In conducting the affairs of the Mint, Dr. Rittenhouse was seconded by capable and trusty officers; among whom was Mr. Voight, the Chief Coiner, with whose ingenuity and skill, as an operative mechanic, he was well acquainted, having long before employed him in that capacity, while he was engaged in constructing one of his Orreries and carrying on other branches of his professional business. Dr. Nicholas Way, a physician of some eminence, officiated at the same time as Treasurer of the Mint; and that respectable co-adjutor of the then Head of this important institution in the national economy, has borne testimony to his scrupulous attention to the public interests, in its direction:—“I have been informed by his colleague in office, Dr. Way,”—says Dr. Benjamin Rush,[269] who succeeded that gentleman in the Treasurership of the Mint,—“that, in several instances, he,” (speaking of the Director) “paid for work done at the Mint out of his salary,[270] where he thought the charges for it would be deemed extravagant by the United States.[271] ----- Footnote 269: See his Eulogium on Rittenhouse. Footnote 270: His salary was two thousand dollars per annum. Footnote 271: A particular instance, of a similar kind, occurred within the knowledge of the Memorialist. Mr. Peter Getz was, lately, a self-taught mechanic of singular ingenuity, in the borough of Lancaster; where he many years exercised the trade of a silver-smith and jeweller, and was remarkable for the extraordinary accuracy, elegance, and beauty of the workmanship he executed. This person was a candidate for the place of chief coiner or engraver in the mint; and, on that occasion, he offered to present to Dr. Rittenhouse, in the summer of 1792, a small pair of scales—such as are commonly called gold-scales—of exquisite workmanship as well as great exactness, as a specimen of his skill as an artist. The Director conceived, that an instrument equally well suited to the use for which this was designed, though less ornamental, could be procured for the mint, if desirable, for less money than this was worth as a matter of curiosity; he would not, therefore, purchase it for the mint: but being determined not to accept it as a present, and desirous at the same time to make compensation to the artist for his work, he insisted on his receiving twenty dollars for the instrument; on payment of which, he retained it himself. -----