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<p>[QUOTE="johnmilton, post: 3587753, member: 101855"]Many numismatic writers have labeled the Charlotte and Dahlonega Mints as "twins" because the facilities had so much in common. For example, both mints were established for the same purpose, to convert the bullion taken from the southern gold fields into United States coins. Both mints were built from the same plans drawn up by architect, William Strickland. They shared the same dates of operation from 1838 until the beginning of the Civil War in 1861. Each mint had similar mintages during that 24 year period, and both mints faced similar technical problems which gave their products distinctive appearances that set them apart from their Philadelphia Mint counterparts. Finally coin collectors regard the surviving examples of the Charlotte and Dahlonega Mint products as rare and exotic collectors' items. There is a romantic aura around them which often draws attention, even from those who do not specialize in southern gold.</p><p><br /></p><p>In contrast, the two mints had a number of differences. First and foremost, the town of Charlotte and the communities surrounding it were more settled and economically developed than the Dahlonega area. That made it easier to deliver the building materials and mint equipment to the Charlotte construction site than the Dahlonega location. There was also a larger pool of experienced construction workers available to build the mint. Poor supervision plus an inexperienced construction crew resulted in serious structural defects at the Dahlonega facility. Philadelphia Mint technical adviser, Franklin Peale, noted this in his reports when he inspected both mints. Finally many collectors have noted that it is harder to find high grade (AU or higher) examples of Charlotte coinage than Dahlonega pieces. This indicates that citizens of Charlotte used their gold coins more extensively for commerce than the citizens of Dahlonega did. Given their relatively higher grades, it appears that many Dahlonega coins were stored in banks or in company or family hoards.</p><p><br /></p><p>These factors note some little known differences between the history of the two mints, and another of those differences began with the dates of the first recorded gold discoveries in the two areas. In Georgia it began in 1828 when Bennie Parks stepped on a large gold nugget while he was deer hunting in the woods. In North Carolina it began with a babysitter.</p><p><br /></p><p>In 1799 twelve year old Conrad Reid found a heavy, yellow rock in a creek bed on his family's farm, while he was looking after his two younger siblings. The rock was about the size of a shoe and weighed 17 pounds. Conrad's father, John, took the piece to a silversmith in a nearby town. The silversmith, never thinking that it was gold, could not say what kind of metal it was.</p><p><br /></p><p>For the next three years the rock served as a doorstop in the Reid family home. In 1802 John Reid took the piece to a jeweler in nearby Fayetteville who immediately identified the piece as gold. The jeweler asked Reid to leave the piece with him so that he could flux it. A short time later Reid returned to find that the rock had yielded a large gold bar that was six or eight inches long. Reid decided to ask "a big price" for the piece, $3.50.</p><p><br /></p><p>Sometime later Reid learned that the bar was really worth $3,500 (The value may have increased with repeated renditions of the story.), and sought to obtain an additional payment from the jeweler. The outcome of that negotiation is not known, but Reid's discovery prompted him to prospect for more gold on the family farm.</p><p><br /></p><p>Reid found that Meadow Creek, where Conrad had found the first nugget, was rich with gold and had many placer deposits. Reid expanded his gold operation to mining. In 1831 he discovered "the mother lode," a vein of gold that would make his business one of the most successful and famous mining operations in the southeast. Reid, who had come to The United States as a hired Hessian soldier during the Revolutionary War, would die a wealthy man in 1845.</p><p><br /></p><p>The Reid mine was only one of many gold operations in the southern states. Over time additional discoveries were made from Virginia to Alabama, but the principle gold region was in Northern Georgia and western North Carolina.</p><p><br /></p><p>Although discovering gold was a wonderful thing, those who found it could only make the most of their diggings after they had fluxed their gold and turned it into pure gold bars or preferably coins. The trouble was the only Federal mint was in far off Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and transporting the gold there was expensive, time consuming and dangerous. It could take as long as three months for a prospector to travel to Philadelphia, deposit the gold at the mint, wait for it to be turned into coins and return home to North Carolina. In addition to the time and expense, the journey was also dangerous with robbers and "wild Indians" posing threats along the route.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]958166[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]958167[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>A Bechrler Gold Dollar from early 1830s</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>In 1831 the Bechtler family of Rutherford, North Carolina opened a private mint to convert the southern gold into coins. Although their coins gained a strong reputation for purity and accurate weights, their products did not have the prestige of the Federal Mint pieces. This prompted the residents of the southern gold fields to lobby for at least one Federal mint in their area. Before that could occur, however, the U.S. Government had to address two basic issues. First, a new, modern Philadelphia Mint was opened on January 1, 1833. Second, the content of the U.S. gold coinage, which had been set too high by the Coinage Act of 1792, was reduced to levels where the coins could circulate in the domestic economy. Previously almost all U.S. gold coins, which had a bullion content that exceeded their face value, had been exported to Europe and melted.</p><p><br /></p><p>Finally in 1835 Congress authorized three branch mints in Charlotte, North Carolina, Dahlonega, Georgia and New Orleans, Louisiana. The production at the Charlotte and Dahlonega branches was limited to gold coins only, and the New Orleans facility was authorized to produce gold and silver coinage from the influx of foreign coins that come into that important international port city.</p><p><br /></p><p>The building of the Charlotte Mint began with the appointment Major Samuel McComb as the commissioner in charge of the construction of the mint facility. McComb was a very prominent citizen in the Charlotte area. He was active in local politics and had extensive land holdings in the area. More importantly McComb owned and operated a gold mine and ore processing facility that was located just outside of Charlotte.</p><p><br /></p><p>In an effort "to hit the ground running" McComb traveled to Philadelphia to meet with the mint director and took an extensive tour of the mint to gain first handle knowledge about how it operated and what the requirements were for a branch mint operation. On his journey home McComb stopped in Washington, DC to meet with treasury secretary, Levi Woodbury. When McComb arrived back in Charlotte to purchase the mint site and begin to build the facility, he was well prepared to bring the construction of the Charlotte Mint to a successful conclusion. When the Philadelphia mint's chief technical advisor, Franklin Peale, inspected the Charlotte Mint in the fall of 1837, he found that only a few minor adjustments were needed to get the facility up and running.</p><p><br /></p><p>As it was with the Dahlonega Mint, the coin presses that were installed at Charlotte Mint were smaller versions of the Philadelphia Mint machines. This limited the Charlotte and Dahlonega Mints to the production of coins that were no larger than the half eagle or five dollar gold piece. It was thought that this would prevent the southern mints from making ten dollar gold coins which were thought to be prone to export to foreign countries. The intent was to keep the southern mint coins at home where U.S. citizens could use them.</p><p><br /></p><p>This was consistent with President Andrew Jackson's monetary policy. Jackson believed that he could bring economic stability and prosperity to yeoman farmers and the working class if large numbers of low denomination gold coins were generally available. Jackson abhorred paper money and hoped that the gold coins would drive much of it out of circulation.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]958169[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]958170[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p>The Charlotte Mint accepted the first deposits of gold for coinage in December 1837 and produced its first run of coins, which were five dollar gold pieces, on March 27, 1838. The local paper, the <i>Charlotte Journal</i> proudly announced that its editor had seen and handled "the <u>yellow boys</u>" and that the appearance of the coins was "very neat" and "much resembled the coins issued (by the Philadelphia Mint) in 1834" except for "the letter C under the head (of Ms. Liberty) to distinguish the coin from the different branches."</p><p><br /></p><p>These first Charlotte Mint coins were Classic Head five dollar gold pieces with the buxom bust of Ms. Liberty on the obverse. From a mintage of 17,179, Southern gold expert, gold specialist, Doug Winter, has estimated that there are 200 to 250 surviving examples of the 1838-C five dollar gold in the collectable grades. Although the 1838-C half eagle is not a rare coin by Charlotte Mint standards, it is very difficult to find attractive examples of this piece. Many 1838-C half eagles have been cleaned and show extensive marks and abrasions. It is much more difficult to find an attractive example of the 1838-C half eagle than it is to locate a similarly nice 1838-D five dollar gold coin.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]958173[/ATTACH]</p><p>[ATTACH=full]958176[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Later in 1838 the Charlotte Mint issued its first quarter eagles. These pieces also carried the Classic Head design and had the "C" mint mark above the date. Although the mintage was only 7,880 pieces with an estimated survival of 150 to 200 coins, I have found this coin easier to locate in attractive condition. Interestingly these quarter eagles are more sharply struck than some of their Philadelphia Mint counterparts.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]958171[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]958172[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Christian Gobrecht introduced his Coronet design to the half eagle half way through 1839. During the first part of the year only the Classic Head quarter eagle dies were available, which limited the Charlotte Mint's output to those coins. Later the half eagle dies were shipped from Philadelphia. For that year only the "C" mint mark appeared on the obverse above the date. In all of the later years the mint mark would be on the reverse below the eagle. The 1839-C half eagle is a scarce and much desired one year type coin. Doug Winter has estimated that the total collectable 1839-C half eagles to be from 150 to 200 pieces.</p><p><br /></p><p>The much coveted position of Mint Superintendent was awarded on a political basis. When the mint opened in 1837 Democratic president, Martin Van Buren, appointed John H. Wheeler as the Charlotte Mint superintendent and treasurer. After Whig Party won the 1840 presidential election, Burgess S. Gaither replaced Wheeler. Gaither's tenure as superintendent would be short, and his relatively rapid departure may have resulted in a significant event that would forever change the physical layout of the Charlotte Mint.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>To be continued[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="johnmilton, post: 3587753, member: 101855"]Many numismatic writers have labeled the Charlotte and Dahlonega Mints as "twins" because the facilities had so much in common. For example, both mints were established for the same purpose, to convert the bullion taken from the southern gold fields into United States coins. Both mints were built from the same plans drawn up by architect, William Strickland. They shared the same dates of operation from 1838 until the beginning of the Civil War in 1861. Each mint had similar mintages during that 24 year period, and both mints faced similar technical problems which gave their products distinctive appearances that set them apart from their Philadelphia Mint counterparts. Finally coin collectors regard the surviving examples of the Charlotte and Dahlonega Mint products as rare and exotic collectors' items. There is a romantic aura around them which often draws attention, even from those who do not specialize in southern gold. In contrast, the two mints had a number of differences. First and foremost, the town of Charlotte and the communities surrounding it were more settled and economically developed than the Dahlonega area. That made it easier to deliver the building materials and mint equipment to the Charlotte construction site than the Dahlonega location. There was also a larger pool of experienced construction workers available to build the mint. Poor supervision plus an inexperienced construction crew resulted in serious structural defects at the Dahlonega facility. Philadelphia Mint technical adviser, Franklin Peale, noted this in his reports when he inspected both mints. Finally many collectors have noted that it is harder to find high grade (AU or higher) examples of Charlotte coinage than Dahlonega pieces. This indicates that citizens of Charlotte used their gold coins more extensively for commerce than the citizens of Dahlonega did. Given their relatively higher grades, it appears that many Dahlonega coins were stored in banks or in company or family hoards. These factors note some little known differences between the history of the two mints, and another of those differences began with the dates of the first recorded gold discoveries in the two areas. In Georgia it began in 1828 when Bennie Parks stepped on a large gold nugget while he was deer hunting in the woods. In North Carolina it began with a babysitter. In 1799 twelve year old Conrad Reid found a heavy, yellow rock in a creek bed on his family's farm, while he was looking after his two younger siblings. The rock was about the size of a shoe and weighed 17 pounds. Conrad's father, John, took the piece to a silversmith in a nearby town. The silversmith, never thinking that it was gold, could not say what kind of metal it was. For the next three years the rock served as a doorstop in the Reid family home. In 1802 John Reid took the piece to a jeweler in nearby Fayetteville who immediately identified the piece as gold. The jeweler asked Reid to leave the piece with him so that he could flux it. A short time later Reid returned to find that the rock had yielded a large gold bar that was six or eight inches long. Reid decided to ask "a big price" for the piece, $3.50. Sometime later Reid learned that the bar was really worth $3,500 (The value may have increased with repeated renditions of the story.), and sought to obtain an additional payment from the jeweler. The outcome of that negotiation is not known, but Reid's discovery prompted him to prospect for more gold on the family farm. Reid found that Meadow Creek, where Conrad had found the first nugget, was rich with gold and had many placer deposits. Reid expanded his gold operation to mining. In 1831 he discovered "the mother lode," a vein of gold that would make his business one of the most successful and famous mining operations in the southeast. Reid, who had come to The United States as a hired Hessian soldier during the Revolutionary War, would die a wealthy man in 1845. The Reid mine was only one of many gold operations in the southern states. Over time additional discoveries were made from Virginia to Alabama, but the principle gold region was in Northern Georgia and western North Carolina. Although discovering gold was a wonderful thing, those who found it could only make the most of their diggings after they had fluxed their gold and turned it into pure gold bars or preferably coins. The trouble was the only Federal mint was in far off Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and transporting the gold there was expensive, time consuming and dangerous. It could take as long as three months for a prospector to travel to Philadelphia, deposit the gold at the mint, wait for it to be turned into coins and return home to North Carolina. In addition to the time and expense, the journey was also dangerous with robbers and "wild Indians" posing threats along the route. [ATTACH=full]958166[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]958167[/ATTACH] A Bechrler Gold Dollar from early 1830s In 1831 the Bechtler family of Rutherford, North Carolina opened a private mint to convert the southern gold into coins. Although their coins gained a strong reputation for purity and accurate weights, their products did not have the prestige of the Federal Mint pieces. This prompted the residents of the southern gold fields to lobby for at least one Federal mint in their area. Before that could occur, however, the U.S. Government had to address two basic issues. First, a new, modern Philadelphia Mint was opened on January 1, 1833. Second, the content of the U.S. gold coinage, which had been set too high by the Coinage Act of 1792, was reduced to levels where the coins could circulate in the domestic economy. Previously almost all U.S. gold coins, which had a bullion content that exceeded their face value, had been exported to Europe and melted. Finally in 1835 Congress authorized three branch mints in Charlotte, North Carolina, Dahlonega, Georgia and New Orleans, Louisiana. The production at the Charlotte and Dahlonega branches was limited to gold coins only, and the New Orleans facility was authorized to produce gold and silver coinage from the influx of foreign coins that come into that important international port city. The building of the Charlotte Mint began with the appointment Major Samuel McComb as the commissioner in charge of the construction of the mint facility. McComb was a very prominent citizen in the Charlotte area. He was active in local politics and had extensive land holdings in the area. More importantly McComb owned and operated a gold mine and ore processing facility that was located just outside of Charlotte. In an effort "to hit the ground running" McComb traveled to Philadelphia to meet with the mint director and took an extensive tour of the mint to gain first handle knowledge about how it operated and what the requirements were for a branch mint operation. On his journey home McComb stopped in Washington, DC to meet with treasury secretary, Levi Woodbury. When McComb arrived back in Charlotte to purchase the mint site and begin to build the facility, he was well prepared to bring the construction of the Charlotte Mint to a successful conclusion. When the Philadelphia mint's chief technical advisor, Franklin Peale, inspected the Charlotte Mint in the fall of 1837, he found that only a few minor adjustments were needed to get the facility up and running. As it was with the Dahlonega Mint, the coin presses that were installed at Charlotte Mint were smaller versions of the Philadelphia Mint machines. This limited the Charlotte and Dahlonega Mints to the production of coins that were no larger than the half eagle or five dollar gold piece. It was thought that this would prevent the southern mints from making ten dollar gold coins which were thought to be prone to export to foreign countries. The intent was to keep the southern mint coins at home where U.S. citizens could use them. This was consistent with President Andrew Jackson's monetary policy. Jackson believed that he could bring economic stability and prosperity to yeoman farmers and the working class if large numbers of low denomination gold coins were generally available. Jackson abhorred paper money and hoped that the gold coins would drive much of it out of circulation. [ATTACH=full]958169[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]958170[/ATTACH] The Charlotte Mint accepted the first deposits of gold for coinage in December 1837 and produced its first run of coins, which were five dollar gold pieces, on March 27, 1838. The local paper, the [I]Charlotte Journal[/I] proudly announced that its editor had seen and handled "the [U]yellow boys[/U]" and that the appearance of the coins was "very neat" and "much resembled the coins issued (by the Philadelphia Mint) in 1834" except for "the letter C under the head (of Ms. Liberty) to distinguish the coin from the different branches." These first Charlotte Mint coins were Classic Head five dollar gold pieces with the buxom bust of Ms. Liberty on the obverse. From a mintage of 17,179, Southern gold expert, gold specialist, Doug Winter, has estimated that there are 200 to 250 surviving examples of the 1838-C five dollar gold in the collectable grades. Although the 1838-C half eagle is not a rare coin by Charlotte Mint standards, it is very difficult to find attractive examples of this piece. Many 1838-C half eagles have been cleaned and show extensive marks and abrasions. It is much more difficult to find an attractive example of the 1838-C half eagle than it is to locate a similarly nice 1838-D five dollar gold coin. [ATTACH=full]958173[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]958176[/ATTACH] Later in 1838 the Charlotte Mint issued its first quarter eagles. These pieces also carried the Classic Head design and had the "C" mint mark above the date. Although the mintage was only 7,880 pieces with an estimated survival of 150 to 200 coins, I have found this coin easier to locate in attractive condition. Interestingly these quarter eagles are more sharply struck than some of their Philadelphia Mint counterparts. [ATTACH=full]958171[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]958172[/ATTACH] Christian Gobrecht introduced his Coronet design to the half eagle half way through 1839. During the first part of the year only the Classic Head quarter eagle dies were available, which limited the Charlotte Mint's output to those coins. Later the half eagle dies were shipped from Philadelphia. For that year only the "C" mint mark appeared on the obverse above the date. In all of the later years the mint mark would be on the reverse below the eagle. The 1839-C half eagle is a scarce and much desired one year type coin. Doug Winter has estimated that the total collectable 1839-C half eagles to be from 150 to 200 pieces. The much coveted position of Mint Superintendent was awarded on a political basis. When the mint opened in 1837 Democratic president, Martin Van Buren, appointed John H. Wheeler as the Charlotte Mint superintendent and treasurer. After Whig Party won the 1840 presidential election, Burgess S. Gaither replaced Wheeler. Gaither's tenure as superintendent would be short, and his relatively rapid departure may have resulted in a significant event that would forever change the physical layout of the Charlotte Mint. To be continued[/QUOTE]
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