Some photos of Dahlonega, Georgia, the site of a United States mint

[BillJones]

Last week I visited Dahlonega, Georgia which was the site of a United States mint from 1838 to 1861. I had visited the area more than ten years ago, and I was surprised at the changes that had been made.

 

The old courthouse, which was built in 1836, is now “The Gold Museum” as it was ten years ago. There had been quite a number of changes to the interior including the historical displays. Last time I swear that had been a complete set of Dahlonega gold coins all in PCGS holders, or maybe I just dreamed it. The presentation had not been the best, but at least you could look at the coins in the front in some detail. Now there is a Dahlonega gold set in a Capital Plastics holder. It is way in the back of the safe, and you can barely see the coins.

 

Although you could take photos everywhere else in the museum, you could not take pictures of the contents of the safe. In reality to the picture would have been of little use anyway.

 

Here are photos of the exterior of the Gold Museum.

 

 

 

The Dahlonega phase of the southern gold rush began in 1828 when as legend has it a man named Benjamin Parks kicked an unusual stone while he was walking in the woods. He determined that it was gold, but was unable to keep the lid on his discovery for very long. Once word spread gold prospectors flocked to the area to strike it rich in what became the first United States gold rush.

 

The rights to 40 acre plots of land that might contain gold were distributed by a lottery. The lucky winners were allowed to either work their claim or sell it. The big losers were the Cherokee Indians who were forced from their lands and driven west in what became known as “the trail of tears.” Here is one of the 40 acre deeds that that were issued to one of the winners of the lottery.

 

 

The need to refine the native gold and have it turned into coins was acute. Transportation of gold from the southern goldfields to the Philadelphia mint involved a long and dangerous round trip, which sometimes involved encounters with bandits and “wild Indians.” To fill the gap Templeton Reed and more importantly, the Bechtler family, provide privately mints coins, but a Federal mint was needed. Ultimately Congress authorized mints in Charlotte, North Carolina and Dahlonega, Georgia to serve the southern gold fields. Congress also established the New Orleans mint to convert gold and silver foreign coins that passed through that port city to United States coinage.

 

The Dahlonega mint was located on a hill that overlooked the town. Its first coinage was a mintage of 20,583 half eagles, one of which is shown below. The mint personnel took great pride in these pieces, which were well executed.

 

 

Soon after the mint opened it became obvious that the Dahlonega area goldfields were going to be hard pressed to produce enough metal to keep the mint viable. This lack of raw material would be an ongoing problem for the mint through out all of its years of operation. Here is a photo of Dahlonega mint taken circa 1877 after it became the home of the North Georgia Agricultural College.

 

 

In 1861 the State of Georgia seized the mint after the state seceded from the Union at the beginning of the Civil War. The mint produced an unknown number of 1861-D gold dollars while it was under Confederate control, and then functioned as assay office and storage facility for the duration of the Civil War.

 

After the war some consideration was given to re-opening the mint or perhaps using it as a federal assay office, but none of those proposals were accepted. Ultimately it became the home of the Georgia Agricultural College.

 

On December 19, 1878 the structure caught fire and almost totally destroyed. Only the foundations could be saved, and they are now the basis for Price Memorial Hall, which is pictured below.

 

 

The granite foundation blocks of the old mint are still visible. There is also a tablet at the base of the building that provides a brief history of the mint.

 

 

 

While I was taking these pictures I was fortunate enough to run into a professor who was kind enough to let me have a look at the inside of the building’s basement. There I saw this glassed in section of the inside of the foundation of the building. It was in this general area that the steam engine that ran the coin press and rolling operation of the mint was housed.

 

 

I have a lot more information, but perhaps it is time to open this post up to see if there is further interest.

 

[johnny9434]

thats an interesting read bill. if you post more or if theres a web site ill be sure to read on

[kryptonitecomics]

I took my kids there a few years ago and took similar pictures....I think I was much more interested in the trip then they were

[KeyMan64]

Nice Post Bill!

[RWB]

Dahlonega was a remote village and many in Washington felt that the mint should be located in Savanna, or Augusta. (Atlanta didn’t exist until 1839, and was nothing but a railroad junction during the Civil War.) Congress decided to follow the European plan of locating a mint near the source of mining production, and that took care of the debate.

[physics-fan3.14]

I keep wanting to visit Dahlonega to see the mint, but haven't gotten out that way yet. Thanks for the very interesting post, and great pictures (if you have more, I would be interested in seeing them).

[RWB]

There's no mint building in Dahlonega and the one in Charlotte was rebuilt in 1844 and moved to a new site in the 1930s.

[JJSingleton]

Bill, this is a wonderful post and quite accurate as well. I would certainly like you to continue with your additional information.

 

I might add that to best of my knowledge there has never been a complete Dahlonega set in PCGS holders at the museum but I will confirm that on Thursday when I am there. I am the treasurer of the "Friends of the Dahlonega Gold Museum" which is a volunteer support group for the State owned Museum.

 

The complete Dahlonega set in the safe in the capital plastics holder is The North Georgia College Collection. The set was first displayed at the Museum in 1994 being previously displayed in Price Memorial Hall (image above in Bill's post). This collection has an interesting history which includes being stolen and being replaced with insurance funds with Stacks as the dealer. Some day I will get around to writing a post on the North Georgia College Collection. I have gone through the archives in the Museum and found some interesting documents.

 

I am a bit biased but the Museum is pretty neat. It is small and viewing is self directed but the staff is quite knowledgeable. Dahlonega is about a 70 mile drive from Atlanta.

 

If you plan on visiting the museum send me a PM. I may be able to arrange to be there for your visit and I can give you a guided tour.

 

 

[CyberspaceVoid]

Great post, Bill. Many thanks, and I'd love to see more.

[Hard Times]

Bill great post, if you have more info on Dahlonega, please continue!

 

Best, HT

 

 

[nemo656]

Fascinating post! I would love to read more.

[cpm9ball]

Thanks, Bill!

 

Now, if you don't mind, would you please give us "Chapter 2"?

 

Chris

[RWB]

Here are the floor plans for the Charlotte Mint. Since both southern gold mints were built from the same plans, Dahlonega should have had a similar layout. Living quarters were in the attic.

 

 

 

[cpm9ball]

Living quarters in the attic? Geez, I'd hate to have to live at either place during the summer.

 

Chris

 

[BillJones]

Here are the floor plans for the Charlotte Mint. Since both southern gold mints were built form the same plans, Dahlonega should have had a similar layout. Living quarters were in the attic.

 

 

 

The only defference was the Charlotte mint burned in 1843 or '44. It was replaced with a two story building instead the three stories the Dahlonega had.

[BillJones]

Here are a few more mint related photos.

 

Here are a pictures of the back of the building. The basic footprint still exists athough a few additions have been made. The second photo shows that the original foundation is still intact all the way around the building.

 

 

 

Here is Benjamin Parks who tripped over a gold nugget in the woods which led to the Dahlonega area gold rush. Like many of these who make the first discovery (Ben Comstock suffered the same fate.) old Ben Parks sold out his claim just be the subsequent buyer struck it rich. That buyer was none other than Senator John C. Calhoun.

 

 

An here is a photo of a set of weights that was used at the mint during its active days.

 

 

Here is a small Georgia gold nugget next to an 1849-D gold dollar.

 

 

And finally here is a picture of a print, "Departure of the Blue Ridge Rifles," as they were going off to fight for the South. Note that the Dahlonega mint is on the him in the background.

 

[RWB]

Some additional bits and pieces for your enjoyment:

 

The 1878 photo was taken by Julius L Schaub.

 

This part of Georgia was Union-leaning before the Civil War. The Mint avoided being held by local Union militia when the Georgia Governor sent state militia there before the Union militia could arrive.

 

Locals generally opposed slavery. Contract slave labor appears to have been used to a limited extent in Dahlonega, but not in Charlotte. (Plantation owners rented their slaves to mine operators during the winter.) Opposition was not on moral, religious or ethical grounds – it was because locals did not like anyone with dark skin...slave or free.

 

The print makes the village look a lot nicer than it ever was, as do nearly all contemporary images. Towns like this were ramshackle, dirty and mud-caked with the courthouse usually being the only solid brick building.

 

[RWB]

A brief excerpt from the book From Mine to Mint might also prove interesting.

 

“North Carolina gold averaged 0.841 fine in 1839 and 0.844 fine in 1840 based on deposits at the Charlotte Branch Mint. Depositors often received both silver and gold metal in consequence of the large proportion of silver present.

 

“South Carolina gold was, through 1841, of much smaller quantity, but the fineness was noticeably greater that North Carolina. It was seldom below 0.900 and varied from that limit to 0.990, the mean fineness being about 0.925.

 

“Virginia and Maryland gold was similar in purity to that of South Carolina, but it had a wider range from 0.670 to 0.970 with the average being 0.920. However, it was brought to the Philadelphia Mint in only small quantities.

 

“Georgia gold was highly variable in purity, but in the aggregate its quality was superior to that produced by the other southern states mentioned. It was found as low as 0.820, and occasionally reached as high as 0.995. This was the nearest approach to absolute purity of any gold ever discovered. The mean of Georgia production was about 0.950. Most of the gold deposited for coinage at the Branch Mint of Dahlonega, Georgia, was in the form of grains from washings; but it reached the Philadelphia Mint more often in bars, and occasionally in amalgam.

 

“Gold was occasionally found in Alabama and Tennessee, and the quality was as good on average as that of Georgia.”

 

[JJSingleton]

I was at the museum yesterday and was unable to definitively confirm whether there was ever a complete set of PCGS coins on display. The strong consensus is that there never was because they would have had no way to secure the set.

 

I did find out that the North Georgia College Collection displayed at the museum was appraised last month for insurance purposes. The new appraised value is $680,000.

 

I showed this post to the staff and they enjoyed the read. They did make mention of a few inaccuracies that I will clear up when I have the time. The reference to "wild Indians" raised a chuckle as the local Indians were much more civil than the unruly prospectors.

 

I am heading back down to the museum this morning. We have a large school group scheduled and I will be manning the Mint Room.

[RWB]

The Library of Congress has a couple of 1934 photos of the village that are a general match for the print Bill Jones posted - at least the same two buildings show.

 

FatMan - Yes, please post any corrections. The web gobbles up these message boards and the contents could end up anyplace....best if it's accurate.

[BillJones]

The new appraised value is $680,000.

 

$680,000 sounds low to me, unless some of the better coins are damaged. I have only a half dozen Dahlonega coins (A couple of really good ones I'll admit), and it does not take many pieces to go over the $100 thousand mark.

 

The "wild Indians" phrase came from an article I read years ago. It did not refer to the local Indians, but perhaps mythical ones that were on the roads between Dahlonega and Philadelphia. Traveling with a lot of gold in the early 19th century was not for the faint of heart.

 

[JJSingleton]

The new appraised value is $680,000.

 

$680,000 sounds low to me, unless some of the better coins are damaged. I have only a half dozen Dahlonega coins (A couple of really good ones I'll admit), and it does not take many pieces to go over the $100 thousand mark.

Bill, I too think 680K seems a bit conservative and I had been using 750K when asked in the museum. But many of the coins in the set are common date in lower grades which are only worth a couple of thousand each. There are some truly great coins in the set as well, in particular both the 61 dollar and the 61 Half Eagle. I know the dealer who did the appraisal very well and do consider him to be a top expert in the Dahlonega market so I will go with his number in the future.

 

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