Coiner Snowden wanted to close the mint to visitors 0

[RWB]

Here is an excerpt from his September 1876 letter on the subject:

The great mass of the people passing through are undoubtedly honest, but there are many dishonest scoundrels who take advantage of such crowds to ply their nefarious vocations.

            This is also made manifest by your own action in having placards put up through the Mint, calling upon Visitors to “Beware of Pickpockets.”

            I have as much sympathy with the laudable curiosity of the public to see the operations of the mint, as anyone, as I would make as many sacrifices as anyone else to gratify them, but I really feel that this cannot be done with the present great crowds pressing upon us, without seriously embarrassing, and restricting the work, and at the same time endangering the bullion entrusted to my care.

[RWB]

PS: In FY 1895 there were 105,384 visitors to the Philadelphia Mint, plus an unspecified number of VIPs, special guests, and employee relatives.

Edited November 20, 2020 by RWB

[VKurtB]

So the lack of transparency by government officials in Philadelphia doing their public functions is not anything new? Some things never change. 

Edited November 20, 2020 by VKurtB

[RWB]

Here is a sample page dated October 17, 1848. This is from RG104 Entry 158. "VISITOR'S REGISTER." 1836-37, 1839-48, 1850-71, 1935-36. 21 vols., 7 ft. Registers show name and address of visitor and dates of visits to the Philadelphia Mint.  Arranged chronologically.

Edited November 20, 2020 by RWB

[RWB]

9 minutes ago, VKurtB said:

So the lack of transparency by government officials in Philadelphia doing their public functions is not anything new? Some things never change. 

Public officials had to keep travel records, but no one then,or now, tracked people minute-to-minute - whether public or private employee or officer.

Edited November 20, 2020 by RWB

[GoldFinger1969]

This guy Snowden needed to talk to the Mint Director at Philly in 1933 and 1934.  Could have stopped the theft of the 1928's and the obsession with the 1933's !!

[VKurtB]

47 minutes ago, GoldFinger1969 said:

This guy Snowden needed to talk to the Mint Director at Philly in 1933 and 1934.  Could have stopped the theft of the 1928's and the obsession with the 1933's !!

Nah, gold has too much “mythology” behind it.

[RonnieR131]

13 hours ago, RWB said:

Public officials had to keep travel records, but no one then,or now, tracked people minute-to-minute - whether public or private employee or officer.

Mr. Snowdens great great grandson, Edward, said they do a pretty good job now of tracking people minute-to-minute, whether public or private employee.   

[DWLange]

The throng of visitors was very great during 1876, as Philadelphia hosted the U. S. Centennial Exposition. In other years the numbers were manageable.

[RWB]

The building was not designed with a regular flow of visitors in mind. This resulted in visitors and employees sometimes using the same corridors simultaneously. This was the core of Snowden's complaints. Unlike at present, the Mints were end-to-end factories with weighing, melting, ingot casting, rolling, stamping and the other operations working most of the day. Some were off limits - such as adjusting - but it was nothing like the sterile shiny boxes shown today.