How many of the first 10 SF Mint Morgans are known and who is J. Gus. Burt?

Zoins

Just ran across this article about the first 10 Morgans stuck at the San Francisco Mint.

• https://coinweek.com/us-coins/ngc-grades-one-of-first-10-morgan-dollars-struck-in-san-francisco/

1878-S Morgan Dollar Specimen Strike VAM-60 - NGC SP64 - Burt-Wertman-Eliasberg specimen

The article has information on the SF Mint coiner and superintendent but not the person whose name is engraved on the coin.

According to contemporary newspaper accounts, this coin was struck sometime around 3:40 p.m. on April 17, 1878, under the close supervision of Coiner F.X. Cicott and Mint Superintendent Henry L. Dodge. It was engraved: “ONE OF THE FIRST TEN COINED APRIL 17TH FROM J. GUS. BURT.”

Here's a census with the one coin from the article so far. I hope to update this with the 9 others!

• Emanuel Wertman - Eliasberg specimen - NGC SP64 4919944-001

Gluggo

Spectacular!

Zoins

Interesting, I just read the following article on the Samuel Mills Damon specimen.

• https://www.coinworld.com/news/precious-metals/1878-s-morgan-dollar-may-be-presentation-piece.html

From the article, J. Gus. Burt was a businessman and former official of the Bank of California so it seems that not all specimen strikes may have been engraved.

1878-S Morgan Dollar Specimen Strike VAM-58 - PCGS SP65 - Samuel Mills Damon specimen

Damon was sole owner of the Bank of Bishop & Co. He served as minister of finance for three years for the Kingdom of Hawaii during the reign of King Kalakaua."

Damon's specimen was certified as PCGS SP65 but isn't engraved and is from a different die pair than the Wertman-Eliasberg specimen. Because there are different die pairs, there's some speculation that some specimen strikes may have been done later.

Zoins

I found 2 people fitting J. Gus. Burt from FindAGrave.com but neither with info tying them to California:

Joseph Augustus Burt (1851-1912)

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/189105811/joseph-augustus-burt

John Augusta Burt (1844-1932)

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/73444153/john-augusta-burt

Zoins

Here's a potentially useful resource:

Genealogical Records of Henry and Ulalia Burt, the Emigrants who Early Settled at Springfield, Mass., and Their Descendants Through Nine Generations, from 1640 to 1891

https://books.google.com/books?id=gYpQAAAAYAAJ

It doesn't specifically mention California but may of the people have birth and death dates which can be used to find them on FindAGrave and other sites which can then be used to search their online family trees.

1630Boston

Found this in the 1880 San Francisco Directory

1630Boston

Sold for $1.10 !

This 1878-S Morgan Dollar has a long pedigree. Its provenance can be traced back to Henry Chapman sale of the Emanuel Wertman Collection on November 19, 1910 in Philadelphia, where it apparently sold for a mere $1.10. It was later part of the famed Eliasberg Collection of US coinage.

1878-s-one-of-first-struck 1910 Wertman catalog lot description

SmEagle1795

What an incredible piece of history!

jabba

Didn’t they say the second Morgan minted was given to the Vice President at the time and is lost

oldabeintx

I believe I read that Burt was a local banker. I'll see if I can find the source.

oldabeintx

Mark Feld has info on Burt. He must be busy.

MFeld

@oldabeintx said:
Mark Feld has info on Burt. He must be busy.

This is what I’d found previously:

“...Burt was a local businessman and former official of the Bank of California. He lived and worked a few blocks from the Mint.....The engraved presentation piece toBurt was listed as Proof 63 in Lot 2254 in the April 6 to 8, 1997, sale of the Louis E. Eliasberg Sr. Collection. ."

yosclimber

Some nicer photos and discussion:
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1003342/pcgs-certifies-1st-known-1878-s-specimen-morgan-dollar/p3

Coinosaurus

Example shows up in this 1915 auction sale:

https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/auctionlots?AucCoId=20&AuctionId=511102&page=50

StrikeOutXXX

That Coin World article says about J. Gus. Burt: "Mr. Burt was a local businessman and former official of the Bank of California. He lived and worked a few blocks from the Mint."

At the time, he was a purchasing agent for mining companies. His office on Front Street was 1.2 miles from the mint of the time that was on 5th & Mission.

Prior to that, In 1865, he was listed as a customs record clerk with the Treasury serving in San Francisco, originally from Vermont.

It seems he had a history with Mining Diamond Core Drills too:
https://www.mininghistoryassociation.org/Journal/MHJ-v21-2014-Burt.pdf

I don't know which connection led him to be presented the dollar, whether its the Bank of California connection, or somehow connected to purchasing agent for mining companies, and past connections with mining - have to dig through those archives and see if he brokered any purchases or sales of bullion or coins with the mint. Certainly puts him in the circle of those associated with the mint. Might have been an advocate for the Bland-Allison act back then representing the mining industry interests, who knows.

Coinosaurus

The Mint employment registers are on Newman Portal at https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/publisherdetail/536877.

StrikeOutXXX

@Coinosaurus said:
The Mint employment registers are on Newman Portal at https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/publisherdetail/536877.

I did check those, but they snipped them to just the Mint Employees it seems. Have to dig back through the letters of that era see if anything is on letterhead from Front Street in San Francisco. He had a few different numbered addresses used though.

He is in the full listing though:
https://books.google.com/books?id=RxUZAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA118&lpg=PA118&dq=j.+gus+burt+san+francisco+ca+vermont&source=bl&ots=P-sceM451n&sig=ACfU3U02T-o71D5D9UZNmZOYoQD7x48kMQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiln43s6JzvAhXvQd8KHT4DALAQ6AEwA3oECAMQAw#v=onepage&q=j. gus burt san francisco ca vermont&f=false

MidLifeCrisis

This thread is fascinating.