The 1879 New Orleans silver ingot article reminded me of a coin that I purchased many years ago, an 1879-0 Morgan Dollar. If you recall, you informed Mr. Bowers of it when he was completing his work on U.S. silver dollars, and I never got around to researching it. It bears the inscription: "The first dollar adjusted in the New Orleans Mint by Mrs. C. Cahn"

Now that I am retired, I plan to find out if it is authentic. Perhaps someone can shed some light on it.

Wayne, Dollar planchets would have been weighed and filed on the edge if too heavy. Striking obliterated all traces of filing. Silver coins were handled by the Adjusters in their dual role as inspectors and counters of finished coins. The woman whose name is on the coins was Clementine Cahn, Foreman of the Adjusters and was originally from Georgia. She might have had it engraved as the first piece to have been picked from the first delivery that was counted by her Adjusting staff. The dollar coin represented almost half of Mrs Cahn's daily pay ($2.50/day).

A companion piece might exist, similarly engraved but with the name "Emma Kaye." Mrs Kaye was the Counter, i.e.: the person responsible for the counting of coins. Adjusters reported to Cahn, but worked under Kaye's supervision when inspecting and counting coins.