Newman Portal Adds San Francisco Mint Notebook

Recently discovered in a bookseller's stock by Wayne Homren, is a manuscript notebook of the San Francisco Mint Melter & Refiner, Edwin R. Leach. If the name sounds familiar, Leach was the son of the San Francisco Mint superintendent, Frank A. Leach, who saw the Mint through the 1906 earthquake and fire. The father, Frank A. Leach, later became the overall Mint Director.

The notebook, c. 1908-1909, discusses melting and refining processes and apparently represents a trip to the east coast, where Edwin Leach visited a number of smelting facilities. There are still great literature finds to be made "in the wild," as the discovery of this notebook clearly attests.

Image: Extract from the Leach Melter and Refiner's notebook

Link to Edwin R. Leach notebook:
https://archive.org/details/1909ustreasurydepartstock

Background:
This is a manuscript notebook of theSan Francisco Mint Melter & Refiner, Edwin R. Leach. The notebook, compiled during a 1909 trip to Denver and points east, discusses melting andrefining processes and apparently represents a trip to the east coast, where Edwin Leach visited anumber of smelting facilities. There are still great literature finds to be made "in the wild," as thediscovery of this notebook clearly attests.

Summary:
Melting and refining manuscript notebook, 1909, of Edwin Ralph Leach (1878-1971), while hewas Director of Melting and Refining at the San Francisco Mint. Leach was the son of Frank A.Leach, Superintendent of the San Francisco Mint (1897-1907) and Director of the U.S. Mint(1907-1909). Forty-two (42) pages of the notebook contain handwritten details about the processof melting and refining metals at the various U.S. Mints and affiliated smelting companies,including the San Francisco Mint, the Philadelphia Mint, Balbach Smelting & RefiningCompany (Newark, N.J.), U.S. Metals Refining Company, et al. His handwritten notes providedetails on the melting and refining of various metals, including copper, silver, platinum,palladium, and gold. Manuscript drawings are here and there among the text. Written on the frontpage is: "PROPERTY OF / E. R. LEACH / U.S. MINT / SAN FRANCISCO."

The first 43 pages of this 6x9-inch volume describe gold, silver, and copper purification usingelectrolytic methods and custom built apparatus. Observations were made a several easternrefining companies and include drawings, equipment dimensions, electric current specificationsand output per day or other period. On page 44, Leach describes the process used at the NewYork Assay Office, followed by the Philadelphia Mint's gold refining and recovery of platinumand palladium. He notes that in New York, some deposits contain as much as 200 parts perthousand of platinum, "which the depositor left knowing he would get nothing for it." Curiously,osmium and iridium are not discussed although they are common components of California gold(known as "iridosmine" or sometimes "osmiridium").

Leach's final pages are devoted to explaining how "old style" copper medals were antiqued, andthen how modern (1909) medals were treated at Philadelphia. He closes with a brief descriptionof "Nickel Working" and some sources for rubber gloves, ceramic chemical tanks, and otheritems.

Edwin Leach's eastward trip began on January 19, 1909 and he made several business stops,including Denver to New York via Chicago and Washington D.C. until reaching PhiladelphiaFebruary 11. He was in New Orleans on March 9 and returned to San Francisco sometimearound March 12. We have no details about when he visited private refiners in New Jersey andelsewhere, but it was likely in latter February.Throughout, there is neither a description of theMelting & Refining Department at San Francisco Mint, nor any mention of Edwin Leach's workthere. However, his trip was intended to collect information and from that perspective, thenotebook is a useful record of his observations.