The early mint...

[jtryka]

I was surfing the JRCS website today, just looking for something interesting to post (no offense, but I really do tire of seeing posts about other message boards constantly on the top of the page), but I digress. On the JRCS site, they have put up a number of early mint reports to Congress, and this one I found very interesting: Report of the Director of the Mint, 20th December, 1796 This report was made by Elias Boudinot, who was director of the mint outlining a serious problem regarding the coining of silver bullion by depositors and the associated costs. Apparently, not all depositors submitted standard refined bullion, but a sort of hodge podge of metal. The extra cost of refining this sub-standard metal created additional unexpected costs for the mint (hence the problems with President Washington and the Congress. What I found exceptionally fascinating is the detail in the report, from the types of bullion accepted to the timing and production of coins in this early Federal period. Very neat stuff.

[EVillageProwler]

Thanks for the post. The JRCS is an extraordinarily research-oriented numismatic organization. It is not alone in that regard; LSCC, EAC and the NBS are some others that immediately spring to mind.

 

For those who haven't done so already, I strongly urge you to give them a try. Chock full of great stuff... I got both the latest JRJ and GJ last week, and I was dying to throw myself into them.

 

I also get the NBS e-newsletter. Next stop, I think I'll take my own advice and check out the EAC.

 

If anyone has any questions concerning this subject matter (or even just of the alphabet soup used in my post), feel free to ask away. There are many people here and elsewhere who can help out.

 

EVP

 

[BillJones]

Collectors who have read the opening chapters of William Sheldon's "Penny Whimsy" will recall that a significant number of congressmen and senators tried to close the first mint because they viewed it as too expensive to operate. Part of the problem was what you cited here. Depositors brought in very low grade medal, which required considerable expense to refine it - all free of charge because of the first mint's standing offer to convert deposits of gold and silver into coins for free.

 

The other day I read about another reason for these attempts to skuttle the first mint in a book that had nothing to do with numismatics. Some members of the Jefferson's Democratic- Party thought that mint as an example of excessive government activity. These ultra libertarians thought that even providing a national coinage was beyound the bounds of what government should be doing! I guess Jeffersonian purists felt that the people should stay on their farms, stay close to the land and conduct trade only though barter.

[chrisfuccione]

Great thred! I am currently reading Don Taxy's THE US MINT AND COINAGE. It goes into the history of how the United States coinage got started with many failed attempts of contracting out to private minters to make our coins to how the first mint was formed. The book goes up until 1965.

 

So far I am recomending it if your into the history of US coins. CHRIS