How did the Mint count its coins before the invention of mechanical counting machines?
Mechanical counting machines were not introduced at the Mint until sometime after the turn of the 20th century. Before that it was strictly a hand-counting job, with the help of what was called a counting board. This was a flat board made for each denomination with copper partitions separated by the diameter of the coin. The boards were designed so that when each row was filled, the total would be some even amount. I know that some of the coin presses now in use in the various mints are capable of striking two or four coins at a time. Do you have any information on when the Mint began using this kind of press? The dual coin press is mentioned in the 1945 Annual Report of the Director of the Mint, crediting Supt. of Coining Joseph Steel and machinist William P. Kruse of the San Francisco Mint as the creators of the attachment that was added to the old single coin presses. An old book on the U.S. Mint mentions the job of “whitener.” What did a whitener do? The whitener was the wash “lady
