THE VICTORIAN MINT.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1114, 22 February 1872, Page 2

THE VICTORIAN MINT.

It is expected that thei yictbriimMißit wil} bg completed and in working torder by the end qf April, \W§ may mention that no regulations have as yet "been pre* pared. or authoj^dby the Executive relative to the purchase pf gold. Whatever price is fixed.on, however, will be * . permanent; that; is to say^ it will not fluctuate as the pride paid by banks ; dnd it will be remembered that the Chief Secretary, said, at the late Bailarat banquet, that the Government would ou the average pay a higher price than the banks. It is improbable that gold will be purchased with more 1 than two- or three per cent, of dirt in it, and even, if there is such a proportion of -dirt, a charge for gleaning will be; made. The law both & to the- Imperial-, and 'Qolbnjal |ov,e^igipf and half-sovereigns ia the same; so fau ai they must consist of eleveti parts of gold and one of alloy. It does not Matter, . however, what the alloy is. In the English Mint all the sUver is extracted from the bullion, and the alloy used is copper. In Sydney, the only other plaoe in the empire where gold coins of this value are now minted, the Mint authorities do not think it worth, while to extract the silver, which accordingly forms a great part of the alloy, and makes the Sydney sovereigns and half-sovereigns more valuable than the English. In the Victorian Mint the silver will be separated from the gold, and after the charge of extracting it is made, the silver will be handed over to the person forwarding the bullion. The Victorian sovereigns* therefore, will be alloyed, like the English, with copper. It is not proposed to coin silver, or at present anything. but ; sovereigns and half-sovereigns. Should— a demand arise for other gold coins, reprej senting 6s, I^'or any olfter sum, it Will " be oomplied 'vrtth, of bpuwe, w aflth;orifle4 by th'e'Legislature. T^iedies^to'be'asjd have been made in Ehglahdj 'and : are similar to those in which gold pieces are now coined there, and which were formerly used there, having the representation of the reigning sovereign on one aide, and of St. George and the dragon on the other. Similar dies are now used in: {he Sydney Mint- f ■-■;•■>. t ;