Interesting that they took such pains with the alloy but let the weight
drift. I suppose it must have been easier to control the fineness and
this also let them have more wiggly room with the weight. Although for a
quarter .001 difference would have been the same as a .006 gram differnce
which they obviously weren't very concerned about.


I think they were just trying to allow for the fact that the occasional coins
did come light or heavy, but they were very strict on bulk tolerances. They
weighed finished bags, allowing for the weight of the bag, of course, and if
the entire bag consisted of all light or all heavy coins (if, for example, a
strip had been rolled wrong) they melted it down and started over. Over the
long run, people got fair weight coins.
..

TomDeLorey
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"MADNESS!!! MADNESS!!!"
Final scene from "Bridge Over The River Kwai."