Q.David Bowers
It was further specified that appropriate bonds and guarantees were to be provided. In 1787 Harmon entered into a partnership with a number of other individuals involved in coinage. Ownership interest and connection was formed between the Vermont coining enterprises and Machin's Mills, a private mint, located on the shores of Orange County near Newburgh, New York.
Machin's Mills was established by an agreement dated April 18, 1787, which united the interests of Samuel Atlee, James F. Atlee, David Brooks, James Grier, and James Giles, all of New York City, with Thomas Machin of Ulster County, New York.
Capt. Thomas Machin was of English birth. Prior to the Revolution, he served as an officer with the British forces. During the war he entered the American Army as an engineer and in 1777 was employed by Congress to erect fortifications along the Hudson River and to stretch a chain across the river at West Point to prevent the passage of British ships beyond that point. Following the war, Machin located near Newburgh, New York, where he erected buildings subsequently used for the coinage venture.
It was provided that the profits from the coining enterprise should be split six ways, directly in proportion to the original stock which consisted of 300 pounds of capital, split into six shares valued at 50 pounds each. It was stated that Samuel Atlee and James F. Atlee "being possessed of certain implements for carrying on said trade, do agree to lend them to the parties to these presents for and during the continuance of their co-partnership without any fee or reward for the same."
It was further provided that "Thomas Machin, being possessed of certain mills, doth hereby agree to let the parties have free use of them for and during the continuation of their co-partnership ... " Brooks, Grier, and Giles agreed to pay an additional 10 pounds each toward readying Machin's Mills to make them suitable for coinage. The management was to be by James F. Atlee and Thomas Machin.
On June 7, 1787, another agreement was drawn up.
Ten partners participated, including the original six involved in the Machin's Mills enterprise, plus four others: Reuben Harmon, Jr., the Vermont coiner; William Coley (or Cooley), also of Vermont; Elias Jackson of Litchfield County, Connecticut; and Daniel Van Voorhis, a New York City goldsmith.
It was noted in the agreement that Reuben Harmon, following obtaining the coinage privilege from the legislature of Vermont, had taken in William Coley, Elias Jackson and Danial Van Voorhis as equal partners. Now it was intended to merge the interests of Machin's Mills with those of the Rupert, Vermont minters. It was proposed that coinage be conducted in two locations: Machin's Mills, then in the process of readying for coinage, and at Rupert, Vermont in the existing facilities there. Duties were divided among the various partners, with due provision being made for audits, settling accounts, and other business necessities.
Machin's Mills was located on Orange Lake, which at one time was also called Machin's Pond. A new outlet, which provided water to a large extent for Chambers' Creek, was tapped, and at the outlet the minting structure was erected. Originally this outlet was an overflow for times of high water, the natural one being further west at a place called Pine Point.
Charles I. Bushnell notified Sylvester S. Crosby:
The mint house at Newburgh, Ulster County, New York, was situated on the east side of Machin's Lake or Pond, about one eighth of a mile distant from the pond. The building was erected in 1784 by Thomas Machin, and was still standing in 1792, at which time the rollers, press, and cutting machine were taken out. The coins were struck by means of a large bar loaded at each end with a SOD-pound ball with ropes attached.
Two men were required on each side, making four in all to strike the pieces, besides the man to set the planchets. The metal of which the coins were struck was composed of old brass cannons and mortars, the zinc from the copper being extracted by smelting in a furnace. About 60 of the coins were struck a minute. The sloop Newburgh (Capt. Isaac Belknap) carried for a number of years the coining press as part ballast. The coins were made by James F. Atlee. Many of them bore on the obverse GEORGIUS III, and on the reverse INDE ET LIB. Others bore the figure of a plough on one side. The mint ceased operations in the year 1791.
It was related that in the year 1789, 1,000 pounds of copper coins saw production. On October 14, 1790, James F. Atlee wrote to Thomas Machin to request that the partners dissolve the enterprise on suitable terms so as to avoid a tedious and expensive lawsuit.
Numismatists today believe that Machin's Mills coined a wide variety of coppers, probably anything that they thought could be circulated at a profit. Included were numerous counterfeits of contemporary British halfpennies. These bore on the obverse the portrait of George III with GEORGIUS III REX surrounding. The reverse depicted the seated figure of Britannia. At the same time it is virtually certain that pieces bearing legends relating to Connecticut, Vermont, New York, and possibly New Jersey were made as well. In some instances the dies were mixed, probably inadvertently, resulting in illogical combinations, such as a 1787 copper coin with a Vermont inscription on the obverse and with a reverse showing Brittania, a style intended for use on a counterfeit British halfpenny.
The business of Machin's Mills was conducted with secrecy. A guard with a hideous mask was employed to frighten away the curious. In The History of Orange County, New York Eager noted that: "operations there, as they were conducted in secret, were looked upon at that time with suspicion, as illegal and wrong."
To aid in their acceptance into commercial channels the counterfeit British halfpennies were struck from dies deliberately made to produce coins which looked weak, as if they had been in circulation for a long time. Presumably the coins were toned or darkened to aid in the deception. At the time, America, newly independent from England, probably had little official concern as to whether or not American citizens counterfeited British coins.
It is possible that many 1787 Vermont coppers and most if not all of those dated 1788 were struck at Machin's Mills. Nearly all of these are lighter in weight than the earlier 1785-1786 issues, are less carefully engraved, and are often carelessly struck.
As stated earlier, the coinage of Vermont divides itself into a number of major categories. The first issues struck were those of the sun-over-mountains design and were made in 1785 and 1786. Then came the 1786 Baby Head with a young portrait facing right, a unique style. In the same year, 1786, and also in 1787, specimens with Vermont inscriptions but with the portrait of King George II facing to the left were made. In 1787 and 1788 the bulk of the coinage consisted of pieces bearing the portrait of King George III with Vermont inscriptions on both sides.