Automatic Weighing at the Royal Mint. 79 



It will be observed that the legal remedy allowed upon gold 

 coins is very small, that that upon silver coins is somewhat 

 larger, whilst the legal remedy upon bronze and copper money 

 permits a rather wide range above and below the actual 

 standard. The rule at the Mint, however, in each case, is 

 to divide the actual differences as nearly equally as possible 

 between the two extremes. The result is that, on large quan- 

 tities of coin, a theoretical standard is attained. Silver and 

 bronze coins are merely tokens of value, and individual varia- 

 tions between the particular coins of each respective denomina- 

 tion are of comparatively little consequence. With regard to 

 gold the matter is differently based. The sovereign and the 

 half-sovereign are intrinsically and nominally of the same 

 respective value that their names imply, and they cease to 

 become legal tenders when by abrasion they fall below a certain 

 weight. The weight at which the sovereign may be refused by 

 the Bank of England is grs. 122*500 pts. Thus the allowance 

 for the wear and tear of circulation below the minimum weight 

 of grs. 123*017 pts. at which it may have been issued from the 

 Mint is "517, or little more than half a grain. The lowest point 

 of weight at which a half-sovereign ceases to be a legal 

 tender is grs. 61*255 pts., its minimum weight at the Mint 

 having been, as shown above, grs. 61*508 pts. It is not 

 often that the Bank or any individual is so scrupulously exact 

 as to draw the line of demarcation at the precise points indi- 

 cated, though the law would justify such a proceeding. 



Having thus endeavoured to explain the origin and to 

 demonstrate the importance of the weighing operation in the art 

 of coining, we may proceed further to state that, prior to the 

 year 1851, the whole of the gold and silver planchets produced 

 at the Royal Mint were weighed by workmen employed there, 

 and known as " sizers." These occupied a large room in the 

 establishment, from which currents of air which might disturb 

 their balances were carefully excluded, and they were each 

 supplied with a tiny pair of scales and weights, resembling 

 somewhat those used by the chemist and druggist in the dis- 

 pensation of their " medicinal gums." To each sizer was 

 apportioned a certain quantity of planchets, and he became the 

 arbiter of their destiny. The " too heavy" pieces were thrown 

 on one side, to be reduced in some cases by filing, and then 

 re-weighed, and the " too light" pieces on the other side, for 

 relegation to the melting-house. The medium planchets were 

 passed into a receptacle placed near at hand to catch them. 

 Constant practice induced among the sizcrs a certain amount of 

 accuracy in their operations. But, towards the close of a day's 

 work it not unfrequently happened that their eyes and fingers 

 grew tired of watching and moving, and a reckless admixture 



