Cracks For Gene & Mike

Dave, are you talking about cookies or Gene's relationship with these "grandmas"?

That I do not know, I think that temperature was determined by hue (or color shade) of the steel. Duration kept at that hue and method of cooling would be a matter of previous experience and lessons learned in my opinion, so I doubt that there is a definitive answer. The particular oven, the grade of materials, etc would all be factors that the experienced 'baker' would take into consideration.

Now, as far as Gene's situation in concerned, I have some fairly good ideas, but this is a family oriented forum, so I will have to hold my tongue.

Who you callin' a lightweight?

I'm of the opinion that the ovens were probably not allowed to cool.

Exactly. It is known, though, that the Mint was aware of their improper annealing; it is mentioned in correspondence as a possible cause (along with defective steel) of dies lasting for only 30-40k coins when they were accustomed to 100k per die for Trade dollars. They had already increased the amount of heat applied by comparison to Trade dollars. That's why, at the same time they were switching away from the 8TF reverse, a new foreman was brought in for the Hardening Department. Dies were cracking and sinking, causing the relief to be too high, as much the reason for switching from the higher-relief 8TF hub as was the extra feather.

So, the 7TF hubs had lower relief in addition to the design changes. Between this lower relief and modifications to the annealing process, production per die nearly doubled, which contraindicates the quality of the steel as a causative factor.

Don't forget the bigger picture - the amount of production required. Philadelphia ceased production of minor coinage during this time to concentrate on dollars, and it was still the largest production rate they'd ever attempted.

Another interesting undercurrent - Barber and Morgan did not get along at all well, and were known to occasionally work at cross-purposes to each other. George Morgan was titularly "Assistant Engraver" under William Barber and then his son Charles, yet reported directly to Dr. Henry Linderman, Director of the Mint. That had to get under Barber's skin.

I believe we agree, zeewool, but for semantics.

any attempt of doucing in water or oil would be an attempt of tempering the coin, or adjusting the hardness of the metal...a QUICKENING so to speak..though I don't know of its use for pre-pairing dies, as annealing is meant to soften the dies while there are being prepaired for there imprints,
how ever there is a relationship in all of these processes, annealing, softening,of the hubs in order to get the fullest of details in the master hub, which will produce the die, and a die also of such softness to to take the imprint of the hub, yet it also needs to be in the end to be of enough hardness to stamp the coins for an assumed number of strikes,as an average expectation that is......so in the instance we must think of the separation of the hub process and the die process....
as each requires something different.......for those differences, I will stop here.........and examine your thoughts on this as well.......mind you we have not even gotten far enough in these thoughts to explore the die crack phenominum yet to be considered, but it is relevant at this point, as is cause is to effect....

the Quickening is about us all Zee....FOR EXAMPLE...when we started we had opinions...and ideas.....We are still there.......we have opinions and ideas that have improved...plus or minus....but we still continue.....ITS NOT A GIVING GROUND.....as you know......but rather that a continuation..........other ideas are inferior......as we have reviewed the lower ground and seek the higher ground....We still have an open mind.......not a lack of sense...