ASSAY OFFICE. An establishment, or department, in which the manipulations at tending the assay of bullion and coins are conducted. See ASSAY.
2. Departments of this character are at tached to the national mint and each of its branches. Prior to the establishment of the branch mint at San Francisco, an assay office was established in California, by act of Con gress September 30, 1850, 7 U. S. Stat. at Large, 531; but this act was subsequently repealed, by the act of July 3, 1852, 10 U. S. Stat. at Large, 11. An assay office at New York was established by the act of March 4, 1853, sect. 10, "for the receipt, and for the melting, refining, parting, and assaying, of gold and silver bullion and foreign coins." 10 U. S. Stat. at Large, 3. And it was further provided that "all gold or silver bullion and foreign coin depo sited, melted, parted, refined, or assayed, as aforesaid, shall,. at the option of the depo sitor, be cast, in the said office, into bars, ingots, or disks, either of pure metal or of standard fineness (as the miner may prefer). with a stamp thereon of such form and de vice as shall be prescribed by the secretary of the treasury, accurately designating its weight and fineness : provided, that no in got, bar, or disk shall be cast of less weight than five ounces, unless the same be of stand ard fineness, and of either one, two, or three ounces in weight." 10 U. S. Stat. at Large,
213.
4. This section also provides that "all gold or silver bullion and foreign coin in tended by the depositor to be converted into the coins of the United States, shall, as soon as assayed and its net value certified as above provided, be transferred to the mint of the United States, under such directions as shall be made by the secretary of the treasury, and at the expense of the contingent fund of the mint, and shall there be coined." The operation of melting, parting, refining, and assaying, in the assay office, is "under the Feneral directions of the director of the mint, in subordination to the secretary of the trea sury; and it shall be the duty of the said director to prescribe such regulations and to order such tests as shall be requisite to insure faithfulness, accuracy, and uniformity in the operations of the said office." 10 U. S. Stat. at Large, 213. The assay office is also sub ject to the laws and regulations applied tp the mint. 10 U. S. Stat. at Large, 213.