Q.David Bowers
The steam engine referred to in the Patterson correspondence was supplied to the Mint by Oliver Evans, the first builder of this type of device in America. As steam-powered coining presses were not introduced in the Mint until 1836, Evans' engine was probably used to replace horses in the operation of rollers during the preparation of metal strips from which planchets were cut.
On January 1, 1818, Patterson wrote to President James Monroe, Madison's successor, and informed him that as of May 1817 coinage was back to normal:
About the beginning of May, the repairs of the Mint having. been nearly completed, and a considerable quantity of silver bullion in our vaults, the coinage was recommenced; and since that time, as will appear from the statement of the treasurer, herewith transmitted, there have been struck, in silver coins, 1,215,567 pieces ...
The fire in 1816 prevented the coinage of gold and silver that year. On February 16, 1817, Patterson wrote to Richard Peters, judge of the United States District Court, and several others who would have engaged in the annual assay, a ceremony in which prominent citizens inspect samples from the preceding year's coinage to determine that the statutory requirements for weight and fineness have been met:
As there has been no coinage of the precious metals of the Mint, since the last annual assay, it may, perhaps, be unnecessary for the commissioners to attend on Monday next, the time appointed by law for that purpose.
Beginning in 1817 Proof coins, struck on specially-prepared planchets using highly polished dies, were struck on special occasions. Called specimens or master coins at the time (the term Proof was not used in Mint correspondence until 1854 and did not reach print until 1858), these pieces had mirror-like fields on the obverse and reverse. From 1817 until they were first sold to the public in 1858, Proof coins were made only at irregular intervals throughout the year as gifts for visiting foreign dignitaries, congressmen, persons of influence, and occasionally for collectors who had connections at the Mint. From what can be learned, Proofs were first made on a steady basis beginning about 1839 or 1840. It was the practice at the time to polish a pair of dies, use specially prepared planchets to strike Proof coins, and once a few specimens had been struck off, to then use the dies to coin pieces for regular circulation so as to avoid waste. As Proof dies were prepared at several intervals during certain years, multiple die varieties of Proof specimens exist for certain issues. It was not customary to keep accounting records of Proof coins.
Mint production figures do not list, for example, half cents of 1840-1848 which were made only in Proof; no business strikes of these years were made for circulation. For some reason only a few Proof coins were made of certain denominations of the years 1849-1851 and 1853.
An invoice for an 1844 Proof set, complete from the half cent to the $10 gold, shows a total face value of $19.41 1/2, a case at $3.08 1/2, or a total price of $22.50. Apparently no charge was made at the time for producing Proofs, the only fee being the case plus the face value of the coins. In 1858 James Ross Snowden offered Proofs to collectors for the first time. The price of a set of minor and silver coins was established at $3, and a set of gold Proofs from the $1 to the $20 was priced at $43. This schedule remained in effect at least through the next decade.
Mint correspondence contains numerous references to scattered Proof issues prior to 1858. For example, in 1854 the Treasury Department sent a Proof set, complete from the half cent to the $20, to Bremen, Germany, in appreciation for 43 different copper, gold, and silver coins received as a gift from that city. In the same year 15 Proof specimens of the new $3 denomination were struck before the design was officially adopted. M. Alexandre Vattemare, a Frenchman who was eager to promote relations between the United States and his country, visited America in 1839-1841 and again in 1847-1850. Specimens of Proof coins were furnished to him, some of which were subsequently given to the Bibliotheque N ationale in Paris.
After 1858, when Proofs were first sold to collectors, production remained continuous until the early 20th century. Proof coinage of gold and silver issues ceased in 1915, and Proofs of the cent and nickel ended the following year. After a hiatus, Proof sets were again sold to collectors during the 1936-1942 period, again 1950-1964, and continuously from 1968 onward. In 1858 just 80 silver and minor Proof sets were sold to collectors. Over a century later, in the 1970s, Proof set mintages averaged over 3 million sets per year.
Following suspension of silver dollar coinage in 1804, the half dollar became the largest silver denomination produced for circulation. During the next 25 years large quantities of these were struck. Many went into storage and were used in bank-to-bank transfers. During the same period gold coins were rarely seen. During the 1820s and 1830s money in circulation consisted of a wide variety of privately-issued bank notes, tokens, and scrip, together with coins of foreign nations (which were legal tender until 1857). United States Mint issues were scarce.
On January 29, 1824, William Kneass, born in Lan-caster, Pennsylvania, in 1781, was appointed engraver of the Mint, following Scot. Prior to his appointment he engaged in the engraving trade in Philadelphia. Kneass' engravings for books were widely admired. Kneass served until his death on August 27, 1840.
He became ill during the last several years of his tenure, with the result that most of the extensive work done on pattern coins in 1836-1839 was accomplished by Christian Gobrecht, his assistant. Kneass probably de-signed the modified quarter eagle and half eagle motifs instituted in 1834. An 1838 pattern half dollar bearing the portrait of Liberty with a draped bust and a hair ribbon inscribed LIBERTY has traditionally been attributed to Kneass, but as the engraver suffered a stroke on August 28, 1835, this attribution is uncertain. Possibly the hub was produced earlier by Kneass.
In 1824, the same year that Kneass became the engraver of the Mint, President James Monroe appointed Samuel Moore, M.D. as fifth director of the Mint, following Robert Patterson. Moore served until July 1835, after which he was succeeded by Robert Maskell Patterson who continued in office until July 1851.
On January 1, 1825, Samuel Moore posted rules for the conduct of the Mint and its employees:
The operations of the Mint throughout the yard commence at 5:00 in the morning, under the superintendence of an officer, and continue until 4:00 in the afternoon except on Saturdays, when the business of the day will close at 2:00, unless on special occasions it may be otherwise directed by an officer. Extra work will be paid for in proportion, on a statement being made of it through the proper officer, at the end of each month. A strict account is to be kept by one of the officers, as they may agree, of the absences from duty; if the absence be voluntary, the full wages for the time will be deducted, if it arrives from a sickness the deduction will be made at the discretion of the proper officer
The allowance under the name of drink money is hereafter to be discontinued, and in place of it $3 extra wages per month will be allowed for the three summer months to those workmen who continue in the Mint throughout that season. No workman can be permitted to bring spirituous liquors into the Mint. Any workman who shall be found intoxicated within the Mint must be reported to the Director, in order that he may be discharged. No profane or indecent language can be tolerated in the Mint. Smoking within the Mint is inadmissible. The practice is of dangerous tendencies; experience proves that this indulgence in public institutions ends at last in disaster.