The Durango mint

Carlos León de la Peña Muñoz  was appointed ensayador in Durango in August 1852^{El Siglo Diez y Nueve, Año XII, Tomo 6, Núm. 1,318, 8 August 1852}. A declared liberal and patriotic supporter of President Benito Juárez against Maximilian, he was forced to leave the position of director of the Durango mint.

He held several public offices, as well as that of professor at the Juárez Institute in 1875. In 1877 he was appointed Director General de Rentas in the state^{Periódico Oficial, 19 September 1877}.

Pedro Espejo was expected to take up his position in September 1877^{Periódico Oficial, 19 September 1877}. He lasted less than a year, as he was accused of mismanagement in the production of silver coins, to which he made a public complaint.

"I consider it my duty to declare to the public … that the separation from my employment does not recognize for cause any unseemly act on my part and that it imprints on my forehead the seal of shame. On the contrary, I can say, and with documents in hand, … that I fulfilled, even with the greatest scrupulosity, myobligations. … With regard to my private conduct, it must also be said that in the nearly eight months that I have been living in this city, there is not, nor can there be, a single person who can censure it in the least. … Time will show that what I say is true, I could not say more for now."^{El Supremo Gobierno de la República se ha servido nombrar para nuevo Ensayador de esta Casa de Moneda al C. Trinidad Barrera, á quien he entregado en la fecha, cumpliendo con los deberes que tengo de respetar y obedecer á la autoridad,
Pero sin perjuicio de esto, considero de mi obligación de manifestar al público, como tengo el honor de hacerlo, por la presente manifestación, que la separación de mi empleo no reconoce por causa ningún hecho indecoroso de mi parte y que imprima en mi frente el sello de la vergüenza. Por el contrario, puede decir, y con documentos en la mano, que siempre dejarán bien puesto mi nombre, que le llenado, hasta con la mayor escrupulosidad, las obligaciones que me correspondían en el empleo que sirvió conferirme la bondad del Supremo Gobierno y que en mi juicio no debía desmerecer.
Respecto de mi conducta privada, también es preciso diga: que en cerca de ocho meses que cuento de residencia en esta ciudad, no hay ni puede haber, una sola persona que pueda censurarla en lo más mínimo.
Asi es que si con razón sobrada me sorprende mucho la violenta é inarvertida separación que se ha efectuado de mi persona de un empleo de tanta confianza pública, y por lo mismo sobre manera honrosa y que ha acontecido en un lugar extraño absolutamente para mí encuentro no poco recompensa en la cumplida satisfacción, de que me da testimonio mi conciencia, de no haber faltado á ninguno de los deberes que me incumbían.
El tiempo hará ver que es cierto lo que expongo, no pudienfo decir mas por ahora,
Durango, Agosto 19 de 1878. – P. Espejo.
(La Voz de Mexico,} .

José Trinidad Barrera was a model student who graduated in February 1870 “This esteemed young man, who has made his career at the School of Mines and who in all the examinations has obtained the first prizes and deserved the most honourable qualification of his teachers, has graduated as a topographic engineer or hydromensor, as well as assayer and separator (apartador)^{El Siglo Diez y Nueve, 2 February 1870: La Iberia, 6 February 1870}.

Trinidad Barrera replaced Pedro Espejo who was accused of mismanagement in the production of silver coins.

José Gómez Palacios 

On 25 Seotember 1890 Palacios wrote to the editor of the Periódico Oficial that he had learnt that some of the local merchants were blaming him for the delay in the dispatch of their letter-accounts (cartas-cuentas) because he was slow to test the pieces of precious metals brought into the mint. He denied this and attached acertificate issued in his favour by Enrique Amezcua, Director of the mint, verifying his punctuality and diligence^{Periódico Oficial, núm 78, 28 September 1890}.

At the beginning of 1892 he went to Monterrey to establish the federal assay office and in 1895 he was summoned by Leandro Fernández to Mexico City to help him draw up the “Regulation of Mints” which at that time were being organised on a federal basis. In 1896 Gómez Palacios went to Culiacán as director of the city’s mint but only lasted two years until, sick through the climate, he returned to Monterrey. In addition, he held a position on the city council of Durango in the years from 1911 to 1912.

Norberto Domínguez Salazar was born in Hidalgo del Parral, Chihuahua on 14 January 1867. Interested in chemistry from a very young age, he entered the National School of Engineers (Escuela Nacional de Ingenieros) from where he graduated with the titles of Civil Engineer and Metal Assayer. He entered government positions when he was appointed federal interventor and assayer of the Mint of Durango, positions he held from 1892 to 1895. In addition the governor, General Juan Manuel Flores, appointed him Professor of Physics (Catedrático de Física) of the Instituto Juárez, and he also held positions on the city council from 1892 to 1893 and from 1895 to 1897.

When some mints were closed and only a casa de ensaye remained in Durango, Dominguez was put in charge until he took over as Director of the Culiacán mint. In Culiacán he was appointed professor of the Instituto Rosales

On 11 July 1903, President Porfirio Díaz put him in charge of the Dirección General de Correos^{La Patria de México, Año XXVII, Núm. 7,943, 23 May 1903}. On 31 March 1911 he was appointed Secretary of Communications and Public Works but he could only remain in Diaz' cabinet until 25 May when Díaz resigned from the presidency. After that, he retired to private activities, returning to Chihuahua, where he held the management of the Banco Nacional de México. In 1920 he briefly returned to politics when he was elected federal deputy for the District of Parral. He died in Mexico City on 21 June 1931.