MINT (Contd.)
A contemporary newspaper, referring to the coining, said that from the point of view of beauty, they were considerably inferior to the English florin and half-crown. It was pointed out, however, that the dies would give a better impression after they had been in use for some time! The stamping on the first coins, added the journal, was shallow and would soon be obliterated by the continual process of shroffing. The milling, also, was not good, and in the paper's opinion, the coins could be counterfeited without any great difficulty.
Just before the official opening, an accident occurred in the rolling room which almost crippled the mechanical powers of the Mint. A large iron cogwheel, nine feet in diameter, was fractured at its periphery into three pieces. A rapid replacement was effected.
In view of the great value of the silver in the Mint, a regular guard of European troops was quartered in the building, and a gunboat was moored near the side fronting the harbour. It was also arranged that if the Mint were raided, a signal would be fired by the gunboat, and troops would be rushed to assist the contingent quartered within the Mint.
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