Franklin Peale Peale designed a new machine to cut planchets, or blanks, from metal strips. This machine remained in use, almost unmodified, until 1902. Another of the steam-powered machines Peale had installed on his return was a milling machine, which was used to "upset" the coin—to form a rim around it. A Contamin portrait lathe was imported from France and installed at the Philadelphia Mint in 1837. Prior to this time, all coin dies for American coins had to be made individually, by hand at Philadelphia. Once the lathe was installed, they could be reproduced mechanically by the pantograph-like device. The first
Larvell Blanks two months of the season as a pinch hitter and pinch runner for Atlanta before being demoted to the triple A Richmond Braves at the end of May. Blanks batted .261 with twenty home runs and 82 runs batted in over two seasons at Richmond before receiving a call back up to the majors in September . With incumbent shortstop Craig Robinson not hitting, Blanks was shifted over to short early in the season. He batted .234 with three home runs and 38 RBIs while committing 27 errors on the field his only major league season as a regular. Feeling