medallion patterns and for that purpose he went out 

 to Cardington with me. As the medallions were 

 flat on the back and the edge turned with ample 

 draft, the moulding was only done in half flasks, the 

 pattern being fastened on a board. For facing we 

 used the foundry dust swept from the overhead collar 

 beams. A thin coating of this perfectly dry through 

 a bolting cloth sieve was sifted onto the pattern, then 

 the moist sand through a wire sieve and as layer after 

 layer was added without any jarring, the sand with a 

 flat block was carefully pressed. When the flask was 

 filled it was turned over and the pattern carefully 

 drawn, then the gates were cut for the metal and the 

 air vent and the other half flask adjusted. The inten- 

 tion was to have used a crucible taking the metal 

 from the cupola and reheating to purify, but Uncle 

 Franklin proposed that the first trial should be made 

 chiefly from the cupola and it turned out so well that 

 the crucible was not resorted to, and only the two 

 castings were made and as perfect as possible from the 

 pattern. Though the die sinking lathe was a great 

 help, if I recollect right the Government was opposed 

 to its use. [26] 



About this time Mr. Peale was advanced from 

 assistant assayer to that of assayer, melter and refiner 

 (this was in 1836, and to chief coiner in 1839). 

 Although engaged in the radical changes in that 

 department his active mind could not be concentrated 

 on its details alone, fortunately for the public service. 

 He saw room for improvement in handling the metal 

 ingots after leaving his department, and he suggested 

 and planned improvements that have proved to be of 

 great value. 



Although Mr. Eckfeldt was pleased with what had 

 been accomplished he did not at first look favorably 

 on the improvements Mr. Peale suggested in his 

 special department of chief coiner. He once said to 

 me, "If Mr. Peale had full swing he would turn 

 everything upside down; why he even talks of throwing 

 away our costly coining presses that have done and 

 are doing such good service, dispensing with man- 

 power, and yet he won't hear of applying steam power 

 to our old screw presses, which has been successfully 

 done in the Royal Mint, London. He wants some- 

 thing better and no doubt he would have it if we were 

 starting anew." 



The giving up of almost life-long pets that had been 

 Mr. Eckfeldt's constant care would naturally go hard, 

 and still harder coming from another department, 

 but as improvements gradually crept in and proved 



their efficiency Mr. Eckfeldt gave full credit where it 

 belonged, and I remember him becoming quite 

 enthusiastic over the labor saving in duplicating 

 working dies. 



In the fall of 1832 I visited the Royal Mint, but I 

 was hurried through as sightseers generally are. At 

 that time there was in the coining room a row of 

 screw coining presses similar to those in our home 

 mint, save that they were driven by steam power, 

 though the driving power was not visible in the room. 

 The top of the screw still carried its heavily weighted 

 balanced lever, from the momentum of which the 

 coin impression was made; the weighted lever end 

 striking a wooden spring block was thrown back by 

 the recoil opening the dies for thrusting out the piece 

 coined and inserting a fresh planchet. The power was 

 given by a shaft through the ceiling from the power- 

 room above, which by a clutch box, took hold of the 

 top of the screw; this clutch was automatically 

 engaged and disengaged. As Mr. Peak's mission to 

 England was nearly a year later than my visit he 

 must have been acquainted with the entire operation, 

 though I do not recollect among the numerous draw- 

 ings he made of the machinery of the Royal Mint, 

 any detail drawings of the mode of applying and 

 disengaging the power; and from what I recollect of 

 the conversations with him on the subject the impres- 

 sion is left that it was anything but satisfactory to him. 

 He dwelt much on the value of progressive . . . 

 pressure to be had by the toggle for coining instead of 

 the blow or impact given by the screw with its flying 

 weights. Through daily intercourse and frequent 

 discussions I feel that I have a pretty clear recollection 

 of the progress of his invention of the steam coining 

 press that was so nearly perfect at the first essay. 



The original press was exhibited at the Centennial 

 in Philadelphia, in 1876, at work striking medals — 

 it was represented as Peak's first press, and as having 

 been made by Merrick, Agnew & Tyler, under 

 Mr. Peak's supervision. This does not fully agree 

 with my recollection. 103 That firm built the first 

 coining press for coining dollars and half dollars that 

 went into operation in the fall of 1836, at which time 

 Mr. Eckfeldt was chief coiner; Mr. Peale did not 

 take that position until Mr. Eckfeldt's retirement in 



>839- 



The mint repair shop was not fitted with tools for 

 doing heavy work, which was done out at other shops. 



103 xhe press in question, now on exhibit in the Franklin 

 Institute Museum, delivers upon demand souvenir medals. 



76 



