ASSAY OFFICE, a department operating under the United States mint as a laboratory for the purpose of assaying, i.e., chemically and otherwise testing for purity, content and value, metals submitted to it for this purpose. The metals brought for assay are usually gold and silver, and may be in the forms of bullion, jewellery, ornaments, metal-ware and others. The Assay Office is authorized to buy gold, although no longer allowed to coin it, and to pay for it with an order on the U. S. Treasury for an equal amount in currency or Federal Reserve notes. It will also, for a reasonable charge, assay metals for others than pros pective sellers to the Government or analyse sample ores brought in, the latter activity forming a considerable part of the work in the western branch. The U.S. Assay Office is in New York city and has very heavy duties owing to the vast movements of gold passing through the city. All foreign gold received is here sub mitted to test. In recent years special facilities for the assaying of platinum have been installed in the New York office. There are branches of the Assay Office at New Orleans, Louisiana and Seattle, Washington.
The Assay Commission, established by the United States govern ment, meets annually to examine and test, in the presence of the Director of the Mint, the fineness and weight of certain coin indis criminately withheld at the various mints for that purpose. The number of coins reserved for such examination must be not less than one piece for each two thousand of silver coins and they must be taken out at every delivery of coins made by the coiner. Gold is no longer coined. The commission is composed of the judge of the district court for the Eastern district of Pennsylvania, the Comptroller of the Currency, the assayer of the assay office at New York, and such other persons as the President shall from time to time designate, the entire Commission usually numbering from ten to fifteen persons.