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From Silver Bullion to Silver Dollar - 1897

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This photo, taken in 1897, shows silver as it appeared in the various stages of production from bullion to coin.

 

bulliontocoin-1897-B-v-sm.jpg

 

Top to bottom: bullion bar as purchased from a mine, shoe mold bar (the shape made it easier to divide and melt for refining), 0.900 fine silver ingot (the tapered end allowed the rolling mill to get a better grip on the ingot), silver strip rolled from the ingot, the strip after punching of blanks, a row of blanks, a row of upset and whitened (cleaned) planchets, and finally a row of 1897-O silver dollars

 

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Excellent film! The next to the last segment does not show the annual Trial of the Pyx - it shows cupellation as part of the internal assay process.

 

mtnstyne -- The bar would have been about 500 or 1,000 oz. It looks too short in height to be 1,000 oz so I suspect it was a 500 oz bar. The ingot was about 12 to 14-inches long.

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From what I can see in the original, the 1897-O dollars are nearly perfect --- not a mark or blemish.

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...Before it was struck, yep. And then fingered and counted and schelpped around after coining... :)

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...Before it was struck, yep. And then fingered and counted and schelpped around after coining... :)

 

Don't forget to mention the poker game during lunch.

 

Chris

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