EARNINGS AND EXPENSES OF THE REFINERIES OF THE COINAGE MINTS AND THE ASSAY OFFICE AT NEW YORK.

Paragraph 8, chapter 327, of Vol. I, Supplement to the Revised Statutes United States, provides as follows:

And refining and parting of bullion shall be carried on at the mints of the United States and at the assay office at New York.

And it shall be lawful to apply the moneys arising from charges collected from depositors for these operations pursuant to law so far as may be necessary to the defraying in full of the expenses thereof, including labor, materials, and wastage; but no part of the moneys otherwise appropriated for the support of the mints and the assay oflice at New York shall be used to defray the expenses of refining and parting bullion.

Under this provision of law, which was passed originally in the appropriation act approved August 15, 1876, the charges for parting and refining bullion were so fixed at the several coinage mints and assay office at New York that collections should equal as nearly as possible the expenses of the operations. The charges have been reduced from time to time with the reduction of cost of acid and other materials consumed, and as rendered practicable by extension of the scale of operations. The charges collected from depositors have since the 1st of July, 1876, been deposited in the Treasury of the United States to the credit of a fund denominated "parting and refining appropriation." Monthly advances have been made from this appropriation to the officers in charge of the various institutions, by whom monthly accounts of expenses have been rendered.

During the last fiscal year the charges collected from depositors for parting and refining bullion amounted to $162,855.53, while the total expenditures were $167,571.97, so that the expenses exceeded the receipts by 84,716.44.

This was occasioned by a ruling of the First Comptroller that the proceeds of the sale of blue vitriol and spent acid should be covered into the Treasury on account of sales of by-products as old material, these by-products having previously been taken at their market valué by dealers in acid in part payment, and credited in their accounts.

The sum deposited on this account during the last three quarters of the fiscal year was $17,178.81. Deducting this credit from the expendi tures for last year leaves for net expenditures $150,393.16. The net profit of parting and refining amounted accordingly to $12,462.37.

The amount to the credit of the parting and refining fund in the Treasury of the United States at the close of the fiscal year 1885-'86, being the excess of the charges deposited to the credit of the fund over and above the amount drawn from the same for expenditures during the period of ten years commencing July 1, 1876, was $184,436.57. The charges collected and the expenditures at each institution during the fiscal year 1885-'86 are exhibited in the following table:

CHARGES COLLECTED FOR PARTING AND REFINING BULLION, AND EXPENDITURES, DURING FISCAL YEAR 1886.

* Value of blue vitriol and spent acid sold during the year, previously credited on bills for acid, $17,178.81.

EARNINGS AND EXPENDITURES.

In the Appendix will be found the annual statement for the fiscal year showing the earnings from all sources at the mints and assay offices, as well as the expenditures and losses of all kinds.

The total amount earned was $6,032,680.39, of which $5,763,851 consisted of seignorage on silver dollars coined during the year, and $62.38 on subsidiary silver. The total expenses and losses of all kinds amounted to $1,429,591.82.

DEPOSITS AND PURCHASES OF GOLD AND SILVER AT THE MINTS AND ASSAY OFFICES.

The total value of the gold deposited at the mints and assay offices during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1886, amounted to $49,606,534.65, of which amount $4,696,785.42 consisted of bars of the several institutions re-deposited, leaving the net value of the gold deposited $44,909,749.23 against $52,894,075.09 in the preceding fiscal year, a falling off of $7.984,325.86. Of the deposits of gold at the mints and assay offices for the fiscal year 1885-'86 the sum of $32,456,493.64 was classified as of domestic production, and $4,317,008.27 as foreign bullion; $393,545.28 consisted of United States gold coins remelted, and $5,673,565.04 of foreign coins. The remainder, $2,069,077, consisted of jewelers' bars, old plate and jewelry, and miscellaneous old material.

The total value of the silver, computed at its coining rate in standard silver dollars, which is the accounting rate at the mints, deposited, purchased and parted at the mints and assay offices of the United States during the last fiscal year amounted to $37,917,026.36 (32,584,944.61 standard ounces). Of this amount the sum of $2,422,843.12 (2,082,130.83 standard ounces) consisted of fine and unparted bars of the several institutions re-deposited, leaving the net value of the silver deposited, purchased and parted during the year $35,494,183.24 (30,502,813.78 standard ounces) against $36,789,774.92 (31,616,212.91 standard ounces) in the preceding fiscal year: being a falling off in the net deposits of silver of 1,113,399.13 standard ounces of the value of $1,295,591.68. Of the net value of the silver deposited for bars, parted from gold and purchased for coinage during the year, namely, $35,494,183.24, the sum of $32,454,644.56 was classified as of domestic production, $1,480,425.43 of foreign bullion, $279,292.39 United States coins melted, $812,664.50 of foreign coins, and the remainder, $467,156.36, of old jewelry, plate, &c. A very marked increase is to be noticed in the deposits of gold bullion at the Mint at San Francisco. The total value of the gold, exclusive of re-deposits, deposited at this institution during the fiscal year 1886 amounted to $27,319,837.25, against $20,774,252.86 in the preceding year, an increase of six and a half millions. This is the first year since 1882 that there has not been a decline in the deposits of gold at this institution, the marked decline since 1881 exhibited on page 4 of my annual report for the fiscal year 1884-'85, having amounted in the four years ended June 30, 1885, to $8,072,438.07. This is now very nearly offset by the large increase during the last fiscal year.

The most marked falling off in gold deposits during the year was at the Assay Office at New York, where the value of the gold deposited, exclusive of re-deposits, amounted to only $13,791,632.29, against $26,419,503.11 in the preceding year, being a falling off of about one

half.

In the Appendix will be found a statement showing the value of the foreign gold coin, by denomination of pieces, deposited at the Assay

Office at New York in each of the eleven fiscal years 1875–1885 inclusive: aiso, statements showing the value of the foreign gold and silver coins deposited at the Mint at San Francisco in each fiscal year 1879-1886, with the countries of their coinage.

COINAGE.

The coinage of gold, performed exclusively at the mints at Philadel phia and San Francisco, amounted during the past fiscal year to 5,050,S14 pieces, of the value of $34,077,380, against 1,748,158 pieces, valued at $24,861,123.50, in the preceding year. Of the gold coinage of the year, the sum of $27,080,000 was executed at the Mint at San Francisco; the rest at Philadelphia.

Of the gold coinage $4,871,680 was in double-eagles; $10,428,470 in eagles; $18,758,145 in half-eagles; $303 in three-dollar pieces; $10,215 in quarter-eagles, and $8,567 in dollars.

The silver coinage during the year amounted to 31,627,157 pieces of the value of $30,022,347.95, against 31,699,096 pieces, of the value of $28,848,959.65, in the preceding fiscal year.

Of this amount $29,838,905 consisted of silver dollars, $3,052.50 of half-dollars, $3,626.25 of quarter-dollars, and $176,764.20 of dimes. The silver coinage was executed principally at the mints at Philadelphia and New Orleans. The Mint at Carson was closed during the entire year, although the coinage of 28,000 silver dollars is credited to that institution. This coinage was really executed prior to June 30, 1885, but not delivered by the coiner to the superintendent until after July 1, 1885, which brought it into this year's statement of coinage.

In addition to the gold and silver coinage, 1,706,651 minor coins were struck, of the value of $17,377.65. 1,696,613 pieces, of the value of $16,966.13, consisted of 1-cent bronze coins; 4,519 pieces, of the face value of $135.57, of 3-cent nickel pieces, and 5,519 pieces, of the face value of $275.95, of 5-cent nickel pieces. The minor coinage was executed at the Mint at Philadelphia.

The coinage executed was as follows:

MANUFACTURE OF GOLD AND SILVER BARS.

In addition to the coinage executed by the mints, the value of the gold and silver bars manufactured during the fiscal year 1886 amounted

toGold...

Silver

Total......

$19,031,809 21 S, 236, 223 77

27, 268, 032 98

The production of bars in the previous fiscal year amounted to

Gold

Silver

Total.....

$32, 027, 463 02 9,549, 313 37

41,576, 776 39

The production of gold and silver bars was less by $14,308,743.41 than in the preceding year.

EXCHANGE OF GOLD BARS FOR GOLD COIN.

Under the provisions of the act of May 26, 1882, the mints of the United States and the Assay Office at New York were authorized to exchange gold bars for deposits of gold coin. The value of the bars so exchanged during the year amounted to $31,598,748.81, of which over $31,000,000 was exchanged at the Assay Office at New York.

The following table exhibits the value each month of the fiscal year of the fine gold bars given in exchange for gold coin at the Mint at Philadelphia and the Assay Office at New York. The total value of the bars thus exchanged ($31,598,748.81) was largely in excess of the amount exchanged during the previous year, which was only $2,065,021.78. The large increase was occasioned by the demand for gold bars for export.

STATEMENT BY MONTHS OF FINE GOLD BARS EXCHANGED for Gold Coin at THE MINT AT PHILADELPHIA AND ASSAY OFFICE AT NEW York, from JULY 1, 1885, TO JUNE 30, 1886.

The number of medals manufactured at the Mint at Philadelphia during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1886, was 765, of which 54 were gold, 404 silver, and 307 bronze.

The number of medals sold during the year was 876, value $4,652.19; and of proof sets 3,358, value $4,515.92. A detailed statement of the same will be found in the Appendix.

The number of coinage and medal dies manufactured was 528, of which 183 consisted of gold coinage dies, 280 of silver; 28 of minor coinage, 26 of proof-coinage, and the others of medal dies.

The number of coinage dies manufactured for each of the coinage mints is exhibited in a table in the Appendix. Heretofore the cost of engraving these dies has been paid from the appropriation for the support of the Mint at Philadelphia, but under instructions as intimated in my previous report, has, since the commencement of the present fiscal year, been paid from the appropriation for the support of the mint to which the dies are furnished.

REFINING BY ACIDS.

The number of ounces of bullion sent to the acid refineries of the coinage mints and the Assay Office at New York to be refined during the year was 7,246,795, from which was separated gold and silver bullion as follows:

This sum was against $37,050,049 in the previous year. In the value of the bullion required to be refined at the mints and assay offices during the year, there was a falling off of $9,264,043.

As pointed out in my special report on the Production of the Precious Metals for the calendar year 1885, it is apparent that a larger portion of the refined production of the mines of this country found its way to private refineries than heretofore. While most of the bullion, especially gold, was eventually deposited at the mints and assay offices of the United States, it was more in the nature of refined bullion than heretofore.

The following table exhibits the weight of the bullion sent to the refineries of each of the mints and of the Assay Office at New York during the year, and the weight and value of the precious metals extracted: REFINING (BY ACIDS), FISCAL YEAR 1886.

PURCHASE OF SILVER FOR THE COINAGE OF THE STANDARD SILVER

DOLLAR.

The act passed February 28, 1878, provided

That there shall be coined at the several mints of the United States silver dollars of the weight of 4124 grains Troy of standard silver. And the Secretary of

the Treasury is authorized and directed to purchase from time to time silver bullion, at the market price thereof, not less than $2,000,000 worth per month, nor more than $4,000,000 worth per month, and cause the same to be coined monthly, as fast as so purchased, into such dollars.

Prior to the commencement of the present fiscal year the Director of the Mint was charged not only with the supervision of the details of the purchases of silver bullion, but also with the reception of weekly bids by telegraph for the sales of silver bullion to the government, to be considered by himself and the other members of the Commission constituted March 9, 1878, by order of the Secretary of the Treasury, for the purpose of considering and recommending to the Secretary purchases of silver bullion.