Proposed Assay Office for Juneau, Alaska 0

[RWB]

Edited July 20, 2023 by RWB

[VKurtB]

Let's do it! Buy my house and pay my moving expenses and I'll go run it. I'll hire a law firm for the Juneau Mint: Dewey, Cheatham & Howe.

Edited July 20, 2023 by VKurtB

[GoldFinger1969]

On 7/20/2023 at 4:07 PM, VKurtB said:

I'll hire a law firm for the Juneau Mint: Dewey, Cheatham & Howe.

Funny thing is that the law firm never appeared in any Stooges short and the boys never played those lawyers either.  It was a publicity photo, as I recall.

[VKurtB]

On 7/20/2023 at 5:16 PM, GoldFinger1969 said:

Funny thing is that the law firm never appeared in any Stooges short and the boys never played those lawyers either.  It was a publicity photo, as I recall.

I remember the names on a door window.

[Henri Charriere]

On a, for me, more serious note... what makes this topic particularly interesting is the fact that the U.S. purchased Alaska from the Russians only 32 years earlier (dubbed "Seward's Folly") and it remained a territory until granted statehood in 1959. Relying solely on memory -- I believe Juneau was, and may still be, accessible only by water up until recent times, making the reference to a "steamer" in the letter, and not rail access, a possible financial consideration though not explicitly stated. Great piece of correspondence!  

[VKurtB]

On 7/20/2023 at 6:44 PM, Henri Charriere said:

On a, for me, more serious note... what makes this topic particularly interesting is the fact that the U.S. purchased Alaska from the Russians only 32 years earlier (dubbed "Seward's Folly") and it remained a territory until granted statehood in 1959. Relying solely on memory -- I believe Juneau was, and may still be, accessible only by water up until recent times, making the reference to a "steamer" in the letter, and not rail access, a possible financial consideration though not explicitly stated. Great piece of correspondence!  

Air and water. No land link. Just think what that means for motorheads. Vrooom!

[Henri Charriere]

Historical Note:  The Seattle Assay Office was in operation from 1898 (a year before the letter to the Director of the U. S. Mint was written) to 1955. With the establishment of the San Francisco Mint in 1852, coinage operations were suspended in 1955 and it became an assay office -- possibly picking up where Seattle left off -- with that designation becoming official in 1962. Coinage operations were again authorized in 1965 and production continues to this day as the San Francisco branch of the U.S. Mint.

[mlovmo]

Love seeing these letters and documents.  I like getting surprises in them, too.

I was surprised to see a few things in the documents that I got from the Archives.  One was a picture (an actual polaroid taped to the document!) of an original die the US Mint made for S. Korea, but the Koreans decided to go with a different design.  I'm thinking that I was the only person to have seen that image since it was filed away back in the late 50s!  I don't think anybody else had seen it since.  Incredible...

[RWB]

On 7/28/2023 at 3:44 AM, mlovmo said:

Love seeing these letters and documents.  I like getting surprises in them, too.

I was surprised to see a few things in the documents that I got from the Archives.  One was a picture (an actual polaroid taped to the document!) of an original die the US Mint made for S. Korea, but the Koreans decided to go with a different design.  I'm thinking that I was the only person to have seen that image since it was filed away back in the late 50s!  I don't think anybody else had seen it since.  Incredible...

Most of the US Mint archive is like that. With the exceptions of few well-known letters and reports, almost everything is untouched from within a few days of its date to the present. Every box and volume could hold answers to long stranding questions, or raise new questions.

[GoldFinger1969]

On 7/26/2023 at 7:31 PM, Henri Charriere said:

Historical Note:  The Seattle Assay Office was in operation from 1898 (a year before the letter to the Director of the U. S. Mint was written) to 1955. With the establishment of the San Francisco Mint in 1852, coinage operations were suspended in 1955 and it became an assay office -- possibly picking up where Seattle left off -- with that designation becoming official in 1962. Coinage operations were again authorized in 1965 and production continues to this day as the San Francisco branch of the U.S. Mint.

What's with assay offices still being used after 1950, maybe even 1920 or 1900 ?

I know they were needed in the 1800's to guarantee purity, weight, etc....but would that still be needed in the 20th century ?

Did you ever hear of any central bank/foreign mint trying to pass off non-gold as gold or cheating on purity/weight ?

Edited July 29, 2023 by GoldFinger1969

[zadok]

On 7/28/2023 at 8:14 PM, GoldFinger1969 said:

What's with assay offices still being used after 1950, maybe even 1920 or 1900 ?

I know they were needed in the 1800's to guarantee purity, weight, etc....but would that still be needed in the 20th century ?

Did you ever hear of any central bank/foreign mint trying to pass off non-gold as gold or cheating on purity/weight ?

...have u ever seen a pyrite saint gaudens?....

[Henri Charriere]

In a publicized Notice printed in the daily papers of the time, the New York Assay Office -- identified on period maps, like Hagstrom's as a sub-Treasury, was a designated place for Silver Certificate redemptions. Each customer who did so, my brother and I were two, received a clear plastic bag of silver granules secured, if memory serves, with a ticket indicated the precise weight in troy ounces. The office was authorized in 1853, in operation by the following year. I thought the last date for redemption was June 24, 1967. I only recently learned employees received a certificate of recognition for their work issued by the then Secretary of the Treasury in a press release dated 12 Noon, September 1, 1970. 

[Edit: the Assay Office, one of seven in the United States, closed its doors in 1982.]

[My apologies to the the OP for this extended reply.]

Edited July 29, 2023 by Henri Charriere
Inclusion of additional info

[RWB]

The NYAO was the only one that did refining, and was mostly an adjunct to the Philadelphia Mint.

The other assay offices, including those which were converted from mints (Carson, New Orleans, Charlotte) were government receiving offices for gold and silver. The Assayer in Charge and staff accepted and assayed mining deposits, melted the metal into bars, and shipped the bars to the nearest mint. Miners were pain in coin, currency, or check.

They continued to receive miner's deposits until commercial businesses were able to supply the same services.

US Assay Offices were intended to keep US (and Canadian) gold in the USA by paying full value for deposits, and maintaining reputation of accuracy and integrity, Most deposit and payment records still exist, although unredeemed deposits were eventually turned over to the Treasury general fund. But payment remains available at the original rates, if someone comes forward with a valid receipt.

[Conder101]

Which means that if they bring in their receipts they will be paid for their gold at $35 an oz. and their silver at $1.29 an oz.

[GoldFinger1969]

On 7/20/2023 at 7:44 PM, Henri Charriere said:

On a, for me, more serious note... what makes this topic particularly interesting is the fact that the U.S. purchased Alaska from the Russians only 32 years earlier (dubbed "Seward's Folly") and it remained a territory until granted statehood in 1959. Relying solely on memory -- I believe Juneau was, and may still be, accessible only by water up until recent times, making the reference to a "steamer" in the letter, and not rail access, a possible financial consideration though not explicitly stated. Great piece of correspondence!  

If we had invested the $7,000,000 for the sale in stocks, it'd be worth $18 trillion today.  

[zadok]

On 8/8/2023 at 11:15 PM, GoldFinger1969 said:

If we had invested the $7,000,000 for the sale in stocks, it'd be worth $18 trillion today.  

...and exactly how many moose would that buy?....

[Henri Charriere]

On 8/9/2023 at 8:54 AM, zadok said:

...and exactly how many moose would that buy?....

...the good ones are fine, but the mint states are the best and, hence, worth more.  Some would walk a mile for a camel, but kill for a kent... not sure where moose fit into this. 🤣

[VKurtB]

On 8/29/2023 at 9:50 PM, Henri Charriere said:

...the good ones are fine, but the mint states are the best and, hence, worth more.  Some would walk a mile for a camel, but kill for a kent... not sure where moose fit into this. 🤣

Moose are large. They fit into quite little. I saw on TV two Native American women, one only twelve, shoot, skin, and quarter a moose. They had a very “off road capable” truck with them, and cut up, the moose kind of fit in that, but almost more “on” than “in”. Moose is probably an acquired taste. But I HAVE eaten squirrel. Boris and Natasha send their regards.