The E-Sylum:  Volume 4, Number 11, March 11, 2001, Article 4

EARLY MINT REPORTS ON THE WEB 

   Paul Hybert reports that he is working on a project to 
   place copies of early United States Mint Reports 
   (to 1892) on the internet.  He writes: 

   "The project is expected to run for a number of years. 
   After processing a few reports, it is obvious that the 
   smaller reports are the easiest to process. For that and 
   other reasons, the early reports will be processed first; 
   some post-Civil War reports contain over 400 pages! 

   I like reading, and proofreading is a great excuse to read 
   these reports carefully.  Obvious spelling/arithmetic errors 
   will be corrected, the original fonts and sizing will be lost, 
   and the tables will have a different look; but the content will 
   be on the web."   From the web site: 

   1816 -  A short report from mint director R. Patterson to 
    President Madison, who relayed it to Congress. A brick 
    building replaces wooden structures. A steam engine 
    replaces some horse power. 

   1850 -  A report from mint director R.M. Patterson to 
   President Fillmore, who relayed it to Congress. The gold 
   from California is reaching the mints in much larger 
   quantities than in previous years. 

   1855 - A report from mint director James Ross Snowden 
   to President Pierce, who relayed it to Congress.  Half of the 
   report consists of a descriptive listing of the dies of medals 
   in the collection of the U.S. Mint. This list is a corrected and 
   enlarged version of the listing contained in the Mint Report 
   from 1853. 

   1886 -  A report for fiscal year 1886 ended June 30, 1886. 
   The price of silver, in terms of gold, continues to fall. 
   Philadelphia mint runs out of room to store silver dollars. 
   The New York Assay Office introduces new equipment to 
   eliminate the release of noxious fumes that angered its 
   neighbors. The old carpets from the adjusting room in the 
   San Francisco mint are burned and produce 172 ounces of 
   gold, and 44 ounces of silver. Questionnaires were sent to the 
   mints of  most nations, and their responses form the bulk of 
   this report; a world wide snapshot of contemporary mint and 
   monetary practices. 

   The address of the web site is: 
   http://www.ece.iit.edu/~prh/coins/lib/usmnt/mr.html 

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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