made concerning the effects of different proportions of silver and copper in the said alloy. silver coins; al SEC. 13. And be it further enacted, That the standard of all Standard for silver coins of the United States, shall be one thousand four loy, how to be regulated. hundred and eighty-five parts fine to one hundred and seventy-nine parts alloy; and accordingly that one thousand four hundred and eighty-five parts in one thousand six hundred and sixty four parts of the entire weight of each of the said coins shall consist of pure silver, and the remaining one hundred and seventy-nine parts of alloy; which alloy Alloy. shall be wholly of copper. Persons may bring gold and silver bullion, to be coined free of expense. 1800, chap. 34; may exchange deducting halt per cent. SEC. 14. And be it further enacted, That it shall be law ful for any person or persons to bring to the said mint gold and silver bullion, in order to their being coined; and that the bullion so brought shall be there assayed and coined as speedily as may be after the receipt thereof, and that free of expense to the person or persons by whom the same shall have been brought. And as soon as the said bullion shall have been coined, the person or persons by whom the same shall have been delivered, shall upon demand receive in lieu thereof coins of the same species of bullion which shall have been so delivered, weight for weight, of the pure gold or pure silver therein contained: Provided nevertheless, Act of April 24, That it shall be at the mutual option of the party or how the director parties bringing such bullion, and of the direction of the said coins therefor, mint, to make an immediate exchange of coins for standard bullion, with a deduction of one half per cent. from the weight of the pure gold, or pure silver contained in the said bullion, as an indemnification to the mint for the time which will necessarily be required for coining the said bullion, and for the advance which shall have been so made iu coins. And it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Duty of Secre Treasury to furnish the said mint from time to time when tary of Treasury ever the state of the Treasury will admit thereof, with such sums as may be necessary for effecting the said exchanges, to be replaced as speedily as may be out of the coins which shall have been made of the bullion for which the monies so furnished shall have been exchanged; and the said deduction of one half per cent. shall constitute a fund towards cent. to consti. defraying the expenses of the said mint. herein. The half per tute a fund, &c. Order of deliv ering coins persons bringing to alty on giving undue prafer SEC. 15. And be it further enacted, That the bullion which shall be brought as aforesaid to the mint to be coined, shall be coined, and the equivalent thereof in coins rendered, if bullion, and pendemanded, in the order in which the said bullion shall have been brought or delivered, giving priority according to priority of delivery only, and without preference to any person ence, &c. Coins lawful tender, or persons; and if any preference shall be given contrary to the direction aforesaid, the officer by whom such undue preference shall be given, shall in each case forfeit and pay one thousand dollars; to be recovered with costs of suit. And to the end that it may be known if such preference shall at any time be given, the assayer or officer to whom the said bullion shall be delivered to be coined, shall give to the person or persons bringing the same, a memorandum in writing under his hand, denoting the weight, fineness and value thereof, together with the day and order of its delivery into the mint. made a SEC. 16. And be it further enacted, That all the gold and silver coins which shall have been struck at, and issued from the said mint, shall be a lawful tender in all payments whatsoever, those of full weight according to the respective values herein before declared, and those of less than full weight at values proportional to their respective weights. and to be made conformable to weights, &c. SEC. 17. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the the standard duty of the respective officers of the said mint, carefully and faithfully to use their best endeavors that all the gold and silver coins which shall be struck at the said mint shall be, as nearly as may be, conformable to the several standards and weights aforesaid, and that the copper whereof the cents and half cents aforesaid may be composed, shall be of good quality. to reserve not sayed. whom, &c. 1801, ch. 21. See act of June p. 10. SEC. 18. And the better to secure a due conformity of the said gold and silver coins to their respective standards, The Treasurer Be it further enacted, That from every separate mass of less than three standard gold or silver which shall be made into coins at pieces of each coin to be as- the said mint, there shall be taken, set apart by the treasurer and reserved in his custody a certain number of pieces, When and by not less than three, and that once in every year the pieces so set apart and reserved, shall be assayed under the inspection of the Chief Justice of the United States, the Secretary 28, 1834, 8. 4, post, and Comptroller of the Treasury, the Secretary of the Department of State, and the Attorney General of the United States, (who are hereby required to attend for that purpose at the said mint, on the last Monday in July of each year,) or under the inspection of any three of them, in such manner as they or a majority of them shall direct, and in the presence of the director, assayer and chief coiner of the said mint; and if it shall be found that the gold and silver so assayed, shall not be inferior to their respective standards here-in before declared more than one part in one hundred and forty-four parts, the officer or officers of the said mint whom it may concern shall be held excusable; but if any greater inferiority shall appear, it shall be certified to officers shall be deemed disqualified to hold their respect. SEC. 19. And be it further enacted, That if any of the gold Penalty on de- or silver coins which shall be struck or coined at the said mint shall be debased or made worse as to the proportion of fine gold or fine silver therein contained, or shall be of less weight or value than the same ought to be pursuant to the directions of this act, through the default or with the connivance of any of the officers or persons who shall be employed at the said mint, for the purpose of profit or gain, or otherwise with a faudulent intent, and if any of the said officers or persons shall embezzle any of the metals which shall at any time be committed to their charge for the pur pose of being coined, or any of the coins which shall be struck or coined at the said mint, every such officer or per- son who shall commit any or either of the said offenses, shall be deemed guilty of felony, and shall suffer death. SEC. 20. And be it further enacted, That the money of ac- count of the United States shall be expressed in dollars or units, dismes or tenths, cents or hundredths, and milles or thousandths, a disme being a tenth part of a dollar, a cent p. 125. the hundredth part of a dollar, a mille the thousandth part of a dollar, and that all accounts in public offices and all pro- ceedings in the courts of the United States shall be kept and CHAP. II.-AN ACT TO AMEND AN ACT ENTITLED "AN ACT ES- Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of Act of April 2, the United States of America in Congress assembled, That p. 4. every cent shall contain two hundred and eight grains of cents copper, and every half cent shall contain one hundred and four grains of copper; and that so much of the act, entitled "An Act establishing a mint, and regulating the coins of the 8, United States," as respects the weight of cents and half ruary 21, 1857, s. 1 March 3, 1795. Vol. 1, p. 439. Act of April 2, 1792, ante, p. 1. cer of the mint the melter and refiner. His duty. CHAP. XLVII.-AN ACT SUPPLEMENTARY TO THE ACT ENTITLED “AN SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, Additional offi- and it is hereby enacted and declared, That for the better by the name of conducting of the business of the mint of the United States there shall be an additional officer appointed therein by the name of the melter and refiner, whose duty shall be to take charge of all copper, and silver or gold bullion delivered out by the Treasurer of the mint after it has been assayed, agreeably to the rules and customs of the mint already directed and established, or which may hereafter be directed and established by the accounting officers of the Treasury, and to reduce the same into bars or ingots fit for the rolling mills, and then to deliver them to the coiner or treasurer, as the director shall judge expedient; and to do and perform all other duties belonging to the office of a melter and refiner or which shall be ordered by the director of the mint. To take oath and give secur. ity. His compensa tion. President may make temporary SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the melter and refiner of the said mint shall, before he enters upon the execution of his said office, take an oath or affirmation before some judge of the United States, faithfully and diligently to perform the duties thereof. And also shall become bound to the United States of America, with one or more sureties to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Treasury, in the sum of six thousand dollars, with condition for the faithful and diligent performance of the several duties of his office. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That there shall be allowed and paid, to the said melter and refiner of the mint as a compensation for his services, the yearly salary of fifteen hundred dollars. SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the director of the appointment. mint be, and hereby is authorized, with the approbation of the President of the United States, to employ such person as he may judge suitable to discharge the duties of the melter and refiner, until a melter and refiner shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice of the Senate. Treasurer o f SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That the treasurer of the the mint to re- mint shall, and he is hereby directed, to retain two cents ion deposited, &c. per ounce from every deposit of silver bullion below the stand. tain part of bull ard of the United States, which hereafter shall be made for the purpose of refining and coining; and four cents per ounce from every deposit of gold bullion made as aforesaid, below the standard of the United States, unless the same shall be so far below the standard as to require the operation of the test, in which case, the treasurer shall retain six cents per ounce, which sum so retained shall be accounted for by the said treasurer with the treasury of the United States, as a compensation for melting and refining the same. the mint shall receive certain ion. SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That the treasurer of the Treasurer o f mint shall not be obliged to receive from any person, for the not be obliged to purpose of refining and coining, any deposit of silver bullion, deposits of bullbelow the standard of the United States, in a smaller quantity than two hundred ounces; nor a like deposit of gold bullion below the said standard, in a smaller quantity than twenty ounces. bullion of the standard of the United States. SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That from and after the officers of the mint may give a passing of this act, it shall and may be lawful for the offi- preference to cers of the mint to give a preference to silver or gold bullion, deposited for coinage, which shall be of the standard of the United States, so far as respects the coining of the same, although bullion below the standard, and not yet refined, may have been deposited for coinage, previous thereto, any law to the contrary notwithstanding; Provided, That noth- 15, ante, p. 5. ing herein shall justifiy the officers of the mint, or any one of them, in unnecessarily delaying the refining any silver or gold bullion below the standard, that may be deposited, as aforesaid. 1792, ch. 16, sec reduce the per coin. SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That the President of President may the United States be, and he is hereby authorized, when weight of copever he shall think it for the benefit of the United States, to reduce the weight of the copper coin of the United States; Provided, such reduction shall not, in the whole, exceed two pennyweights in each cent, and in a like proportion in a half cent; of which he shall give notice by proclamation,* and communicate the same to the then next Congress. SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the treasurer of the United States, from time to time, as often as he shall receive copper cents and half cents from the treasurer of the mint, to send them to the bank or branch banks of the United States, in each of the states where such bank is established; and where there is no bank established, then to the collector of the principal town in such state (in the proportion of the number of inhabitants of such state) to be by such bank or collector, paid out to the citizens of the state for cash, in sums not less than ten dollars value; and that the same be done at the risk and expense of the United States, under such regulations as shall be prescribed by the department of the treas ury. Approved, March 3, 1795. * Weight changed by proclamation of the President, January 26, 1796. Mode of dis tribution of cents and half cents. |