Wall Street of the Rockies - Gun Battle at the Mint - 1922

1630Boston

by Patti Dahlberg

DENVER, Dec. 18, 1922 – As a Federal Reserve Bank truck sat outside the U.S. Mint in Denver to pick up a weekly cash shipment for transport to various area banks, a black Buick touring car with drawn curtains slowly pulled up beside it. According to witnesses, three or four masked men jumped out of the car while one remained behind the wheel. One of the masked men ran to the rear of the reserve truck, yelled at the guards, fired at and fatally wounded the guard at the back of the truck, and shot out the back doors and windows of the truck. One man quickly lifted bags of money out of the truck and threw them into the Buick while the other masked men sprayed the Mint building exits and windows with bullets from sawed-off shotguns. Alarm bells clanged and Mint guards and employees grabbed rifles and began firing out windows and doors.

Within seconds, bullets were peppering West Colfax Avenue, hitting the side of the Mint building and several other nearby buildings. According to the Dec. 19, 1922, New York Times:

So terrific was the gunfire that forty bullet holes can be counted in the transoms above the main entrance to the mint and in the windows of the second story. Bullets riddled windows in various stores and apartment houses across the street and there were many narrow escapes from bullets. One shot went through a window in Sylvania Hotel, at Court Place and West Colfax Avenue, and shattered a picture on the wall.

From: Colorado LegiSource
An informational and educational resource for the Colorado General Assembly by the Office of Legislative Legal Services

read more here if interested https://legisource.net/2022/04/21/throwback-thursday-the-colfax-avenue-shootout/

coinhack

Thanks @1630Boston, that is a great story. History is the best part of numismatics.

golden

Thanks for posting this. I had not heard of this before.

oldabeintx

What a great read. That was a rough bunch of criminals involved. Would make a great historical novel.

Baylor8670

$50 says the robbers were postal employees

/s

johnny9434

That's nothing new Baylor lol 😉

1630Boston

@oldabeintx said:
What a great read. That was a rough bunch of criminals involved. Would make a great historical novel.

Rough bunch of Federal Mint Employees also,

Alarm bells clanged and Mint guards and employees grabbed rifles and began firing out windows and doors.

"FIFTY" Mint Employees grabbing firearms and shooting at the robbers out of the Mint building windows!!!!

Baylor8670

@1630Boston said:

@oldabeintx said:
What a great read. That was a rough bunch of criminals involved. Would make a great historical novel.

Rough bunch of Federal Mint Employees also,

Alarm bells clanged and Mint guards and employees grabbed rifles and began firing out windows and doors.

"FIFTY" Mint Employees grabbing firearms and shooting at the robbers out of the Mint building windows!!!!

I bet this story could be turned into an amazing movie.

1630Boston

@Baylor8670 said:

@1630Boston said:

@oldabeintx said:
What a great read. That was a rough bunch of criminals involved. Would make a great historical novel.

Rough bunch of Federal Mint Employees also,

Alarm bells clanged and Mint guards and employees grabbed rifles and began firing out windows and doors.

"FIFTY" Mint Employees grabbing firearms and shooting at the robbers out of the Mint building windows!!!!

I bet this story could be turned into an amazing movie.

I like the way that you think,
With the correct/acceptable actors and actresses.............. I think you could sell that to Hollywood and make a fortune.
boston

1630Boston

@Baylor8670 said:

@1630Boston said:

@oldabeintx said:
What a great read. That was a rough bunch of criminals involved. Would make a great historical novel.

Rough bunch of Federal Mint Employees also,

Alarm bells clanged and Mint guards and employees grabbed rifles and began firing out windows and doors.

"FIFTY" Mint Employees grabbing firearms and shooting at the robbers out of the Mint building windows!!!!

I bet this story could be turned into an amazing movie.

Or AT LEAST........a Netflix original series????

Meltdown

Thankfully the bullets missed @dcarr 's press so he could purchase it at auction 60+ years later.

CaptHenway

The first time I visited the Denver Mint was as a student of the 1976 ANA Summer Seminar. When we took the day trip up to the Mint the busses let us off at the Colfax entrance, and our tour guide, one of the Supervisors at the Mint, met us out on the sidewalk. Before we went in he told us the story of the robbery and pointed out the bullet holes in the building.

I can't remember if the gun turrets flanking the door were there before the robbery or if they were built afterwards in response to it.

MtW124

What a terrific story. Thank you for posting it. My wife and I visited the Denver mint last fall and were unaware of this happening. I wish we would have known.

1Bufffan

Glad that the robbers didn't get any of the freshly coined 1922-D Buffalo Nickels, or maybe they did that why there is none for the rest of us.

WillieBoyd2

I can visualize a film but all of the best actors are dead.

CaptHenway

@1Bufffan said:
Glad that the robbers didn't get any of the freshly coined 1922-D Buffalo Nickels, or maybe they did that why there is none for the rest of us.

Did you know that the Denver Mint did have the dies that could have struck 1922-D nickels, and in mid-February of 1922 requested additional 1922 nickel obverses in anticipation of beginning coinage soon?

Ironman8

Possible get away vehicle 1920 Buick Touring Car in black

Baylor8670

@Ironman8 said:
Possible get away vehicle 1920 Buick Touring Car in black

That car speeding away and a guy on each side leaning out with a Chicago typewriter blazing will be the opening scene for the movie

1630Boston

@Ironman8
Great Pic
boston