Franklin Peale's Report on His Visit To

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M2137 FRANKLIN PEALE’S REPORT ON HIS VISIT TO EUROPE IN THE SERVICE OF THE U.S. MINT, 1833–35 Compiled by Claire Prechtel-Kluskens National Archives and Records Administration Washington, DC 2011 INTRODUCTION On the single roll of this microfilm publication, M2137, is reproduced a 270-page report by Franklin Peale to Samuel Moore, Director of the U.S. Mint, dated June 17, 1835. These records are part of Records of the U.S. Mint, Record Group (RG) 104. BACKGROUND AND RECORDS DESCRIPTION Benjamin Franklin Peale (1795–1870), usually called Franklin Peale, was a son of noted painter and scientist Charles Wilson Peale (1741–1827). He was educated at the University of Pennsylvania and Germantown Academy. He became a skilled mechanic and draftsman while employed in a machine shop, and later helped Mathias Baldwin construct the first U.S.-built locomotive. From 1822 to 1833 he was manager of the Philadelphia Museum. In 1833, he was appointed an assistant assayer at the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia. He then served as melter and refiner from 1836 to 1839, and as chief coiner from 1839 to 1854. RECORDS DESCRIPTION The Director of the Mint, Samuel Moore, sent Peale to Europe during 1833–35 to study methods and processes used in coining money, examine and draw plans for machinery, and make notes on the organization, management, and monetary policies of foreign mints. Peale’s 270-page report, dated June 17, 1835, is written in his own neat but enigmatic handwriting. Information learned during his travels enabled Peale to make many improvements in metallurgical processes and machinery used by the U.S. Mint, and he also invented new minting machinery. Peale’s report was filmed by the National Archives in 1991 in response to a customer order. The National Archives retained a negative copy of the film, which was assigned the number M2137 in 2010 in order to issue it as a National Archives Microfilm Publication. RELATED RECORDS Peale’s report is part of the series “Correspondence of Franklin Peale, 1829–1886” (ARC Identifier 565632),* which itself appears to have been culled from the U.S. Mint’s “General Correspondence, 1792–1899” (ARC Identifier 561197). These records are located (in 2011) at NARA’s Mid-Atlantic Region, 900 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. * NARA’s Archival Research Catalog (ARC) is online at www.archives.gov 1.

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