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Show WAS HISTORIC OLD BUILDING Mint at Philadelphia Wa the Fir ' Building Erected by Ant " n ' ,2 ;.r?.cSj-W'- ? VH In removing the foundation of the coinage building of the old mint, at No. 37 and 39 North Seventh street, ome quaint specimens of oldtlme building construction. Including several sev-eral curious vault, were uncovered. The cellar In which the vaults were located was reached by heavy stone steps, supported by brick or stone arches, a method handed down from medlaval time. One of the vault In which bullion wa stored consisted of a vault within a vault, and was designed, de-signed, It Is said, at the time o' the war of 1812 to conceal material which could not be read!' - transported to other hiding place. veral small window In the cellar were protected by heavy hand wrought Iron bars These have been preserved, and will be added, along with other relic, such a lock and hinge, to the collection col-lection In Independence hall. In digging dig-ging out an old well In the yard a number of copper coin, bearing the date 1816 and 1818. were found, a well aa a quantity of scrap copper from which the coin had been cut From old paper relating to a lawsvlt. found by Frank II. Stewart, president of the company which owns the property, prop-erty, It wa ascertained that five buildings were originally Included In the old mint, all of tbem grouped around the coinage building. It Is an historic fact that this' old structure, which was the last of these building to be rated, was the first building of any description erected by authority i of the United States congress Phlla- i delphla Record , |
