April 18 1906; The Great San Francisco Earthquake & Subsequent Fire

[TomB]

It's 99 years ago today that a massive earthquake leveled much of San Francisco and started a chain of fires that reduced most of what had survived into a pile of rubble. The official death toll was 478, yet today there are approximately 3,400 confirmed deaths due to the tragedy. The discrepency in reported numbers is thought to have occured from two major factors. The first was that the Chinese immigrant death toll was either not reported at all or was under-reported and the second was that the city government hoped to allay the fears of the outside world as to the condition of the city. The latter reason was not simply altruistic as the city government was hoping to lure business back to San Francisco and, by extension, had to make the tragedy seem as small as realistically possible. The former reason may have had something to do with a then-existing movement to relocate Chinatown.

 

So, what does this have to do with coins? Well, one of my favorite books is Recollections Of a Mint Director, by Frank A. Leach, who was superintendent of the San Francisco Mint at the time of the quake. The text of this book was originally published in 1917 as Recollections Of a Newspaperman as Leach had been a newspaperman prior to his involvement with the Mint. The 1917 edition was not aimed at the numismatic community and was largely forgotten about for the greater part of its existance. In 1987 Q. David Bowers published an excerpt of the original work, comprised of pages 289-406 and changed the title. This first edition of the abriged version was limited to 2,000 copies, of which I have one.

 

I would strongly urge everyone to attempt to obtain a copy of this work and to read it at leisure. It is a fascinating first-person account of the earthquake, the immediate aftermath, the numerous fires that subsequently destroyed the city and the workings of the San Francisco Mint. For those of you unaware, the Mint was one of the few buildings left standing after the quake and fires. The cover of the book has a photograph of the Mint just after the fires were put out, with a US flag hanging from the roof, piles of debris heaped up all around it and people lingering.

 

There are other vintage photographs included in the work, as well as reprints of original letters concerning the day-to-day operations of the Mint, unusual occurances at the Mint and a detailed account of how the Mint caught an employee who was stealing from it. Overall, I just adore this book and hope that others enjoy it as well.

 

You may wonder what my other favorite coin books are, and I can tell you that my all-time favorite is Numismatic Art in America by Cornelius Vermule. If you are fortunate enough to find a copy of this work you should not hesitate to fork over the $100 or so required to obtain it as you will enjoy it for years. By the way, Vermule had one heck of a coin collection, and here is my favorite piece from it.

[Calypso]

Thank you Tom,

 

Great post and beautiful coin, I think the SF mint was the only building still standing South of Market St. after the earthquake and fire. It's still a very imposing granite building but sadly with an uncertain future.

 

Calypso

[michael]

as usual tomb great thread

[Hoot]

Thanks for a great post Tom.

 

Hoot

[GP_]

Thank you

 

 

The reverse on that coin is just amazing!

[melmcbee]

Great post Tom. Dazzling Seated Liberty Dollar.

[jom]

Great post Tom. I've read that book. I picked up a free copy of it at the Anahiem ANA in 1995. It is a fascinating story....

 

Trivia: Did you know that the 1906 quake was actually centered well north of SF due west of Santa Rosa? There was some significant damage there. It was far enough north that studends at Stanford (in Palo Alto, south of SF) hardly felt it.

 

jom

[chinook]

Thanks Tom.

 

That dollar might be the most beautiful I have ever seen. I wonder where it is now?

[Hoot]

Great post Tom. I've read that book. I picked up a free copy of it at the Anahiem ANA in 1995. It is a fascinating story....

 

Trivia: Did you know that the 1906 quake was actually centered well north of SF due west of Santa Rosa? There was some significant damage there. It was far enough north that studends at Stanford (in Palo Alto, south of SF) hardly felt it.

 

jom

 

I used to work as a Park Ranger at Point Reyes National Seashore, where the earthquake's epicenter was located. You can take a leisurely walk from the Bear Valley Visitor Center to the place where the greatest surface movement was detected. There's a fence there, that remains, that was displaced 15 feet on either side of the San Andreas fault line. Fairly dramatic.

 

I worked at the Lighthouse on Point Reyes most of the time and was there during a minor quake. It sounded like a train rolling over the point. Shook the place a little, but more of an auditory thrill.

 

The SF quake of Oct. 17, 1989 was a larger quake (7.1) than the 1906 earthquake and located closer to SF on the Hayward Fault. It's amazing that quake didn't do more damage than it did (killed 62 people and wrecked a lot of homes and business structures).

 

Hoot

[Calypso]

Wow Hoot, you worked at the lighthouse, cool!!!

 

I remember in grade school we were learning about earthquakes and took a field trip out to see that fence in Point Reyes, I couldn't believe it. It would be really great if you could write a post about the history of Point Reyes and Sir Francis Drake. I understand there are a number of spanish shipwrecks up and down the coast.

 

Another bit of trivia: The great early photographer Carleton Watkins lost his later glass plate negatives in the earthquake, a loss which spun him into financial ruin and deep depression from which he never recovered. He is the one who took the early photographs of Yosemite which prompted its desingnation as a National Park.

Link:

http://www.getty.edu/art/collections/bio/a1989-1.html

[cpm9ball]

Wow, that '72 is probably the most beautiful coin I have ever seen........I wish I could see it in person, and I've got to start searching for the book, too!

 

Why is it that everybody on the West Coast has all the fun? We never get any quakes here! All we get is lousy hurricanes and snowbirds. Spanish shipwrecks? The ocean floor has already been leased by the Feds and/or the State (FL). If you should wander into any of these areas and stay too long you are promptly escorted away.

 

Chris

[DWLange]

My only loss from the '89 quake was a coin exhibiting trophy that fell from a bookcase and broke. Some good came from that event, as I designed our coin club's 1990 medal which commemorated the earthquake.

[cpm9ball]

My only loss from the '89 quake was a coin exhibiting trophy that fell from a bookcase and broke. Some good came from that event, as I designed our coin club's 1990 medal which commemorated the earthquake.

 

Do you have a pic of the medal, David?

 

Chris

[jom]

The SF quake of Oct. 17, 1989 was a larger quake (7.1) than the 1906 earthquake and located closer to SF on the Hayward Fault. It's amazing that quake didn't do more damage than it did (killed 62 people and wrecked a lot of homes and business structures).

 

Actually neither of those is true...at least one isn't anyway. The 1906 was much larger actually at 7.9 (it was degraded to 7.9 from 8.2 some years ago since they use a new scale). I do not think the Loma Prieta quake was on the Hayward fault either as that fault is located on the east side of the bay. Loma Prieta is somewhat south of the bay....I think.

 

jom

[Hoot]

The SF quake of Oct. 17, 1989 was a larger quake (7.1) than the 1906 earthquake and located closer to SF on the Hayward Fault. It's amazing that quake didn't do more damage than it did (killed 62 people and wrecked a lot of homes and business structures).

 

Actually neither of those is true...at least one isn't anyway. The 1906 was much larger actually at 7.9 (it was degraded to 7.9 from 8.2 some years ago since they use a new scale). I do not think the Loma Prieta quake was on the Hayward fault either as that fault is located on the east side of the bay. Loma Prieta is somewhat south of the bay....I think.

jom

 

You're partly correct about the 1906 earthquake intensity - it's been downgraded to 7.7 by the USGS. I had recalled 6.something.

 

You are correct about the 1989 earthquake epicenter - it was...

 

"USGS scientists found the epicenter of the earthquake near Mt. Loma Prieta in Santa Cruz County. They said fissures hundreds of yards long, and wide as 20 inches, were found along the San Andreas Fault in the northeast corner of Nisene Marks State Park, near the head of Aptos Creek."

 

For some reason, the Hayward fault (which is quite active and has had some doosies) had always stuck in my mind.

 

Here's a great link for 1906 SF earthquake info.

 

Thanks jom! Hoot

[jom]

Very interesting info. One of the links talks about the size. I guess they have 3 different calculations over the years. They can't seem to agree because the data was not very good given the time since the event.

 

The one link says the ground movement was about 3 mi/hr BUT rupture broke at a speed of 5800 mi/hr

 

jom

[DWLange]

Per Chris' request, here's the earthquake commemorative medal. My initials are hidden within the design, though I doubt they're visible in the photos. The columns just above the clock that faces left are letters DWL.

[DWLange]

Here's the reverse:

[cpm9ball]

Per Chris' request, here's the earthquake commemorative medal. My initials are hidden within the design, though I doubt they're visible in the photos. The columns just above the clock that faces left are letters DWL.

 

That is nice! Do you know where I might be able to get one?

 

Chris

[Hoot]

Sweet David! I'll ditto Chris's interest in a medal if they're cheap!

 

Hoot

[DWLange]

Only 100-200 medals were made in each of three metals, and they've been sold out for many years.

 

The club's website is www.lns-coinclub.org, but I didn't see any email addresses there. You can write to the Liberty Numismatic Society at POB 300, Millbrae, CA 94030. The newsletter editor may include an announcement that you are looking for that medal. It was issued in .999 silver, brilliant bronze and antiqued bronze.

[cpm9ball]

Sweet David! I'll ditto Chris's interest in a medal if they're cheap!

 

Hoot

 

Hoot, I tried the Liberty Numismatic Society website, but their contact info is "under construction" and nobody answered their phone. I checked eBay and Google and came up empty. If you should locate these anywhere, please let me know by PM.

 

Thanks,

 

Chris