DOLLARS IN ODD SHAPES.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 378, 6 August 1903, Page 6

DOLLARS IN ODD SHAPES.

Prorrm Thron gh. 'Which the Sliver la Fat Before It Bccohm a Coin. Under the law, a silveri dollar may be a grain and a half oTer -weight, and ihis "limit of. tolerance" applies to all of our silver coins. In other words, they are not allowed to vary more than that much from standard. In the case of gold pieces, the limit is half a grain either way, up to the eagle; a variation of as much as one grain being permissible in the *lO and S2O pieces, says the Saturday Evening. Post, "Whenever a fresh batch of dollars is turned out at the mint, samples are forwarded to the treasury at Washington, where they are put through a very curious process. Each dollar is 'first weighed on exquisitely delicate scales, to make sure that it is'heavy •enough, and yet not too heavy. Then it passes between two steel rollers again and again, until it is flattened out and transformed into a thin strip of silver—a sort of ribbon —a footandahalf i in length. Then it is put beneath a ! little machine provided with severs] small punches, by which hundreds of tiny disks are punched out of the metal strip. Now, the object of this performance is to obtain samples-of metal fronral] parts of the dollar, inasmuch as it is conceivable that one portion might be richer in -sHver"than Mother. The little disks are shuffled together, and a few .of- them, taken at random from the lot, are subjected to an assay. Thus the fineness of the material of the dol- • lar ia ascertained with absolute accuracy, -and, the -weight having "been I already determined, the value andebr. • rectnese of that coin are perfectlyj known, *• 5 • .The sample pieces havingbeen founfl j correct, it is inferred that the eatij, batch of dollars is all right. . „*. , ■ : J TS