"The project is expected to run for a number of years. After processing a few reports, it is obvious that the smaller reports are the easiest to process. For that and other reasons, the early reports will be processed first; some post-Civil War reports contain over 400 pages!

I like reading, and proofreading is a great excuse to read these reports carefully. Obvious spelling/arithmetic errors will be corrected, the original fonts and sizing will be lost, and the tables will have a different look; but the content will be on the web."

1816 - A short report from mint director R. Patterson to President Madison, who relayed it to Congress. A brick building replaces wooden structures. A steam engine replaces some horse power.

1850 - A report from mint director R.M. Patterson to President Fillmore, who relayed it to Congress. The gold from California is reaching the mints in much larger quantities than in previous years.

1855 - A report from mint director James Ross Snowden to President Pierce, who relayed it to Congress. Half of the report consists of a descriptive listing of the dies of medals in the collection of the U.S. Mint. This list is a corrected and enlarged version of the listing contained in the Mint Report from 1853.

1886 - A report for fiscal year 1886 ended June 30, 1886. The price of silver, in terms of gold, continues to fall. Philadelphia mint runs out of room to store silver dollars. The New York Assay Office introduces new equipment to eliminate the release of noxious fumes that angered its neighbors. The old carpets from the adjusting room in the San Francisco mint are burned and produce 172 ounces of gold, and 44 ounces of silver. Questionnaires were sent to the mints of most nations, and their responses form the bulk of this report; a world wide snapshot of contemporary mint and monetary practices.