Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 03.djvu/73

LEFT COIB 49 COKE gold in his bullion, less such charges as are specified by law. Subsidiary silver and standard silver dollars, under exist- ing law in the United States, are coined ANCIENT COINS 1. Coin of Cyrene 2. Coin of Naxos 3. Coin of King Egbert only on Government account. They are coined from bullion purchased by the Government, and the profits of such coinage belong to the Government. The following table gives the amount and kinds of money coined at the mints of the United States during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1920: Denomination Pieces Value Gold: Double Eagles. . . . Eagles 786,250 126,500 $15,725,000.00 1,265,000.00 Total Gold Silver : Half Dollars Quarter Dollars. . Dimes 912,750 6,567,000 28,426,400 93,735,000 $16,990,000.00 $3,283,500.00 7,106,600.00 9,373,500.00 Total Silver Minor : Five Cent Nickel. One Cent Bronze. 128,728,400 91,335,000 512,607,000 $19,763,600.00 $4,566,750,00 5,126,070.00 Total Minor 603,942,000 $9,692,820.00 Total Coinage. 733,583,150 $46,446,420.00 COIR, a material used for small cables, cordage, matting, etc., and consisting of the outer coating of the cocoanut. Cables made of this substance have the pecul- iarity of making a curve upward be- tween the vessel and the anchor, while a hempen cable curves downward. COIX, a genus of grasses, tribe Phalerese. C. lachryma has hard stony seeds, called Job's tears. They are said to be diuretic and strengthening. It is a native of the East Indies and Japan. COKE, one of the products of the dis- tillation of coal in ovens and retorts. It bears the same relation to coal that char- coal does to wood. Coke was originally produced by burning coal in piles, with a limited supply of air, much after the modern method of charcoal burning. This plan occasioned a considerable loss of coal, and led to the building of coke ovens, the coke so produced being found to be much harder and denser than that made in open heaps. This open heap or yard-coke, and that produced in retorts, when coal is distilled for gas and other volatile matters, may be used in place of oven coke with a proper blast. The most efficient method of coking is by the use of coke ovens. The Beehive oven is probably the simplest. Ovens of this pattern are either circular or rec- tangular in form and the height and diameter vary upward to 10 feet. These ovens are built of brick, with dividing walls 2 feet thick, lined with fire brick. They are charged from the top, from coal cars running on rails on the top of the ovens. The volatile matter es- capes through the charging openings and the coke is removed through a door in the front of the oven. Air is admitted through the door for about 24 hours after firing, when all openings are plas- tered up. The entire process occupies about 36 hours, at the end of which the coke is raked out and quenched with water. The heat required to carry on the combustion is usually obtained by burning the volatile gases given off by the coal. The oven most used in the United States is the Semet-Solvay. This is long and narrow with a door at each end; the roof is supported by heavy masonry. A zigzag flue of four tui'ns runs along each side of the oven, and the gases pass alternately from front to back through the flue to a return flue leading to the chimney at the back. The coal is charged through three charging holes in the roof, which are then closed. The distilled gases pass through an out- let at the end of the roof (the only hole left open), into a hydraulic main, where they mix with the gases from other ovens, and are passed through purifiers for the removal of tar and other con-