ceased, yet the effects, so far as the accomits are concerned, are exhibited till the quarter ending March, 1862 ; but the folloAving quarter, ending June, 1862, exhibits a natmal gain of 17'942 ounces. This table is of Amine, as shoAving the alternations of the apparent gain or loss; for in some quarters the loss appears to be greater than in others, arising from the fact that the bullion * Mr. John Graham, who had been engaged “gratuitously” for many months “to get his hand in,” Avas appointed, on the 23rd April; 1861, to an extra clerkship, at £20 a mouth, as Inspector of Bronze Coins,-—“as a Avarming-pan.” t See page 90. t 95. TI-IE ROYAL MINT. 95 picked from tlie sweep is iu some cases included; but this is always included in the return of the financial year. STATEMENT SHOWING THE LOSSES AND GAINS UPON EACH QUAKTER, FROM * JUNE, 185G, TO SEPTEMBER, 1868. Quarter ending:— Gold. [ SiLVKK. Loss, Gain. ' Loss. Gain. •June 30th, 1856 . Dec. 31st, ,, Ounces. 417-070 147-325 Ounces. Ounces. 268-460 Ounces. March 31st, 1857 . 17-220 — 9-550 090-314 June 30th, ,, . . — — 94-026 Sept. 30th. ,, — — 315-903 Dec. 31st, ,, March 30th, 1858 . . 21-316 4-673 500-335 Sept. 30th, ,, — — 315-114 Dec. 31st, ,, — — 211-250 March 31st, 1859 . . 16-603 — 259-082 June 30th, ,, 9-417 — 185-358 Sept. 30th, ,, — — 240-890 Dec. 31st, ,, — — 403-593 March 31st, 1860 . 65-444* — 69-096 Sept. 30th, ,, . . — — 427-238 June 30th, 1861 . Dec. 31st, ,, 105-823* 606-765 March 31st, 1862 . 157-745* _ — 2-501 June 30th, ,, . . — *17-942 170-965 August 31st, ,, Dec. 31st, ,, 5-671 5-584 132-984 March 31st, 1863 . June 30th, ,, . . — 20-793 458-672 Dec. 31st, ,, March 31st, 1864 . 13,767 60-821 48-845 June 30th, ,, _ 13-843 9-042 Sept. 30th, ,, — — 783-347 Dec. 31st, ,, March 31st, 1865 . 39-679 17-660 147-780 June 30th, ,, — — 480-346 August 31st, ,, — 1-020 195-546 March 31st, 1866 . 58-632 — 230-515 May 30th, ,, . . 5-037 — 136-014 Sept. 30th, ,, — — 631-037 March 31st, 1867 . _ _ 260-352 June 30th, ,, 3-562 — 158-951 August 31st, ,, _ 0-205 43-033 March 31st, 1868 . _ _ 271-540 June 30th, ,, . . _ — 222-545 Sept. 30th, ,, 19-873 — 19-897 These arc grave charges, but an impiiry could not fail to establish their truthfulness. To return, then, to the table at page 90, it will be observed that the loss of 1859—GO increased in the years 18G0—G2 to ^45 3.S. bd .; but the stimulus applied by the renewed support of the Master reproduced its legitimate results, and iu 18G2—G3, instead of a loss of bullion, * Specially referred to on page 94. Statement op Losses Incuered and of Sweep Recovered. This refers wholly to Gold in the Melting Department. 96 THE ROYAL MINT, Hn Hh Ho* Hh 0 0 CO 00 0 0 05 0 1C 1C cq CD c &, ,2 rH rH g s = T—1 0 CD cq CD 0 rH cq cq rH 05 cq cq 00 .d cq rH rH rH rH rH rH "rt C- 0 0 CD 1C CD CO 0 CO 00 cq 05 0 10 CD CD 05 05 1C 00 CD CD CD t- CD 0 CD iic rH rH rH]N Hh W|H* Hh t-- 05 rH CO 0 tH t~ CD rH 05 CD cq CD CD rH S s 1 w 00 CO rH rH CD CO 05 CD 0 cq 05 rH cq 00 1 T—1 rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH 1 1 I'll 0 ^ XO r- XD rH 0 05 rH t> 0 CO 00 CD cq CO CD 0 rH rH CO CD 05 rH CO CD rH cq DJ rH oq CO 04 04 cq CO cq rH (cq r-l^ pil’J* mIn 0 00 1C 1C rH CO 0 t- 0 0 0 CD ® d « 0 0 05 (M IC rH 00 oq CD (35 cq rH 0 1C 0 rH rH rH rH rH rH jz; rH 00 05 05 1C 05 cq rH 0 0 0 r— 05 1C rH 0 0 0 0 CD CD CO oq 05 0 0 CO rH t- (>4 00 rH cq 04 (?q i> 1C 1C 1C 1C nl'^ H-f Hh «|*j< Hh 'ti t-H 0 CO oq 05 0 l> 0 rH CO 0 00 00 rH rH rH rH CD 05 05 05 00 0 1C 1C 1C (35 CD 0 1C 1C 11 rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH 1 CD CD rH CD CD CNl 05 GO CO cq r- 0 1C ^CO 00 CO 0 CD 0 00 1C 0 CD rH rH 00 00 CO 0 0 05 0 rH rH 00 cq rH iO 0 ^ CO CNI rH rH CO cq oq rH cq CD 00 rH CD cq rH 05 00 1C 1C 0 cq 0 . ^ CD rH r- 05 1C 0 CD CD <35 rH a) cq rH 4- % 0 00 CN C4 rH 00 0 CD CO 00 0 CD rH ■§) s gi-H 0 ^ CD CO 1C 1C OD <35 CD 05 1C r- 1 CO rN CD rH r— rH 1C rH CO cq CD 00 CO ^ 0 0 CO rH t- 00 1C 04 (04 00 CD CD 1C Hw Mi'i* rHl« mIcj Ml*** -eo iO 05 0 I> CD cq 1C rH 00 00 0 <35 1C rH rH rH to 05 rH 05 CD <35 rH t- 05 05 0 0 cq ^ t-H rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH 0 00 05 05 CD oq CO CD 0 CD 1C CD 05 rH rH 0 CD 00 0 tr- CO 0 CO 00 1C rH CO CO 05 cq 0 0 CM 1C 00 CO rH CO 05 05 cq CD <35 CD CD Oi (T)' cq rH 1C oq CD CD CO <35 ic' 0 rH rH CD > CD 0 rH CD 0 CD (05 CD rH 1C CD 1C CO 05 <35 00 cq CO 05 CD rH rH 00 00 00 00 CO cq rH 0 1C 00 CD rH rH rH 0 CO 00 rH cq CO CO 05 t- t- rH rH 0 CD 0 t- CD CD cq oq 05 0 00 CD 0 0 rH 00 05 CO 00 00 rH 1C CO 00 0 CO CO CO 0 0 0 cq GO rH JlO ID rH t- 1C 1C CD 0 CD CO rH cq rH cq rH •S to S t- 0 rH 05 rH CO CD 0 6 1C cq (X) 60 6 “til c *S 0 ^ CO CD rH rH 05 0 00 1C 0 T—i 0*5 CO rH CO 00 g 00 CO 0 d CO t- 1C rH 0 cq cq rH CO rH CO CO 1C 0 rH 00 CD G 0 CO 0 r- 00 rH Cl cq (35 00 00 CO 00 <35 cq rH rH CO rH rH rH cq rH rH rH CM • iO • 00 CO 1C CD l> 00 (35 0 rH cq CO -H 1C CD 00 10 iO iC 1C 1C 1C 1C CD CD CD CD CD CD CD CD CD 00 00 00 GO 00 CO CO 00 00 CO 00 GO GO 00 CD 00 00 05 0 rH cq CO rH 1C CD t- 0 © 10 0 1C» 1C 1C 1C 1C 1C CD CD CD CD CD CD CD CD CO 00 GO 00 CO 00- 00 CO GO CO 00 00 GO CD 00 00 g rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH c; > •* 0 -T) This mark (*) is intended to attract the attention when at pages 98, 103, these figures are discussed. To obtain the true amount of loss, deduct the value of the sweep from the value of the gold lost. Return to an Order of the House of Lords, dated 17 th February, 1870 . The LORD ROSSIE. No. 2 . FROM THE JHILTING DEPARTMENT OF THE ROYAL MINT. A Statement of the Weight and Value of the Gold Moneys coined in each Financial Year from 1851 to 1869 inclusive, exhibiting the Weight and Value of the Loss or Waste sustained in each year, as well as the Value of Sweep recovered, and the average Proportion of such Loss or Waste and Sweep recovered to each Million Pounds Sterling coined. THE ROYAL MINT 97 u rH 0 CO CO X CO 0 CO 0 1-0 10 04 X X o o rH rH 11 ‘o tc 0 0 CM 0 0 (M oq rH CO Cl cq 00 rH 0 rH rH rH rH rH C 5 CO CO 10 CO CO 0 CO X oq X X 0 CO 0 C 5 CO 1-0 X CO CO CO CO 0 10 cd > rH rH rH Cu 00 C 5 rH 0 rH l> X rH CO 0 04 CO X X •£ o ^ i-H CB O CO rH rH CO CO CO 0 0 cq X rH cq 00 X X ^ o o t-H rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH 0 1-0 10 rH 0 CO 0 X X 0 04 rH erf ^ CO 0 0 rH rH CO CO CO X CO 04 1-0 cd > 0^ (M 04 It! 05 0 0 0 0 CO CO CO cq CO 0 0 X X T —1 t- oq X cq oq cq t- 10 10 10 1.0 t- 10 rH CO (M 0 0 t- 0 rH X 0 X X 0 rH rH rH rH rH rH rH *0 ^ 0 0 0 0 X 0 10 o 1-0 0 X 0 l-o 10 rH X rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH 0 00 rH CO 0 oq X X X t- 04 r- 0 10 04 X <♦< liD 00 CO 0 0 0 X 10 0 X rH 04 CO rH X X CO 0 0 CO 0 rH X 04 rH 04 t- 10 cq CO cq rH rH CO cq 04 rH cq 04 0 X rH t- X oq -H CO 00 1.0 1-0 0 04 0 0 X rH CO 10 0 CO CO CO rH Of) 04 X X 0 X cq cq X 0 CO X X 0 CO 0 i 1 e !s 3 oq x 00 10 10 X CO t?- cb CO lb -b rH OO CO oq 04 CO rH I'- 1-0 rH X OI CO X X 10 0 < CO cq 00 10 CN oq cq 00 CO CO 10 rH -ciO 10 0 0 oq 10 rH X 00 0 X 10 rH rH rH rH to 1-H GO rH CO 0 CO t* X X 0 0 X 1—1 rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH u 00 0 r— 0 CO Ol CO 0 0 0 1-0 CO X 0 l>- X 0 Oj 0 CO 0 CO X 1-0 rH CO X X 04 0 X X 0 1-0 cq 1-0 X CO rH CO CO CO 04 CO X X X 0 ■3 X oq 1-0 oi CO CO 10 t- 0 rH -H CO X 0 0 rH 0 0 X CO CO rH 10 X 10 X X X X X CO c: CO rH X X X X CO cq rH 0 1-0 X X X T—1 rH 0 CO X cq CO CO CO t- t- rH rH 0 0 0 0 CO cq oq 0 0 X CO 0 0 X 0 CO X rH 1-0 X t- X r- 0 CO X X 0 0 0 1.0 rH 10 1.0 1-0 1.0 0 0 CO X rH 04 rH 04 X 1-0 tc ^ S 6 rH 0 rH CO 0 6 0 10 04 X t?- X 1.0 X 2 CO 0 rH rH CO 0 X 1.0 r— X X X X 4>- fW ■'T S 00 CO 0 cq CO L- 1-0 rH 04 04 X ■-n X X b 0 C rH X CO cq X CO CO 0 rH 04 rH t— X CO LO kO 10 rH 1-0 10 10 CO rr) CO 1-0 0 -H 1-0 04 L'* CO 0 X rH OI cq L- CO X X X X X 04 rH rH 04 CO oq cq rH rH rH 04 rH rH rH rH 00 rH CO 1-0 CO X CO 0 ^ 04 X -H 10 CO CO 1-0 10 10 10 1.0 1.0 1-0 CO 0 CO CO CO CO CO X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 00 X X X X X rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH s -d 0 p a eS Q rH S iO 00 0 rH •4-J 01 CO 1.0 CO X CO 0 r-l oq X rft 1.0 X r— X b 0 10 1-0 1-0 1.0 1-0 1-0 1.0 0 CO CO 0 CO X X X X X X X X X X X 00 X X X X X X X X X a rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH rH tH > 0 Ch f 18-76 6-70 0-24 M 28-79 12-86 0-24 0-12 1861 1515 28-27 5-07 12-79 0-24 0-12 5-74 14-70 0-24 0-12 1865 0-61 12-00 0-24 0-12 1866 9-87 . 15-04 0-24 0-12 1867 20-28 0-12 1868 17-82 0-15 to the melting-pot—a state of things which no contractor would tolerate for a week; yet this waste has continued thi-oughout 1870. Now, there can be no reason why the bullion should not again be weighed in the form of blanks and the heavy blanks reduced by the file, as fhey were in former days; for it I lO THE ROYAL MINT. must be remembered that that tile* has met witli approTal and adoption by the highest authorities on coining in theii* respective mints, and there is manifest folly and -waste in sending fully 50 per cent, more rejected -work to the melter than is absolutely necessary. These remarks will be more impressive if the table of rejected work be examined for 18G1, where it will be seen that, with a remedy of O'30 grain, the rejected was 5'75, reduced to 3'36 per cent., whereas it imme¬ diately went up to 21-43, reduced to 12-22 per cent., when, on the 2nd of August, the remedy was reduced to 0-20 grain; and that on the 14th of August, when the remedy was increased to 0-24 grain, the rejected became 10-07, and was reduced to G-68 per cent., these being the figines obtained by the total amounts passed thi-ongh all the automaton machines. We -will next, then, see the effect of this extravagance in manufacture on the total out-turn of coin, because tliis is the final test of the cost of manufacture, it being readily under¬ stood that if 17 per cent, of the whole coinage be reinelted, whereas 2-07 per cent, used to suffice, there must of necessity be a clear waste of labour to the extent of 15 per cent. Therefore, not only is unnecessary labour exacted, but also a large additional loss by melting is—under the present Authorities—incinred, as well as the loss by coining (see pages 101, 103). Having considered this, it will be fitting that the subject of wages paid to workmen shall receive attention, as a means to arrive at the cost of coining a sovereign, and which, it may be here stated, has been by others estimated at far too high a sum. In discussing, then, the amoimt of coined money obtained from gold bars, it will be necessary to enter into details of figures, and to show not only the rate per centum of coin obtained from bars as forwarded by the melter, but also the rate obtained from the clean bars—that is, from bars whose ends have been sheared off, and from the total weight of which the brittle bars and stopped pots have been deducted, thus leaving none but solid workable bars called, in practice, “ clean bars,” as against the rough bars, which, indeed are rough enough to deserve that title. The half-sovereigns shown in this table (page 111) at 2G-97 per cent, were coined in November, under the old system, but they are placed here that these retiuTis may be acciu-ate. The effect of the reduction of the remedy from 0-30 to 0-20 grain (which has been explained at page 107) is evidenced in the amount of coin obtained in the period—June, 18G1, to March, 18G2 ; yet it is fail' to admit that some of this gold was exceptionally bad, for the Bank of England, finding that the bad gold of 1859 had been coined, paid the Mint the compli¬ ment to send at this period some of a singularly rotten character, with an appearance almost woolly ; and if reference be made to the table of rejected at page 109, this gold will be seen to have produced, with a remedy of 0-24 grain, lG-07, reduced to G-G8 per cent., over the remainder of the coinage, thus making • See pages 4'l-4.'5. Statement showing the hate pee centum of Mixed Coin feom Rough Baks of Gold, and the eate pee centum of Soveeeigns and Half SoVEEEIGNS FEOM THOSE EESPECTIVE BaES. ThE BEITTLE BaES AND STOPPED POTS AEE DEDUCTED. THE ROYAL MINT 111 c S) © 'S tr- 00 CO D- rH CO GO CO !>• c > S O o 00 L- rH CO CM « « c/2 eq cb CM CM 1C o rH rH O rH CM Id 1C CO w CO CO o cTS (M 1C CD M o CD «• CO o o rH cr:. cq 00 CO o CM CO o rH o CO CD 1C cT CO 1C 1C t:- o 1C l>- o ^ CO CM CO 1C rH 1C CM T—t CO tH rH rH rH rH CO rH a (3L l:- o CM o o rH rH rH GO <» ^ o CO o 00 o rH OO Ci CM o rH 9. O CO o o 1C rH 6 3 S 3 G^ CO CD 00 V2 3 CO CO o CO 1C rH o ^ tH CO CM 1C t- CD o t-H 1—1 rH rH CM C « o GO rH CO CO tr- rH O GO £ e ^ CO CM 00 (M 1C rH o o 00 C5 M CO C3 S '3 « « g cb O CM rH cb OD 1C C5 rH rH fc- 1C 1C 1C CO & ^ lO tH o C5 1C 1C 00 CO CD CO t- CO • 00 CD . o CO CO o o 1C o 1C rH rH t- «5 o cc CM o CO CO CO rH o O C CO o 1C o" CO -H CO rH cT o' 1C 00 Si ^ a GC 1C o o CO 00 (M 00 o o ,-1 CM o 1C o o rH 1C CO CD t-H CM rH rH rH rH CO CO c 1 1 1 1 1 c 'E iO CO Sh c o 00 o 00 p 5 k—4 »=^5 o 1C 00 rH o a •"5 o -4^ o CO 00 rH rd P k-H F=i rH O 00 rH < CM o OD rH P CO o 00 rH rd p o 00 rH o a 00 rH O 3 o « o Q 1C CD 00 rH 03 a a <1 o CD GO rH a S o o 00 rH CO o O •4^ C30 1C O o s s o o -4-> o -+j 1C CD a a <1 00 CD o rH CO 1C 00 o o rH o o CO o CO CD 00 CO GO GO GO 00 S s rH >. rH >i CO 00 M o rH rH rH O CD 00 00 CD a > o o 'S 3 O) > o f-* a a a B a rH O a rH O o •4^ o O rO o a a a 3 > rH o 12; hr *-5 o o < 1 12 THE ROYAL MINT. the disastrous effect of the reduced remedy, more apparent. As has been before stated, the gold of 1859 coutained, besides a vast amount of brittle gold, 0H5 * per ceut. of its whole weight of dumb fillets. Then, coming to the lieriod, October, 18G3, to June, 1864, Ave find a continued state of bad work, infiuenced by the remedy of 0‘24 grain to a certain extent,ibut to a much more marked degree by the new system which was now introduced; and by referring to the next table, it will be seen that the ends at one jump went up from 4-03 to 7’CO per cent., because a mistaken opinion led to the shearing off the ends from the bars in the rolling room. The order for tlie re- introduction of this abandoned custom Avas in the following terms, so could not be set aside by those who saw its umvisdom :—“In the practice of the rolling room, Mr. John Graham is requested to cause not less than 3 inches from the hollow end of each gold bar to be cut off before beginning the rolling, with a vieAY of keeping back the doubtful portion of the bar.—(Signed) Thomas Graham. 7th December, 1863.” Grave as Avas this error, it was Statement showing the Gold Baes used in each Coinage from November, 1856, to August, 1868, AND THE RATE PEE CENTUM OP EnDS, OF MiXBD GOLD CoiN, AND OF SOVEREIGNS AND Half Sovereigns produced from those Bars. Coinage conducted between • the Periods:— Mixed Bars, “Clean.” Ends cut from Bai'S. Sovereign Bars, “Clean.” Half Sovereign Bars, “ Clean.” Mixed Coin, including Pyx Pieces. Sove¬ reigns from “Clean” Bars. Half Sove¬ reigns from “Clean” Bars. Ounces. Per Cent. Ounces. Ounces. Per Cent. Per Cent. Per Cent. November 1856 to April 1857 . 1,057,776 4-13 460,851 596,925 43-16 62-62 28-12 October 1857 to March 1858 2,192,798 3-82 2,051,872 140,926 56-39 56-93 49-63 November 1858 to June 1859 . 1,798,717 4-41 1,210,447 588,269 50-89 48-93 54-94 January 1860 to March 1860 1,414,516 3-13 1,148,130 266,386 56-75 56-43 54-54 January 1861 to April 1861 1,619,251 5-14 1,330,448 288,803 53-18 53-88 50-03 June 1861 to March 1862 4,215,722 5-22 4,215,722 • . 44-47 May 1862 to March 1863 4,351,531 4-03 4,066,506 285,025 54-03 54-60 47-39 October 1863 to June 1864 . 4,566,032 ^7-60 4,261,432 304,600 50-88 50-82 51-25 October 1864 to December 1864 1,851,724 6-48 1,602,533 249,191 51-75 52-87 44-53 January 1865 to August 1865 . 1,047,901 7-24 722,921 324,980 49-49 51-64 44-72 November 1865 to May 1866 . 3,336,536 6-80 2,494,243 842,293 41-80 41-77 42-10 April 1867 to June 1867 . 291,696 4-50 291,696 43-70 .July 1868 to August 1868 . 612,857 9-57 61^857 45-84 sm’passed by a real blunder, for at this period it was determined to stop all fillets that ajApeared to exhibit any signs of brittleness, thus hopelessly rejecting an immense bulk of really good work lest it should contain any bad; whereas, had the proper course been adopted, the good from each fillet should have been selected, as was the invarialle custom under the moneyees and the small per-centage of really bad fillets rejected. By this system the men were thoroughly disheartened. To such a length was this mismanagement at last carried, that the officers and men allowed things to take theii- course, feeling sui’e that time Avoiild demonstrate the folly of the present system. Hoav- See pages 46, 92. THE ROYAL MINT. 113 ever, the extravagance lias continued down to this day. Yet another source of Avaste of labour was left; and CA-en this Avas utilised. In the working of the draw-bench, as well as the mill, there are at starting many fillets so Amrying in thickness that it is not fair to make the trier send them to the cutters as regular Avork. It was the custom at that 2 >eriod to detain these fillets to the end of the day, Avhen they were esjiecially treated, cut at a special cutter, and the blanks sent to he AA'eighed—the good were reseiwed, but the bad were returned to the trier, yet not charged to him as bad work, thus enabling him to save at least 70 per cent, of, perhaps, 5,000 ounces per diem. Under the new regime this was not permitted, from sheer want of knoAvledge, although its stoppage Avas condemned alike by officers and men. Causes such as these reduced the average amount of coined soA^ereigns, from rough bars, from 51 to 44 per cent., as will be seen by examining the table of coined money obtained from rough hars* By uoav referring to the accomjianyiug statement, tlie effect of this mismanagement Avill be seen, for instead of an aA'erage of 52-40, only 48-48 per cent, of coin Avas obtained from barsf that had been stripjied of every fault that could interfere Avith their producing poAver. Instead of yielding, as these should liaA^e done, a larger proportion of coin, they really gaA^e less than the coin preAnously obtained from rough bars, as aauII be manifest if this statement be consulted. But, that these facts may be more clear, this abstract is made from the tAVO previous tables, shoAving the aAmrages of coiu obtained and the waste of labour by mannfactiu-e under the present system, so clearly to exhibit the amount of loss in money value by labour alone. From On Roiigli Bars. On Clean Bars. Mixed Coin. Sove¬ reigns. Half Sove¬ reigns. Mixed Coin. Sove¬ reigns. Half Sove¬ reigns. Ends. November 1850 to March 1863 . October 1868 to August 1868 . 48-75 44-08 51-84 44-87 45-49 40-85 52-40 48-48 53-98 48-58 47-44 45-26 4-20 7.08 Waste per Centum. 4-72 0-57 4-04 3-92 5-40 2.18 2-77 To shoAV the extra cost of coining, these figures have but to be niTiltiplied into the sums coined. Before, hoAvever, entering upon this field, it Avill be well to explain that the rates per cent, of coined money obtained, as exhibited in the last tAVO tables, are inclusive of the pyx pieces, so as to sIioav, as far as possible, the best results. The pieces taken for the Mint trial are excluded, because these do not ultimately find their Avay into cii-culation ; but that the vast money loss may be seen, I have added, in a tabular form, a statement J which Avill shoAV the Avcight of coined money produced in each coinage from I85G to 18G8. It may, at first sight, ap])ear that if the AVork be so badly conducted as to yield an average of 8-02 per cent, less coined money from a hundred * Sec page 111. t See page 110. t Statement showing the Amount of Money Coined and of Pyx Pieces between November, 185G, and August, 1808. THE ROYAL MINT 114 1 CO 00 CO rH rH CO 0 IH 05 0 cq 0 CO 05 rH rH rH rH 05 0 S oq CO CO CM 05 liO CO CD CO g ^ s cb cb 0 tH tH cb lb do r:i A y. 0 t-H rH cq CO 05 00 CO 1C (V >» CO 0 rH CO rH cq CD tH 0 r-i rH rH CO CO rH tH .1 « . 0 t> tH CD CO rH 00 1C a § 0 hH rH 00 CO 05 rH CO CD S 5 TtH 0 00 tH CO tH 05 0 CO cq 0 cb 0 cb cb lb rH 05 cb cb 0 a ^ 0 00 cq rH 0 0 05 rH tH 0 1C 05 .5 0 0 T—i cq rH rH rH rH cq 1 « 00 0 CO CO CD 00 cq hH cq rH CO t>. 5i 0 00 I:- CO tH 00 cq 10 05 tH 0 ^ 0 CO 00 CO 0 tH JO 00 00 1C 0 00 c S g i> 0 cb tH »b cb cb do tH lb G o:> 0 o:> 0 rH 05 rH 0 cq 00 00 0 t- 00 Oi 0 cq cq 05 0 05 cq CO rA ^ 0 0 05 cq cq 1C rH tH 0 c 0 S 00 C5 10 cq tH tH cq 0 00 cq i 5 = cb rH 0 lb lb tH cq lb r"! 0 0 00 0 CO cq IH CO 00 0 CO 0 00 d) >> cq ia> cq 05 0 CO cq 0 cq 1C 1C CO rH rH cq CO CO rH rH 0 1 0 00 rH hH cq 00 -it oq tH 05 0 CO 00 rH rH CO rH 0 tH hH rtf tn . ^ oq CO rH 00 cq CO 00 0 tH 05 1C g M S 0 0 ib 05 IH tH 0 cb rH do g £ rH t-H tH cq 00 rH cq 1C 0 cq • 0 C CO 00 1-H 05 cq 0 rH CO CO o) b 0 00 0 0 rH CO cq tH CO CO cq 0 0 C CQ CO CO tH 00 10 rH IH rH CO tH 00 0 oq rH CO tH 00 cq rH 00 CO 0 cq tH rH cq cq rH r ^ i ® CD 'it t- 0 0 00 CO CO CO 1C rH CO 0 CO I:- cq 05 0 CO CO 1C CO rH 0 rH 2 5c 0 10 00 00 0 CO CO ®q 05 CO rH 00 1C .5 53 fcD i) 1-H cb 0 tH cq ib rH tH tH 05 lb do 0 § g t-H 0:> 0 cq 0 rH rfi 1C CO 0 00 0 0 IH cq cq 0 0 0 00 hH CO 0 c> 0 CO 0 0 rH rH cq rH 0 tH 00 IH 0 0 u i-O CO 10 CO 0 CO tH 10 cq 1C rH 05 cq 00 cq 00 00 00 CO CO 05 1C CO rH cq CQ rH rH cq cq rH 0 rH l> 00 iO CO rH 0 CD 00 1C CO CO c a> 00 tH xo 00 s 0 i-O CO 00 rH rH CO 00 cq CO CO CO 00 rH rd p 0 -4-3 cq CO CO CO 00 0 iz; rH rH < 1 > > 0 12 ; 0 -4J 0 0 0 0 0 ft p s HH d d a d d ce i-b 0 d *-5 c 3 0 -4-3 0 0 0 -4-3 c:) 0 d d d P4 Explained on page 115. THE ROYAL HINT. 115 ounces of bars, tlie cxp.cuse incmTcd is increased to an equivalent amount; but such is not the case, for all depends on the point at ’which the extravagant ’U'orkmanship may have taken place. If, for mstance, the bad ■umrk be produced in the rolling room, it simply induces the expenditure of so much wages in the melting, because the men are paid for the bars produced; but if the rejection shall have taken place after the money is coined, it becomes a more serious matter, because, hi such a case, the loss and expense attendant on each operation subsequent to the melting have been incurred. It is, therefore, extremely difficult to give a general rule, but an instance 'vi’ill suffice. The coinage for 1857,* inclusive of every manufacturing expense, cost 0^. 5i7 per thousand pieces; while that of I80G cost 135. 2it. per thousand pieces. That the exact amount of waste may be estimated for these two years, then, it is only necessary to multq)ly the Aveight given previousl)" (refer to page 114) for the coined money and pyx pieces, Avhich, in the period from November, 185G, to April, 1857, Avould bo 45G,111'5G8, added to 4G4'203, and the sum of these, multiplied by £3-89375, —the decimal expression for £3 175. I0ii'7, Avhen the total value of that coinage Avill be obtained, and found to bo £1,777,790-15. Since each thousand coins cost G-s. 5A, the total sum was coined at an expense of £570 75. Gr7. ; but, had the rate of expense been the same as for the coinage of 18GG, the total cost Avould have been £1,170 75. 7|('7, or exactly £G00 O 5 . 1|(/. more than it should have cost for actual Avorking expenses. So by the rule of proportion the actual expense for the coinage of 18GG may bo obtained, and this table is valuable as shoAving the Aveight of each coinage, but will naturally be more serviceable to those who seek practical information than to general readers, and for the benefit of such it is added. On examining this table (see page 114), it Avill be observed that the coinages of December, 1858, to June, 1859, and against AA’hich a * is placed, are bracketed, Avith a Anew to call attention to the fact that the accounts of those tAA’o coinages became inexplicably mixed. Since the present and the late Prime Minister luiAm stated from their places in Parliament that the Royal IMint is found AA'anting in administratiA'O ability, it may not bo out of place to suggest that there is abundant room for reform in the Office diA'ision of that Department, for it is seldom that the accounts can be obtained for many months after the AA'ork is finished, and this circumstance, as is apparent, is a serious inconA'enienco to the operatiA'o department. FolloAving these considerations on the extravagance of manufacture, and reflecting on Avhat the processes should be, it a})pears that this is a fitting point at Avhich to stud}' the cost of producing gold coins, and, consequently, the rates of Avages paid to the men for labour. Therefore, it may be Avell to state that there Avere tAVo systems of payments to Avorkpeople: one by Avhich tlu'y AV('re paid * See page 117. THE ROYAL MINT. 116 for time, that is. by the hour, for cleaning the working departments, machinery, (kc., and for tlic more important coining of bronze ; while for the coining of the precious metals they were paid b}^ a scale of piece-tvorJc. These systems produced nothing bnt dissatisfaction amongst the., workpeople, for at times they were receiving Amry good wages, and at others none at all; and to meet snch contingencies the men and boys who were on the establishment received a kind of retaining-fee, Avhich was called subsistence, and in bitter irony no more tit name can be given to the miserable pittance Avhich, under this form,'was paid to them. It commenced at G^. a week, and, after twenty years, rose to IO 5 . a week; and if, as often happened, the Mint were idle for months together, this Avas all the poor felloAA's had to subsist npon; and, to reduce the value of this pittance to its smallest proportion, they were not entitled to it unless they should each day present themselves, and, by a fiction, ask for leave of absence for that day, the longest period for which leave can be granted. After many attempts to compel the men to comply with these terms, they were wisely permitted to go home, and “ wait fiu’ther orders; ” so 1;hat, by a kind of tacit resistance, they were able to oAmreome a regulation which would make it impossible to obtain employment elseAvhere, because most other work commences before eight, at AAdiich hoiu’ they Avere required to present themselves. If, instead of this unsatisfactory state, the men were paid fixed Avages, ^d, in addition, so much for each 100 lbs. of coined money produced, they Avonld be satisfied, while the coined money would be produced at a cheaper rate, for each * man would be concerned to see that eAmry exertion was made for the final event;' whereas, under the then arrangement, with a specific amount of gold to be coined, it is manifest that, with management snch as is noAV under discussion, the sum for Avages might be doubled, because the men were paid at the folloAving Rates for Piece-work. For each 100 lbs. Troy of Good Work produced. -- Rolling Fillets. Adjusting and Cutting. Marlcing and Annealing. Coining in Press Koom. Melting. (Ends are npt deducted.) Gold - Silver Sovereigns . . . Half Sovereigns .... ’ Florins and upwards . Shillings. Sixpences . Fourpences . ^ Threepences. s. d, 3 0 5 0 1 6 2 0 4 0 5 0 6 0 s. d. 5 0 10 0 "2 6 3 6 7 0 8 0 10 0 s. d. 3 0 6 0 2 0 3 6 7 0 14 0 14 0 s. d. 2 6 5 0 1 8 3 0 6 0 12 0 12 0 d. 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 And, to AueAV this matter in its practical light, Ave can demonstrate its nnadviseclness. Thus, in the coinage of 1857,* there Avere 2,110,962 ounces of gold bars Avronght, which produced 2,0I6,337'80 ounces of fillets (equal to 95-51 per cent.). These fillets produced 1,163,502-34 ounces of good blanks, from Avhich 1,154,590-87 ounces of coined sovereigns were obtained. Noav, if * See page 92. THE ROYAL MINT. 117 these various weights he reduced to wages—the men were paid for the produce of each operation—by the table above given, they will yield as follows ;— £ s. d. For melting. 36 12 9 5 ,, rolling . 252 8 0^ „ cutting and adjusting . 260 12 5f ,, annealing and blanching. 145 8 9 ,, coining in press room . 120 5 4^ £815 7 5^- So that for producing 1,154,590-87 ounces, or £4,495,748, of coined money, the men were paid £815 7^. which sum was equally divided amongst the whole body, except that paid to the melters, for they are still paid, by a curious fiction, as packers and tellers. This, then, is the sum paid for wages when the coin produced averaged 54-79 per cent, on the bars; but let us see its amount compared with another statement put forward by the late Master of the Mint when the sovereigns produced a\Traged—the coinages concerned terminated in December, 1864,* and May, 1806*—49-44 and 38-11 f per cent, on the bars respectively—in other words, lef us coilipare this rate of pay with that given in the Report of the Commissioners on the International Coinage, from which book the figures for 1804 in the following Table are taken. ^ Statement showing the Qiht of producing 1,000 Coined Sovereigns and Half Sovereigns. Date of Coining Denomination of Coin. Total Number of Coins in the Coinage. Average Number of Pieces per Week. Total Sum paid to Workmen as Wfiges. Cost of 1,000 Pieces in Wages. Cost of 1000 pieces in Salaries and contingent expenses. Cost in Loss of Metal by Coining. Total Cost ot producing lOOO Gold Coins. Cost of 1000 pieces for melting. Total Cost of produt ing one Gold Coin. 1857 1858 1858 1864 Sovereigns. Half Sovereigns. Sovereigns. 4,495,748 47,549 544,31-2 5,663,656 _ • 497,625 27-2,156 514,878 £ s. d. £ s. d. 778 14 8 0 Z oh 8 4 2i 0 3 5i 91 10 3 0 3 4i 2,011 11 7^ 0 7 2 £ s. d. 0 8 l{ 0 17 51 0 18 3| 0 12 9 .i £ s. d. 0 2 91 0 4 l| 0 4 14 0 6 0 £ s. d. 0 14 1 5 2 1 5 91 1 5 111 £ s. d. 0 0 1-955 £ d. 0 0 0-174 0 0 0-302 0 0 0-309 0 0 0-311 Dy which it is demonstrably shovm tlia^ Avhereas at that period 1,0UU coins cost for wages 7^. 2d., at the periods above given, andshoAvnas 1857-8, the cost was 3s. b^d. for the same number of coins, thus shoAving a clear saA'iiig for AAaiges, by the proper system of management, of 3s. 8 ^ 1 /. 011 each 1,000 soA-ereigns coined, or on that total quantity no less tluiu £1,050 2s. 8 ^ 1 /. "While such extravagance is not only tolerated but approved, miserable savings are effected at the cost of the helpless. But to treat of the Avrongs to Avhich men in this Department are submitted Avould take volumes AA'liich none Avould read. Since, hoAvever, the appearance of the last edition of this book, the Mint Authorities have adopted in part the plan of wages payment I therein suggested, and AAdiich I had submitted to the late Master of the iMiiit in my Ill-port dated 29th January, 1859. Indeed, I belieAm the system noAV in force * See page 111. t By reference to the table at page 84, it will be seen that the amount of coin obtained in 1868 was below the wor.st produced at any other period since 1851. IIS THE ROYAL MINT. was recommended to the Treasmy, in the first instance, by Mr. Thomas Graham, I am sorry they did not give full effect to my propositions, still tliey have improved the positions of the workmen by the alterations made, but for the reasons I shall state I cannot concur in Avhat they have done. I leave my original proposition to speak for itself, as I rc-prodnee it a few pages hence, and here content myself with exhibiting the system of payment to workmen now in force in the Royal Mint. Vide “ Mint Reports,” No. 7, 1870. “ We propose that for the future all piece-work in gold and silver coining shall be paid for at the reduced rate of Is. 9d. per 1,000 good pieces, and all bi’onze coining at the rate of £2 lOv. per ton for pence, £3 ] Os. per ton for half-pence, and £7 per ton for farthings. “ In addition to their wages for piece-work, we propose that the men should be entitled to a uniform payment of £1, and the boys to a payment of 10s., and after three years’ service, to 15s. per week. The only exception to these arrangements would be the payments made to certain ovennen, which would he in one case £1 10s., and in five other cases £1 5s. per week. These payments would continue to be made when the Mint is at woi’k as well as when it is unemployed, and to the boj^s as well as to the men. All the- men and boys would thus receive sufficient weekly wages to maintain them, both during a cessation of work and while the Mint is in lull operation. “By this-arrangement an average saving of £100 a year only will be effected.” To the principle involved in tbis system I take exception ; for tlie manii- factimers, who gave tlie idea for it, never eoined the precious metals, so that the whole operation of the system could not have been present to their minds when they Recommended it. By this plan the men are paid for simple numbers, and not as they should be, in jJi'oportion to the labour and anxiety incurred. That this fault may stand out clearly, I submit in the following table a fail’ week’s work on each coin, and we will assume that the one kind of coin follows the other, as indeed would really be the case in actual operation, only at greater intervals. GOLD. SILVER. BRONZE. Sovereigns. Half Sovereigns. Florins. Shillings. Sixpences. Threepences. Pennies. Half-pennies. Farthings. 600 journeys 300 journeys 240 journeys 180 journeys 108 journeys 60 journeys 30 cwt. per 25 cwt. per 12 cwt. per per week, per -week, per week, per week, per week. per week, diem, or say diem, or say diem, or say = 420,600 = 420,600 = 475,200 = 712,800 = 855,360 = 950,400 9 tons a 7*50 tons a 3*60 tons a pieces at 1/9 pieces at 1/9 pieces at 1/9 pieces at 1/9 pieces at 1/9 pieces at 1/9 week,at£210s. week, at £3 10s. week, at £7 per 1,000. per 1,000, Ijer 1,000, per 1,000. per 1,000. per 1,000. per ton. per ton. per ton. Wages £36-80 £36-80 £41-55 £62-37 £74-84 £83-16 £22-50 £26-25 £25-20 It is reasonable to suppose that men are more exposed to temjitation when gold is within their reach (and that this is Mr. Rremantle’s vierv may be gathered from one of his reasons for urging a removal of the Mint, viz., to avoid “ opportunities for peculation ”) than when they are operating upon silver or bronze; yet we find by the above demonstration that sovereigns and half- sovereigns yield almost the vjorst tvciges to the men, for the sums specified are divided amongst the Avhole body of them, who probably number now, as when I left the Mint, 27 men and 11 boys. The contrast is stronger if the pay¬ ment ioY'florins be compared Avith that for threepences, which, with a tithe of the labour, yield just donhle the remuneration. The Reporters give a THE ROYAL MINT. iig reason why they altered the system, which after I have pointed out the above facts, will seem to he curious. They state that the inequalities of wages induce “the improvident to contract liabilities, and, on the other hand, the more skilful workmen are induced to accept employment elsewhere, and the Mint loses their services.” In my own experience, the men prefer regular wages of a smaller amount to an irregular income of gieater value, because they can then regulate their household expenses and save money by fixed weekly sums, but that this reason never entered the heads of the Reporters is manifest from their own admission. They urge “ this arrangement because an average saving of ^100 a year ivill he e ffectedf which saving is to come out of the pockets of men already underpaid. I would say to the Reporters, “ Muzzle not the ox that treadcth out the corn.” The total cost, then, of producing a sovereign in 1857 under imoper management was OTTI^/., while under Mr. Graham’s system it would appear to have been 0-3 llr/. in 1804. If, however, the facts l)e examined, and stripped of the sensational eiTect of the cost of one coin, it will be found that the difference is far from infinitesimal, for whereas the total absolute cost per 1,000, inclusive of everything, was ll^. in 1857, it had reached <£1 hs. llj»^i^. in the years 1804—00 (seepage 117). The increased expense thus incuiTed amounts to 115. Id. on each 1,000 coins, or, on the whole amount of that coinage, to £3,280 4-5. This, then, is the state of cost at a selected period, when a large amoimt was coined weekly. Rut what would have been the cost had it been taken on the total coinage ? For then we should have found an increase in the amount per 1,000 pieces for salaries and contingent expenses, whereas the figures for 1857 iucludo the whole coinage—beginning, middle, and ending; so that the average produce of coins per week, altliough appearing to be smaller than that of 18G4, is really far greater, for whereas the largest number reached in any one week in 18G4 was 585,809* pieces, in 1857 the largest number in any one week was 915,50Gt pieces, or larger by 329,G07 pieces, the average per week being 17,253 pieces less, because the coinages of 18G4—18GGrefciTed to, do not contain the beginning and “ tailing-off'” of the coinage; in simple fact, they arc figures vuitten for effect., not for information. That the complete coinage costs more for salaries and contingent expenses is self-evident, beeause those expenses remain the same if no coins be struck, but that this is a fact is demonstrated by the little coinages of 1858 in the same table,+ where it will be seen that, although the payments for wages nearly a 2 )proach the cost of 1857, the cost for salaries and contingent expenses is greater than it was in 18G4. Another point is hero also proved to demonstration—that whereas the loss by coining is clearly proved to be unnecessary, the late Master of the Mint states it at G^. per 1,000, or £300 per million coined. That this should have been so * See Report by Comniibsiouers ou International Coinage, p. 93. t Sec the 3Iint Books. See page 117. I 20 THE ROYAL MINT. stated is of ill omen,* for wlieu the belief of Mr. Brande and his colleagues led them to the conclusion that loss was necessary at a mean rate of £373 per million, they exceeded £500 ; and, by rule of proportion, we may expect the !Mint to make, now that the belief of the late Master has found expression, a loss of £452.t Be this as it may, the difference between 65 . and 2^. is sufficient to make men tliinlc, for even this trifle of 3^. ‘l\d. on 1,000 coins amounts to £908 2^. on that single coinage. That the loss on the coinages of 1858 should be so great is explained by the fact that in a small coinage the ffi-st loss by gilding the machinery is as great as in a large one; but in the case of a great coinage this is so distributed over the mass as not to appear. Had it been determined, however, to exhibit the actual facts by the system of selection followed by others, not only would this loss of metal have disappeared, but a GAix would have been shown, for on those particular coins tbere was an actual gain of 1-39 ounces, which is at the rate of £9 I 85 . 10|r/. per million coined, or 2-386(?/. per 1,000 pieces coined, so reducing the cost of these actnal coins to £1 Qs. 10\d, and £1 I 5 . 6t/. per 1,000 resj)ectively; but as these matters are dwelt upon for information alone, it is preferred to place the fair proportion of the loss on this coinage on this portion of it. It shonld be observed that the contingent expenses for 1857 do not include £ 1,100 voted for the new files,! because that sum was never appropriated to that purjDose; but that they do include the subsistence paid to the men, and, indeed, every possible sum other than weekly wages ] 3 aid to the men by the piece-work scale above quoted. I have not questioned, nor have I investigated, the figures used by the late Master of the Mint, for as he wrote those papers, and invited the Signatories to give their names after the copies were fairly made, it is but just to suppose that that gentleman satisfied himself of their accuracy. The Chancellor of the Exchequer has proposed to reduce the value of the gold coinage by removing one grain of gold from the sovereign, a reduction of 0-81119 per cent, of its value. This matter has been so fully discussed, and its error so completely demonstrated, that little need be here said; but there is one consideration which should not be omitted. The new standard of value, for such it will be, will be worth only its value in gold immediately after it has quitted our shores. To travellers, therefore, it is a tax of about one per cent., for each of Mr. Lowe’s pounds will fetch but 19^. lOf/., and, whether the coins be exchanged here or abroad, the reduction must be borne; whereas, if it were determined to charge the importer for the cost of coining, and for that alone, no tax could fall on individuals—a system which must be unjust, and the coin would, by this burden, be restricted in its power of sale as bullion, so small a sum as one-eighth of one per cent, having frequently determined the sending of coin rather than of bullion, because, when the exchanges are nearly equal, merchants • See page 125. + See page 129. 1 See pages 44, 179. / THE ROYAL MINT. I2I thus save the cost of assaying, which, inclusive of loss of interest, &c., amounts to 2.5. Gd. per .£100. To fix, then, the sum proper to charge for the coining of gold is practically a simjde matter, if it be desired, as slionld be the case, to protect oni’ coinage from conversion into bullion, to the profit of special mer¬ chants, but to the loss of the nation. In the following proposition the exact cost can be determined, and that should be the maximum limit of a Mint charge or mintage^ for if that charge be so enlarged as to insure a profit, the fears of Mr. J. Gr. Hubbard as to the illicit coiners relieving the Mint may be expected to l)c realised. Between April, 1855, and December, 1805, £59,581,957 were coined, or an average of £5,958,195 in each year. If, however, six millions be accepted as the average yearly coinage of gold, it will give data for the following calculations. That the cost of coining may be always the same, let there be thirty-six efficient workmen and twelve boys, and let these be paid for wages in the following manner :—To each man £1 a week, whether at work or not, and to boys a sum beginning at 145. per week, to be increased I 5 . per week for each additional year of service, until the age of twenty be reached, when they should receive the same sum of £1 as is paid to the men, but the “rating as men” should be stopped till a vacancy occurs, that the number of men, inclnsive of melters, shall not exceed thirty-six, as then no injustice will be done the men, and the boys are sufficiently provided for to enable them to wait. When, however, work is in progress I would jmy for piece-work as follows; for— £ Sovei’cigns . 0'8()6 per 100 lbs. troy of coined money. Half Sovereigns . 1-571 ,, ,, Florins. 0-555 ,, „ Shillings . 0-800 ,, „ Sixpences. 1-348 ,, „ Threepences. 2-330 ,, Bronze pence . 7-500 per ton of coined money. ,, halfpence. 10-000 ,, ,, ,, farthings. 15-000 „ ,, This sum shmdd be divided by a simple system equally amongst the work¬ people, so. that men should take one whole share, boys who have served more tnan three years and a half two-thirds of a share, and boys of less ser^'ice than three years and a half one-third of a share. When the fair share of piece¬ work exceeds the permanent amount of fixed wages, that sum should be deducted from the total sum allotted to each, so that fhe permanent wages would become a fixed charge secured on the piece-work to bo performed. This being performed intelligently, each workman would participate in the benefit, therefore each would do his best; whereas no increase can take place in the cost of production, for any carelessness in the various operations simply causing so much waste labom*, would bring no remuneration, and the wages would thus bear proportion to the anxiety incum'd and be equalized. 12 2 THE ROYAL MINT. To pm'sue, thou, this proposition further, it will he convenient to assume that 420,000 sovereigns are coined per week, this being a fau average amount to take if the complete coinage he conceived to he 6,000,000 of finished coin. In such a case fomdeen weeks would he requii-ed to effect the operation, and its total cost will stand thus:— £ For assays by out-door assayers . 998-4 ,, wages to workmen. 1,035-0 ,, salaries and contingent expenses . 2,843-0 ,, loss of metal by coining. 1,200-0 £6,076-4 In estimatmg salaries and contingent expenses the estimates of 1857 have been taken, because the pressure for bronze has passed away, and the establish¬ ment has, it is supposed, gone back to its then dimensions. At that period it was usual to estimate the cost of coining gold, inclusive of assaying, at the rate of one-sixth per cent. In the above calculations the cost of assaying is included, as well as the salaries and contingent expenses, from which, however, has been deducted the fixed wages paid to the workpeople for fouideen weeks, because they are supposed to have been earned as piece-work. Allowance at the extravagant rate of £200 per million coined is also made for loss of metal by coining, so that under this proposition the total cost of producing six millions of coined gold becomes £6,076-40. This must be the absolute sum, for the cost of dies, police, &c., is included in the amount for salaries and contingent expenses ; it therefore follows that each £100 would cost for manufacture £0-101273, or about 25. 0^£ Here, then, are exhibited the grounds on which the calculations are based, and unless there are errors on the face of the figures it is demonstrated that the total cost of coining, even -with an extravagant estimate, may be reduced to about one- tenth of one per cent. Why, then, should a profit of nine-tenths of one per cent, be desired or granted ? If an idtimate decision should be formed to charge £1 for each thousand sovereigns coined, a stimulus will be given to the Mbit authorities to investigate the cause of their losses, the means whereby these may be stopped, and to how great an extent useless officers may he parted with, thus to make a minute but legitimate saving out of the allowance, for there is no substantial reason why we should com free of charge; nor, on the other hand, is it right that the cost of that operation should fall on the tax-payer, while a just rate for mhitage would, unless under very exceptional circumstances, protect the coinage from illegitimate conversion into bullion, for it must be remembered that there is already in reality a tax of 1|£ per ounce for the conversion of bullion into coin, paid by the importer to the Bank of England, and the charge for mintage will be in addition to that tax. A very strong reason against an exorl)itant charge may he found in the fact THE ROYAL MINT. 123 that the French Mint is content to fix its rate at about G francs 7 0 contiines for each kilogramme of their standard gold, Avliich is coined into pieces of the valne of 3,100 francs, or about 0'21G129 per cent., say 4^. 3|r/. for each <£100 coined, and this under a system of contract which gives a profit to the contractors, so that it becomes clear, coining is practically done at a fixed rate in Fr.ince, that rate being above the actual cost of our coinage in 1857, but below the charge proposed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer by six-tenths of one per cent., irrespective of the deduction of per ounce made at the Bank when gold is bought.* This being the case, it is reasonable to suppose that all the gold for coining will go to France; Avhereas, if it be desired to convert the coin of France into our proposed debased eoinage, each £1,000 so converted vdll produce but £990-275, because the l\d. per ounce is equal to 0-1G051 per cent., and to this tax is added 0-81119 per cent, by the deduction of the one grain proposed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for it must be understood that the coined money of France will still be treated as bullion. Perhaps a still plainer view of the case may be obtained, if it be assumed that a man has a million pounds’ worth of gold, which, for cheapness’ sake, he gets coined in Franco, where he will pay £2,lGl-29 for coining it. Cii-cumstances, however, make it desirable that this million in French gold coins should be converted into coin of the British standard as coined at the Royal Mint, where the owner will find that, for the conversion of his bullion, he has to submit to a deduction equal in value to £9,725, which, added to the sum charged in France for the first coining, makes a total of £11,880-29. IIow many persons will bo willing to sacrifice such a sum for the convenience of others ? The result must be that, unless under the most exceptional circumstances, no gold except for currency can be coined in England, it will inevitably be sent to France, because coined gold will there always be 0-81119 per cent, more valuable than in England. In discussions recently carried on in the newspapers, the liability of gold coin to be sifted of its pieces which are heavier than the theoretical standard has been a good deal dwelt upon ; but there is one view which, perhaps, has not occurred to those Avho are unacquainted with the manufacturing details. It is true, then, that the standard weight of a sovereign deduced from its propor¬ tional weight to 20 lbs. troy is 123-274478 grains, and that this piece may vary so far in weight as to be either too light or too heavy by no less than 0-2000 grain, and yet be a perfectly legal tender. With careful manufacture the coins issued should be so apportioned that there shall be half the number on the light and the other half on the heavy side of the standard weight. f By referring to the papers furnished for the guidance of the jury at the trial of the pyx it will be found that the gold coins reported on at the last two trials were on the light side of the theoretical weight, for those submitted to * Sec pages H, 127. ^ See pages 30, 73. 1 ! 124 THE ROYAL MINT. trial in 18G1 were by number 24,055,335 pieces, and ■^^eiglied only an equivalent to 24,054,849 sovereigns, consequently the Bank of England received exactly £480 more in coined moneys than tlieir bullion was worth ; therefore this was a profit to that Institution. And on the occasion of the trial which took place in 1800 there were by number 34,927,188 pieces, which weighed only an equivalent to 34,927,008 sovereigns, so that the Bank gained exactly £180. These facts demonstrate the fairness with which the Mint coins and issues its coined moneys, not in accordance with the letter, but with the spii’it of the law which governs its actions; yet the evidence thus given is to the effect that the bulk of the coins are on the light side. The cruTent weight of the sovereign, as authorised by Act of Parliament 33 Viet., cap. 10, and published in the London Gazette, 12th August, 1870, is 122-50 grains, and below this weight the Bank of England will not receive it in payment of twenty shillings; but the half-sovereign, being a coin of con¬ venience, is allowed to circulate till its weight has fallen to 01-125 grains, below which it is not received at the Bank in liquidation of a debt of ten shillings. Thus, then, while a sovereign may be legally coined so that its weight may be either 123-474478 grains or 123-074478 grams, it is still permitted to cii’ciilate, and is a legal tender at the enrrent weight of 122-50 grains, or a difference of 0-574478 grain below the minininm weight permitted by the New Coinage Act for its issue from the Mint. If, as will be found to be the case on an average of years, the rejected coins by weight amount to 10 per cent, when the remedy is 0-20 grain, and to 9 per cent, when the remedy is 0-25 grain, it is evident that the chance of obtaining profit by picking coins is not greater than 3-5 per cent., because the difference between a fifth and a quarter of a grain makes an increase of 7 joer cent., and of these rejected pieces rather less than half are on the heavy side, because, as has been shoAvn, the whole deliveries to the Bank of England are on an average light pieces; therefore it will be perfectly safe to consider that each hundred sovereigns contain at the extreme three coins which may be two-tenths of a grain heavier than the standard weight of 123-274478 grains; but it is by no means certain that any himdi-ed pieces would cont-ain one single coin hea^-y by this amormt even if the remedy Avere made to be 0-25 grain, because the automaton balances of Mr. Cotton are so acciuate as never to permit the issue of pieces beyond the limits assigned, and any piece Avhich at its passage through the machine equalled the maximum Aveight Avould be, and is, inevitably reduced— infinitesimally, if you Avill—m Aveight, by abrasion against other pieces in the act of falling, as Avell as Avhen put into its bag previously to going to the Bank of England. When tlie remedy aaus 0-30 grain the case aaus different, but it may noAV be assumed that it is impossible for any one to make profit by selecting heavy j^ieces,—this irrespective of the fact that the bankers find it THE ROYAL MINT. 125 Avortli tlieir while to select hpavy pieces for transmissiou to the Bank of England, because they then obtain the coins which are of current weight, yet not intrin¬ sically worth twenty shillmgs;—whereas the recent public discussion makes it appear that it is worth the risk to certain nnlal 0 ^ra individuals in Brussels to buy onr newly-coined sovereigns, pick from them such as exceed 123‘274 grains, and melt them into ingots for sale as bullion, and retiu-n to us the light pieces. The only modes by which it pays such persons to buy new sovereigns for the purpose of such gain is to shake them together in canvas bags, or to sub¬ mit them to the electrotype process—as is often done by chemical students—and by these means obtain from each a specific amount of gold, sending the sweated coins into circulation, having reduced each of them to the lowest current weight by a very short rough usage. It is ditferent when coins, instead of being indi¬ vidually weighed, are pounded, that is, weighed en masse, just to determine that a certain number are in a given weight: in such cii’cumstanccs many coins most unequable may be issued, as was the case when silver coins were thus treated in the Royal Mint in August, 1864, against all sound principles. At that period the then Master, under false notions of economy,* determined not to weigh individual pieces of silver money, because silver coins were mere tokens, but when coins bearing the device of florins, and rangiug in intrinsic value from I 5 . Gd. to 2^. 9^7. irrespective of extrinsic worth, were rctiu'ued to the Mint, this economy was soon abandoned. I have dwelt at considerable length upon the losses incurred by the coining of gold; such losses I now find are defended by high authorities, but I hope some eftbrt may be produced by my words, yet not mine only, for I will quote those used by Mr. Graham in his letter to the Treasui-y f :— “ This gives in a million coined a net loss of £257 7s. OpL ;.but aftei’ making allowance for the circumstances just stated, the loss of gold in melting remains higher, in my opinion, than it ought to be; and it will, I trust, bo found to admit of some further reduction in future years. “ A correct estimate of the whole waste in coining is obtained by combining the returns of the two departments :— £ s. d . Loss of melting department .... 257 7 O J per million. Surplus of coining department ... 50 13 0 ,, Difference. 206 ll Of ,, It thus appears that in 1858-59 the not loss in minting £1,000,000 of gold Avas £206 14s. Ofd.’ lie tlieu proceeds to show that “the loss ou the gold coinage for the [then] last three years was £172 8s. 11|^7.,” yet Mr. Fremantle’s return to the Ilouse of Lords No. 30, 1870, shows a loss of £464 as the average in the last thi-ee years, and he in “European Mints,” uses these significant words: “The waste shown to have existed of late years in the English Mint has not been exces¬ sive.” * See page 71. f See lage 170. THE ROYAL MINT. 126 I rci)ro(liice these T\"ords hccaiise the Chancellor of the Exchequer has accepted contracts for coinages for foreign cpimtries, and I propose to study the matter in relation to his probable profit. With snch losses accruing as are here exhibited, it appears to be a step T^-oi-thy only the present Chancellor of the Exchequer to advertise for coinage contracts for foreign countries. At what price will they be granted to him ? It is perfectly clear that, to make a profit, he must charge more than it will cost, so it will be well to examine his chance of success. We may assume that it will cost him 2^. Gf?. to coin XlOO in sovereigns as the expenses of salaries, wages, and loss ; in addition to these he will find it necessary to pack his coined money for exportation, whither he must pay eamage, insm’ance, &c. Should he feel that he need not chafge for wear and tear of machinery, he must still remember that it will require renewal at intervals, and every expense must be included in a total sum of 4^. 3f c/., or the foreign contractors (Avhom he was sanguine enough to suppose would give him infonnation) will be sure to beat him in the tender for the contract. A s to silver, it is already certain that his loss by coining would alone make any profit hopeless even to a Chancellor of the Exchequer who knows how to get five quarters’ taxes in one year. Lord Kinnaird has shown that the Mint loses by manufacturing silver coin, by sheer loss of metal, at the rate of Ss. 9|c/. for each j£100 coined (see page 146), and in addition to this tax he has to pay I 5 . 9d. for each 1,000 coins manufactm-ed for labour, besides the contingent expenses, including packing, insurance, &c. All expenses must come within 15^. for each £100, because this is the sum at which the foreign contractors gladly accept coinages. While saying thus much, it has been necessary to reserve facts which would be indispensable to a contraetor, because such information should be rendered to a contractor only on terms such as another Avould be willing to offer for it, and to publish it here would be hardly fair to those whose business it is to live by coining. The Royal Mint, suffering thus from faults which its officials profess themselves unable to remedy, it seems an eccentric proceeding that while the Government Institution bears good-naturedly all the loss, the Rank of England should obtain all the profit, “ as a set-off against the stock of bullion it is compelled to keep.” It is to be remarked that the Chancellor of the Exchequer stated that it was “ necessary to expedite the coining of gold, because it bears interest while under coinage,” thus exhibiting an absence of knowledge, for the Mint pays no interest. It is no concern of the Rank whether its bullion be reserved as ingots or coin, because it is compelled by Act of Parliament to keep a specified amount to meet the excess issue of its notes, and this circumstance alone enables the Rank of England to coin gold without loss of interest—gold at the Mint is still considered as reserved by the Rank. So far, indeed, from the Rank losing money by importing gold for THE ROYAL MINT. 127 coming, it makes a clear profit, as is shown by the following figures—this even under its new system of assay—- Bank of England Profit. By the charge of Ip/. 011 each ounce of gold .... £1605-100 By the system of absorbing assay fractions .... 166-666 By the turn of the scale on purchase. 71-389 On each million coined.£1843-105 Nor is this all; for the Bank exacts from the Mint the last ounce or frac¬ tion of an ounce of all it sends, and besides receives gold invariably coined on the light side of the standard, to the average extent of £11'50, and makes an additional profit by the turn of the scale, which gives them from the Mint £1 5 on each million, so that their total gain comes to bo £1,929 12^. on each million sent to the Mint for coining, that Departmcnt*good-uatnredly finding alloy into the bargain. That I do not exceed the facts of the case would seem to be conclusively proved by Messrs .C. W. Fremantle and C. Rivers Wilson, for those gentlemen in their Reports state the amount at £3,458, and affirm (see Reports on the Mint, page 4) that on £5,000,000 the Mint would make a profit of £8,000. How they reconcile their figures I do not know, for by then’ own showing it shoidd be £17,290. They had better accept my figures, which would produce.a jirofit of £9,048 on the same amount. I feel that I have produced sufficient evidence to oblige me to "withdraw tlie opinion I have hitherto held, and which I thus expressed— “If, as I can clearly show, the Mint can still he advantageously retained under Government control, it would appear to be a pity to place the coinage in the hands of contractors, for it is evident that they must he paid such a price as will yield them a profit, and this sum had better be saved to the nation.” On the contrary, I now think it is the duty of the Government to at once coin EY CONTRACT, as the cost of such process will be definite, whereas it is now illimi¬ table. Instead of the tax-payers paying for New Mint buildings, tvhich are not required^ contractors would gladly buy the present Mint just as it stands, and m tlmee years amass colossal fortunes. If Mr. Lowe were to hand over the coinage of gold, silver, and bronze—by which the Government now loses so large a sum—for one year, with proper security, to an unofficial person, who should pay all the costs and reap all the profit, I am sure the amiiial vote for the exjieuses of the IMint and coinage may be remitted and the work will be better performed. At a period when the Government has seen fit to send Commissioners to European Mints to learn the mystery of coining, it seems a perversion of reason to adopt the opinions of those learners, ami upon their recommendations Inuld new Mint premises. I am aware that it is thought by the sanguine that the old Mint site will sell for a vast sum, Avhich will pay for the new site; but is it in the experience of the public that such transfers are made without loss ? Indeed the probability of vast expense is so great that it becomes a settled question. The Commissioners—the chief of whom says. 128 THE ROYAL MINT. “ . . . While I rrnist not he understood to he in a position to offer positive recommenda¬ tions on many points, and more especially as regards machinery, while the (j[uestion as to the future site of the Mint is still pending, yet I trust that I have shown the importance of the information Avhich we have acquired, and the possibility of applying it with advantage to many I\fint arrangements in this country ”— rccoiuiiiGiid inacliineiy and experiments with which two of their number are admittedly nnacqnainted, and their Reports show throughont that they are really -wiiting upon subjects to which their minds have not yet become accus¬ tomed, and which conseqnentl)^ they cannot fully appreciate. Instead, there¬ fore, of the Legislature building new premises on the advice of such officers, it will surely he wise to give the contract system a fair trial, say for a year, in accordance Avith the suggestion of Lord Kinnaird. It is not the premises, it is not the machinery, it is not the Avork-people, hut the utter want of expe¬ rience in the chief officers that gives rise to the state of muddle and dissatis¬ faction amongst the officials, and causes loss of bullion, which does not go into the chimney, and other expenses Avhich will not bear the light of day. Mr. Lremantle recommends new premises, on the ground that such should he built expressly for Mint purposes. The present Mint was so built, and is now capable, with Amry limited expenses, of adaptation- It Avonld be cheaper to burn it doAvn and rebuild the operative departments, than to remove it to another site, Avhere the same Avant of experience will surely give rise to precisely similar eAudences of mismanagement as now exist. It is because the GoA'ernment prefers to put the Avrong man in the wrong place—square men in round holes—that it is thought necessary to transfer the Mint, really that those gentlemen may be nearer then’ oaati comfortable homes and friends. The East End of London is recognised as a disagreeable part to dwell in; but the Mint is essentially a manufactory, and, as such, is not fitted for the westerly parts of the metropolis, and those who object to the neighbourhood should relinquish their offices. Would it be tolerated, if proposed, to remove the Enfield factory to the Thames Emba nk ment, so that it “ should be more immediately associated with the Treasury offices? ” In its present site the Mint has supplied the coinage, and could issue multiples of its past productions; economy being the order of the day, why incur unnecessary expense ? In the meantime, the old rule holds good—a bad workman complains of his tools; and those who demonstrate their inability to conduct the Mint in such manner as to derive the revenue Avhich they admit should accrue and Avhich they profess themselves unable to secure, should gracefully assent to place the matter in the hands of contractors till the Government shall see fit to put the department in the charge of some person Avho will practically develope the truth, instead of hunting in the chambers of the chimneys for that Avhich they must knoAV full well has left the Mint by another means. The Commissioners seem to have gone out of their Avay to show their want THE ROYAL MINT. 129 of knowledge on vital points in the manufacture of money. Thus Mr. Fremantle recommends the suhstitution of graphite for iron pots in silver melting, on the authority of Mr. Roberts, whose experience is expressed in these words— “ Graphite crucibles permit of the total contents being poured into moulds, and this enables the accounts to be adjusted daily.” Truly the accounts may be adjusted daily; but most commercial people object to adjustment^ as that process commonly leads to a minus account, and frequently an employment of the detective police. To balance an account is a very different proceeding; but is it true that graphite crucibles expedite the process ? No, it is not true, as witnessed by the table on page 102, where it will be seen that the amount of gold which is not ‘‘‘‘ j)Oured into the moidds ” varies from £1,132 doAvn to £1G1, and has, at the last return, risen steadily to £4G1, although the gold referred to WAS MELTED IX GEAniiTE CEUCiBLES. At a later period I will show these facts in greater detail.* So much interest does not attach to the coming of silver as to the coining of gold; yet, as the amount of profit to be made by this coinage depends on the length of time which silver coins can be kejit in circulation, it is necessary to consider whether the Royal Mint has at any time made, or does now make, so much profit as it should, and whether the coins when made are so manufactured as to be fit in the highest degree to bear the wear and tear to which it is intended that they shall be submitted. These questions, although they may appear to be of little interest, are really important, because the Mint, if properly managed, should, by its silver comage, pay all its expenses, and by its bronze coinage, if the latter be discreetly conducted, render an actual profit to the Government. I propose presently f to touch upon the bronze coinage, when inquiry will demonstrate that this is conducted in such a manner as that a large per-centage of the fair profit is sacrificed annually. In those countries where silver is legally the standard of value the coins contain the amount of silver Avhich is equivalent to a fixed sum of gold, and in all such cases, if silver should happen to rise in price, bullion merchants bny large quantities of new silver coins and export them, because these remain at a fixed price, although all other silver has risen in value. In England this contingency is avoided by giving to coined silver an extrinsic value ; that is to say, by rais¬ ing silver whose natural market price varies t between 5s. per ounce and 5s. 2d. per ounce to an artificial value of 5s. 5d. per ounce when it is coined into money. It is the practice of the Mint to buy silver only when it is at its lowest market price, and then in parcels of the value of £-50,000. Upon an average of years it is found that the profit thus accruing § should amount to about 8 per cent. Even with perfect maiiagcment the Avhole of this 8 per cent. Avould not be secured, because all ivorn and light silver culled from circulation is returned to * See page IBO. •( See page 102. t See page 1.52. § See pages 140, 152. 130 THE ROYAL MINT. tlie Mint by the Bank of England for re-coinage into new money, piece for piece, and many of the worn* pieces represent only half their original extrinsic valne. What we call a shilling is intrinsically worth, when coined, about but when it is culled from cii’cnlation it is often worth only 6^/., therefore a loss of is incurred by re-coining it, quite independently of the labour and loss of metal. It should, however, be stated that the Mint makes a small profit by receiving the nnreported fractions as well as the excess of weight t invariably given when ingots are purchased. In France the five-franc piece is coined so that it contains its intrinsic valne, the importer paying 75 centimes for each 100 francs in value. Smce this sum yields a profit to the contractor, we may be certain that it covers every possible expense of production. If this cost be proportioned to our money, it will appear to be at the rate of 15^. for each £100, Let ns see, then, if the silver coinage of Great Britain is produced at so cheap a rate as is that of France, and this shall be determined by discussing the unnecessary losses which are permitted, in a similar manner to, but less elaborately than, that adopted for the gold coinage. The tables which will be exhibited are those given me by the late Master of the Mint, under pre¬ cisely the same cii’cumstances as described when speaking of the tables relating to gold, I will then briefly treat of these losses as they were, as they are, and as they should be. Those who are habituated to the working of gold feel, when that work ceases, a kind of relief, which is perhaps natural if the relative valne be considered. The Mint, then, suddenly changes fr'om this metal to one of just about a fourteenth of its value, for to the Mint people gold at £3 175. 10 jf/. is as I4T6 is to I of silver, which they view as of a value of 55, Qd. per ounce; again, it is more bulky and unmanageable. These causes are to be admitted to their full share of importance, but should not induce us to accept them in explanation of facts which are not otherwise reasonable, and such seems to be the case with silver in the Eoyal Mint. Mr. Seyd, in his admirable work on Bullion and Exchanges, at page 560 says, “We should like to see a retui’u moved for in Parliament of the wasteage of gold at the British Mint fr’om 1850 to the present year ; it might show whether there has not been at certain periods of the management of the operative department much less loss than at others, and whether there has not been occasionally a small gain even, as there certauily ought to be with proper management.” Mr. Seyd has shown himself a master of the subject he has undertaken, and perhaps the facts stated in the earlier pages of this book may reply to some of his questions. He then pro¬ ceeds to say, “ A return of the wasteage of silver might also prove intcrestiug, as well as an account of the imperfect work returned to the melting-pot during each year.” When an author who has so successfully studied a subject invites such information, one can but feel that it is wise to give some details. I pro- * See pages G5—G7, 152, 155, 15G. f See pages 127, 137-138. THE ROYAL MINT. 131 pose, however, to give only such facts as will bring us up to the year 18G1, because the following years vary but little, and if I were to give another eight years it would require more space than it is deemed wise to occupy. In the following tabular statements will be found every particular relating to silver arranged in a precisely similar manner to the facts regarding gold, and it is hoped that they are given with sufficient clearness to render unnecessary a lengthy explanation. I have given other details at pages 136—142. In explaining the table on page 132 it should be noted that the £1,315 95. 4(7., given as the value of the loss per million in 1852-53, is not the true value, for, as in the case of gold, the accoimt of the loss was not kept. The loss of those years is, therefore, reduced by sharing it vdth the coined money of the financial years, June, 1851, to March, 1853 ; if this sum be, as it should be, excluded, the loss will be £1,695 175. 6i(7. The same allowance must be made for the melting-house account in the table on page 134, when that sum will become £1,375 125. 4|(7. instead of £1,067 O 5 . ll:j^7. It is deemed fail’ to reduce this loss as fiir as possible; therefore the whole sum coined between Jime, 1851, and March, 1853, has been made to bear the one loss of these 1845’449 ounces. The same test being applied to these tables as was applied to that relating to gold,* it will be found that the average loss by coining silver between June, 1851, and March, 1857, was £1,013 II 5 . 2:j(/., whereas in the next period, between April, 1857, and March, 1860, it fell to £365 155. 10|(7. This reduction then shows that the former loss, taken at its lowest, gives evidence of unneccssar!/ wasteage to the extent of £647 155. 4(7. on each million coined; but this sum is not that shown by the IVIint books, for, as above stated, it is below the truth. Great, then, as were the amounts missed, we shall find them far greater if the state of the melting-house be considered, and to do this is necessary, because it was asserted that the loss Avas arrested in the coining department by sending more oil and dirt to the melting-house. Let us then see Iioav this stands in regard to the truth, for while in the period 1851 to 1857 the oil literally dropped from the seissel and drained through the trucks on to the floor ^ in the latter period the trucks Averc not soiled, and the use of oil in the rolling room Avas rigidly prohibited, Avhile in the drag room only so much as AAms required to lubricate the fillets at the drag-bench Avms permitted to bo used, and this AA’as as far as possible removed by careful Aviping Avitli cotton AAmsto. It is also a fact that A\dicreas there had been an iiaiutual loss in the rolling and drag rooms Avhen oil Avas used very largel}^, there AA’as noAV a gain in both rooais ; in the former to the extent of one in ten thousand ounces AATought, and in the latter to the extent of tAVO in ten thousand. These facts must bo of importance while considering the folloAving statement (see page 134). By similar treatment to that applied to the table on page 132 this will yield * See page 88. S I "^2 THE ROYAL MINT. H N H ft ciJ o O w w Eh O »-:] p>^ w Eh fo O P P W HH O O > P l-H 02 EH pq H < H CC r-W Hh* 3|H* «lH* Hh' CO CO CO oq rH CO t- O , c rH c 13 00 l-H CD oq CD l-H CO CD IP •1 & S o X U O K* 5^ tH 1“H l-H lO CO t- CO CO rH 05 00 C(i t-H t- o CO o IP rH rH CO CO oq Ip CO CO oq CO l-H «hf H|^ nH H|-f4 TtH l-H 05 CO CD rH CD CD -o l-H ° i -h -a 05 00 05 CD IP oq m 3 ^ ^ .S l-H rH l-H rH 3 a5 O iP 00 o CO o oq l> t:- l-H CO oq 00 CO 00 CO CO CO oq CD IP o T—1 t-H l-H l-H l-H oq r^IW r4|0» H|^ rlN 00 O oq t~ 05 o CO *?3 rH O O <0 CQ «<5 cq tH oq CO IP o rH 00 00 •O JrJ* 1^ t-H l-H rH rH rH a> T—1 O o 05 05 00 IP o CO a CO CD o 05 oq rH oq rH rH r-H rH h1tJ4 H|^ Hc^ «IH <-4^4 p-(tc» rH t> IP CO CD IP (M Ip 1 -^3 -S CO C5 CD IP rH (M CD O CO IP o “o i“H rH 05 o 05 oq o oq l> 00 3 o O 00 o IP CO > lO 00 l-H CD oq CM CM CO 9 vV c:» IP oq !>• 05 IP a o S oq CD IP CD CD CO t- s o CO O CO CM CD (» CO ■*«» o 3 lb Ot) bq l-H o do § « IP CO 05 l-H CO 05 IP o >» CO CO CD CD rH 05 00 00 CO S •“ oq rH oq rH <3 r^-f Hh* «|h* *^3 C5 o o CD o o o o o i“H bD .5 CO T—( 00 oq o o o o o 09 l-H rH a CO l-H t>* o 00 CO IP o oq Ip 1:- 05 05 3 crt iO cq l-H 05 o o CD IP I:- CO o t> I>^ cb cb o' 00 cb 00 o 00 . CO rH 05 05 05 CD cq IP l-H CO CO CO Ip rH o o o o o o o o o O ip IP o o o o o o o o IP t- CO o o o o o o ■s tiO « o cb l-H 05 IP o 6 o o 6 a) CO t- IP Ip o CD CD cq CD CO tH o CO 00 IP CO i:- l-H ^ 5 O 00 Ip rH 00 oq O 05 oq o 1—H 00 CO O CO 05 oq IP IP CO o 1-H IP l-H o CD l-H oq rH rH rH rH oq cq CO IP CD t- 00 05 o rH lO IP IP IP IP IP Ip IP CD CD 00 00 CO 00 00 00 00 00 CO 00 o tH l-H l-H l-H rH rH rH l-H rH -p PI 5 rH o 3 3 S p - - - = - p=i O j o o -t-3 rH 3 pq CO IP CD 00 05 CD p LO IP Ip Ip Ip IP IP IP IP 00 CO 00 CO ' 00 00 CO 00 CO 00 rH r—f l-H l-H ^H l-H l-H rH rH rH 03 rp P ?-• P <1 To obtain the true amount of loss or waste, deduct the value of the sweep from the value of the silver lost. Return from the Royal Mint to an Order of the House of Lords, dated 17th February, 1870. (The LORD ROSSIE.) COINING DEPARTIMENT. A Statement of the Weight and Value of the Silver Moneys coined in each Financial Year from 1851 to 18G9 inclusive, exhibiting the Weight and Value of the Loss or Waste sustained in each Year, as well as the Value of Sweep recovered, and the average Proportion of such Loss or Waste and Sweep recovered to each Million Pounds Sterling coined. THE ROYAL MINT 133 ^ T-l CO CO d rH CO Ch o IH C5 00 . 4. o rH rH rH rH s rH rH ;zi CO h- CO CO rH -TtH C5 O CO rH 00 rH O CO O TO rH rH 01 d CO TO CO 01 lO CO CO 01 CO rH u 0) ■a o rH 00 rH TO 00 o o 00 rH Ol 1-H rH rH rH rH Hh -•IH r|?» S' ZD 01 t> O o CO rH IH CO te 'O tH .. . t- CO t^ d CD C5 o -H m ^ 01 CD O CD o L- CO o O o o GO Ol CD 1 § 4) « , S lO o cb CO tH o bi CO rH 04 o o cb CO cn VO d V* rH rH o cb CO rH &:> O 1 ^ o rf lO CO o o CO rH o o C5 CO GO o CD CD rH o 00 00 o 00 rH C5 00 HJH d rH 01 rH 01 rH rH .---S .^Cl o 00 rH O o o o o o o o o o o o o o rH rH to 0? 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FREMANTLE, Deputy Master and Comptroller. THE ROYAL MINT. I. an average loss between Jnne, 1851, aiicl March, 1857, of £698 135. 3d. per million coined ; whereas in the period from April, 1857, to March, 1860, there is a gain by melting of £87 135. 3d. per million pounds sterling coined. To look a little more closely into these tigiu’es, it Avill be observed that in the year 1858-59 there was a positive gain of no less than £505 I 65 . 21(7. on each million coined; this is not to be explained by any knovni fact, but it seems probable that in that year a circumstance occurred that had happened many times pre¬ viously, and from the prevalence of the same folly. At the Mint Office it is the custom to weigh the silver from the coining department to the melting depart¬ ment in drafts of 1,440 ounces, or for occasions of 720 ounces. Noav it not unfrequently happens that the weigher leaves the counting of the number of di’afts to his scalesman, and so an error creeps in. Some days afterwards the coining department finds itself short, say 720 ounces, and by searching its books finds it has been credited with too little on a specific day ; after investi¬ gation the error is admitted, and the old receipt altered. Now such an error happened on the 3rd of August, 1858, when 1,440 ounces, or two journeys, were delivered, but not credited; however, on the 16th August this was discovered, and the receipt altered at the Mint Office. It is probable that the melter never made a corresponding alteration in his books, and if that be the case, the gain of 1858-59 Avill disappear, to be replaced by a loss of £487 O 5 . 8^d., which would appear to be more natural. Should these lines meet the eye of the officer concerned, he could at once see if this be the explanation of so large a gain, and which has caused him much anxiety. That a gain can be made by melting is not a fact, although, if the statement be examined for the year 1855-56, it will be seen that a gain of £3 O 5 . 10^(7. appears to have been made; and once more, in 1859-60 a plus of £82 125. 0,f(7. per million seems to have been realised. These facts, taken as they stand, would mislead, and for reasons which shall now be stated. Sufficient is, however, here shown to prove that the stoppage of the use of oil effected a reduction in the habitual loss of the melting-house, while this fact renders it impossible to show that the stoppage of loss in the coming department was due to the more free use of oil and dirt (see page 131). In July and August, 1858, the melter being absent on leave, I was directed by written order of the Master to take his duties. Silver being under opera¬ tion, the following quantities were melted, and with the results recorded:— Given to Melt. Ounces. Pngots and alloy . 434,393-548 Scissel. 457,032-810 Clean ends . 1,440-000 Extra alloy . 499-539 Plus on -weiglit charged by Mint Othce . 51-G80 Produced by Melting. Bars. Ends . Grains. Assays . Loss by melting Ounces. 889,974-690 2,154-750 462-050 114-230 711-853 893,417-573 893,417-573 THE ROYAL MINT. 137 To analyse this loss—for by weight it was absolute—will give much information, and the details of proportionate loss were as follows : — On each Million Ounces Melted. On ingots of silver (produced from lead by Pattinson’s process) and alloy for the manufacture of medals . 947'91 On ingots, 5-franc pieces, and alloy. 203'85 On ingots, 5-franc pieces, scissel, and alloy . 418’40 Worn coin (culled from circulation) and scissel . 710'0G Scissel melted by itself. 1,036-45 Mean Loss. 675-34 Thus, then, it appears that upon this weight of silver and alloy there was, when melted, a loss of 711'853 ounces, or a mean loss of 675’34 ounces in standard silver; yet, on two undoubted occasions, the table above given* exhibits a gain upon the work of two whole years; why, therefore, should the ,loss just stated have been permitted to take place, when every atom of metal Avas Aveighed in the presence of witnesses before being placed in the pots, and Avas not lost sight of by the officers concerned imtil it Aims returned to the scales to he again weighed ? The reply is simple; the gain in 1855-5G and 1859-60 was not made, and its appearance is simply a matter of account, for the melter was not accustomed to, and probably to this day does not, Aveigh silver mto his melting-pots—he is, or was, satisfied Avdth the Mint Office weights, Avhich are so fiir from acemute that no u’onmonger Avould accept them. On this melting alone, including 29 days’ receipts from the Mint Office, there were differences to the extent of 82* 11 ounces plus their weight, and 30-43 ounces minus their weight, so that if the one he deducted it still leaves an absolute plus on the AAmight charged by the Mint Office of 51-68 ounces. Here, then, is a means of gain; f hut if the increase of Aveight deriA^ed from this source he taken on the ingots and fiA'e-franc pieces bought, it is at the rate of 203-60 in a million ounces purchased. Besides this, the melter is not charged Avith the extra alloy he puts into his silAmr, and this on an ordinary aA'erage amounts to 1,126 ounces on each million ounces AAi-ought; so that this Avork, Avliieh, in fact, did yield a loss of 711-853 ounces, or at the rate of £796 on the million pounds sterling, would, by the old system of computation, have lost £201. Since, then, it is thus demonstrable that a difference of £591 arises AAdien it is knoAAUi that the AAdiole of the day’s AVork is Aveighed into as Avell as from the melting-pot, it is but reasonable to helioA'e that a greater difference may have arisen Avhen it AA’as knoAvn by the IMint Office Aveigher that his weights Avere not checked, and, therefore, in Aveighing ingots to the melter, he probably just satisfied himself that they Avere as lieaAy as they Avere charged by the bullion dealer, and alloAVcd the plus Aveight Avliicli’is invariably giA’en by that merchant to go to the melting-house not charged into the account. It is a fact that if * See page 134. t See pages 127, 130. THE ROYAL MINT. 13S the ^vcig^lcl■ finds ingots sent by the bullion dealer lighter than the weight charged, he sends them back, this practice not being rigidly dependent on the actual weight of the ingots as a whole; for unless each one is distinctly hcaHer than the weight set against it, it is returned, or the dealer must send silver to make up the required weight. And this case has more than once arisen; so that in practice, if an ingot be charged as 1,000 ounces, it must weigh indefinitely beyond that weight nj) to 0-50 ounce, and is then received as 1,000 oimces; but if it weigh in addition 0’60, then it is received as 1,000‘50 ounces. These “ di’afts,” as they are called, amounted on 402,573 ounces of ingots to 82T1 oimces, or at the rate of 203 per million ounces bought. When calculating the proportion of metal for melting, it is the custom to add 1 part of extra alloy to the thousand ounces of silver, and thus to allow for the loss which takes place by annealing and blanching. The extra alloy is not charged to the melter, as before said, but is weighed to him, and thus goes really to reduce liis loss ; in practice its proportionate use is increased, for after several re-meltings of scissel (see page 35) the bars become richer in silver than is required by the law, and then again extra alloy is added. In the case of the silver melted in 1858 it must be stated, that if from the loss exhibited the value of the sweep be deducted, that loss will still be too high, because the silver had not yet been recovered from the melting-pots; but with this allowance made, if we divide the total value of the sweep from 1851 to 1857 by the total sum coined, we shall arrive at a fail’ average price of that sweep, which maybe taken at £404 2^.,* thus leaving a loss of £392 on each million pounds sterling coined. But if, by the old style of calculation, the melter’s loss be estimated on the weight charged to the melter by the Mint office, it is £201, and this sum deducted from the average value of the sweep will give a gain of £203, where it is perfectly certain, from the extreme care which was taken, that the real loss was £392, which, minus £54 4^. 7c/., subsequently explained, becomes an absolute loss, by melting weighed quantities, of £337 15^. hd. per million pounds sterling melted. Allusion has been made to the silver left in the iron melting-pots : in the case which has been so much dwelt upon cast-iron pots from Glasgow were used, these absorbing an exceptionally large amount of silver. As, however, the object is to arrive at a fair average, it will be wiser to take into consideration the ordinary 'wrought-iron pot, which, although it costs more at first, is cheaper in the long-run, as it will stand from fifty to sixty meltings, whereas the bulk of the cast-iron pots used in 1858 leaked in the first melting, and no one of them stood a whole day’s work. In treating of the melting of silver, it has been explained that charcoal is placed in the pot, to prevent the oxidation of the alloy. This, to a measured extent, it effects, but in the process it becomes burned, and its ash forms a slag See page 134. THE ROYAL MINT. 139 with the oxide of iron of the pot, and this slag, always floating on the top of the fused silver, gradually covers the inner surface of the pot as the silver is poured out, and in so covering the pot secretes globules of silver in the “pin¬ holes ” of the iron. At the end of the useful existence of the pot this silver is, or rather should he, obtained. The practice is to “ sweat the pot,” and to fuse in it some common table salt—chloride of sodium. It would seem that the used-up wi’ought-iron pots yield by this process, on an average, 12 ounces of silver. But all the silver is not obtained at this operation, for the pots stand out of doors, in a yard to which many persons have free access, for months before they are treated professionally, and the result of the preliminary sweat which they undergo is not a source of profit to the Mint. In 1858 two wrought-ii’on pots were locked up when their active period had passed, and these were subsequently treated with great consideration, with a view to ascertain theii' capacity for retaming silver. They yielded under my hands : — Ounces. By simple sweating . 20-00 By detaching the slag and o.'^ide from the pot and fusing it with salt . 24-70 By separating the remaining silver from the pin-holes in the pot by means of diluted acid . 4-GO 49-30 In the whole period of that melting I used nine wrought-ii’on pots, of which three were entirely used up, and six cast-iron pots, all of which leaked —some two on one day: it would therefore seem fair to assume that of these fifteen pots eight were worn out. We may then consider that had all the eight pots been carefully treated, and each made to yield its fair proportion of silver, we should have recovered silver at the rate above shown, or 24’65 ounces from each pot, and this weight, multiplied by eight, as proposed, will give I1)T'20 ounces, which, at os. Gd. an ounce, would be worth £54 4-?. 7d., and by this amount may that loss of £392 he reduced, when the actual loss will be £337 15^. od., as determined by most carefully-conductcd operations on weighed quantities. This loss, however, is not final, although absolute, because the sweep was sold for £289 25._I0|r7 and, deducting this, the final loss is £48 12.5. 0];^/. on each million pounds sterling melted. There can be no doubt but that this is at least one-third in excess of the loss which should take place; yet, between 1851—57, it was, after all deductions for sweep, recoveries from worn-out pots, &c., had been made, no less than £098 135. 3d. This excess might be accounted for either as wasteage in the melter’s department, or as legitimate loss by melting caused by the excess of oil sent on the scissel ; bnt since the coiners permitted uimecessary loss to accrue, it will be right to charge this sum to their account, because, if they received metal free from oil, and returned it to the See piige 134. T 140 THE ROYAL MINT. meltcr sustaining too iiincli oil, it is evident that they received from their men hidlion and oil in place of bullion. I therefore add £650 Os. the dif¬ ference hcLveen £48 12s. G^rZ. and £698 13s. 3d., to the wasteage previously explained,* when that sum will he raised to £1,297 16s. 0§d, on each million of silver coined. In all former calculations the value has been determined on the million coined ; but now that we approach the necessaiy considerations as to the loss by melting which should absolutely take place, it becomes necessary to state that, as a rule, 100 parts of silver bars should produce 57 parts of coined money, and in this proportion must the value of the sweep be reduced, that we may obtain its value proportioned to the silver lost by weight in melting. The sweep results, as in the case of gold, from the giinding of the burnt refuse of the melting-house, which consists of the sweepings from the floor, partly-used charcoal, and dirt—“ matter in the wrong place,” as Lord Palmerston so aptly designated it. At the end of the coinage this is sold, and its value is applied to the reduction of the apparent loss by melting. In the case now rmder dis¬ cussion, we have found that there was an absolute loss by weight of 711'853 oimces on 893,417‘573 ounces of bullion given to be melted. By proportion, this weight is equal to 796-764 ounces on each million. The sweep was sold for £289 2s. 10§d. for each million coined; therefore, to obtain the specific amount that should be deducted by this source from the loss, we must assume that the coined money was 57 per cent, upon the bullion melted, when £164 16s. 3^d. becomes the value of the sweep belonging to each million melted. Since this sum is calculated by value, we will convert it into ounces, which is a simple process ; for, as the other sums bear proportion to pounds sterling, we have but to consider it as ounces, when the sum we require will be 164*814. To this sum is to be added the amount of silver due from the melting-pots, as before explained, and which is 220-724 ounces, because it has been assumed that we should obtain 24*65 from each on the average number of pots used in melting, and this, calculated into the million, is as above. The total of these two sums, 385*538, deducted from 796*764, leaves a final loss of 411*126 ounces by weight in melting a million ounces of standard silver. By experiments made with the utmost care, I arrived at the conclusion that, in melting silver bullion for a complete coinage, the loss by meltmg should not exceed £100 on each million sterling melted, and in this conclusion I am con¬ firmed in a remarkable manner by Colonel Smith, f who, with vast opportunities for careful every-day work and by absolute weighing, found a loss of 200 in each million for dirt and oxygen alone, and this he is willing to consider as 250 on each million of scissel; but he found his loss by melting ingots 30 on the million, * See pages 131, 136. + See Report by Colonel J. T. Smith on Indian Mints from 1841—2 to 1852—3. Printed by authority at Madras, 1855. 111 R ROYAL MINT. 141 and assuinhig that the total of a coinage would be half ingots and lialf seissel, tliis would give an average of 140 when he was “ convinced that he was robbed,” and that tliis was so he proved by compelling the naked workmen, by means of physic, to disgorge the silver they had swallowed. He, however, was probably still robbed, for black men rub pieces of bullion or coins together and secrete the dust obtained by that means in theii* hair, and thus abstract metal from the works of the Brazilian Mining Association, and probably from the mints in India. To such an extent is robbery by this means carried on that the Asso¬ ciation above referred to causes the head of each person to be washed before he leaves work, and thus recovers a large amount of gold dust. If then, as has been shown, there is a final loss of £411 2^. Gd. on each million of silver melted, we must now determine that this sum amounts to £721 5s. on each million j)oimds sterling coined; and since by coining a loss is sustained equal to £oG5 15-?. 10|r/., the total final loss is no less than £l,lo2 7s. 11|^/. per million pounds sterling of silver coined. Such being the facts ascertained by the scales, we find that the loss by account is rctimied at £3G5 15s. IG^d. for the coining department, while, at the same period, the melting- house account shows a gain of £87 13s. 3(7., which, deducted from the loss of the coining department, gives a final loss equal to £278 2s. 7^^/., as against, in the former period, a loss by coining of £1,013 11 s. 21 A, and by melting of £G98 13s. 3^7., or a total final sum of £1,712 4s. 5^d. The difference, then, between these two final sums, or £1^434 Is. 10^7., shows the actual loss that the Mint authorities submitted to without explanation on each million of silver coined between June, 1851, and jMarch, 1857. This sum is exactly 8s. 8r7. for each £100 coined, while the French contract to coin each £100 for 15s., including loss, wages, salaries, &c. Although, for the sake of accurate demon¬ stration, I have accepted the facts as stated, it is but fair that I should eoiiq)are the results actually obtained with those stated by the usual methods, and then the contrast Avill become more apparent; for whereas the proportional loss by molting is shown to have been on \ceig]ied quantities £721 5s. 5|(7., it is a fact that by the usual methods of account, that of neglecting' to charge to the nielter the extra weight added to the ingots by the system of purchase, and omitting the weight of the extra allo}", this loss betomes reduced to insignifi¬ cant proportions, for it was exactly £180 Os. 1^7., and as the sweep sold for £1G4 IGs. 0t('7. per million melted, the final loss vould be but £15 3s. ^7^d. Yet, for the sake of truth, I (-onsider it better to charge to each department the metal by weight, and that eight shmdd include every atom, because then, an exceptional loss having taken place, its significance is at once apparent; whereas, Avhen unknown weights are placed hi the melting-pot. Ihe losses may vary to a considerable extent, and yet not bo detected. By this plan fictitious gain becomes impossible—apparent loss inevitable; but th((t loss is so detenninaie that it can be 142 THE ROYAL MINT. calculated to a nicety, and any figm-c obtained beyond that calculated exhibits one of two facts,— that the melting or coining, or both, have by too great a degree relined tlie silver under operation, and this is demonstrated by the final assays, or rxxECESSARY WASTE IS AGAIN EERMiTTED, but botli result fi’om cai’elessiiess; there¬ fore the Mbit Master’s duty is perfectly clear. While, then, absolute gain is impossible, and loss inevitable, it is, perhaps, well to exhibit the results of Colonel Smith’s experience in the Indian Mints, because that gentleman states that there can be no loss, and that there must be a gain. Thus, then, he and I are antagonistic on the plainest possible point; yet an examination of his state¬ ment will show that his gain, although absolute, is not legitimate, but results from a near approach to obtaining bullion without paying for it. It must, then, be explained that in England, and in the Indian Mints, it is not the enstom to assay bullion with a view to the determination of its actual value, but only to the nearest part of a pennyweight. Thus, standard silver is composed of 222 parts of silver and 18 of copper in 240. Assuming that it is the custom to determine the amount of silver to within half a pennyweight; and that, the assay showed 23 pemiyweights and II grains, the silver ingot would be reported as containing 23 pennyweights, and the owner would lose the II grains, whereas it should be the custom to determine absolutely the real value of the ingot. Now, in India, Colonel Smith found these “unreported fr-actions,” when allojmd with copper, amounted to 1,230 parts on each million j)urchased, so that if he paid for a million ounces, he received 1,001,230 ounces. Ilere, then, was part of his profit. In addition to this gain he made another by the customary turn of the scale,* but he has not told us its amount; yet his final result, from the receipt of the bullion to its return to the merchants as coined money, is at the rate of £1,165 gain on each million pounds sterling coined. Now it is clear that if so large a sum as £1,230 per million is obtained without purchase from the merchant, either that merchant should himself saturate those um-eported fractions Avith alloy, or make Colonel Smith’s mints pay for them. It is asserted that this practice “ exists in the Royal Mint, but not to so large an extentyet Colonel Smith states it to be at the rate of £932 per million coined. If this be the case, the Mint books should show for its official accounts a Amst gain, instead of, as is the case represented by its pinely manufacturing accounts, a loss. This may possibly be the case_, but, so far as my experience goes, it is against the practice; for the bullion received is invariably greater in weight than that returned in coined money. Colonel Smith has determined with great precision that from dii-t alone there is a loss by melting of I part in each thousand melted. Before he paid for bullion he invariably insisted on its being pre-melted, because the Mint thus saved the loss occasioned by adhering dirt and extraneous matter; this was * See pages 137-138. THE ROYAL MINT. 143 wise if the merchants would submit to it, but it is doubtful if English bullion dealers would lii’st melt dollars and fiye-franc pieces before selling them to the Royal Mint. With bullion thus manipulated I have sIioato that the Royal Mint also made a gain, but such gain is not real (see pages 13G, 137, 138), for it is evident that the silver having been bought with the intention of being con¬ verted into standard silver, each grain should be alloyed, and the whole amount of fine silver being thus alloyed should produce its calculated weight of standard silver; therefore in each department every atom should be weighed, and the total weight charged to any particular operation retinmod or accounted for, and under these circumstances no gain can result. Colonel Smith, however, has determined with great care the following facts from every-day work, and these are so valuable that it is deemed wise to quote them. He found, then, that he made an actual gain by coining from the above cu’cumstances of 1,230 ounces on each million ounces of rupees produced as coin. In the blanching of the blanks that were used for the making of that coined money the loss by blanching was at the rate of 9CG ounces per million blanched, and from the acid used in blanching he obtained 72G ounces of metallic ccq)per, so that of the 9GG ounces which disappeared only 240 ounces were a real loss, which resulted from oxygen and dirt. Here, then, are reliable figiu’es; and, as he sold his sweep for a sum equal to 140 ounces of silver for each million ounces coined, it is clear that his real loss was just 82G on each million ounces coined. It must be seen that although the copper was recovered, it should in those calculations be neglected, because in the Royal Mint it is not in practice deemed wise (nor, indeed, is it the every-day custom in India) to separate this copper; therefore we will consider the whole matter lost to the Mint. Since, then, he has demonstrated that ho received in his clean ingots more silver by 1,230 ounces than he paid for, it is only necessary to add this sum to the weight he charges to himself, which will then be 1,001,230 ounces ; in manipulating this total weight he shows that he lost 554 ounces by melting and 82G ounces by blanching, or a total loss of £1,380 per million pounds sterling. This, compared with the practice in the Royal Mint, shows, as Colonel Smith says, that the Mints of India do not obtain their legitimate amount of profit; and he, in his ovm words, attributes the loss to what ho considers its only fit cause—“peculation.” Tor even in the Royal Mint—ill-managed institution that it is—the average annual loss, taken by the system of weighing, is only £721 5s. Still, as showing the fiuctua- tions, it is curious to observe that in the last period given, viz., from March to June, 18G1, the recorded loss by melting is £91 O.s. Sd., while that by coining is £1,949 9^. or a final loss of no less than £2,040 IO 5 . 2(1. * See pages 132—134. , 144 THE ROYAL MINT. Haviiii 2 : given the returns relating to gold ordered by the House of Lords, I also give those exhibiting similar details for silver, and place that relating to coining on page 133, while that demonstrating the facts as regards melting will be found on page 135. Mr. Fremantle assures us in his Report that “the ‘waste’ shown to have existed of late years has not been excessive,” while Mr, Roberts tells us, “ The apparent loss on silver melting is two grains on the troy pound, or 0'346 per mille, much of the metal being recoverable from sweep.” 0-34G per mille is 346 per million, so we will take these two statements into con¬ sideration as regards the returns now to be noticed. I propose to submit the following abstract from the return on page 135, and thus bring into view facts recorded by the Mint Officials, that they may be contrasted with opinions expressed by those gentlemen, and for this pur¬ pose I deduct the value of the sweep from that of the waste, and thus arrive at the amount of the latter, and as “of late years ” may fairly be taken to express the five last past, I will operate on those periods only. Value of Waste per £1,000,000. Deduct Value of Sweep, Value of Sweep per £1,000,000. The Eesult is a Final Loss by Melting Silver. £ s. d. 782 17 4 1,752 18 2 1,G80 9 11 1,587 14 9 1,002 17 6 £ s. d. 522 1 10 211 12 9 Nil. 1,313 11 3 188 18 2 £ s. d. 260 15 6 1,541 5 5 1,680 9 11 274 3 6 813 19 4 Total Loss divided by 5 years . ... j 4,570 13 8 Gives the Average Loss by Melting Silver . . 916 2 8| In other words, the loss which actually accrues is practically three times as great as Mr, Roberts finds necessary, and yet Mr, Fremantle approvingly says it is not excessive. I should advise Mr. Roberts to return to the use of wrought-iron pots and pay proper attention to the melting, for I have proved that oGlOO on a million sterling is as muchwmste as should legitimately arise, and Colonel Smith confirms my determinations, as will be seen at pages 140- 141. If these officers will pay sufficient attention to their business, they need not fear the variations of assay pointed out by Levol. These arise, it is true, but to an imperceptible extent only when melting is properly conducted, as I proved to the entire satisfaction of Mr. Graham in August, 1858, and who, in consequence, relinquished his intention of adopting the then proposed mode of taking silver for assay from the fiuid metal by ladles. It is not by hunting hopeless hobbies that losses are to be stopped, nor will the silver be found in the chimneys — if so, some of it should be in those of the present Mint. Will Mr. Fremantle or Mr. Roberts' state what has become of .£916 worth of silver from each million coined in the past five years ? The actual value lost is THE ROYAL MINT. 145 <£4,580 14^. Or/., sufficient to make four immense ingots, which would surely stop the draught of any chimney in the Mint. As this return has yielded matter for comment, I will refer briefly to that which exhibits the additional loss by coining, and shown on page 133, the following abstract for the past five years will suffice. Value of Waste per £1,000,000. Deduct Value of Sweep, L Value of Sweep per £1,000,000. ■ The Eesult is a . Final Loss by Coining Silver. £ s. d. 508 0 9 481 19 4 512 8 8 492 10 11 409 10 2 £ s. U. 1 28 15 7 ' 31 10 9 Nil. 458 7 8 Nil. £ s. d. 539 5 2 450 2 7 512 8 8 34 9 3 409 10 2 Total Loss divided by 5 years./ 2,(K)0 1 10 Gives the Average Loss by Coining Silver . . 401 4 4^ Whereas then the loss from 1851 to 1857 averaged, as 1 have shown on page 131, £1,013 II 5 . 2^7., and fell under my management in the i)eriod between 1857 and 18G0 to £305 15^. 10|(7., it has now again risen to £401 4^. 4(7.—a steady increase at the rate of 10 per cent., which seems unreasonable. A rigid Parliamentary impiiry into the circumstances of the Mint is as great a necessity at this time as it was shown to be in 1850 ; and such an inquiry might demonstrate not only a want of ability, but also whether all the officers are satisfied; whether there be not great heart-burnings, tendiu" to a not very complacent style of performing their duty. I quote the following from Hansard’s Debates, as having occurred in tlic House of Lords, to show that the Government steadily resists inquiry into the affaii's of the Mint; yet I hope the time will arrive when I’arlianient will assert its right and induce Ministers to yield an inquiry, however much “Mr. Lowe may deprecate it.” On the 22nd March, 1870, “ Lord Kinnaird said : I stated the other night that great robberies have notoriously taken place, and I maintain that these peculations and robberies still continue. If I had an opjjortunity before a Committee, I could prove this, hut the returns which I have obtained will show the correctness of what I am stating. I was not surprised the other evening at a particular return being refused, for the officials of the Mint naturally dislike further exposure ; but the returns before us clearly show that under the term ‘ waste,’ which should rather be ‘ stolen,’ large sums arc lost in coinage. There ought to be no loss in coinage if the Mint was properly conducted, 'i’hore might, indeed, be a small loss of yiOO on the million in the melting department; hut in the coin¬ ing there should he a gain of at least £59, making the net loss £41. Instead of this, however, there was a loss, as those returns show, of £4(;0 on every million coined. What becomes of that sum ? It must go into some one’s pocket, and in point of fact it is abstracted. Look, too, at the large sums which are paid to the Lank of England for loss every time there is a coinage ; at one time there was a loss of £1,132 on every million for loss of gold abstracted and not returned in coinage. From 1851 to 1857 there was a loss ; in the next two years there was a gain ; the next two years there was a loss and the following year there was a gain, and .after that losses. Now why should not the gain continue ? Why was there a gain ? Because the men were properly looked after, and could not abstract the precious metal. ... I hope your Lordships will agree to refer this bill to a Select Committee, or will hereafter agree to an independent inquiry into the Mint, conducted by other gentlemen than the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Private Secre¬ tary and the Deputy Master. ... 1 move that the Bill he referred to a Select Committee.” 146 THE ROYAL MINT. I again quote Hansard’s Debates, 24tli March, 1870 :— “ Lokd Iuxxaikd said: The noble Marquess, (the Marquess of Lansdowne) stated on Tuesday night that there was a considerable profit on silver, which no doubt ought to be the case ; but the returns obtained by an Honourable Member in the House of Commons showed that, though in Some years there was a gain, in nine years the total loss on the coinage of silver was £5,373. Bad Avorkmanship, he might remark, made the coins much less durable, and there¬ fore caused expense by rendering earlier ropau’ of the coinage necessary. He hoped that, later in the session, the Government would concede an inquiry into the management of the Mint, when he Avould undertake to prove his allegations of mismanagement and peculation, and indeed the returns proved this .... “ The Marquess of Lansdowne thought that the noble Lord confounded two things. There Avas a loss incurred by the public in keeping the silver coinage up to its proper standard ; but in its manufacture into coin, there was a considerable gain, amounting to something like £20,000.” Again, on the IStli July, I also quote from Hansard’s Debates:— The Management of the Mint.—Motion for a select Committee. “ LoedKinnaied : I rise, to move for a Select Committee to inquire into the past and present management of the Mint, and although I very much regret that it is the intention of the Govern¬ ment' not to assent to my Motion, I feel bound, nevertheless, to call your Lordships’ attention to the mismanagement of the Department to Avhich my Motion refers. It will be in your Lordships’ recollection that when the Coinage Bill was under consideration I moved for certain returns connected AAuth the gold coinage, my object being to show that considerable loss occurred in the process of coining. Some of those returns Avere granted, but others were refused on the plea that they were too voluminous to lay on your Lordships’ table. But I have made inquiries, and find that refusal was made because the officials of the Mint did not wish for any searching inquu’y, and because the returns would have exposed certain malpractices connected with the coinage. I also moved, Avhen the Bill Avas in Committee, for certain returns connected with the coinage of silver and the transactions betAveen the Bank of England and the Mint. I was informed on that occasion that no record was kept of those transactions ; I saw at the time that AA'as a subterfuge, and that the officials kncAv these returns would disclose certain malpractices at the Mint Avhich they Avould prefer were not made public, for not only is a record of these trans¬ actions kept, but the returns could be granted with ease. I have found, however, that a return has been presented to the House of Commons, Avhich gives me the principal part of the infor¬ mation I desn-ed to obtain by the returns for Avbich I moved. That return, I have heard said, is not strictly correct; but it is a return presented to Parliament, and, as far as the figures to AA'hich I wish to refer are concerned, I have reason to believe they must be correct. The noble Marquess (the Marquess of LansdoAvne) Avho answered me on that occasion, admitted that as regards the gold there Avas great loss in coinage. He said that although the Government Avas not supposed to make money by the gold coinage, they made a considerable sum by the silver; and at another time (on the 24th March) he said that although there Avas a loss resulting from keeping the silver up to the proper standard, through Avear and tear, yet on the manufacture there was a profit of something like £20,000 a year. Noav, I am not going to hold the noble jMarquess to any statement he made on that occasion, because not being himself connected Avith the Mint he must have been dependent on the officials ; but I can assure him that statement is entirely erroneous. It is quite true that a profit Avas made in the Mint in the year 1859 of £27,032 on the coinage of silver, and this arose from the large quantity coined and the very small purchase of Avorn coin. £647,064 Avorth of silver Avas coined in that year as against a yearly average of £341,018, and the purchase of Avorn coin amounted to only £8,096 as against the average of £14,633. But although this profit of £27,032 Avas made in this year, there Avas a loss of £5,373 during the next nine years. Noav, my Lords, as regards the coinage of silver, there should be an uniform profit. The price of silver is 5s. Id. or 5s. Ifd. per ounce, so that there should be a profit of 74 per cent, upon the silver coin. In 1868 the sum purchased was £312,252j Avhich should have yielded a profit of £23,368, but the return showed a loss of £10,896 ; so that, adding the loss on to what the profit should have been, Ave find that the Mint Avas £34,265 on the wrong side that year in its silver coinagt!; but inasmuch as the loss on the purchase of Avorn silver Avas £18,058 in that year, the net loss to the Mint through mismanage¬ ment Avas £16,207. Noav, what became of that sum of money ? How has it disappeared ? The noble Lord admits gold Avas abstracted during the pi'ocess of coining, and I say that the loss now arises from peculation. The Chancellor of- the Exchequer himself contradicts the noble Lord, and admits that there is a loss on silver, for in the estimates I find he asked the House of Com¬ mons to A-ote £1,000 to make good the loss on silver, in addition to £15,000 for the loss THE ROYAL MINT. 147 occasioned by repairing that coinage for the coming year, which has to be paid out of the pockets of the people instead of the Exchequer being replenished by the legitimate profit of £20,000. But the most extraordinary loss is in the coinage of copper. One ton of copper costs about £100, and when converted into coin it is worth £358, giving an actual gross profit of £258 ; yet I find the Chancellor of the Exchequer asked for £1,000 last year to make good the loss on the copper coinage. I have been rather amused to find the Chancellor of the Exchequer speaking slightingly of the loss on the gold coinage, saying in all probability it went up the chimney. I think it is more likely to have gone up “ the spout.” Now, I find another item in the estimates of £1,800 for the expenses of an inquiry into foreign Mints. This represents the expenses of three gentlemen who are going to inquire into the method of coining adopted on the Continent; but, on inquiry, I find that nearly all the machinery in use in foreign Mints went from this country, so that we could ascertain all that we want to know about the practice in foreign Mints, by making inquiries of certain engineering firms in this country. I may be told that the foreign Mints may have improved on the machinery sui:)plied to them, but even this may bo ascertained without going to this enormous expense. Moreover, most of the coining on the Continent is done by contract, and it is not likely that contractors will give a Government Commissioner, who is competing with them by advertisement, much information as to the way in which they carry on their work; so that altogether this £1,800 will be completely thrown away. And who are the gentlemen commissioned to make this inquiry ? The Deputy Master is one of them—a most excellent, financial man; but, unfortunately, he knows nothing of the practical part of the business, and will gain very little by his trip. Then there is Mr. Roberts, lately appointed chemist to the Mint; . . . . and the third gentleman is Mr. Napier, one qualified in every respect for the duty. In 1858 a sum of £1,100 was set apart for the purchase of a filing machine in accordance with an estimate sent in by Mr. Napier for the purpose ; but, before the order was executed, an officer in the Mint made a machine answering eveiy purpose, which cost only £60, and nobody knows what became of this £1,100. I believe this Commission is going to Spain, but Mr. Napier manufactured the machinery in use there, so he is going to Spain to see how his own machines work, and he is to receive £2,000 for doing it. Perhaps, however, as the war has broken out the trip will be postponed. Now, my Lords, what I say I am prepared to substantiate before a Committee, and I challenge contradiction. That an inquiry is needed even at this late period of the session is patent, for the House of Commons has only recently voted no less than £18,000 to make up the losses in the Mint. Mr. Fremantle f nd Mr. Rivers Wilson have made a Report on the subject of some of these complaints, and have suggested improvements ; but these improvements would have no effect upon the working of the establish¬ ment, and would not touch the main defects in the system. One of the alterations made in consequence of that Report was a revision of the scale of wages. Formerly the workmen had a retaining fee varying from 6.s. to 10s. per week when unemploj'ed, and a certain wage beside when at work. But the pay was very small, and it was thought this might lead to peculation. The scale has accordingly been revised by the payment of £1 per week as retaining fee, but the revision is calculated to give the men a little less on the whole, a result to be expected when the arrangement was made by so skilful a financier as the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the country saves £100 a year out of the wmrkmen’s wages. But the most extraordinary part of the revision is to come ; and this aflbrds another instance with the sugar duties, hawkers’ licenses, and the gun tax, of the readiness with which the Chancellor of the Exchequer jumps to conclusions, without being at the trouble to inform himself upon the subject in hand. The workmen are by this new scale to receive less w'hen coining gold than when coining silver, although the temptation to peculation is greater, so that at the time when their honesty should be secured by good payment, they arc to be treated with a niggardly hand, and who can be surprised if they help themselves ? The noble Marquess s.ays there has been only one case of dis¬ missal for peculation ; but, if he inquires further, he will find there have been tw'elve. No prose¬ cution has followed these dismissals, nor even an inquiiy. Prosecutions would not be palatable to the Mint authorities, because they would expose the system. Now, I can assure your Lord- ships, that these statements I have made are true in every respect, and I challenge contradiction; and I trust the Government will think the facts really demand a searching inquiry. More than a year since, I brought the subject before the Chancellor of the Excheejner, but it wuis pooh- poohed, and I was told that a private inquiry would be made : but no inquiry has been made, and the system remains unamended. I therefore move for a Select Committee, to inquire into the past and present management of the Mint. The Marqukss of L.vxsdowne : I regret that it is my duty to decline to accede to the motion of the noble Lord, but I feel sure your Lordships will admit, when I have made a brief statement of the facts of the case, that the Government is warranted in refusing the Committee. I must admit that two cases of peculation have occurred at the Mint; but the persons concerned were dismissed, and there has been no reason to suspect a recurrence of the practice ; I am sure U 148 THE ROYAL MINT. therefore, the noble Lord is under a misapprehension'^ -when he says there have been twelve cases of dismissal for peculation during the last few years. As regards the charge of wasteful manage¬ ment, I must repeat the statement I made on a previous occasion. The noble Lord, I fear, con¬ fuses two things — namely, the loss occurring from the necessity of keeping the silver coinage up to the proper standard, and the gain which accrues from the coining ; and, on the whole, there is a distinct gain, although I maj', on a pre%ious occasion, have overstated the amount. There is, notwithstanding the information of which the noble Lord appears to be possessed, a gain of £5,000 a year on the silver coinage. The amount of waste on the gold coinage has, within the last few years, been extremely moderate : it is at present. Is. per £100 ; and an eminent firm of refiners in the city has given an opinion that this is very satisfactory. So much for the past. With regard to the present, I must say that as the department has recently been reorganised, it would be hardly fail’, before it had got into full working order, to institute an inqumy. The staff has been reduced, thus efi'ecting a saving on this year’s estimates of £5,000 ; the system of the payment of wages has been altered, resulting in a small saving and in a marked effect on the staff; and the melting and coining departments have been united, avoiding that apparent con¬ fusion between the accounts of the two departments, which has, in some respects, misled the noble Lord. Lastly, I come to the Commission of Inquiry, which has been travelling on the Continent. Now, if the machines in use on the Continent have been mostly made at Bir¬ mingham, much may be learnt, as to theii’ application and the character of the metals used, by the proposed inquiry. As regards the members of that Commission, Mr. Koberts is a very eminent chemist, and has proved his capabilities by devising a sj'stem for depriving gold of the obnoxious properties on which the noble Lord recently commented. The noble Lord did not fail to admit that Mr. Napier was eminently qualified for a post on the Commission; and, as regards the Deputy Master, he has exhibited great abilities in discharging the duties of his office, and I do not think the noble Lord has said a single word to show he has forfeited our good opinion. Since I am desii’ons of drawing attention to the affairs of a Public Depart¬ ment, and to that only, I have omitted some passages in the foregoing debates because they did not affect the subject under discussion; still, I quote the remainder of the debate in so far as it was personal to myself in the Appendix at pages 197-198. It will have been seen that in these debates in the House of Lords, Lord Lansdowne, on the part of the Government, made statements to which Lord Kinnaird, in his honoured letter to me, alludes, I therefore proceed to offer a few remarks. That Lord Kinnaird does not confound loss on the coinage with loss occa¬ sioned by the repair or “ keeping of the coinage up to standard,” is demon¬ strated by his lordship’s speeches, and by the return No. 157, 1869, presented to the House of Commons by Mr. Ayrton, which shows that, in 1859, 50647,064 of coined money was obtained by coining £620,031 of silver purchased for coin¬ ing, giving £27,033 as a clear profit for that especial year. If, however, the circumstances be examined, it will be found that in 1859 only £8,096 was lost by the purchase of worn silver coin, as against the yearly average (shown on page 5 in the return, but not inserted by me) of £14,633. Yet even this exceptional gain is not creditable, for, at the rate of 7| per cent., it should have been £46,502 instead of £27,033. The remaining nine years on the return—No. 157, 1869—show an average loss by the silver coinage as exhibited in the next table compiled from it. The Mint returns as presented to Parliament requii’e explanation. I have therefore added two columns to demonstrate the profit and loss. I am prepared to give the names of the parties dismissed and the dates of dismissal. — G. B. A. THE ROYAL MINT. 149 Date. Total Value of Silver Coined. Eeal Cost or Value of Metal. Profit Realised, Loss Sustained. £ £ £ £ 18 G 0 . . . 218,403 222,981 4,577 18 G 1 . . . 209,484 215,029 5,545 18G2 . . . 148,518 159,948 11,429 18G3 . . . 1G1,172 171,855 10,683 18G4 . . . 535,194 521,003 14,190 18G5 . . . 501,732 483,861 17,870 18GG . . . 493,416 486,113 7,302 18G7 . . . 193,842 195,445 1,603 1868 . . . 301,356 312,252 10,896 2,763,117 2,768,487 39,362 44,733 Deducting the Profit, £39,362, the Final Loss becomes . £5,371 Such final loss is indefensible. Yet Lord Lansdowne is led to believe that the seigniorage on silver yields a profit of £5,000 a year (modified from his first statement of £20,000), whereas this return, inclusive of the £27,033 before explained, exhibits a profit of £21,059 in ten years, or of an average of £2,165 per annum. This statement will, however, deceive those who roly on it, for two reasons. The year 1859, as already pointed out, is exceptional; and another return. No. 07, 1870, made to the Ilouse of Commons (see page 150) shows that, inclusive of this anomalous gain, the silver coinage has been a source of loss to the country to the exact average amount of 17^. OcZ. on each £100 pm’chased for coinage. In printing this return I have made it up to 1868, omitting the year 1869, which alone shows a loss of £120,000, and must therefore be an incomplete retium. It is to bo regretted that the Government refused on two occasions a return of the account of losses on silver manufacture, because such a return would have included loss by assay as well as loss by coining and melting. The refusals were undoubtedly based on fear of exposure, because the return ean be given readily—that they can be given, is proved by the fact that I have read the accoimts in the bill books at the Mint, and have copies of such entries. Lord Lansdovme was instructed to state that no sueli aecounts are kept. The subterfuge of the Miut Authori¬ ties consists in the fact that Lord Kinnaii’d has not asked for the retmm in the precise words in which the account is kept; it cannot, however, be again refused if moved for as “ transferred from the account of the Mint expenses, for the satisfaction of the Audit Office to account for the waste or ]^ss by coining silver.” If the Mint Authorities will plaee the bill book of the Royal Mint before me for a few hours, I will compile the table. Such a return would exhibit the fact that in the five years last past, the loss by misplaeement and mismanagement exceeds £1,867 os. lO^d. per million coined; it would show that the average amount of loss reaches 3s. 0§d. for each £100 coined, such sum being in fact about one-third of the total sum charged by the contrac- THE ROYAL MINT. 150 tors Avlio conduct tlio coinage in Paris for Prance. The contractor for the I’aris Mint, in liis charge, includes loss of silver by coining, melting, and assay, v'oar and tear of machinery, wages to workmen for labour, salaries and contingent expenses; and while bearing these charges, he makes a handsome An Account of the Sums Advanced in Each Year from the Consolidated Fund for the Purchase of Bullion for Coinage ; and of the Sums Paid in Each Year to the Account OF Her Majesty’s Exchequer at the Bank of England, in Repayment thereof.—(Pur¬ suant TO Act 7 Will. 4, c. 9.) Date. Amounts Advanced from the Consolidated Fund. Amounts Paid into the Exchequer, in Repayment of Advances. Remarks. £ s. d. £ s. d. 1837 . . . 22,000 0 0 1838 . . . 196,029 19 4 168,029 19 4 1839 . . . 400,000 0 0 350,000 0 0 1840 . . . 170,000 0 0 175,000 0 0 1841 . . . 100,000 0 0 135,000 0 0 1842 . . . 180,000 0 0 162,120 4 0 1843 . . . 350,000 0 0 265,000 0 0 1844 . . . 550,000 0 0 501,389 17 0 1845 . . . 850,000 0 0 678,772 2 9 1846 . . . 300,000 0 0 429,937 1 11 1847 . . . 100,000 0 0 217,033 10 2 1848 . . . 18,534 3 1 1849 . . . 150,000 0 0 120,000 0 0 1850 . . . 150,000 0 0 120,000 0 0 1851 . . . 1852 . . . 100,000 0 0 391,970 0 8 187,213 1 1 191,970 0 8 As given in detail in previous Re¬ turns. 1853 . . . 508,029 19 4 550,000 0 0 1854 . . . 100,000 0 0 200,000 0 0 1855 . . . 250,000 0 0 300,000 0 0 1856 . . . 450,000 0 0 450,000 0 0 1857 . . . 420,000 0 0 350,000 0 0 1858 . . . 400,000 0 0 400,000 0- 0 1859 . . . 550,000 0 0 650,000 0 0 1860 . . . 270,000 0 0 150,000 0 0 1861 . . . 400,000 0 0 550,000 0 0 1862 . . . 400,000 0 0 350,000 0 0 1863 . . . 250,000 0 0 250,000 0 0 1864 . . . 600,000 0 0 630,000 0 0 1865 . . . 520,000 0 0 460,000 0 0 1866 . . . 410,000 0 0 510,000 0 0 1867 . . . 300,000 0 0 250,000 0 0 1868 . . . 220,000 0 0 200,000 0 0 J 32 Years. 10,058,029 19 4 9,970,000 0 0 Loss, £88>029 19s. 4d. 17/6 on the £100 C. W. FREMANTLE, Deputy Master of the Mint. Royal Mint, 18^/j February, 1870. profit, his total sum for all being 15^. for each .£100 coined. Is it probable that the contractor would tolerate a charge of 3s. ^\d. for loss alone out of a total of 15s. Since the Government refuses figures, imagination alone can tell what is the loss in the Royal Mint; yet in the face of such facts Mr. Lowe accepts contracts as against the French contractor to whom he sends Com- THE ROYAL MINT. 151 missioners—one of whom e:s:pcrieuccd “ great difficulty in obtaining accurate information with regard to the amount of loss that accrues” on gold and silver —that he may instruct them in the cost of manufacture. Does a hanker make Imown his secrets ? He may permit you to stand at his counter and see cheques paid, but “ thus far and no farther ” is the guiding principle. Mr. Lowe’s contract notions have been already noticed. To return, then, to facts admitted by the Govemment, and presented to the House of Lords in obedience to Lord Kinnaird’s motion ; the return numbered 30, 1870, clearly demonstrates that there is, under the management of the present officers, and has been for the last five years (see pages 144-145), an average loss by coining of <£401, and by melting, of £910, ora total of £1,317 on each million of silver coined. By way of contrast, it should he noticed that this return exhibits the fact that, when the Mint was under my manage¬ ment—between April 1857 and March 1800—the total average loss, under circumstances every way similar, was but £395 4^., inclusive of “ melting and the losing operations,” for each million of silver coined. Well may the Government refuse a retiu’u which, at the smallest possible computation, would EXHIBIT AX UNXECESSAEY WASTE TO THE EXTENT OF £922 ON EACH MILLION OP SILVEK COINED, OR EXACTLY £3,144 ON THE SILVER CONCERNED IN THE RETURN No. 157, 18G9, quoted at page 149. The unnecessary waste here disiilaycd is not the only reason why silver yields no final profit or seigniorage—and the foregoing statements clearly demonstrate that Lord Ivinnaird has not misunderstood the accounts. The great reason of the loss occasioned by the silver coinage, both by manufacture and by seigniorage, is want of knowledge on the part of the Mint officials, for it can requu'o but little argument to show that that which costs Glc/. and sells for GG(7., must, if jiroperly manufactured, yield an absolute profit. So, to demon¬ strate more clearly the exact case, we will take the real cost of the silver for 18G8 and see what profit this should have afforded, and then Lord Lausdowne will perhaps explain why the loss arises, for this return (see page 154) is iierfectly free from all manufacturing details, and does not mcludo wages, officers’ salaries, or contingent expenses; it simply states the bald fact that so much silver Avas bought and converted into coined money, and by deducting one from the other there is demonstrated an actual loss of £10,89G 125. Now the amount bought was in real intrinsic value £312,252 12^., and this produced in coined silver money £301,35G. It has been shoAvn in the rctimi now under comment that silver fetched at that period (1859—18G8) GlfJ. per ounce, which, expressed in decimals, will he Gl'375c/., and silver, by the Act of Parliament, is so coined as that each ounce is converted into money of a nominal value of GGc/., such extrinsic value being given to silver because it is a token currency, and as such is a legal tender to the limited extent of £2. The difference, then. 152 THE ROYAL MINT. behvccu GG(7. and Gl-375(f. is 4-G25 ; if, tlierefore, GT375 gives a profit of 4-325, it follows tliat 100 should give 7-535; but for the sake of simplicity we will consider this profit as at the rate of 7| per cent. ; then £312,252 12 ^. at 7| per cent., slioiild yield £23,418 I 85 . lOfc?, yet not only was the profit lost, but, in addition, there is a recorded—admitted—loss of £10,89G 125,, which, added to the loss of profit, brings that total to £34,315 IO 5 . lOfc?. ; but that Lord LansdovTie may not be unfairly pressed. Lord Kinnaird expressed willingness to deduct from this sum the amount of loss entailed that year by recomage (see * below) and which was £18,058 95 . Gc7., leaving thereby an irretrievable loss of exactly £1G,257 I 5 . 4|c?., on that year alone. No. 262. —Return to an Order of the Honourable the House op Commons, dated 30th May, 1870. (Mr. AYRTON, page 5.) Worn Silver Coin Purchased for Re-coinage, Date. Weight. Nominal Value. Mint Value at 5/6 per Ounce. Loss by Ee-Coinage. Ounces. £ S. d. £ S. d. £ d. 1860 . . . 357902-538 113,000 0 0 98,423 3 9 14,576 16 3 1861 . . . 308873-077 97,600 0 0 84,940 1 10 12,659 18 2 1862 . . . 425591-682 135,000 0 0 117,037 14 3 17,962 5 9 1863 . . . 324674-838 102,800 0 0 89,285 11 5 13,514 8 7 1864 . . . 388388-152 123,500 0 0 106,806 14 10 16,693 5 2 1865 . . . 292496-983 93,000 0 0 80,436 13 4 12,563 6 8 1866 . . . 361280-187 115,000 0 0 99,352 1 0 15,647 19 0 1867 . . . 376142-927 120,000 0 0 103,439 6 0 16,560 14 0 1868 . . . 388878-297 125,000 0 0 106,941 10 6 18,058 9 6 * 1869 . . . 325976-928 105,000 0 0 89,643 13 0 15,356 7 0 3550205-609 1,129,900 0 0 976,306 9 11 153,593 10 1 The^Yearly Average Price aid per Ounce for Silver Bullion purchased in the Market for Coinage in the Years 1860 to 1869, both inclusive, ivas as follows :— 1660. 1861. 1862. 1863. 1864. 1865. 1866. 1867. 1868. 1869. d . 61f d . 6H d . 6 H d . 6U d . OIJ d . 61 d . 6H d . 60| d . 60i 60A The amowit of Seigniorage paid into the Exchequer in the years 1860 to 1869, has been ,— 1860. 1861. 1862. 1863. 1864. 1865. 1866. 1867. 1868. 1869. Total. 1860-69. £ s. d . 27,134 1 8 £ s . d . 4,961 7 6 £ 5. d . 11,227 6 2 £ s. d . 211 13 4 £ s. d . 6,160 6 8 £ s. d . 57,645 17 9 £ s. d . 28,630 0 5 £ s. d . 4,331 10 7 £ s. d . 18,622 7 4 £ s. d . 12,345 4 10 £ s. d . 171,269 16 2 C. W. FREMANTLE, Deputy Master of the Mint. Royal Mint, 31si May, 1870. Would Lord Lansdowne like to live on o.profit of such a description ? Should his lordship still maintain his statement that there is a gain from seigniorage by coming silver, perhaps he will be so good as to explain why the Chancellor THE ROYAL MINT. 153 of the Exchequer asked last year for £1,000 to “ defray the anticipated loss,” as well as £15,000 to pay the expenses of the recoinage, or “kcej)ing the siNer up to the required standard.” It has been stated that this return is false—it is surely a grave matter to make a false return to Parliameut, iu itself a crime which should be inquired into and punished. The loss thus exhibited is entailed solely because the Master of the Mmt habitually wishing to keep things quiet, refuses all Parliamentary enquiry, and contents himself with so-called retrenchment because he deducts £100 a year from the Mint workmen. A continuation of the return to which Lord Kiimaird drew attention has been presented, No. 2G2, 1869, signed by Mr. Premantle. Singular to relate, this is not merely a continuation^ for it gives information in regard to seigniorage, and Mr. Premantle has amended the account made by Mr. Graham; thus a return presented to Parliament has been altered by Mr. Fremantle without comment, and now exhibits results directly opposed to those shown for the same years by Mr. Graham. The words at the head of the column are, for some reason which does not appear, also altered, but the “ real cost ” of metal must mean the same as the “ total amount paid ” for it. I have, therefore, compiled from each a statement of the profit and loss; but I reproduce the figures presented in the one case by Mr. Thomas Graham, and in the other by Mr. C. W. Premantle, both eelatixg to the same account, and both siqqmsed to be acenrate (see page 154). It is necessary that I should state that ]\Ir. Graham had been dead more than a year when his accounts were altered, in the manner now to be explained. If his returns were correct, Mr. Fremantle’s must be incorrect^ or, “ adjusted,” as Mr. Roberts would style it. If reference be made to the table on page 154, it will be seen that by the return No. 157, Mr. Graham showed a loss to the extent of £5,373 4^. ^d. on nine years’(1860—1868) silver coinage. Now, Lord Kinnaird explained that return fully to the House, and, to ju'ove his accuracy, produced the return No. 30, which Avill be found on page 150. Considerable astonishment was caused by such facts, but no reply was given. However, it now appears by the return No. 262, which I print under No. 157, and on the same page, that Mr. Premantle has found the means to convert Mr. Graham’s loss into an absolute gain of so large an amount as £1,011,668 2^. 0^/., and that zvithout any tvord of explanation. The returns thus placed together are so contradictory, that I confess I utterly failed to um'avel them, and therefore submitted them to more than one banker, seA'eral merchants, and, finally, to a professional accountant, not one of whom could suggest a key to the extraordinary process which has been adojited. The return contains another enigma. For, whereas iMr. Fremantle, on page 3 of the return in Aviiich he has amended IVlr. Graham’s figures, exhibits 154 THE ROYAL MINT. profit to the extent of £1,011,668 2^. in place of Mr. Graham’s loss of £5,373 4^. 6(7.—bnt there being a loss of £58,655 Os. lid. on his own year’s coinage, the substituted profit * * must be reduced by that amount, when it will be £953,013 Is. 1(7. Again, page 5, he gives a tabular statement (see page No. 157.—Return to an Order of the Honourable the House of Commons, dated 21st April, 18G9, for Account “of all Gold, Silver, and Copper Moneys of the Realm Coined at the Mint, for each Year from the 1st January, 1859, to the 31st of December, 1868, &c.,” in continuation of No. 340, 1867-68. (Mr. AYRTON, page 3.) Date. Total Value of Silv Coined. er Real Cost or Value of Metal. Profit on Coinage. Loss on Coinage. £ S. d. £ S. d. £ S. d. £ d. 1860 . . . 218,403 7 0 222,981 1 6 4,577 14 6 1861 . . . 209,484 0 0 215,029 0 10 5,545 0 10 1862 . . . 148,518 11 10 159,948 2 6 11,429 10 8 1863 . . . 161,172 0 0 171,855 15 0 10,683 15 0 1864 . . . 535,194 0 0 521,003 5 0 14,190 15 0 1865 . . . 501,732 0 0 483,861 13 6 17,870 6 6 1866 . . . 493,416 0 0 486,113 15 2 7,302 4 10 1867 . . . 193,842 0 0 195,445 17 10 1,603 17 10 1868 . . . 301,356 0 0 312,252 12 0 10,896 12 0 2,763,117 18 10 2,768,491 3 4 39,363 6 4 44,736 10 10 Deduct Profit, when there remains Absolute Loss .... 5,373 4 6 THO. GRAHAM, Master of the Mint. Eotal Mint, 19(A April, 1869. No. 262. — Return to an Order, &c., dated 30th May, 1870, &c., in Continuation of Paper No. 157, of Session 1868-9. (Mr. STANSFELD, page 3.) Date. Total Value of Silver Coined. Total Amount Paid for Silver Bullion Profit on Coinage. Loss on Coinage. £ .9. d. £ 5. d. £ S. d. £ 5. d. 1860 . . . 218,403 7 0 141,112 7 11 77,290 19 1 1861 . . . 209,484 0 0 100,327 11 0 109,156 9 0 1862 . . . 148,518 11 10 51,165 19 11 97,352 11 11 1863 . . . 161,172 0 0 53,134 12 7 108,037 7 5 1864 . . . 535,194 0 0 445,191 11 9 90,002 8 3 1865 . . . 501,732 0 0 416,524 6 9 85,207 13 3 1866 . . . 493,416 0 0 282,247 12 6 211,168 7 6 1867 . . . 193,842 0 0 181,000 17 11 12,841 2 1 1868 . . . 301,356 0 0 80,744 16 6 220,611 3 6 1869 . . . 76,428 0 0 135,083 0 11 58,655 0 11 2,839,545 18 10 1,886,532 17 9 1,011,668 2 Q** 58,655 0 11 C. W. FREMANTLE, Deputy Master of the Mint. Royal Mint, 31s( May, 18/0. 152), by which he shows that £171,269 16s. 2(7. went to the Exchequer as seigniorage, while the loss by recoinage amounted to £153,593 10s. 1(7., leaving a total profit of £17,676 6s. Id. What has become of the difference between this profit and that in the amended return ?—a small matter perhaps, but which yet amounts to £917,659 8s. 11(7. in ten years. If it were made it can be shown to have been legitimately disposed of, or is it simply an official THE ROYAL MINT. 155 statement,” such as those which public companies have of late so frequently exhibited. If, however, that sum has been realised, why does Mr. Fremantle show separately the amount of seigniorage ? There lies below a grave matter for iuquh'y why a Public Department should place before Parliament an altered accouut without one word of explanation. If IMr. Graham has put forward a false return, one greatly against himself, it is right that the matter should be inves¬ tigated. If, on the other hand, Mr. Frcmautle has placed figures on jiaper which have no representatives in coin, it is indeed a grave matter. In either case it goes to prove the necessity for a searching inquiry into the affairs of the Royal Mint. Lord Kinnaird docs not stand alone in his view of the loss by the silver coinage, for Mr. William Miller, late Chief Cashier in the Bank of England, had, years since, arrived at the same conclusion, and produced at that time evidence to prove his statement. By the courtesy of Mr. George Forbes, at present Chief Cashier in the Bank of England, I am in possession of Mr. Miller’s statement (see p. 156) : its perusal induces me to vdsh that Government officials would put forward statements as lucid. Mr. William Miller, in this table, adopts a process which I am assured is entirely legitimate, and by it educes the fact that “ the Government owes the silver coinage a million and a half, and not as an aceountP It is perfectly true that the profit, if made, is not supposed to be placed at interest; but it is also the fact that the profit has never been realised, hence the loss of both capital and interest. His calculations arc those of an accountant, and by them he argues that if the £6,493,000 of silver coinage had produced its legitimate gain, there would have accrued by it, and the interest thereon, a sum of £ 3 , 880,000 clear profit: he then proceeds to show how that profit has been disposed of. Being himself aware of the amount of loss by worn coins culled from circula¬ tion, he states it at £255,000 ; and estimating the loss on that which remains current, to he eliminated in its turn, at £910,000, shows a loss by wear and tear of £1,165,000. The details for the complete study of this table will be found in page 65, where every information is given in precise figiu’cs, while in this he adopts whole numhers, and proceeds to reason out the entire matter. That he may not press the Government, he assumes an extreme rate for the expense of coinage—varying from to 3| per cent., while the real cost is about 0-75 per cent.—and adds to that amount the interest thereon, then deducting the total of these sums from the £3,880,600 which should have arisen, he shows a balance £1,411,000 which the Government owes to the silver coinage. While Mr. Miller’s table on page 65 shows an average loss by wear on the silver coinage current since 1816, at the rate of 24‘31 per cent, in a hunebed years, and on that of George III.— the most worn —of 98’31 per cent., the Mint—receiving its culled coin from the Bank of England—states its loss at the rate of 135-93 per cent, in the same period (see return, p. 152). 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»4J 45 a ^ c o 9 •^Sc| s a » S o ? 3 S o g c 2^ .S C5 :=: ^ •- 45 — O PQ £ Ph c 5 g-8 iSn P j; c ^ g.= oT-^ 2 o H Eh ^ 'd c^-S a, o 2^ >»<» C o C 45 c.'9 9 > O' M 'w © 45 .. I; o «2 £h 5 G ® cn S •9 ^ £2 U) I S il >o ia —^ — ^ 1 ^ © -— . c e3 n t£ 45 ^ 2 © -- Pnpq ? 45 c« . • • a ^ a >> o _ o >> o Xi q ^ o ^Ah o • C 45 “a .9 P ^ 45 OSO •■= a «a gP f^M f a ^a »« *<« C © tCs c © 2 ^ OT ^ 3 a S g 3 « S! i 3 -^3 ? 45 c» . 209 16 7 £ s- d> 22 11 Of £ s- d. 73 4 Of “ On a gold coinage of £2,866,386 6.s. 6fd. the account shows a waste amounting to £64, 12.'!. ll-i-d., with sweep recovered amounting to £209 16.s. Id. The Coining Department therefore returns a surplus by account of £145 3.s. 7|d.; that is, £209 16.s. Id. less £64 12.5. ll:^d. “ A surplus by account instead of the usual loss was exhibited for the first time in the return of the preceding year. A true surplus or increase of metal is of course unattainable in any minting operation. The increase of weight recorded arises from adventitious matter acquired by the gold scissel in the Coining Department, to be again lost in the melting, as was just explained. The surplus by account of the Coining Department amounts to £50 13s. Od. on £1,000,000 coined. “ A correct estimate of the whole waste in coining is obtained by combining the returns of the two departments :— £ 5. d. “ Loss of Melting Department. 257 7 Of per million. Loss of Coining Department.60 13 0 „ Difference. 206 14 Of ,, “It thus appears that in 1858-9 the net loss in minting £1,000,000 gold was £206 14s. 0|d. “ The annual loss since the reconstitution of the Mint in 1851 is as follows. “ Loss of bullion (waste, less sweep recovered) in minting £1,000,000 gold— £ s. d. “In 1851-52 479 5 8 „ 1852-53 921 10 7 „ 1853-64 795 11 7f ,, 1864-55 661 2 4^ 1855-66 724 1 3 , 1856-67 691 14 If , 18.57-58 140 4 7 * „ 1858-59 206 14 Of 1869-60 . 187 0 0 partly bj’estimate. “ * Understated at £99 14s. 5-id. in previous letter of May 22, 1858, in consequence of the APPENDIX. 179 sweep recovered per million having been taken at £13G 13s. dd. instead of £93 3s. 7d., the correct amount. “ An additional year just completed, 1859-GO, which appears in the preceding statement, is given subject to a subsequent correction of a few pounds more or less, as the sweep of that year (being still unsold) is taken by estimate. “ It aj^pears by the table that the average loss on the gold coinage of the first six years is £784 Os. Ofd.; and on the gold coinage of the last three years, £172 8s. 11|(/. per million coined; showing an improvement of £G11 11s. l^d. per million coined. On the twelve millions of gold coined, during the last three years, the saving exceeds twelve thousand pounds. “ The diminished waste of the late years is further attended with increased economy in working, of which, indeed, a low waste return is one of the surest indications. The proportion of sovereign blanks rejected in passing through the weighing machines, and which require to be remelted, causing thereby additional waste of metal and loss of labour, has been gradually diminished. This is shown by the following returns respecting the work performed in similar circumstances at various periods. Proportion in 100 Sovereign Blanks Cut. “ In l.So5 .21'49 per cent. ,, 1856 . 18'51 ,, ,, 1859 . 13'78 ,, Under present officers. ,, 1860 . '. 4-11 „ “The last small proportion of 4’11 per cent, of rejected blanks was further reduced to 2-07 per cent, by submitting the heavy portion of the blanks to the action of a new filing machine. I may be allowed to recall to your recollection that a Parliamentary grant of .£1,100 was obtained by the Mint in 185G for the purchase of two automaton filing and adjusting machines, which it was proposed to have constructed by Messrs. Napier and Sons, the eminent engineers. No part of this grant has been appropriated. “ The rapid amendment in the blanks which took place immediately afterwards led me to suspend the order for those machines, and ultimately to abandon the idea of any great expendi¬ ture for the object contemplated. In the meantime also a machine of a much more simple construction was contrived by Mr. Eichard Pilcher, of the Weighing Room, and was constructed in the Mint with no assistance from without. Pilcher’s adjusting machine has proved sufficiently effective, costs nothing for labour, and has now been in constant operation for two years. The cost of making a pair of machines such as we now possess is estimated at £G0, a sum which was saved to the public by the mode in which the work was executed. Trusting that the Lords Commissioners of her Majesty’s Treasury will bo disposed to consider favourably the merit and practical value of such an invention, I venture to solicit their Lordship’s sanction to the applica¬ tion of £G0, the sum just stated, to the benefit of the inventor, jointly with an ingenious mechanic on the establishment who gave material assistance in the construction of the machine. I would propose the following awards, if agreeable to their Lorships :— “ To Mr. E. Pilcher £40. “ To Meredith Jones £20. “ Their Lordships have afforded encouragement on previous occasions to voluntary efforts made within the Department in improving the machinery. “ On one additional point I would take the opportunity to offer information, and also submit a proposition for their Lordships’ consideration. A correspondence between the Governor of the Bank of England and myself, on the property of the gold occasionally imported into the Mint to be coined, was formerly brought under your notice in my letter of the 21st of March, 1857. The evidence of the evil in question was not confined to the Royal Mint, but has, I believe, been felt at all other Mints, and also by goldsmiths generally, since the recent gold discoveries. It A A i8o APPENDIX. ■was, however, traced to the presence in the gold of a minute portion of antimony or arsenic (often not greater in quantity than one-tenth of a per cent.), which escapes the observation of the assayers. But no remedy in dealing ■\^uth such gold presented itself, except the expensive one of having the brittle gold relined. “ An unusually large proportion of the gold received for coinage last year was of this defective character ; but the whole of it was successfully coined, notwithstanding, and no part retmned to the Bank to be refined, as on former occasions. “This improvement in the practice of the Mint is the result of a laborious investigation made in the coining department, of which I am happy to assign the chief merit to Mr. Ansell. It now appears that the antimony or arsenic acts injuriously when the gold blanks are allowed to cool gradually, but not Avhen cooled suddenly after annealing; the gold appearing to have time to crystaUise and become granular under the influence of the antimony particles in the one case, but not in the other. The improvement may be justly represented as one of considerable A'alue. It saves entirelj' much extra labour hitherto applied to brittle gold without any beneficial result. It will also lead to the diminution of waste, of which indeed brittle gold was always a fruitful source. “ The services of Mr. Ansell in effecting this improvement appear to me W'ell deserving of recognition ; and I would strongly recommend the award to that gentleman of a moderate grant of such amount as them Lordships may be pleased to accord, on account of these services. Mr. Ansell is a valuable officer, and no one has contributed more to the reduction in other ways of the expenditure of the establishment. Both he and Mr.-, another junior officer of the Coining Department, are also engaged at salaries (....) which are certainly very moderate, considering the responsible duties these gentlemen are called upon to perform. (Signed) “ Tho. Geaham. “ To Geoege a. Hamilton, Esq., Treasury.” I quote thus much of this letter to prove to your Lordship that the Master adopted my recojimendations ; indeed, he specifically stated to me that the recommendations for Mr. Pilcher and myself were made with a view to support a future application. I would also observe that the actual money saving effected by the coining of the brittle gold here alluded to was £1,562 Is. llfd., and I desire to be very clear in stating that I copied this letter from Mr. Graham’s own writing. That a copy of it was sent to the Treasury would seem to be certain, for the following reply Avas received and handed to me by the Master:— From the Treasury to the Master of the Mint. Sir, “ Treasury Chamhers, 22nd September, 1860. “ I am directed by the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury to acquaint you that the general result of your Report of the 7th June last on the loss of bullion in coining gold in the year 1858-1859 is, in the opinion of my Lords, very creditable to the Department under your management. My Lords willingly accede to your recommendation that £40 should be gi’anted to Mr. R. Pilcher, and £20 to Meredith Jones for their services in the invention and construction of an adjusting machine under the circumstances represented in your Report. My Lords Avill also be prepared to grant a suitable payment to Mr. Ansell, in recognition of his serA’ices in obviating the difficulty in coining gold containing minute portions of antimony or arsenic, and they request that you will report to them the amount that you recommend to be granted to Mr. Ansell. (Signed) “ The Master of the Mint. “Hint Xnniher, 2988, 24f/( September, 1860.” “ George A. Hamilton. APPENDIX. i8i lu answer to this the Master wrote to the Treasuiy, recommending a payment of £100 to Mr. Ansell, and the Treasury I'eply was as follows;— From the Treasury to the Master of the Mint. “ Treasiirij Chambers, 19^/t October, 1800. “ Sir, “ With reference to your letter of the 13th instant, I am directed by the Lords Com¬ missioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury to acquaint you that my Lords are pleased to authorise, in accordance with your recommendation, the grant of £100 to Mr. Ansell in recognition of his services in obviating the difficulty of coining gold containing a minute portion of antimony or arsenic. (Signed) “ George A. Hamilton. “ The Master of the Mint. “ Mint Number, 3024, 20th October, 18G0.” Under my advice, the Master addressed a letter to Mr. Pilcher, conveying to that gentleman the £40, having previously written to me the following letter : — The Master of the Mint to G. F. Ansell, Esq. “ Royal Mint, 20th October, 18G0. “ Dear Sir, “ Your success in obviating the difficulty of coining gold containing a minute portion of antimony or arsenic is a benefit to this department which calls for my most grateful thanks. In recognition of your services, I have the pleasure, with the approbation of the Lords Com¬ missioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury, to present to you the sum of one hundred pounds, for which cheque is enclosed. “ I have the honour to remain, “ Dear Sir, “ George F. Ansell, Esq. “Most faithfully yours, “ Mint Number, 302G, 18G0.” (Signed) “ Tho. Graham. I was not at the time aware that the Master wrote to the Treasury on the 8th of June, 18G0. That he did so, would seem to be proved by the following letter in reply; but that he should write on the next day after his letter of the 7th June, 18G0, renders it possible that he made some alteration after that letter left my hand. I have not, my Lord, seen the letter written on the 8th June and alluded to in the next. (Extract.) Letter from the Treasury to the Master of the Mint. “ Sir, “ Treasury Chambers, 25th September, 18G1. “ I am commanded by the Lords Commissioners of Her IMajesty’s Treasury to inform you that, having in consideration the very favourable opinion expressed in your Report of the 8th June, 18G0, as to the ability and vigilance displayed by Messrs. -and Ansell, and the saving which has been eft'ected in the processes at the Mint under your direction, theii' Lordships are 182 APPENDIX. ploiised to sanction the increase of £30 a year to the salaries of those gentlemen, to take efifcet from the commencement of the present quarter, as recommended in your letter of the 6th instant. (Signed) “ Geobge A. Hamilton. ‘ ‘ The Master of the Mint. “Mint Xiunber, 454, 2Gih SejiUnnber, 1861.” On the introduction to the Mint of Mr. John Graham all was changed, and it became clear that I was to be sacrificed. Mr. Barton, then Deputy Master, therefore advised me to bring the matter to an issue bj' applying for the first vacant office. This I did, but my note was not even acknowledged; the Master, however, obtained a “Minute ” from the Lords of the Treasury to the effect that extra cJerks were not at Uberti/ to appiu for promotion, and this was conveyed to me by a messenger. To the office for which I had thus applied, Mr. John Graham who was then an extra clerk, was subsequently appointed. Upon the occurrence of the death of ^L‘. W. T. Brande, whose office had been specifically promised to me, I spoke to the Master of the Mint; but he assured me “The Treasury would fill up the vacancy, for they were dissatisfied with the whole of the Mint appointments.” He, however, appointed his brother, notwithstanding his acknowledged incompetence and unfitness. It was on the occurrence of that event that Mr. Barton strongly “ advised me, on the event of the next vacancy to apply for it over the Master’s head, if j’ou can get an influential person to back you.” Finding the ground thus removed from my feet, I sought counsel with my friends, and determined to renew my studies in chemistry—having, in consequence of the Master’s promises, relinquished that profession when I entered the Mint. It now becomes necessary to show by what occurrences my name was brought to your Lordship’s notice, and this I will do briefly. When I had completed my laboratory in Bernard Street, I called on Mr. Robert Hunt, F.R.S., and asked him wRat subject would be likely to do me most service. He at once kindly suggested “ a means to find fire-damp in coal mines—one that will act unerringly, and require no attention from man.” I at once adopted the subject for study, and Mr. Hunt gave me many kind letters of introduction that I might “ see my enemy at home,” especially a note to Mr. Oakes of Riddings House, Alfreton, whose generosity and hospitality were very prominent. I told that gentleman the object of my visit, and talked with him at considerable length, for I found in him a man singularly desirous to help his fellow-men. Mr. Oakes invited his brother to take me to a pit at a distance of about four miles, where I should be almost sure to find some fire-damp, and to this pit Mr. Oakes, junior, most kindly took me. The coal pit was itself a very remarkable one, and contained singular evidences in the history of the past. It will ever be associated irith the invention of my “ Fire-damp Indicator,” for it was in this pit that the idea for its formation occun-ed to me. If, therefore, this instrument should fortunately be the means of saving life, that benefit will have arisen from the kindness of Mr. Oakes. When I had made my instruments, I took them to the IRnt, and showed them to Mr. Graham. Diffusion being fitly styled Graham’s Law, I took it for gi-anted he would be pleased to find that force' applied practically. I said to him, “ I have proposed, Mr. Graham, to indicate the existence of fire-damp in coal mines.” He replied, “Ah, yes; that subject comes up every seven years.” I placed an instrument on his table, and asked if he would look at it, saying, “ I propose to use your law of diffusion.” Before I had finished the word diffusion he cut in upon me with an exclamation of great force, “ Good God ! what would I have given for that thought! ” I said, “ God gave it to me.” To which he said, “ I was on the Coal Mines Commission, and I did all I could to find a means of discovering the presence of that dreadful gas.” He refused to examine my apparatus, on the ground that he objected to the smell of gas, but said, “the honour of being associated with you in it would be so great that I shall be glad if you will allow me to pay nil expenses, and you can make yonv APPENDIX. 183 expei’iments iu my laboratory; the apparatus shall be left there.” I, however, declined his offer. I exhibited the apparatus, as was but natural, iu the first instance to Mr. Robert Hunt, at his residence, and afterwards to many other scientific men. It was subsequently noticed in the Times, iu very high terms. A few days after that event, I received a note from Dr. Angus Smith, F.R.S., asking if I could “ exhibit my experiments to Lord Kiuuaird at 2 p.m. to-morrow.” I gladly accepted the proposed appointment, and suggested whether “ his Lordship could obligingly come to me at 27, Bernard Street,” which he courteously did, accompanied by Mr. P. H. Holland and Dr. Angus R. Smith. I then found that Lord Kiunaird was Chairman, and Mr. Holland a Commissioner, of the Royal Commission of Mines. Your Lordship, as you may remember, honoured me by remaining in company with Mr. Holland and Dr. A. Smith for more than two hours, examining minutely every detail. From that day you have spared neither time nor labour to induce coal owners to adopt and use my “ Indicator,”—which your Lordship also brought under the notice of Her Majesty, w'ho deputed H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh to examine it on her^ behalf. This His Royal Highness graciously did at my residence. It has also been distinguished by mention in the Preface to the last edition of lire’s Dictionary, iu which work it is fully described. In practical operation it has proved to be entirely successful even iu the hands of working colliers, who have, on more than one occasion, said to me, “When men’s lives are as valuable as those of horses, your instruments will be used; but, you see, they buy horses, and men they get for nothing.” I took occasion to speak wdth your Lordship about my troubled position at the Mint, and asked permission to make known to you all the circumstances. You having thus heard from me a statement of my views, advised me to await the arrival of the proper time, and stated that then you would assist me. I have already said that Mr. Barton advised me to apply over Mr. Graham’s head for promotion when a vacancy should occur, and I therefore waited that event. Unfortunately for me, Mr. Barton was the first to be removed by death, he having died on the 25th August, 18G8. I had, therefore, no powerful friend left in the Mint. It was amidst such circumstances that I sought the assistance of your Lordship ; which commenced with the following correspondence : — From the Right Hon. Lord Kinnaird, K.T., to the Right Hon. B. Disr.aeli. “ Eussie Enory, Iiichtiire, X.E., “ Aiiyiist 28tli, 18G8. “ Dear Sir, “ May I ask you to read the enclosed—I cannot, of course, ask you as from myself to attend to the application therein—but having become acquainted with Mr. Ansell during the time I was Chairman of the Mines Commission, I w’as so struck with his intelligence and ingenuity, combined with a great knowledge of chemistry, that I felt he was a very valuable public servant. Mr. Ansell has invented a machine for the discovery of fire-damp in mines, which, if generally adopted, would be the means of preventing great loss of life from explosions in coal mines, and I am convinced that if you could find time you would be much interested iu witnessing his experiments. “Mr. Ansell has no friends in high quarters to bring his claims under your notice ; I venture therefore to do so, however unwillingly, because I feel tliat he is deserving, and especially we'.l fitted foT the appointment. With many apologies for troubling you, “ I remain, “ Yours faithfully, fSimiedl “ FivvvTrr' ■‘Titf Uov Tt AR V FT T APPENDIX. 184 Enclosure. “ Royal Mint, August 28tli, 18G8. “ Sir, “I most respectfully request your attention to tlie following statement of my claim for promotion consequent on the death of the Deputy Master of the Mint, Mr. Barton. By a letter dated 29th October, 1856, addressed to the Treasury, I was recommended by Mr. Thomas Graham, F.E.S., the Master of the Mint, as fit to he appointed to a Supernumerary Clerkship in the Koyal Mint. “ On the 12th of November, 1856, I was appointed to that office at a salary of £120 per annum, having previously passed the necessary examination before the Civil Service Commis¬ sioners. The internal management of the Mint then was, and had for some time previously, been in great confusion ; the workmen were disorderly and dishonest, peculation was of daily occurrence, and it was universally believed that the processes of coining could not he carried on without considerable loss. Moreover, in consequence of the various modes by which bullion was then weighed, it was almost impossible to detect dishonesty. Nor was this all, for the blank coins were so imperfectly executed that it was always necessary to reject and return to the melting-pot from 15 to 35 per cent. “ From 1851 to 1856 the average ‘ loss by coining,’ as it was then called, was In gold, £581'42 per million pounds sterling. In silver, £271‘00 per million ounces coined. “Dm’ing the same years the average number of blank coins rejected was In gold, 17'92 per cent. In silver, 25-00 ,, “At this period, owing to the use of oil on the metal in the processes of coining, an additional loss was incurred in the melting. The average loss by melting during the same period being. In gold, £356-33 per million pounds sterling. In silver, £210-75 per million ounces coined. “ Soon after I entered the Mint I was taken into the confidence of the Master. “I satisfied him that by proper management and vigilance no loss ought to be incurred by the processes of coining; that if due care were taken, scarcely any of the blank coins, when completed, would he rejected, and that a further saving to the Government would he effected by abolishing the use of oil in the processes of coining. “ Mr. Graham entrusted to me the sole task of carrying out these reformations, at the same time promising that if I were successful I should he amply rewarded by promotion. “ You, Sir, will he able to judge of my success by the following results :— “Instead of any ‘loss by coining’ since 1856 to the present date, there has been, on the average, a positive gain :— In gold, £20 per million pounds sterling coined ; While for silver, £55-75 per million ounces coined is the total average loss. “During the same time the average number of blank coins rejected has been In gold, 2-07 per cent. In silver, 1-00 ,, “ Dui-ing the same period the average loss by melting has been reduced to. In gold, £271-90 per million pounds sterling. In silver £57-90 per million ounces coined. “In 1857, as you. Sir, will doubtless perfectly remember, there arose a very great pressure on the Bank of England for coined gold ; any endea.vour to supply this unusual demand necessitated gi-eat exertion on the part of the Mint, and the Master of the Mint placed the matter entirely in my hands. I produced, without a single instance of loss by peculation, and with an average of APPENDIX. 185 only 0 percent, rejected blank coins, 1,100 journey weights of sovereigns per week, being more by 200 journey weights than had ever before been obtained. I thus was the humble means of saving the country from experiencing the disastrous eflects consequent on the Bank of England being unable to meet the demand for gold—a state of things almost universally expected at the time as the unavoidable result of the then monetary crisis. “ In 1858, during the temporary absence on leave of the Master Melter, the Master of the Mint, by a written order, directed me to conduct the melting department. This I did with such success as to reduce the then ordinary loss by melting by no less than 33 per cent. “By a letter to the Treasury, dated 17th August, 1858, Mr. Graham recommended my salary to be increased to £220 per annum. This was done soon afterwards. “ In 1859 I endeavoured to coin a large quantity of brittle gold, which had up to that time, not only in the Pioyal Mint, but also in the mints of other countries, been invariably rejected, under the impression that it was totally unfit for coining purposes in consequence of its extreme brittleness. I coined and sent to the Bank of England upwards of a quarter of a million pounds sterling of this brittle gold, the coins having proved to be so tough that they could not be broken by ordinary means. For this service I received from Mr. Graham a letter, dated 20th October, 1860, conveying to me ‘ his most grateful thanks,’ and from the Lords of the Treasury a small gi’atuity of £100, awarded to me in consequence of a letter to the Treasury from the Master of the Muit, dated 13th October, 1860, recommending that such a donation should be made. “By a subsequent letter, dated September 0th, 1861, Mr. Gi’aham recommended the Lords of the Treasury to raise my salary to £250 per annum. His recommendation was at once acceded to on the part of the Treasury. “In 1802, at the request of the Master of the Mint, I undertook the destruction of the old copper money, and destroyed from 10 to 16 tons per diem, at the comparatively small cost of 8s. 4(/. per ton. Before this work was put under my charge 2 tons per diem had never been destroyed ; and in the Paris Mint, where a similar process of demonetising had been in operation, the cost had never been less than £10 per ton. “ On several occasions offers were made to me of situations (unconnected with the Royal Mint) in which I should have earned a much greater salary than that which I now receive, but I have always been induced to refuse them by the express promises made to me from time to time by the Master of the Mint, Mr. Graham, that he would ensure my being i)laced in a safe position in the Mint. “ In the month of November, 1863, the office of Assistant Coiner became vacant. No one, so far as I am aware, had performed so many or so important services as to give him such a claim to that appointment as I possessed; but, much to my surprise, Mr Graham ignored my claims, and appointed to the vacant office his brother, Mr. John Graham, a gentleman considerably junior to me in the service of the Mint. Smarting under what I conceived the injustice I had experienced from the Master of the Mint, I wrote perhaps too strongly, but for this I have apologised, and he has accepted my apology, but I feel that it is probable that the Master of the Mint will, consequently on the estrangement between us, not recommend me for the appointment, and I can only rely on my services (into which I hope you will kindly cause inquiry to be made), as giving me a claim, and therefore venture to address you by the advice of Lord Kinnaird. “The unwillingness which I have cause to fear on the part of the Master of the Mint to recommend me will not, I am sure, arise from a belief of my unfitness—as in 1861 he offered to secure to me the appointment of Chief Coiner and Melter to the Hong Kong Mint, at a salary of £1,000 a year—an appointment which, being the father of a family, I was compelled to decline. APPENDIX. 186 “ I have to apologise for thus venturing to address you, which I could only think of doing under the belief that you will take into your favourable consideration the application of one who has endeavoured faithfully and zealously to fulfil his duty, and not without some success, as I have endeavoured to point out. “ I have the honour to be. Sir, “ Your most obedient servant, (Signed) “George F. Ansell. “ The Right Honourable B. Disraeli, “ Hiighendon Manor, Buckinghamshire.” This application, I would remind your Lordship, was made while Mr. Disraeli was First Minister of the Crowm, and Avas acknowledged as follows :— “ 10, Boniiing Street, WhiteliaJI, August 31st, 18G8. ‘ ‘ My Lord, “lam directed by Mr. Disraeli to acknowledge the receipt of your Lordship’s letter of the 28th inst., and to acquaint you that he has made a note of its contents. “ I have the honour to be, my Lord, “ Your obedient servant, “ The Lord Kinnaird.” _ (Signed) “ Montagu Corry. On the 3rd September, 1868, Mr. Montagu Corry called on the Master of the Mint and remained wdth him some considerable time. On the 28th September I received by a messenger, Avithout any further intimation, the folloAving note :— The Master of the Mint to G. F. Ansell, Esq. “ Rugal Mint, 28th SegAemher, 1868. “ Dear Sir, “ I regret to have to inform you that it is not in my power to continue your present enf^agement as an extra officer in the coining department while the Mint is only so partially occupied as it has been for some time past. “ Your assistance Avill not, therefore, be required beyond the 31st December next. “ I remain, faithfully yours, “ G. F. Ansell, Esq.” (Signed) “ Tho. Gr.aham. MTiich I immediately foi’Avarded to your Lordship, asking advice, when you were so good as to write as follows :— The Et. Hon. Lord Kinnaird, K.T., to the Rt. Hon. B. Disraeli. “ Fiossie Priory, Inchture, N.B., September 30t/t, 1868. “ Dear Sir, “ I venture to trouble you on behalf of Mr. Ansell, of the Royal Mint, Avho I had advised to apply to you for the appointment of Deputy Master of the Mint, as from his long experience in the Department, and great ability as a chemist, I felt he deseiw’ed promotion, and Avas in every way fitted for the office. It seems, however, that his application has draAvn doAvn the ire of the Master of the Mint, who, I suppose, wished to have some friend of his own, con¬ sequently Mr. Ansell has received a very curt dismissal (copy enclosed). “ It is very hard on a public servant Avho has done his duty for so many years to be thus APPENDIX. 187 summarily dismissed, and I therefore venture again to trouble you on the subject, feeling confident that your sense of justice will dispose you to view the matter favourably. “ Yours faithfully, “ The Right Hon. B. Disraeli, Grosvenor Gate.” (Signed) “ Kinnaird. Your Lordship also wrote letters to the noblemen and gentlemen who had supported my application. On the 2nd December, 18G8, Mr. Disraeli, on the eve of his resignation, appointed Mr. C. W. Fremantle—his private secretary—to the vacant office of Deputy Master of the Mint. The Rt. Hon. Lord Kjnnaird, K.T., to the Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone. “ Rossie Priorij, Inchture, X.B., Decemhi')' 25th, 18G3. “ Dear Mr. Gladstone,', “ I should not have troubled you at present, as you still must have much to occupy your time and attention ; but the case I have to bring before you is presshuj, as, if anything is to he done in the matter, initiatory steps must he taken before the 31st. “ During the time I was engaged on the Mines Commission, I became acquainted with Mr. G. F. Ansell, of the Mint, who has invented a most ingenious instrument for detecting fire damp in mines, which, if generally adopted in working coal pits, would, I am perfectly satisfied, be the means of saving life to a very great extent. I have, therefore, taken great interest in Mr. Ansell, and on the occasion of the death of the Deputy Master of the Mint, I and other friends of his applied to the late Government to appoint him to the vacant office, and we believed that ho would get the appointment for which he is so well qualified. Some delay, however, took place, which, we were led to believe, was owing to the Master of the Mint, Mr. Graham, being opposed to it, and he at the same time, on the plea that Mr. Ansell was a supernumerary clerk, though he had been twelve years in the service, gave him notice to quit on the 31st of this month, and the office of Deputy has been filled up. “ Now Mr. Ansell, who is a very able chemist, and has got the very highest testimonials, gave up his profession under a promise that he was to get_a permanent appointment in order to undertake a most difficult task—that of detecting peculations which -were taking place in the Mint. In this he succeeded, and was highly complimented by the Master of the Mint in letters to the Treasury which can be seen. “ The fact is, he saved the country, as the tables will show, upwards of £27,000, to say nothing of the advantage of putting a stop to peculations, and introducing order and economy in the working of the Mint. “ Mr. Graham, though having borne, and still bearing, witness to Mr. Ansell’s high quali¬ fications to the office, has conceived a strong dislike to Mr. Ansell, because, as I understand, Mr. Ansell remonstrated with him, and has spoken to the Master in strong terms, on the appointment of his brother, Mr. John Graham, to an office in the Mint. “ In consequence of this ill-will, and of Mr. Ansell having applied to the late Government for the appointment of Deputy Master, Mr. Ansell has been dismissed, after twelve years' service, on the that there is no work for him. Although a fresh coinage is about to take place immediately, and I think there is every probabilitj’ of these peculations being again carried on if inefficient men are appointed, and there is no one to check them as Mr. Ansell did, I think I am justified, for the sake of the public service, independent of the hardship of the case, in asking you to cause an inquiry to be made into the reason of a public servant being dismissed after twelve years of service, and, in the mean time, to order the dismissal to he suspended till the inquiry is made. “ If you would got one of the Junior Lords of the Treasury to hear Mr. Ansell’s statement, B B APPENDIX. 188 ho will, T am sure, be able to satisfy himself as to the truth of what I have stated, and be able to enlighten you as to what has taken place in the office of the Mint. With many apologies for troubling you, “ I remain, yours faithfully, “ The Rt. Hox. Wb E. Gl.\dstone, &c., &c.” (Signed) “ Ivinnaied. On the 30th December your Lordship wrote me a letter, in which you said :— “ Mr. Gladstone writes me, ‘ I have at once transmitted your letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to whose cognisance it belongs.’ I have written to Mr. Lowe.” your Lordship again wrote on the 5th January, 18G9, enclosing a letter Feoji the Rt. Hon. Robeet Lowe to the Rt. Hon. Loed Kinnaied, K.T. “ 11, Doivning St., Whitehall, 4f/( Jannarij, 1869. “ My Deae Loed, “Mr. Ansell, in Avhom you have interested yourself, is, I have ascertained, a temporary clerk in the Mint, and the duration of his employment must accordingly depend on the necessities of the Department, of which the Master of the Mint is the only judge. The Treasury could not, therefore, interfere with Mr. Graham’s discretion in such a case. “ I have, however, felt it my duty to make a particular inquiry as to the nature of the expectations held out to Mr. Ansell when his engagement commenced, and which you have been informed amounted to a promise that he was to get a permanent employment; but I am informed by the Master of the Mint—the only person who could, I imagine, have made such a promise—in the most positive terms, that he never gave Mr. Ansell, either before or after he went to the Mint, any encouragement to look for a permanent engagement. Under these circum¬ stances, whatever the merits of Mr. Ansell may be, I am afraid I cannot undertake so serious a proceeding as to interfere with the course which the Master of the Mint may consider it proper to pru’sue in this matter. “ Believe me, “ Yours truly, “ Loed Kinnaied.” (Signed) “ Robeet Lowe. On the 6th January, 1869, I, by the advice of your Lordship, took the opinion of eminent counsel, before Avhom I laid proofs of my statements. Counsel advised me to draw up a Memorial, and ask your Lordship to present it to the Treasury. This I did, with the assistance of a Avell-knoAvn solicitor, who used infinite pains. The Memorial was as follows :— “ To THE Right Honoueable the Loeds Commissionees of Hee Ma.iesty’s Teeasuey. il H The Humble Memorial of Geoege Feedeeick Ansell, of No. 27, Bernard Street, Russell Square, Analytical Chemist. Sheweth as follows :— “ In the month of October, 1856, the Master of the Mint called upon your Memorialist, and offered to nominate him to a position in Her Majesty’s Mint, and promised that he should be promoted if he succeeded in effecting the object the Master of the Mint had in view, which was to reform certain abuses which prevailed extensively in the coining department, in which there Avas then, and had been for some time previously, great waste, OAving to the carelessness and peculations of those employed in conducting some of the processes in that department. There were also great irregularities and disobedience of orders and disregard of regulations. All those circumstances combined, caused considerable loss in the operation of coining, and the Master of the Mint informed your Memorialist that he understood it to be the intention of the APPENDIX. 189 Government to put the coinage out to contract, unless it could be conducted with greater economy in the Mint. Upon the understanding and in the belief that he was to be promoted when any vacancy in a higher office should occur, your Memorialist accepted the offer made to him, and relinquished the professional pursuits he was engaged in prosecuting, and agreed to devote the whole of his time and energies to the service required of him. Consequently upon this, the Master of the Mint, in a communication dated the 29th of October, 1856, submitted a proposition for the consideration of your Lordships’ predecessors in the following terms :— “ ‘ Under this designation I desire to introduce a young man recommended by scientific or technical information available in coining, by energy of character, and by tried ability in the supervision of workmen—a faculty by no means common. ... I have been led to propose the name of Mr. George Frederick Ansell as temporary clerk. Mr. Ansell was educated under Dr. Hofmann, and acted for some years as his laboratory assistant. He has since been scientific director in the Koyal Panopticon, in Leicester Square, which was lately broken up. He appears to be a person of superior education and ability, and great activity and vigour of character, and, as I have been assured, has shown much discretion in the management of both pupils and work¬ men. Mr. Ansell, if appointed, would be placed in the rolling room, and have charge of putting the bars into work.’ “ On the 4th of Novemher, 1856, your Lordships’ predecessors approved of the recom¬ mendation of the Master of the Mint, and on the 12th of November, 1856, your Memorialist entered upon his service. Before taking active duty, he inquired of the Master what latitude was allowed in case of any difference of weight between the bullion given to the men and the return. The Master replied that he did not know, but that there had always been considerable loss in the room your Memorialist was to enter. Your Memorialist assured the Master that there ought to be no loss, and stated that if he were supported he would demonstrate it. The Master of the Mint promised to give your Memorialist full authority, and also assured him that he might depend upon promotion if he were able to carry out what he had stated. “ In a very short time after your Memorialist had entered upon his duties the losses were stopped, the men became obedient to orders, and all irregularities ceased ; but it was not without exciting considerable ill-will amongst some of the men and officers employed that your Memorialist succeeded in accomplishing the ends in view. “ Previously to your Memorialist entering upon his duties, peculation had been of almost daily occurrence. In consequence of the various modes by which the bullion was then weighed, it was almost impossible to detect dishonesty. In addition to this, the blank coins were so imperfectly made, that it had always been necessary to reject and return to the melting pot quantities ranging from 15 to 35 per cent. “ During the six years, 1851 to 1856, the average loss by coining, as it was termed, was as follows;— In gold, £581-420 per million pounds sterling. In silver, £271-000 per million ounces coined. In addition to this, a loss was incurred in the melting, owing to the use of oil in the processes of rolling and cutting out, and the average of this loss during the same period was : - In gold, £356-330 per million pounds sterling. In silver, £210-750 per million ounces coined. “ During the same period, the average number of blank coins rejected was :— In gold, 17-92 per cent. In silver, 25-00 ,, “ The Master of the Mint entrusted solely to your Memorialist the task of carrying out such reforms, and taking such steps as your Memorialist considered necessary to put a stop to the peculations and waste above mentioned. APPENDIX. 190 “The result of such superiiiteudeuce hy your Memorialist has hecu that, during the years from 1857 to 1860, instead of any loss hy coining, there has been, on the average, a positive gain, inasmuch as the gain on gold amounted to £20 per million sterling, whilst the loss in silver was reduced from £271 per million ounces, to £55 per million ounces. During the same period, the average number of blanks rejected has been, in gold, only 2-07 per cent., and in silver, only 1-00 per cent. The average loss by melting was also reduced to the following :— In gold, £271'900 per million pounds sterling. In silver, £57’900 per million ounces coined. “ The following tabular statement, compiled from the official books of the Royal Mint, shews the average loss by peculation during the six years 1851—1857, and the saving effected under your Memorialist’s management during the years 1857—1866 : — CoiNiN'i Department. Melting Department. Date. Mtiuey coined. Absolute loss by peculations. Avera £1,000,0c ?es per 0 coined. Absolute saving effected by stopping peculation. Average loss by melting per £1,000,000 coined. Absolute average saving effected by the disuse of oil on the scissel. 1851—57 1857—66 40,345,185 50,894,385 20,030 m. Loss. Gain. £ 27,736 '£ 261 233 £ 28 £ 491 Nil. £ 26 “The result from the above table is that in the period 1851—1857 £40,345,185 in gold was coined at a loss to the Government by peculations and waste in coining of upwards of £20,000, whilst by the gains and savings effected by your Memorialist, amounting to £545 in each £1,000,000 coined, the gain to the Government during the years 1857—1866 amounted to £27,736, and this in the gold alone, and quite independently of the saving effected in the coining of silver. “ In the year 1857, shortly after the appointment of your Memorialist, there was a great demand and pressure on the Rank of England for gold coin, and the endeavour to supply this miusual demand necessitated great exertion on the part of the Mint. The Master of the Mint placed the matter entirely under the direction of your Memorialist, who was the means of pro¬ ducing, without a single instance of loss by peculation and with an average of only 6 per cent, of rejected blanks, 1,100 journey weights of sovereigns per week, being more by 200 journey weights than had ever before been obtained. This extra production undoubtedly contributed largely to meet the demand for gold and relieve the pressure on the Bank during the monetary crisis of that year. “ In the year 1858, during the temporary absence on leave of the Master Melter, the Master of the Mint directed your Memorialist to conduct the melting department, and during such superintendence of it your Memorialist reduced the then ordinary loss in melting by no less than 33 per cent. “ In the month of August of that year the Master of the Mint recommended your Memorialist’s salary to be increased from £120 per annum to £220. “In the year 1859 a large quantity of brittle gold had been brought to the Mint, and up to that time that kind of gold had been invariably rejected by the Royal Mint, as well as by the Mints of other countries, under the impression that it was totally unfit for coining in consequence of its extreme brittleness. Your Memorialist endeavoured to turn this gold to account, and suc¬ ceeded in coining it; and upwards of a quarter of a million sterling of this coined gold was sent to the Bank of England, and the coins proved to be so tough that they could not be broken by the ordinary means. For this service your Memorialist received from the Master ol the Mint a letter expressing his ‘ most grateful thanks,’ and upon his recommendation, in the month of APPENDIX. 191 October, 18G0, a gratuity of £100 was awarded to your Memorialist by your Lordships’ prede¬ cessors, and in the year 1861 your Memorialist’s salary was raised from_£220 to £250 per annum. Your Memorialist also originated and developed the plans by which the new bronze money was coined previous to its issue in 1860. Those plans are still followed, and in consequence of your Memorialist’s investigations of the subject, Messrs. Heaton and Messrs. Grenfell were referred to him for information and assistance by the Master of the Mint. “In the year 1862 your Memorialist, at the request of the Master of the Mint, undertook the destruction of all the old copper coinage, and destroyed from 10 to 16 tons per diem, at the comparatively small cost of 8s. 4d. per ton. Before this work was put under your Memorialist’s charge, scarcely so much as 2 tons per diem had ever been destroyed ; and in the Paris Mint, where a similar process had heen in operation, the cost had never been less than £10 per ton. “ Down to this period, offers had been made to your Memorialist on several occasions of situations unconnected with the Koyal Mint, at a much higher salary than he was in receipt of there, but your Memorialist was induced to decline them in consequence of the assurances of the Master of the Mint that his position there should be greatly improved. In the month of November, 1863, the office of Assistant Coiner became vacant. No one, so far as your Memorialist is aware, had performed so many or such important services in the establishment as he had done ; but his claims were ignored, and the Master of the Mint, passing over him, appointed his own brother, Mr. John Graham (who was considerably junior in the service), to the vacant post. “ Upon the death of the late Mr. Barton, Deputy Master of the Mint, your Memorialist applied to the Bight Honourable the then First Lord for promotion, hut he appointed Mr. Fre¬ mantle, his private secretary, to Mr. Barton’s office, and no other change or promotion was made. “ On the 28th of September, 1868, your Memorialist received his dismissal from the service, in the following letter from the Master of the Mint— ‘ Eoijal Mint, 28th September, 1868. ‘ Dear Sir, ‘ I regret to have to inform you that it is not in my power to continue your present engagement as an extra officer in the coining department while the Mint is only so partially occupied as it has been for some time past. Your assistance will not therefore be required beyond the 31st of December next. ‘ I remain, ‘ Faithfully yours, ‘ G. F. Ansell, Esq,’ ‘ Tho. Graham. “ Notwithstanding the intimation conveyed by the above letter that your Memorialist’s services were no longer required in consequence of the coining department being only partially occupied, it is the fact that another gentleman, who was an extra clerk in the bronze store department, and considerably your Memorialist’s junior (but who is private secretary to Mr. John Graham, the brother of the Master), has been appointed to the same post as your Memorialist held; and it is also the fact that the Mint is now executing a new coinage of about £5,000,000 of gold, and your Memorialist believes that it will he found, on investigation, that losses have again occurred, upon this and tho last preceding coinage, which was not super¬ intended by your Memorialist. “ Upon a reference to the communications to tho Treasury from the Master of the Mint, under the dates of 29th October, 1856, 6th August, 1857, 17 th August, 1858, 7th and 8th July, 1860, 192 APPENDIX. it ■will be seen that your Memorialist’s services have been referred to by the Master of the Miut in terms of high approbation, and j’our Memorialist can confidently assert that his dismissal has not been owing to any want of elficiency or attention to the public service on his part; and, on the other hand, others who have less eflectually served the public interest, and have been junior to your Memorialist in the service, have been promoted over his head. The Master of the Mint at one time ofiered to recommend your Memorialist to an appointment in the Mint at Hong Kong; hut the climate would have been unsuitable to your Memorialist and his family, and he was compelled to decline it. “ Your Memorialist has spent twelve of the best years of his life in the public service at an insignificant salary, and has effected savings to the public to the amount of £35,000 and upwards in the gold coinage alone, besides many other savings in other branches of his department, and has now been dismissed without, as he humbly submits, any adequate reason at three months’ notice (which your Memorialist is advised is insuflicient according to the usual course of law) and without compensation of any kind. “Y^our Memorialist therefore humbly prays your Lordships to cause inquiry to be made into the circumstances stated hy your Memorialist, and his special services in connection with the Royal Miut, and that your Lordships will be pleased to continue his services in some other department in which they may he made available, or to award some compensation to him in consideration of the considerable sums he has been the means of saving to the public during the course of his employment at the Royal Mint, and of his abrupt dismissal by the Master without any just cause. “ George F. Ansell. “ \Qth February, 18G9.” On the 19th February, your Lordship enclosed to me the following letter;— From C. Rivers Wilson, Esq., to the Hon. A. Kinnaird, M.P. “ 11, Downing Street, Whitehall, 15th February, 1869. “Dear Sir, “ The Chancellor of the Exchequer has received the Memorial from Mr. Ansell, forwarded in your letter of Saturday, and has caused it at once to be laid before the Board of Treasury, in compliance with the wish expressed by Lord Kinnaird. “ I am, dear Sir, “ Yours faithfully, “ Hon. Arthur Kinnaird, M.P.” (Signed) “C. Rivers Wilson. On the 22nd February, 1809, Mr. John Graham died, thus leaving the office of Chief Coiner vacant. I immediately informed your Lordship of this unexpected event, and you, on the 23rd, wrote to the Hon. A. Kinnaird, asking that gentleman to go immediately and see Mr. Lowe, and to take him a copy of my book of testimonials; and on the 24th your Lordship wiote to the Hon. A. Kinnaird, asking him to see Mr. Gladstone, in whose gift the office of Chief Coiner is. On the 27th February, 1869, a friend suggested that I should “ ask Lord Kinnaird to mediate between Mr. Graham and myself.” Your Lordship permitted me to make that suggestion, and wrote as follows: — APPENDIX. 193 The Rt. H ;n. Lord Kinnaird, K.T., to Thomas Graham, Esq., F.R.S., D.C.L. “ Rossie Priory, Inchtiire, N.B., March 1st, 18G9. “ Sir, “I do not know whether you are aw'are that Mr. G. F. Ansell, by my advice, has presented a Memorial to the Lords of the Treasury, praying for compensation for his dismissal from the Mint. “I considered the case so hard that a gentleman who had served the country for about twelve years, ably and efficiently, as shown by letters from the Treasury and from yourself, should be dismissed on three months’ notice, that I resolved to bring this case before Parliament, but before doing so I thought it best that Mr. Ansell should memorialise the Treasury, stating his case and past services. “ Since the Memorial was sent in, I have heard of the loss you have sustained, and consequently have applied for the appointment for Mr. Ansell to the office lately filled by your brother. “ I think it right you should know this, and I am not without hopes that my recommendation may meet with your concurrence, as though I am aware that you had at one time some dift'erence with Mr. Ansell, yet he has at the same time told me of many kindnesses he has received from you—shown also on a late occasion, when you gave him a very good testimonial on his being a candidate for a Gas Inspectorship, which proves the high opinion you have of Mr. Ansell’s qualifications. “ He has assured me that, should he get the appointment, he will act most cordially with you, and be most anxious to forget all that is past. “ I am prepared, on hearing from you that you concur in Mr. Ansell’s appointment, to write to Mr. R. Lowe to tell him that I wish the Memorial withdrawn. “ Your obedient servant, “ T. Graham, Esq., F.R.S., D.C.L., (Signed) “Kinnaird. “ Master of the Royal Mint, London.” Envelope marked “ Private,” From T. Graham, Esq., F.R.S., D.C.L., to the Rt. Hon. Lord Kinnaird, K.T. “4, Gordon Square, Srd March, 18G9. “ My Lord, “ On returning from Scotland I find your letter of the 1st instant, the receipt of which I beg to acknowledge. “ I beg to remain, my Lord, “ Your Lordship’s most obedient servant, “ The Right Hon. Lord Kinnaird.” (Signed) “ Tuo. Graham. On the Gth March, 18G9, your Lordship wrote me to the effect that Mr. Lowe had stated that he “ still entertained a belief that Mr. Ansell was never on the stall' of the Mint, and he cannot force a supernumerary on Mr. Graham, but he has sent the Memorial to Mr. Graham to answer.” I feel that the Right Hon. Robert Lowe thus committed a singular act of injustice to me. Those who will read the Memorial cannot but be struck with the fact that my sole complaint is against Mr. Thomas Graham, yet Mr. Lowe remits the case to the accused for his decision. Such an act is a remarkable comment on the promise of the Government that those u'ho would faithfully do their duty, irrespective of their nominal position, should be rewarded. This injustice induced your Lordship to take further steps, and j’ou sent me the following letter:— 194 APPENDIX. From the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone to Hon. A. Kinnaird, M.P. “ March 5th, 18G9. “ My de.ar Kinnaird, “I am not sure whether the arrangements to he made at the Mint will place any vacancy at my disposal, hut if they do I will carefully consider the subject of your letter respecting Mr. Ausell. “Ever yours sincerely, “ The Hon. A. Kinnaird.” (Signed) “ W. E. Gladstone. On the receipt of this letter your Lordship directed me to send a copy of my “ Treatise on Coining” to Mr. A. West for Mr. Gladstone. Up to this date the case had been urged upon Mr. Gladstone, not only by your Lordship, but in addition by five Cabinet Ministers and five members of the House of Commons ; yet there was, as in the case of Mr. Disraeli, some mysterious cause why I was defeated, and on the 27th of March, 1869, I received the following :— From the Lords of the Treasury to G. F. Ansell, Esq. {No. 3727, 24t/i. March). “ Treasury Chambers, 27th March, 1869. “ Sir, “ In reply to your Memorial of the 10th of February last, I am directed by the Lords Commissioners of her Majesty’s Treasury to acquaint you that my Lords have made inquiry into the circumstances which led to the cessation of your employment as a temporary clerk at the Royal Mint, and they do not find that they are such as in their opinion would justify them in awarding you any compensation in consequence thereof. “ I am further desired to state that your removal from the service was entirely within the discretion of the Master of the Mint, who distinctly denies ever having held out to you any expectation of promotion or of permanent employment; and that your statements as to the value of your services at the Mint are not corroborated by Mr. Graham. “ In conclusion, I am desired to add, with regard to your application that your services may be continued in some other department, that my Lords have no appointment at their disposal to which they can nominate you. “ I am. Sir, “ Your obedient servant, “George F. Ansell, Esq., (Signed) “William Law, “ 27, Bernard Street, Russell Square, W.C.” “Ex Whereupon your Lordship took steps, which I will explain presently ; hut I beg first to append a few extracts from my diary, written day by day at a time when, had my confidence in Mr. Graham been shaken, I could have induced him to make a written agreement. I instead placed in him so profound a confidence that I placed my future, as he knew, entirely in his keeping. “ 9