Fineness of coinage ingots and other refined metal-Continued. On June 30, 1917, there were officers and employees in the mint as follows: Other operative details will be found elsewhere in this document in tabulated statements. MINT OF THE UNITED STATES, AT DENVER, COLO. The Denver Mint was operated to full capacity on silver and minor coin during the fiscal year 1917, working double time for about five months. During the fiscal year 1917 this mint received 3,990 deposits of gold and silver from private parties and 1,269 redeposits from other offices containing 1,543,013.551 fine ounces of gold of the value of $31,896,913.81 and 1,719,316.02 fine ounces of silver having subsidiary coinage value of $2,376,797.67. The coin shipments were very heavy and made to most of the important cities from Boston to San Francisco. ASSAY DEPARTMENT. During the fiscal year 1917 the operations of the assay department were as follows: The deposits represent 4,000 melts of gold and silver; redeposits, 1,290 melts; refinery samples, 182 melts of fine gold, 291 melts of fine silver, 55 melts of gold anodes, 475 melts of silver anodes, and 513 experimental anode melts; also 1,109 melts of silver ingots, the remainder being miscellaneous samples for special assays. The average cupel absorption for the year was gold, 0.64 gold weight; silver, 3.83 gold weight. 1 Included in above refinery total but unsold June 30, 1917. Gold bars paid to depositors during fiscal year 1917: $36,066.02= 1,744.694 fine ounces, fine bars, in exchange; $146.96-7.109 fine ounces, unparted gold bars. On June 30 officers and employees numbered 90, divided by departments as follows: General, 41; assay, 7; coining, 18; melting and refining, 24. Other operative details will be found elsewhere in this document in tabulated statements. UNITED STATES ASSAY OFFICE AT NEW YORK, N. Y. The unusual conditions which have prevailed at the United States assay office at New York since the war (1914) have continued to such a great extent that during the fiscal year 1917 just ended the office has transacted a business that is not only unprecedented in the history of the office, but which nearly doubled the amount of business for the year 1916, which in itself was more than five times greater than for any year previous to 1913. The total value of the deposits that have passed through the office during the year was $565,938,776.37. This is an increase of $242,566,380.87 over the total deposits for the previous year. The total number of deposits received, running in value from $100 to $50,000,000 per deposit, was 19,899, an increase of 2,529 over the previous year. Notwithstanding the fact that exportation of gold bars issued in exchange for gold coin showed a decrease of $4,044,497.08, the total amount of gold bars thus exchanged was $2,147,402.50 more than the total for the preceding year; the increase over last year of bars paid in exchange for gold coin for domestic use being $6,191,899.58. The following comparative figures illustrate the enormous growth in the deposits made at this office: The calendar year 1914 represents a normal year under ante bellum conditions. During that year there was received gold deposits to the value of $57,329,310.63, whereas the gold deposits for the present year were $562,921,648.50, an increase of almost 1,000 per cent. The gold deposits for the month of March, 1917, alone, amounted to $77,355,272.83, which exceeded the total deposits for the year 1914 by over $20,000,000. CASHIER'S OFFICE. Gold bars were issued to depositors for domestic use in payment for bullion for $48,954,104.48, which was $45,679,224.86 increase over previous year. Gold bars were exchanged for gold coin for domestic use for $40,274,779.82 an increase of $6,191,899.58 over last year. Gold bars were exchanged for gold coin for export for $3,170,386.54. The charges collected on gold bars exchanged for gold coin amounted to $22,723.21, an increase of $1,186.51 over last year. The total revenues of the Government from the office for the year have amounted to $546,745.37. which shows an increase of $136,819.33 over the previous year. The total appropriations available for the support of this institution for the year amounted to $299,490.63, so that the revenues exceeded the expenses by $247,254.74, plus any unexpended balances of the amounts appropriated. At the present market prices the value of by-products on hand June 30 exceeds $300,000. ASSAY DEPARTMENT. Again the increase in the year's operations has been so great that the department has been under constant strain to perform accurately and expeditiously the necessary work. The number of assays made has been over 28 per cent more than last year and over 54 per cent greater than the year before. There were 196,729 assays made upon 63,509 samples, divided as follows: The deposits and redeposits represent 19,899 melts of gold and silver, while the refinery samples cover 395 melts of fine gold, 740 melts fine silver, 415 melts gold anodes and 1,085 melts silver anodes and retreats, the other assays for the refinery being miscellaneous samples, settlement melts, and sweeps. The special assays were, as usual, largely upon manufacturers' samples and articles of jewelry and plate. The average cost for the year, including all classes, was $0.1739 per assay. The department made all cupels used, numbering about 160,000, and also the silver disks used in parting. OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES. The number of officers and employees at this office at the close of the fiscal year was as follows |