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 MINT 617 Such confidence was felt in the new money by reason of its being milled on the edge, that it was deemed almost if not quite impossible to abstract any portion of the metal from it. But FIG. 2. Machine for Milling Edges. it was soon found that this money could with facility be subjected to the "sweating" pro- cess, in which a portion was dissolved by acids from the surfaces of both gold and silver coin FIG. 3. Coining Press. without being perceptible to the eye. In 1810 the mint, which from an early age had existed in the tower of London, was removed to a new building on Tower hill, with new and im- proved machinery and engines. In 1815 it was placed under a new system of organization, which lasted till 1851, when it was again re- organized. Seigniorage, the deduction made from the bullion to cover expenses and to pay the sovereign for his prerogative, at one time formed a considerable part of the revenues of the crown; and it was not always fixed by law or uniform in amount, but was very often subject to the caprice of the monarch. In the time of Henry III. it was Qd. in the pound, and Henry VIII. had 50s. for every pound weight of gold coined. Charles II. relinquished it en- tirely, but in the reign of George III. it was again imposed upon the silver coinage, and when the market price of silver is 5*. an ounce it is equivalent to 10 per cent, apparent profit ; but as the government is obliged to keep up at its own cost the renewal of the silver coin, the wear and tear of which is considerable, the real profit is trifling. While the English mint is said to be one of the most economical and effi- cient _ manufacturing establishments in Great Britain, the loss by the abandonment of the seigniorage is d. on each sovereign. This free coinage of Charles II., says a recent Eng- lish writer, " was made partly as a concession to the goldsmiths, and partly under the impres- sion that with a free mint we should attract all the gold of Golconda and Peru to our coffers. Till then it had been the custom of the English government, as it is still the custom of every government but our own, and even of our own government in India and Australia, to levy a seigniorage of 1 per cent, or thereabouts upon the work of the mint." This seigniorage was relinquished by Charles II. in consideration of the house of commons presenting him with the customs duties. Mints and Assay Offices in the United States. Under the coinage act of 1873, which reorganized this branch of the public service, the following mints and assay offices are in operation: the mints of Philadelphia, Pa., San Francisco, Cal., Carson City, Nev., and Denver, Col. ; and the assay offices of New York, Charlotte, N. C., and Boise City, Idaho. The mint, by the act of April 2, 1792, was es- tablished for the purpose of a national coinage at Philadelphia. The machinery, as well as the metal first used, was imported. Steam power was first introduced in 1816. The first money coined by authority of the United States was copper cents in 1793. In 1794 silver dol- lars were coined, and in 1795 gold eagles. Branch mints were established in 1835 at New Orleans, La., Charlotte, N. C., and Dahlonega, Ga. ; in 1854 at San Francisco, Cal. ; and in 1870 at Carson City, Nev. Assay offices were established at New York in 1854, at Denver, Col., in 1864, and at- Boise City, Idaho, in 1872. These various establishments were branches of the mint at Philadelphia, and under this or- ganization the coinage was conducted till April 1, 1873, when the new law became operative. This law established the mint and assay offices as a bureau of the treasury department, placed the several institutions upon substantially an equal basis, and brought them all under the general supervision of the chief officer of the bureau. Under this act the officer previously called director of the mint took the title and assumed the duties of the superintendent of the mint at Philadelphia. The bureau of the mint of the United States is in charge of the director of the mint, who is under the general direction of the secretary of the treasury, and is appointed by the president, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, for five years, unless sooner removed by the president for rea-