treasurers of mints to appoint their own clerks subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury.

(Section 3 provides that the officers and clerks referred to shall take an oath or affirmation, and give bond, and the act of April 2, 1844 (chap. 7, 5 Stat. L., 652), prescribes that such oath or affirmation may be taken before any judge of the Supreme Court, or of any court of record in the State.)

tion of branches

Director of the

delphia.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the general General direcdirection of the business of the said branches of the Mint to be under the of the United States shall be under the control and regu- Mint at Philalation of the Director of the Mint at Philadelphia, subject to the approbation of the Secretary of the Treasury; and for that purpose, it shall be the duty of the said Director to prescribe such regulations, and require such returns, periodically, and occasionally, as shall appear to him to be necessary for the purpose of carrying into effect the intention of this act in establishing the said branches; also, for the purpose of discriminating the coin which shall be stamped at each branch, and at the Mint itself; also, for the purpose of preserving uniformity of weight, form, and fineness in the coins stamped at each place; and for that purpose, to require the transmission and delivery to him, at the Mint, from time to time, such parcels of the coinage of each branch as he shall think proper to be subjected to such assays and tests as he shall direct.

SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That all the laws, and parts of laws, made for the regulation of the Mint of the United States, and for the government of the officers and persons employed therein, and for the punishment of all offences connected with the Mint or coinage of the United States, shall be, and the same are hereby, declared to be in full force, in relation to each of the branches of the Mint by this act established, so far as the same shall be applicable thereto.

Approved, March 3, 1835.

(The act of February 13, 1837 (chap. 14, 5 Stat. L., 147), provides for the officers and their salaries at the branch mints at New Orleans, Charlotte, and Dahlohnega, and the act of February 27, 1843 (5 Stat., 602), changes the duties of the officers at Charlotte and Dahlohnega.)

NOTE. The branch mint at New Orleans having been closed on account of the rebellion, its reopening was provided for by the act

Laws for reg. extended to the

ulation of Mint

branches.

of June 20, 1874 (18 Stat. L., 97), and the assaying and stamping of bullion thereat was authorized by the acts of August 15, 1876 (19 Stat. L., 158), and March 3, 1877 (19 Stat. L., 307).

Other branch mints were established as follows: In California, July 3, 1852 (10 Stat L., 11); at San Francisco, February 12. 1870 (17 Stat. L., 435, sec. 3495, R. S.); at Denver, April 21, 1862 (12 Stat. L., 382, sec. 3495, R. S.).

The act of February 20, 1895 (28 Stat. L., 673), provided for coinage at Denver, but the act of March 2, 1895 (28 Stat. L., 784) and subsequent appropriation acts up to 1904 provided that until the office should become a coinage mint in accordance with law, it should continue as an assay office.

At Carson City, Nev., March 3, 1863 (12 Stat L., 770, sec. 3495, R. S.).

The establishment of a mint at Manila is authorized by the act of July 1, 1902 (32 Stat. L., 710).

ACT OF JANUARY 18, 1837.

5 Stat. L., 136. CHAP. III.—An act supplementary to the act entitled "An act establishing a Mint, and regulating the coins of the United States."

1792, ch. 16.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatires of the United States of America in Congress asAct of Apr. 2, sembled, That the officers of the Mint of the United States Act of Mar. 3, shall be a Director, a treasurer, an assayer, a melter and Act of Feb. 27, refiner, a chief coiner and an engraver, to be appointed Act of Apr. 2, by the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

1835, ch. 37.

1843, ch. 46.

1844, ch. 7. Officers.

Duties of

Director.

Treasurer.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the respective duties of the officers of the Mint shall be as follows:

First. The Director shall have the control and management of the Mint, the superintendence of the officers and persons employed therein, and the general regulation and supervision of the business of the several branches. And in the month of January of every year he shall make report to the President of the United States of the operations of the Mint and its branches for the year preceding. And also to the Secretary of the Treasury, from time to time, as said Secretary shall require, setting forth all the operations of the Mint subsequent to the last report made upon the subject.

Second. The treasurer shall receive, and safely keep all moneys which shall be for the use and support of the Mint; shall keep all the current accounts of the Mint, and pay all moneys due by the Mint, on warrants from the Director. He shall receive all bullion brought to the

Mint for coinage; shall be the keeper of all bullion and coin in the Mint, except while the same is legally placed in the hands of other officers, and shall, on warrants from the Director, deliver all coins struck at the Mint to the persons to whom they shall be legally payable. And he shall keep regular and faithful accounts of all the transactions of the Mint, in bullion and coins, both with the officers of the Mint and the depositors; and shall present, quarter-yearly, to the Treasury Department of the United States, according to such forms as shall be prescribed by that Department, an account of the receipts and disbursements of the Mint, for the purpose of being adjusted and settled.

Third. The assayer shall carefully assay all metals used Assayer. in coinage, whenever such assays are required in the operations of the Mint; and he shall also make assays of coins whenever instructed to do so by the Director.

finer.

Fourth. The melter and refiner shall execute all the Melter and reoperations which are necessary in order to form ingots of standard silver or gold, suitable for the chief coiner, from the metals legally delivered to him for that purpose.

Fifth. The chief coiner shall execute all the operations Chief coiner. which are necessary in order to form coins, conformable

in all respects to the law, from the standard silver and

gold ingots, and the copper planchets, legally delivered to

him for this purpose.

Sixth. The engraver shall prepare and engrave, with Engraver. the legal devices and inscriptions, all the dies used in the coinage of the Mint and its branches.

of assistant and

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the Director Appointment shall appoint, with the approbation of the President, clerks. assistants to the assayer, melter and refiner, chief coiner, and engraver, and clerks for the Director and treasurer, whenever, on representation made by the Director to the President, it shall be the opinion of the President that such assistants or clerks are necessary. And it shall be Their duties. the duty of the assistants to aid their principals in the execution of their respective offices, and of the clerks to perform such duties as shall be prescribed for them by the Director.

case of tempo

how filled.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That whenever any Vacancies In officer of the Mint shall be temporarily absent, on account rary absence, of sickness, or any other sufficient cause, it shall be lawful for the Director, with the assent of said officer, to appoint some person attached to the Mint, to act in the

place of such officer during his absence, and that the Employment Director shall employ such workmen and servants in the servants. Mint as he shall from time [to time] find necessary.

of workmen and

Standard for gold and silver

coins.

Alloys.

Weight of silver coins.

(Section 5 provides that oath shall be taken by officers, assistants, and clerks.

(Section 6 requires that certain officers shall and their assistants and clerks may be required to give bond.

(Section 7 fixes salaries and wages of officers, clerks, assistants, workmen, and servants.)

SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That the standard for both gold and silver coins of the United States shall hereafter be such, that of one thousand parts by weight, nine hundred shall be of pure metal, and one hundred of alloy; and the alloy of the silver coins shall be of copper; and the alloy of the gold coins shall be of copper and silver, provided that the silver do not exceed one-half of the whole alloy.

SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That of the silver coins, the dollar shall be of the weight of four hundred and twelve and one-half grains; the half dollar of the weight of two hundred and six and one-fourth grains; the quarter dollar of the weight of one hundred and three and one-eighth grains; the dime, or tenth part of a dollar, of the weight of forty-one and a quarter grains; and the half dime or twentieth part of a dollar, of the weight of Dollars, etc., twenty grains, and five-eighths of a grain. And that tenders, etc. dollars, half dollars, and quarter dollars, dimes, and half dimes, shall be legal tenders of payment, according to their nominal value, for any sums whatever.

shall be legal

Weight of gold coins.

shall be a legal

SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That of the gold Eagles, etc., coins, the weight of the eagle shall be two hundred and tender, etc. fifty-eight grains; that of the half eagle one hundred and twenty-nine grains; and that of the quarter eagle sixtyfour and one-half grains. And that for all sums whatever, the eagle shall be a legal tender of payment for ten dollars; the half eagle for five dollars; and the quarter eagle for two and a half dollars.

Silver coins heretofore is

coins issued

1834, shall con

SEC. 11. And be it further enacted, That the silver coins sued, and gold heretofore issued at the Mint of the United States, and the since July 31, gold coins issued since the thirty-first day of July, one tinue to be le-thousand eight hundred and thirty-four, shall continue to be legal tenders of payment for their nominal values, on the same terms as if they were of the coinage provided for by this act.

gal tenders.

Weight of

copper coins.

SEC. 12. And be it further enacted, That of the copper coins, the weight of the cent shall be one hundred and sixty-eight grains, and the weight of the half-cent eightyfour grains. And the cent shall be considered of the Proportional value of one hundredth part of a dollar, and the half-cent lar. of the value of one two-hundredth part of a dollar.

value of a dol

legends

SEC. 13. And be it further enacted, That upon the coins, of struck at the Mint there shall be the following devices and coins. legends: upon one side of each of said coins there shall be an impression emblematic of liberty, with an inscription of the word Liberty, and the year of the coinage; and upon the reverse of each of the gold and silver coins, there shall be the figure or representation of an eagle, with the inscription United States of America, and a designation of the value of the coin; but on the reverse of the dime and half dime, cent and half cent, the figure of the eagle shall be omitted.

5 136.

(Sections 14 to 19 provide that gold and silver bullion, Stat. L., brought to the mint shall be received and coined for the benefit of the depositor, and that the only subjects of charge to him shall be for refining, toughening, and separating, and for metal used for alloy, the rate of charge being fixed from time to time so as not to exceed the actual expense incurred. For the net amount of the deposit a certificate shall be given, payable in coins of the same metal as the deposit.)

bullion by

melter and re

SEC. 20. And be it further enacted, That parcels of Transfers of bullion shall be, from time to time, transferred by the treasurer to treasurer to the melter and refiner; that a careful record finer. of these transfers, noting the weight and character of the bullion, shall be kept; and that the bullion thus placed in the hands of the melter and refiner shall be subjected to the several processes which may be necessary to form it into ingots of the legal standard, and of a quality suitable for coinage. SEC. 21. And be it further enacted, That the ingots Ingots to be thus prepared shall be assayed by the assayer, and if they prove to be within the limits allowed for deviation from the standard, they shall be transferred by the melter and refiner to the treasurer, accompanied by the assayer's certificate of their fineness; and that a careful record of the transfer shall be kept by the treasurer.

assayed, etc.

from legal lowed in ingots

SEC. 22. And be it further enacted, That no ingots of, Deviation gold shall be used for coinage of which the quality differs standard almore than two thousandths from the legal standard; and of gold and sil